Prepare for an Adventure

Gary Peter Roger Reinhild





We will depart on Wednesday October 25 for Cairo. We will soon be seeing the above for real.

Day 1 - October 26 - Cairo (We're Here!)

This is our hotel - a little shack in a third world country. After checking in we went to our room and took this shot of THE NILE RIVER!!! Cairo is a bustling city of 16 million (or so). It is incredible!

Day 2 - October 27 - Cairo

Peter and Reinie walking toward the Great Pyramid at Giza. The guy in the middle is our tour guide, Ahmed. Ahmed is about the only non-tourist without his hand out expecting to be tipped for even an imagined service.



We should mention the traffic in Cairo. It's like the Indy 500 with pedestrians. In Minnesota cutting someone off is rude - here it's an art form. We've seen maybe 3 or 4 stop lights and a couple of stop signs. All other intersections are uncontrolled- in every sense!

Day 3 - October 28 - The Cairo Museum

We spent all day at the Cairo Museum. It was absolutely incredible. And I'm sure we didn't see it all. There were huge statues of pharohs, queens and whole families. We saw the the mummy of Ramses II and many other mummies. The highlight was probably the Tutankamun treasures, including his golden funeral mask. Dr. Zahi Hawass, the Egyptian Director of Antiquities walked right by us.

Day 4 - October 29 - Islamic Cairo

Rented a car and driver and saw much in Islamic Cairo including the Citadel, Mohammed Aly Mosque (pictured), Nasr Mohammed Mosque. Tentmaker's Alley (pictured) has existed for a couple thousand years at this spot. Very interesting. Then we came back to the hotel and took a boat ride on the Nile.

Tomorrow we take the train to Alexandria (Egypt, not Minnesota).

Day 5 - October 30 - Travel to Alexandria

This is the Cairo train station. About to depart to Alexandria.

Arriving in Alex we take a taxi to th Montazah Sheraton. Note our luggage on the roof. We check in. Nice hotel right on the Mediterranean Sea. Peter took the shot of the Med at sunset.

Day 6 - Alexandria

We hired a car and driver and he took us to all the spots we wanted to see, including the Greco-Roman Museum, Roman Amphitheater, Pompei's Column, and catacombs. Tomorrow we take the train back to Cairo, the fly to Luxor.

Day 7 - Travel to Luxor

This was a travel day. We took the 11:00am train from Alexandria to Cairo. Things went fine until we were aboout 30 minutes to Cairo when the train broke down. We were worried we'd miss our plane to Luxor. We're asking people who speak no english "How long". We got varying estimates. Many people left the train to catch a bus and we debated but decided to sit tight. Then, all of a sudden, the train pulled out and we got to Cairo in plenty of time. Then we flew to Luxor.

Day 8 - LUXOR!

We went to three places today: Luxor Temple, Luxor Museum, and The Temple of Karnak!!!

The first takes your breath away, the secomd stuns you with its beauty, and the third takes you to your knees in awe!!

Day 9 - Nile Cruise

We took an all-day cruise on the Nile to Dendara. about 40 miles downstream from Luxor. Tour the Greco-Roman temple. Very nice day.

Day 10 - Vally of the Kings/Queens

An exhausting but exhilerating day, first in the Valley of the Queens, then Hatshepsput's temple, then the Valley of the Kings. Pictures were not allowed in the tombs, but the painted hieroglyphs looked like they were painted yesterday. The heat was like a furnace at times. And this is not summer.

Day 11 - Travel Day

We goofed off at the hotel in the morning then took a van across the desert to Hurghada. Stopped for a break about halfway at a "Coffee Shop", which was another excuse for the natives to accost us for money. Very exciting and interesting ride, to say the least. Reinie even buckled her seatbelt.

Day 12 - Hurghada

Our first sunrise over the Red Sea. We left for diving at 9:30am and didn't get back until after 4:00pm, for two shallow dives - what do you do with a four hour surface interval?

The water was warm, the coral healthy and beautiful but. unlike the rest of you divers, WE HAVE DOVE THE RED SEA!! (And suvived.)