Well, another two weeks has passed and another country is done. Check. After having had such a wonderful and relaxing week swimming and SCUBA diving in Zanzibar, it was only fitting that we would be slapped back into African reality with our arrival in Egypt. We started in Cairo, which was not as frighteningly hectic as most make it out to be . . . although we did arrive at 4 in the morning, so maybe that helped.
Our first stop was the Pyramids at Giza (amazing!) and then it was on to the famed Cairo Museum, a wonderful tour through Egyptian history finished just in time to head to the train station for our overnight train to Luxor.
Luxor was much more intense, both with the heat (HOT!) and with the people - perhaps because this was low season, touts abounded trying to get us on their camel, in their "cabbage" and out on their felucca . . . quite funny after a while. The heat and the annoyance were far surpassed, however, by the wonders of the Temple of Luxor and Karnak, and a trip to the sights of the West Bank. We also took a day trip south to Edfu and Kom Ombo . . . fantastic.
After five days, it was back to Cairo . . . to get to Alexandria, perhaps the most enjoyable city of them all! Situated on the Mediterranean, the city itself abounded with beautiful vistas and the most fantastic seafood! To top it off, we spent a day on archaeological dives off the coast to see the remnants of the great Alexandria Pharos, sphinxes, columns and all such wonderful stuff.
After this very refreshing respite in Alex, it was all too soon back to Cairo, for one last night before we jetted off to India. What an experience - though travel weary and still peeling from the sunburn of direct desert sun, Egypt was well worth the trip!
