Strange

On our last day in Luxor we took a sunset felucca ride on the Nile….something Fred and I did years ago. For some strange reason Fred had a photo of the previous felucca pilot and when he showed the picture to the present day pilot we found out that he knew the guy!

In fact we were sailing on his brother’s boat. The pilot even brought out photos of the previous pilot to show that he knew him and his brother. He even knew the name of his old boat….Nefertiti! And that matched the notes from our old travel journal! Talk about coincidence.

And the sunset was beautiful!

Driving

Yesterday (July 25th) we drove to see the temples of Dendara and Abydos. Both were so full of colour and we were glad we made the journey. It was an extremely long day as the roads to Abydos were rough and in poor shape. 

The nice thing about the long ride was that we were able to view the local towns close up. We saw some nice things and some not so nice things. 

The garbage on the side of the road was s the most disappointing thing I saw…the people just throw their garbage out their front door. We thought Cairo was dirty until we saw these villages and towns.

Their way of life looked simple and uncomplicated…donkeys were in evidence everywhere along with outdoor markets and shops.

And So Many More

 The temples just never seem to stop…we visited Edfu and Kom Ombo. Both were excellent, but Kom Ombo caught our attention. It was a short walk from the boat and was an excellent place to spend an  hour or so.

After Kom Ombo we sailed to Edfu to see another ruin that was pretty good. To get there we had to take a carriage ride with Abdula and Lila,  Lila was our favourite horse, but she was so slow,

And the race is on….this guy kept passing Lila! We were the last to arrive….poor Lila!

So Many

We have seen so many temples and monuments in the last week that it is becoming difficult keeping track. I do know that today’s visit to Karnak and Luxor Temple climbed to the top of my favourites list.

Revisiting these sites was a must do for me. If I remember correctly Karnak covers 60 acres….60 acres of wonderful and huge statues and monuments.

Wrong

 If we thought that all we were going to do for three days aboard the Sonesta St. George was rest and swim in the pool, we were badly mistaken!

The first morning was our flight to Abu Simbel and the scary drive back to Aswan…. Our driver was a maniac who loved driving 140 kmph, eating chips and drinking water all at the same time. The van was rocking pretty good until Jim finally spoke to him and had him slow down.  Thank you, Jim!

Once we checked in and were issued our cabins we were able to get some rest from the heat. Yesterday was recorded at 48C.

The meals are awesome with so much variety that it is hard to choose!

Boats

We were looking at some of our Mekong River Cruise photos and comparing them to this cruise ship! The Vietnamese boat  (2015) was for four people and this one is for many more than that…. only about 60 on board now. 

Sonesta St. George on the Nile

No Name Boat on the Mekong

Comparison

The city of Alexandria, Egypt reminds me so much of the city of Havana Cuba. Just take a look at the style and decay of the buildings.