It’s another hot day. About 33 degrees. Went up to a little town in the mountains, Taormina. The town was first built by the ancient Greeks, and then built on top of other ruins. There are churches in the town from the 13 th century. Very narrow alleys and the view of Mount Etna was spectacular. Walked up to see a Roman theatre, huge, it could seat about 10,000 people the tour guide had been to a Bryan Adam’s concert there a few weeks back. There was an American who said I love Bryan Adam’s, and then tried to sing Summer of 62! Laugh my ass off. She was corrected quite quickly.
there was free time to shop, but Louis Vuitton and Dolce and Gabbana aren’t in my price range. But I didn’t manage to find a few little souvenirs.
tomorrow is a sea day, and I guess I better start packing we have one more stop.
wow! We sailed past Mount Stromboli and stopped by it for a short time. It’s one of the world’s top 4 active volcanos. Apparently it has been erupting continuously for the past 2000 years. Sailors could navigate by it. It was awesome, but a bit scary too.
The day started off with a beautiful sunrise coming into Corfu. There’s not many people up at this time of the morning, except for some guy from the US who got on in Athens and thinks he needs to sit with me each morning to have his coffee. It’s not a conversation he just talks and talks.
I got off the boat, and took the shuttle to the Port. I had booked a tour of an Olive oil farm. The tour operator called and said they were running late due to traffic. There were 5 ships tied up, it must have been crazy in town.
got into the van and had to sit beside an English couple, and he was coughing and snorting. I’ll be pissed if I get sick. (Update, my last night I got sick! )
got to the olive oil place and started the tour. Very interesting- seeing the old ways of gathering and pressing the oil to the more modern mechanized methods of today. The o we got to do an olive oil tasting. Man, it was peppery and very good. You don’t cook with that oil, it’s just for finishing. The first one we tasted plain, the second one with bread. Then they brought out little plates of feta, tomato and capers, drizzled with olive oil. Then Greek yogurt - you guessed it - drizzled with olive oil. I don’t know how I will manage with Costco olive oil now that I’ve tasted the really good stuff!
back in the van and off to see a 1500 year old tree. The older the trees, the better the olive oil
the mother tree was fascinating.
then we were off to see a 13 th century fort that was on the top of a big hill. Yep, unity and then stood in line for a shuttle back to the ship. Got to my room and hit the shower.more climbing in the heat! Lots of stone steps. Gave the new knee a good workout. It was a good tour then back to the port where I shuffled through a huge crowd to get through security and then stood in line for a shuttle bus to get back to the ship. Hit the shower as soon as I got back.
Up early today to go to the front of the ship and watch the ship navigate into Kotor. Wow! Very narrow passages and tight corners but gorgeous scenery. It’s very mountainous.
learned something today - which is always a good thing. Montenegro is a relatively new country having gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 2006.
Kotor old town, is another ancient city with one of the buildings from 925 AD. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around how old that is. Canada is such a baby!
montenegro subsists on tourism. There is no industry really and it’s trying very hard to market itself. The infrastructure doesn’t support it though as most of the roads are rough and only one lane.
went for a ride on a Turk Turk with a fearless 18 year old driving. He brought us down the mountain with cars all bunched up in the one lane, so he just drove on the wrong side all the way down. And did I mention the “ oh shit” handle strap that I was hanging onto for dear life - broke off into my hand!
it was a beautiful country, very hot of course, 32-34 degrees
back on the ship, sitting in the shade with a lovely breeze as we leave Montenegro.
A sea day today. Which is always a great time to rest and recharge. I was up at 5 am as there was a time change I got a lovely picture of the sun coming up over the Ionian Sea.
will get up early again tomorrow as we’re going into Montenegro. Just lazed around the ship, read my book, played some games. Then got dressed up, even put makeup on and went for a nice dinner.
We were in Athens again and I decided not to get off the ship. There were a total of 6 cruise ships in port so it would have been wall to wall people.
went for a massage in the ships spa. It was nice, but then she tried to sell me on more treatments which left me with a bad taste. Went for drinks and dinner and it was another great day.
Today is a beach day. Took a ride to the beach. Very busy but I got to swim in the Mediterranean. Of course the beach was rocky, so I got rolled around in the surf a bit. And got water up my nose. Ewww. Oh well! I didn’t realize it was on my bucket list until I did it. We’re here for about 3 hours then into town for a walk about.
walked around the townsite and saw the old windmills and the old town called Little Venice.. very picturesque and very narrow alleys. The balconies almost touch each other from side to side.
the island of Mykonos is very barren and dry. There are desalination facilities and everyone drinks bottled water. They did grow some grain - hence the windmills to grind the grain - but in the late 20th century, they shut down and now everything has to be imported. It is all for the tourist industry now. Apparently from May to October it is very busy, then through the winter everything closes down, and people leave with only about 5000 permanent residents that stay. There are no streets, and no street names, and no mail service to the island. With everything having to be brought in, it is a very expensive island. I was going to have a cocktail at the beach - it was 20 euros! So I had a local beer for 7 euros.
there’s also lots of scrap metal, and old cars as I guess to remove the trash costs lots.
Off we went into Rhodes. A friend and I went in and just wandered around. It had great shopping. It’s a medieval city with the walls and interior still standing. I’d love to go back and explore even more. There is so much history in these places.
this is where the Colussus of Rhodes stood over the harbour. It was a massive 32 metre bronze statue erected in about 280 BC. An earthquake broke the statue at its knees and in about 650 AD invading Arabian forces broke the pieces of the statue for scrap bronze. The old town is pretty much intact.
We’re back in Turkey again. I did not plan any excursions for today. A small group of us disembarked and went into the bazaars. It seemed all they had was knock-offs. Fake Louis Vuitton, fake Rolexes. One shop even advertised “Real Fake Watches”! Funny.
I found the Turks pretty aggressive in trying to get you into their shops. I did purchase a lovely silk and cashmere shawl, but that was about it. Back to the ship and we set sail at 430 pm. We’re in Rhodes, Greece tomorrow.
I wore my Canada tshirt and cap. The cruise director made an announcement wishing the 147 Canadians on board a Happy Canada Day. We did a few trivia contests, of course the Yanks won! But we all howled with laughter so I think we still won!
went for a nice dinner and then early to bed
I had a lovely dinner with friends last evening.
today we were back in Chania, Crete. I went ashore on my own, caught the bus to downtown and wandered the the narrow streets and made my way down to the old town and harbour. I sat and had a very nice lunch, Greek salad with fresh feta and grilled octopus with wasabi on bread. Not something I would order at home, but so tasty here. I wandered a bit more then caught the bus back to the ship.
played some trivia, then drinks and dinner. Saw a magician comedian for a show. He was quite funny. Went up to the op deck and had a glass of wine and watched the moon rise. I thought of Janet, my sister-in-law who passed away earlier today. My niece had called early this morning and I knew as soon as I saw her name and number that Janet was gone. She had been battling for a few years and she finally lost her battle.
I remembered playing cards until the wee hours with David, Donnie and Janet. All are now gone. We would go skidooing, go fishing, we were together a lot when we were younger and had some great times. I’ll miss you Janet, but you will be with don, Dwight and your mom and dad.
Rest easy Jan.
We’re back in Santorini today. I decided to stay on the ship and not go ashore. I had a lovely quiet day, dozing off and on outside on a lounge chair and reading my book. Meeting up with friends for drinks and dinner.
I was really looking forward to Athens. On first glance it looks just like Cairo.
i booked a whole day tour and I got on the bus right at the cruise port and drove to the Archaeological Museum. Had some amazing artifacts, Athens is very old.
then we were off to the Acropolis. I learned something, Acropolis actually means the highest point. And what does that mean, we had to climb a very big hill in the heat! Again with marble and rock stairs, which were not all to code, so the depth was a bit off for most of them. A few of the tour members did not make the climb, they found a shady spot and waited for us to come back down. The tour did say it was strenuous and I was sweating by the time we got back down. Of course, think I could have sweated the same amount just standing still. We stopped halfway up to look at a small amphitheater- it could only hold about 2,500 not the 25,000 that Ephesus held. A lot of this site is still being excavated and restored. At the top was the Parthenon, or the temple to Athena. It was well worth the climb.
apparently in 1687 the Parthenon was hit by cannon fire, so it is still being painstakingly put back together, piece by piece. It was damaged again in the 1800s due to the Greek revolution. Since it was build in the 400s AD, as a temple to the goddess Athena, it is a miracle any part of it is still standing. There is also a small temple to Nike, goddess of victory. Although the temple in Athens does not show her as the winged goddess of Victory, as the people of Athens-at that time, thought it better for her not to have wings so only the people of Athens would be the victors.
after the very windy, very hot time at the acropolis we strolled to a restaurant where we had lunch. I managed to sit between 4 Americans who only spoke to each other and a couple from Argentina who didn’t speak English. So we used Google Translate!
after lunch we were in the plaza, an ancient part of Athens that has been continuously occupied for more than 3000 years. It was very interesting, and very easy to get lost as the streets/alleys are narrow and twisting. I wandered in one direction, came back then wandered in another direction, I didn’t go far in any direction or I might still be there!
back on the bus and back to the ship. I went straight to my room, practically stripping down as I went and got in the shower. Will meet with friends for dinner then. Early to bed.
Up early as I had a tour leaving at 830 am. Kusadasi is very hot! 36 above. Whew!
our first stop was the Virgin Mary’s house. It is considered to be where Mary had lived out her final years. Had to stand in line to walk through her house. I got quite emotional, not sure what that was about. I washed my hands in the spring that flowed from under her house. Said a prayer, or what passes as a prayer from me. I’m glad I went
.We got back on the bus and off to Euphysus. It’s an ancient Roman city that was abandoned in 600 AD. It used to be a seaport but the river kept depositing sludge and it’s now about 10 km from the coast. Türkiye is still excaving the site and it’s estimated approximately 50% is still to be uncovered. they abandoned it due to the marshy conditions and the mosquitoes but also the Roman’s had lined their water pipes with lead. You can still see the pipes.
There are lots of things visible, the marble roads,, very slippery due to the many thousands of feet that have trod upon it. They had reconstructed some of the facade of the Library of Colus. Magnificent.
because we’re on a cruise, there are people of all abilities. The ambulance had to come for one of our group, an elderly lady who got too hot. 36 above, no shade, standing between two big rock hills - reminded me of Egypt!
there was also an amphitheater there that held 25,000 people. These were not just small villages.
i had wore a polyester dress, when we got back to the market, i bought a Turkish cotton dress. lOL. Then the tour took us to a Turkish rug place. We saw the silk cocoons, how they spun the silk and then how they did the rugs. Boy did we get a hard sell. I had gone to a similar place in Egypt. The rugs are good quality and very beautiful. A large rug can take up to 5 years to make, so you know the kind of prices they are.
I didn’t like the market much, the men were very pushy trying to get you into a store I gave up and went back to the ship
Santorini today. It’s a beautiful morning, almost cool as we came into port. We can’t dock in Santorini so we need to take. Tender into shore. Then up a cable car to the top where the town is. Looks like Santorini was a volcano, lots of lava and sandstone. The streets are very narrow, paved with rocks and not easy to walk on. Stayed in town about 3 hours and by that time my knee was saying STOP already! Back to the ship, as we were getting on the tender the Holland America staff offered cold lemonade and cool clothes. Very much appreciated.
we played trivia, myself and one other person, man we did quite abysmal. Going to the dining room for dinner, I like having one meal which is served. I had met some of the group for breakfast in the dining room I had a classic eggs Benny, but don’t know how they managed to get the hold hard and the white still runny, and there was no way I could even cut the English muffin, but breakfast is done much faster and fresher on the Lido deck
as of now, I am having a “very dirty martini “ with olive juice. Very tasty
i did buy a lava rock bracelet on Santorini, a small painting for my collection and a tile. My souvenir from this trip will be to collect tiles and have the guy who made my other tile tables, make me one with all my Mediterranean tiles.
Got off the ship and grabbed a bus into the old city and walked . around old town. It was about a 20 minute bus ride into town from the port where the ship docked.
we were on the edge of Old town and once we walked in, my goodness, leather shops, jewelry etc etc lots of little cafes.
Old town meaning 13 th century and earlier. Again, narrow streets and even narrower alleys all chock a block with tourists. Walked down to the harbour, will post pictures later. Had to buy a little bit of jewelry, not good stuff, but stuff I’ll wear and remember. The harbour front looked like a Ventetian harbour, due to the old buildings and an old mosque - from the 13 th century - built right by the water. Interesting little town. We sat down and had a beer and did some people watching before heading back to the ship.
I was pretty warm by the time we got back, I sat outside in the shade and fell asleep! We made plans for dinner, it’s “Orange” night, as Hollands colors are orange, so everyone is wearing something orange. I had ordered an orange dress but it didn’t come before I left, so had to do an express Amazon order to get an orange Tshirt I have my royal blue shorts on as well, this time I safety pinned them to my underwear however they still feel a bit precarious. They are quite comfortable but they fell off in Barcelona. LOL
Another sea day, great! Rest up from the hot day in Malta
played some trivia, went to the casino. It was so much fun loosing money, I may go back again. Lol
saw a show in the evening, the singers sung the hits for most of my generation which are who is mostly on the boat!
Wow, Malta. We arrived in port about 8 am. I didn’t book anything, but an another couple and I got off and just booked a cab to take us around a bit. The cab driver was a bit bitchy, and the couple I was with told him, he could just take us back to the ship and we would get another. He got a bit better, but mostly played on his phone as he was driving Eek! Driving on the left hand side of the road, very skinny roads and a driver that didn’t care if we lived or died!
The first place we stopped was Medina and ancient walled city.
it was hot - of course! About 30 or more.
But walking in through the ancient gates was pretty awesome. This trip I’m not doing as much history, just soaking in the atmosphere.
we went into a Carmelite priory that was spectacular, there were other monasteries that we didn’t go into.
back into the cab and off to the blue grotto, which was nice to look at, but they wanted you to do a boat tour through the caves. Took a picture from up above and back to Valletta we went. The cab driver dropped off us by the elevator that takes you down to the port, and the lady and I walked into Valletta. Another very old city, very narrow roads, but pretty cool. Have a few pictures, but difficult to load on the ship with slow wifi.
everything was very busy, with tourists.
It was a sea day, so wandered about and got my bearings. There are 12 of us that know each other on the cruise which is really great. We would meet each at some point in the day, as each one has different interests. 10 of us met for dinner which was really nice. I can see why they say you go on a cruise to rate. My goodness there is a lot of food around. The buffets are amazing and change every day. The dining is really good. I like to have lunch at the buffet and dinner in the dining room.
On the ship. It was a very easy process to get on, lots of help to get you on. Went to our room, off loaded a few things and my backpack, as our luggage wasn’t to be delivered for a while.
went upstairs to the pool deck and met the rest of the group and had a drink. When I went downstairs to unpack my luggage wasn’t there. The phone was ringing when I got into the room - oh oh - a ship person escorted me back off the ship back down to the security area outside where my luggage still was. I had a knife in my luggage, a kitchen knife that has travelled with me before but I guess not onto a ship.
(Other than the Nile cruise). Anyway they kept the knife and I schlepped my luggage back onto the ship and then unpacked!
there was a sail away party - very nice as we left the Barcelona harbour
I wandered around the ship, stopped in different bars and had a drink and went for dinner around 7 in the dining room. It was very nice and I was seated beside a very nice couple from Wainwight Alberta. We had a lovely conversation during dinner. Then I went back a bar for a glass of wine, and into bed before 10.
this morning I was up at 6, went upstairs to the pool deck and had a cup of coffee and watched the sun come up on the Sea of Sardinia. Beautiful!
im going to a few of the ships sessions today, one is about the port in Malta, and the other is a broadway show tunes show this evening. The rest of the time is rest and relaxing
So we are off to board the ship today and we sail at 430 pm. Tomorrow is a sea day, so am happy to have a rest from all of the walking. Barcelona is a very interesting city, never thought I would say that about a city! It would definitely take more than the 3 days that we were here to even see all of the sites, or some of the sites.
very happy to have been here.
Saturday later
the Sangruda Familia basilica.
this was absolutely beautiful again the architecture was amazing it was started in 1882, and is still not finished. The pace has picked up, as the admission fees goes to the building, and they have an average of 20,000 visitors per DAY!
Gaudi built plaster models,to provide his vision of what the completed structure would look like. The Sangruda Familiameans holy family, and is dedicated to Joseph, Mary and Jesus.
the stained glass is meant to provide meaning to Jesus birth, his death and the resurrection. We were there in the afternoon, so the light inside the church was red. The golden stain glass is not complete yet, meaning the resurrection and ascension to heaven.
Wait until you see the pictures
Still Saturday more pictures
we went to Parc Greull, the architect Gaudi designed it, it was a very organic and interesting design. He believed all things are part of nature so used design elements to mirror nature.
Saturday June 20
My goodness, it was a long trip. Vancouver to Toronto, then a short stop, then Toronto to Barcelona. We landed about 9 am Barcelona time. We got through passport control, in a cab to the hotel, and the room was not ready, so we put our luggage in the store room, and thought we may as well change into something a bit cooler. My companion had her back to the door was just pulling up her pants and in walked a big group of people looking to store their luggage as well! So we changed just in time. Off we went for a walk around the area. Back to the hotel, got into our room and then met some friends and went out for tapas.
I got into bed about 8 pm Barcelona time and literally was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Yesterday did a hop on and hop off tour of the city, got off by the Gothic quarter and went shopping. Walked a fair bit, then I went back to the hotel. My phone kept saying 6 minutes, but I was walking in circles! Finally found my way out of the maze that is the Gothic quarter and got back to the hotel. Had a shower and met up with more friends and went for dinner. It was a great day. That evening met our neighbors who had just arrived at the hotel and went for drinks at the corner plaza. I love how people just meet up in the streets and plazas.
It was a great day very tiring, but good. The architecture and street life is amazing The trees are beautiful
Wednesday June 17
LEAVING ON A JET PLANE!
Well, not quite, just leaving the Nanaimo airport, so definitely not a jet, but I will be on a jet soon. First leg of the journey, Nanaimo to Vancouver and am so excited. I was up at 3 am to get to the airport, am meeting my travel companion there. We are both looking forward to this trip. Some of the trip is planned, and other parts are not, so will see how the spirit moves me. One thing I forgot to bring is a notebook and pencil for notes and sketches. Will need to find a place to pick one up.
October 2025
i have been bitten by the travel bug. I have booked a 3 week tour to South Africa leaving April 2, 2026 and a 3 week Mediterranean cruise leaving June 21
of course I need a new knee so am hoping I get it done before Christmas so I'm rehabbed enough to go on the tour.
My last few hours in Egypt.After we returned to the hotel, 6 of us went for a farewell dinner in the hotel. It was such a great trip I would do it again in a heartbeat!
After dinner, I had a very short nap, then downstairs to check out at 1 am. My ride came for me, a Trafalgar representative who spoke very good English, and he escorted me to the airport, got me through passport control, check in and security. Very helpful.
Then into the airport I went! The start of a very long day of traveling.
I got onto EgyptAir at 520 am in Cairo, and flew 5 hours to London Heathrow.
I had a few hours of wandering through Heathrow. I hadn't realized I was a bit uneasy being in Egypt, but it was nice to get to Heathrow and hear English being spoken. Now that is a big airport! Then I boarded Air Canada for my 10 hour flight back to Vancouver.
I got into Vancouver around 4 pm. Man, having a Nexus card, sure gets you through Customs Lickety-split. And the ArriveCan app so you can do your declarations online.
Then a few more hours of wandering and on the plane to home. It was very nice to get home. I was very tired. I think by this time, I had been up for more than 36 hours.
A couple of days and I'm back to normal, and my trip just a memory. But what memories. Thanks for following along with me. It was quite the journey!
There were 6 of us that went to the city of Alexandria. $ of us from the original tour, and 2 others who joined us from a different tour. We were up and at it by 6 am again! I guess I will sleep when I get home!
It was a long journey to Alexandria, up on the Mediterranean Sea. We saw some ancient forts, and the catacombs. The catacombs were weird, they were found when a donkey and cart went through a spot and landed down in a well like area. There were about 700 or more families that were buried there. Some in tombs, some (peasants) were cremated and placed in urns in the catacombs. There was also a spot for families to come 30 days after their member had died. They had a large meal in the catacombs, then broke the dishes, as they did not want to see their family member again. Too ghostly I guess!
We also saw a Roman amphitheater. They believe it was used as a university. There are small classrooms close to the larger seating area, and a section of Roman baths. This was found in the 1970s when someone was digging to build their house. Needless to say, he didn't get to keep his land!
There are also mosaics that are just beautiful. It still boggles my mind that this was just buried under the dirt!
Our last stop before lunch was a museum that is housed in a palace. In this were artifacts that have been found around Alexdrandia. What is mind boggling is the number of treasures they have found under the ocean. There is still about 75% of the artifacts under the ocean. Including temples and statues. I have pictures of some that were brought up from the ocean floor. Imagine the history that is still buried. Egypt would like to do a submarine museum, but they are strapped for cash.
We stopped for lunch before heading back to Cairo.
Today were in the later periods in Egypt, meaning the Mamluks, and the Ottomans. We saw the Citadel where Saladin defeated the Crusaders. Inside is the Alabaster Mosque. Beautiful My pictures cannot capture the grandeur of the place. It has been in use since 1600 AD. Cairo has about 25 million people living in it. There are multiple sections, one part is modelled after Paris as Mohammed Ali studied in Paris and when he returned to Cairo, started to build an additional city. And this area definitely looks European.
We also saw a Coptic Christian church. Very cool, kind of on a side street. Very old as well. Inside are ancient Icons on the walls, and it was modelled similar to the mosques. In the crypt is an area where it is believed Jospeh, Mary and the baby Jesus took refuge when Harrod was looking for the male children to kill.
We went to the Old Egyptian museum. This is where King Tuts regalia is displayed as well as the Silver Pharaoh. Silver in the ancient times was more precious than gold. And the Silver Pharaoh had his sarcophagus made of solid silver We couldn't take pictures in those galleries, but it was spectacular!
The Rosetta Stone was displayed in this museum. Well a copy of it, as England had taken it, but they graciously made a copy for the Egyptians. I hadn't realized what the Rosetta Stone actually was. It was a stone that told a story, written in 3 different languages. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, modern hieroglyphs and Ancient Greek. They were able to decipher the hieroglyphs by comparing to the Ancient Greek.
After the museum, it was back to the hotel. A group of us went for dinner as it was the last evening the larger group would be together. It was a very fun trip.
At the end of the cruise we had gone to see the Captain. All of the riverboat Captains come from one village, and as they have children, they bring their sons with them to learn how to navigate the Nile. There are always 3 captains on board so they can spell each other off. The porters and deck hands are also related to the Captain. I found it very interesting.
At the Luxor museum before we headed back to Cairo, all of the items were found in Luxor. Beards were false on the kings as they had to shave every 3 days to get rid of the lice. Ewwwwww. Even now, most Egyptians are clean shaven. Some of the pictures show a scribe, and he is well off, as you can see the rolls of fat. LOL. my goodness, did the carvers have to so detailed in their carving.
This was the 18th dynasty and this was the first time you see wheels and horses. Egypt had been defeated by people who came with horses and chariots. Egyptians retreated for 10 years, had captured some horses and chariots, and came back and defeated their enemies.
Egypt is trying to move people from the Nile river valley to the desert. Egypt has been building new cities, and giving away homes. However, the young fellow who took me to the airport, said that he had a condo given to him, but he doesn't live there. He said it is too far away, about 30-45 minutes to the city. He also said that developers were wanting the land, not necessarily for agriculture. Interesting to hear the different views. You see all sorts of new building going on in the desert, I guess eventually more services will be available, but people like where they live, have a connection to the community and don't want to move .Egypt is known for its welcoming inclusive culture and consequently have about a million immigrants every year.
Egypt is mostly self-sufficient for its food stuffs, not necessarily for wheat though. Major exports are fruit and vegetables and cement.
We went to see the Dandera temple before heading back to Cairo. The temple apparently resents a volcano, all of the temples were surrounded by walls. The temple was built on a site of an even more ancient temple. Christians lived in the temple for about 300 years, thus lots of smoke damage. Plus holes at the bottom of the pillars where they sharpened their knives. This is one of the best preserved temples, with the colours vibrant. They are slowly removing the smoke damage. This is truly an ancient land.
Awwwww. It is my last day on the Nile River cruise. It has been fantastic. Have to pack my suitcase tonight, and am sure hoping everything fits.
Yesterday was a lovely relaxing day. This morning I was up early, sat on the top deck watching the city of Edfu. It has a population of only about 60,000. Edfu is where we had docked for the night. We didn't get off and we were moving again while we were having breakfast.
The part of Edfu we could see from the boat looked quite old and there were a lot of horse and carriages on the street as we were not the only boat docked there. I guess they were waiting for the tourists to get off.
There were lots of military type people with their rifles. Im hoping to keep people from getting ON the boats and not OFF! LOL
I would highly recommend this cruise for anyone, so much history in this ancient land, and such a different culture. Very thankful to see even such a small portion as I did.
It's a bit smoggy, smoky or dusty this morning. There is a definite haze in the air. My weather app says it's 32 above, but in the shade and with the breeze from the boat moving, it is very comfortable.
The Nile River truly is the giver of life, there is such a narrow band of habitable land by the river and there is a sharp demarcation where the Sahara desert takes over. Ive seen a house that is danger of being buried in sand, so it is no wonder some of the temples and tombs have been lost to the march of time.
This has been a quieter day as you can see, have been catching up on my writing. This morning we were up early and went for a boat ride on the Nile, through grass islands. Saw lots of different birds, water buffalo and then we stopped at a beach. I waded in the Nile No there are no Nile crocodiles, they are a protected species. After the dam was built, they caught all of the crocodiles in the river and placed them in the large lake, which is 500 km long. There is 35-40,000 crocodiles in the lakes. So I would not want to go swimming in that lake.
We also stopped at a small temple, that they are just excavating. Lots of old stone steps, read worn and uneven. This site not as pristine as some of the other sites, but still really interesting stuff they have found. They had a little carved ivory brush that was used for mascara. This evening we had another party and an Egyptian dinner.
So far this trip has not disappointed. I am in awe each and every day.
A verrrry long and busy day.
We were up early and off to Aswan airport to fly to Abu Simbel. This is right on the border of Sudan, so a very heavy military presence, and lots of guns.
Abu Simbel was a fantastic temple. It was moved in order to protect it. I can't imagine how they did it. It was carved into a mountain. UNESCO gathered people from around the world to figure out the logistics. They did a great job.
By this time the heat was getting to me and I considered $1 USD a bargain to get a golf cart ride up the mountain and back down. The temperature was 42 or 43 and no shade in sight.
We stayed a couple of hours here and wandered around, my last bit of time was spent at the market sitting down and drinking cold water.
This was where my innate haggling skills came to the forefront. I saw a nice baseball hat with Egypt on it, and thought I could get that. jWell the first guy said $35 USD, I'm afraid I laughed and said no. He then said oh just for you - $30! I started walking, he went down to $25 then $20. I kept walking out of the market stall. The next guy in the very next stall came up to me, and said $5.00? I said sold and walked out with a $5 hat.
We flew back to Aswan and back on the ship for lunch. Then we went on a falluca ride. It is the traditional sailboat on the Nile. That was fun, and I didn't have to walk anywhere.
Then a few of us decided to go to the market. We really got to see what the old part of the city looked like. We went on tuk-tuks. That itself was an experience, but fun. I was surprised with all of the garbage lying around there was no smell. However, there are a large number of street dogs so perhaps they eat all of the smelly stuff.
I bought some spices from the market, just a mixture, so will figure out what to cook with them. The tug-tuk ride was a hoot - you just suspend all thoughts of safety and ride along!
Back to the ship of dinner then off to a light and sound show at Philae temple. That was OK, I was very tired so I kind of dozed through it. once I got to a spot where we could sit. Hahaha. I did sleep well that night.
This morning we went to the temple of Philae. It's in Aswan, a city of 1.3 million and it is called a frontier city as it is close to the border of Sudan. There is a large military and police presence here.
The temple was deserted as we were the first ones there. Very nice not to be in a crowd. This temple had been underwater for 40 years after the dam was built in Aswan. Italy was given the honour of moving the temple, as the temple is for Isis, goddess of healing and magic. The Romans also worshipped Isis. In 1970 they built a coffer dam and then moved the entire temple piece by piece to another island in the Nile. This island was built up even higher to ensure the temple would not be under water again.
The dam was built in 1960 and flooded the entire country of Nubia. Now Aswan city is mostly Nubians, as they were given free land, free electric etc for losing their homes and country. They had a choice of moving to Egypt or Sudan, most chose Egypt.
The temple was originally ancient Egyptian but was recycled and used as a Greek-Roman temple. The walls were carved to look like an unfurled scroll.
The temples were used for worship but also for education, with each wall being like a page in a book. there are multiple images of people giving amphoras of oils . In this area of Egypt it gets very hot - like 50 above Celsius in the summer. It was only 43-45 when I was there. People needed to put oils on their skins so this is an area where there are a lot of essentials oils..
We visited an oil place, where they fabricate the essential oils that go into the perfumes such as Chanel, Joy and others. The oils are very fragrant and do not dissipate. In King Tuts tomb they found containers of lotus oil, which was 3-4000 years old. We were able to sniff lotus oil, but it is not allowed to be removed from Egypt.
We also stopped at a papyrus store, where they showed us how they made the paper. Fascinating, so of course I had to bring some home!
We got off the ship and went to a temple at Kim Ombo. It was both a temple and a medical clinic. I have a picture of the types of instruments they found, and they look remarkably similar to those in use today. There were little rooms at the back of the temple that were used for examination or consultation rooms.
In the waiting area for the clinics, there were carvings of the martyrs of Egypt, The soldiers who died during fighting. I was considered lucky or respectful to rub the face of the soldiers as you passed by. Thus today, there are holes in the wall where the faces have been rubbed so often, there is nothing there any longer. There are also games carved into the stone, I guess they had long wait times at their clinics too!
This was a temple for 2 gods. Sobek the crocodile god - who was considered 'bad', but also the god of fertility., Treatment for infertility at this temple was to eat crocodile genitals. Yum. : (
initially the temple didn't do well, as no one wanted to worship the bad god. Apparently the priests talked the king into dedicating an additional temple to Horus, the falcon god. This created much more business for the priests and thus were able to make a living. Horus, was also known for healing.
The temple has been used continuously, but went from Egyptian, to Greek to Roman to Christian. The different artwork in various parts of the temple tell the story as it went from one peoples to another as the artwork is distinctive. The Romans faces bulged, the feet were different and our Egyptian guide believed the Romans artwork was of a lesser quality.
The temple was under sand until the 1860s. There were holes drilled into the walls, which were used to tie camels to, as the temple or ruins, were used asa a market.
The Egyptians believed there were 3 seasons, flood, planting and harvest. They believed there were 10 days in a week, 3 weeks in month and 360 days in the year.
There is a large well on site, and this was used to calculate taxes owed. If the water in the well was high, the Nile was flooding and therefore good crops and more taxes. If the well was low, p0oor crops and less taxes.
I should start at Thursday. Last evening, just before dinner we went to a temple that was actually a spa! The temple of Luxor was used as a rejuvenation place for both people and the gods they worshipped.
The figures were covered up to their shoulders in sand until the 1900s and the city was a flood plain. Pretty amazing what they found when they started digging them out. This was the first time anything had been discovered about King Tut. It was in this temple that his name was first seen, which contributed to the discovery of his tomb in the 1920s.
Some of the pictures I have show one part of the temple being used as a mosque. You can see from how high the door is, how high the sand was when it was first used as a mosque. It's considered to be the oldest mosque, from 1280 AD. It is still in use today.
Another part of the temple was used as a christian church and has a picture of the last supper. That's considered to be from about 320 AD. Amazing how they can reuse these ancient buildings.
They brought the Gods (carved statues) and the Kings to the temple to be rejuvenated. So a modern day spa! Which apparently rejuvenated the King as he had numerous wives and concubines, I guess he needed the rest.
Last night after dinner, I was done! Went to bed early and finally had a good sleep. Up at 415 this morning to be downstairs by 5 am to go for a hot air balloon ride.
I don't have the words to describe how incredible that was. Watching the sun rise over the Nile, over temple ruins. It was awesome! Of course, graceful that I am, we had to climb into the basket and it was chest high on me.
So up I go, and kind of stumbled down into the basket, all was good except for one leg that was sticking straight up. So I needed help to get that leg into the basket. Hahaha. Much easier getting out I must say.
Then the bus picked us up at 7 am and we joined the rest of our tour group and went to the Valley of the Kings. Pretty hot by that time. We went to 4 different tombs, one of which was King Tuts. The only thing left inside the tomb was his mummy, as it was too degraded to move.
The hieroglyphs inside were phenonomal. The tombs were started when the person first became King so it was ready when he died. King Tut died when he was only about 18 years old, so his path into the mountain was short. One of the Ramses, #3 I think, had a very long and elaborate tunnel to his tomb, so he obviously lived quite some time. I couldn't get over the colours inside the tombs. The pictures were almost like they were done a few days ago, not thousands of years. They used ground up stones and oils and animal fat to make the colours
Then we went to an alabaster shop where they showed how they worked the alabaster, and the difference between the hand worked, and the machine made. Very, very different! quite beautiful. I had to buy a ring, it is an antique, meaning old but not an antiquity, which is ancient! It is silver with a carved alabaster scarab.
Then we went to another temple and had to hike up a mountain!!! They took us part way up with a golf cart. Not far enough for me though!
I thought I was done in, it was 40 above and I was sweating like a pig. Didn't drink enough water (only had about 2 to 2 1/2 litres. Saw the temple and walked back to the bus so I could get cool.
Then we stopped at a village - it looked like a back alley to me. We got to meet a farmer and his family, go into their house, eat some sun bread and got served tea. The sun bread is baked in a brick oven outside which is heated by the sun only. That's how freakin' hot it gets!
We looked at his animals, sheep, camels, a donkey, horses and some pigeons. And his tiny fields he cultivates. He is able to get 3 different crops off his land. He had just harvested his wheat, to grind into flour, and had planted okra, eggplant and pumpkin . It was very interesting to see inside his house to see how people live. Then back to the ship.
We went straight to lunch as I thought if I got to my room, that might be the end of me. After lunch had a quick shower and rested a bit. Feel much better now as I also drank some electrolytes. We are on the ship now until tomorrow at 4 pm when we get off and walk to a different temple.
The temples are fascinating, the work that went into them from so long ago is unimaginable. Thousands and thousands of years ago. the precision work that was done, down to the millimetre.
The group is good, as you know once you're with a group you start to learn about them...one asks questions continuously, and not very bright questions, one likes to talk about all the things they have done and another just likes to talk! Not sure what they are saying about me! Hahaha. have met some really nice people though.
One thing I learned, lots of the houses look unfinished. It's on purpose. One generation builds a house, and leave the top unfinished, as the next generation will then finish that level, and move in, leaving the roof they built unfinished. The farmer whose house we were in, he was the 6th generation living in that house. There is not a lot of single family homes. And they still build some of the houses with the mud bricks.
That is all for now. I will put in lots of pictures for this day.
well I have an hour on the flight to Luxor so thought I would write a few notes. Very pleasant surprise, when we got on the plane we were seated in EgyptAir first class. So had a nice warm cloth to bathe our hands, then served a breakfast of smoked salmon and cheese. It was on a bun, but we get a lot of bread here. The seats were ginormous. I couldn't even reach the seat in front of me. We are off to Luxor this morning. It's quite funny being part of a tour, the tour director must feel like he's herding cats trying to keep us together. There are only 15 of us in the tours, so a really nice size.
I'm looking forward to getting on the ship and just relaxing. Unpacking my suitcase so I can repack it again. When you rummage through it, it's always harder to close.
The canals that run through Cairo for irrigation are quite the mess There are tons of garbage, and it appears they pull the garbage out and pile it on the side of the road. Not sure if it's ever picked up or what they do with it.
There are no traffic lights in Cairo, the lanes on the road are suggestions only and the number of cars, buses, motorcycles, donkey carts and pedestrians just ebb and flow. There are a lot of people cleaning the streets, but with the wind, sand and garbage it is a never ending battle.
Cairo is very densely populated and most buildings look somewhat decrepit. It is hard to tell if people live in them or not. And everything is the same colour. About 1/4 to 1/2 of the population live in slums and alleys.
We did drive by some villas, but there wasn't many compared to the apartment buildings. Not sure what I am expecting in Luxor, will just have to wait and see.
Thursday afternoon
Well Karnak temple is amazing! It was started 4000 years ago and finished about 2000 years ago. Each King and Pharaoh just added on. It is really amazing. It's a huge site and we were walking for about 2 Horus. My knee is not happy. There is lots of uneven ground and stairs or inclines.
Luxor is a pretty little city, but it's supposed to be between 35 and 40 degrees. I might melt! LOL
The temples at Karnak are very busy, there were a lot of tourists there. It amazes me that such things are so old, and mostly still standing. In some areas there are still the bright colours from when they were first decorated.
Then we came to the ship. I guess the first class ticket should have told me something. If you want to look it up, it is the MS Miriam. It's a very classy ship. we were welcomed by the manager and offered a hibiscus cool drink. Then we had time to check out our rooms and then lunch was served at 1 pm. By that time, other guests were arriving so our 15 member group got kind of lost. We were seated at 3 tables, and there must have been at least 15 or 20 other tables. It's 4 stories high, there are 50 rooms. There is a jewellery store. The ring I liked was $690.00. So guess I will look elsewhere!
We are going out again at 5 pm to look at another temple then back to the boat for dinner at 730 pm. Then I think we start moving up river. Someone just tells us what we are doing, which I like. I may need to do another cruise, as I like the idea of having a home base, and not having to pack the suitcase and move. This afternoon is free so I am sitting in the lounge having a glass of wine ad watching the Nile flow past the window.
This morning I was up at 3 am. We had to be downstairs by 415 am, off to the airport and caught a plane to Luxor. Once we get to Luxor we go to the temples at Karnak. Then we get on our river boat for our 7 day cruise on the Nile. we should be on the boat for lunch and then we have a free afternoon. I may just sit and stare at the river. LOL
After the pyramids at 'Giza we went for lunch at an Egyptian restaurant. Nothing spicy. It was good but.... then we went to an Egyptian cotton place. the tour guy said this was where you bought things actually made in Egypt and from Egypt. So I went shopping! I did purchase a couple of scarves, very nice.
Then we went to Memphis and saw another sphinx This one was made of alabaster and we saw a lying down statue of Ramses. That was pretty interesting. And very hot!
Next stop was a weaving school. They made silk, cotton and wool carpets and tapestries. Qoq, the work that goes into the carpets no wonder they are so pricey. We got to see the silk from the cocoons. Interesting. Then they took us upstairs to the showroom. Man oh man! All sizes and colours. Very gorgeous. I couldn't think of what I would do with a silk wall hanging of whatever size. Besides the littlest ones were about $300 USD. One lady bought a 5x7 silk rug. It must have put her back about $10,000.00
And then we went back to the hotel. It was about 6 pm. Had a quick shower and went for dinner.
This was the first day of the trip. You probably want to hear about the camel ride. Oh my! So they had all these dirty, smelly camels, so of course I said sign me up! I watched how to get on but when it came to my camel, I had one leg in the stirrup, but didn't have my other leg over the came, when the beast decided to get up. Well I felt like I was on a mechanical bull. I was holding on with one hand, flailing the other, one leg hooked over the pommel and I was lying flat going in circles. I did create quite the stir, I had 3 camel guys trying to stop the camel and hold me on. I wasn't letting go for nothing! I was really high up!
Anyway got settled, one leg on each side of the camel like you were supposed to, my heart was pounding and I got my short ride, pictures and then I got off! First and last camel ride for me.
Next onto the pyramids. They are built as they are to facilitate the king's ascendancy into heaven. The details and workmanship is awe inspiring. The 3 pyramids in Giza line up with the 3 stars in Orions Belt in the star system. The engineering is amazing. There are actually 9 pyramids in Giza, as when you look at the sun you see 9 rays. It took 20 years to build one and they were built starting about 4000 years ago.
Then we were off to see the sphinx. All in the same complex.. By this time, the temperature was already in the 30's.
Cairo
Well it was a long day. And here I am in Cairo. Wow! it was a long trip, one which I am happy is over! Frankfurt airport was not too difficult to manage, it had good signage, and easy to navigate. to board the plane to Cairo was quite the experience. We loaded onto about 3 different buses, and I am not exaggerating it took us about a half hour to get to the plane. And we had to climb stairs to get into the plane. it was definitely a local carrier, not fancy like the Air Canada one we were on from Vancouver.
I was very tired when we arrived, I left home at 6 am, flight from Nanaimo to Vancouver is 10 minutes, then left Vancouver at 1 pm. Got into Frankfurt at 8 am the next morning (their time) then had a couple of hours in Frankfurt then off to Cairo for another 5 hour flight. I got into Cairo around 3 pm their time. I was met at the airport by a tour representative and was driven to the hotel. I had an early dinner at the hotel and then went to bed!
I arrived early in Vancouver and wandered around. Trying to stretch my legs and get my knee lubricated. The airline has now started the boarding process so won’t be writing much.
OMG! I am so excited. Went out for a bon voyage dinner with friends last night. That was a great time.
I unpacked my suitcase and took a few items out and repacked everything. Now I have room to bring stuff back My AirTags have new batteries and are in my suitcase and my knapsack.
a good friend did this trip is number of years ago and had some really great tips on what to take, A cooling towel for through the day and a heavier sweater for the evening.
today I am sure I will have to go through the suitcase again and wander around. Go through the suitcase…..lol.
I got my suitcase down, and started to pack. I had bought some packing cubes and filled them up with clothes. Then tried to put them in my suitcase. Hmmm. Do I need another suitcase? Or am I overpacking! Duh. Of course I’m overpacking. And I still need to put my shoes in, and a few other assorted items. And leave room to bring back “stuff”. So, tomorrow I will take everything out and repack! And rethink the outfits I’m taking. And how much handwashing I have to do.
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