1. More Adventures - Sept 25

It has been a busy travel year for me.  Even crazier than previous years. I've been to 8 music festivals, two 5 day music workshops, traveled to Mexico to visit a friend and to tour Japan with my two kids, driven to and camped in Saskatchewan, spent a glorious week at my annual cabin retreat near Cedar BC, and recently finished an amazing 5 day kayaking trip through Blackfish Sound.  In the three months of July, August and September I will have slept at home only 29 days.  And now, on September 26th,  I'll be heading off with my friend Judith to Egypt and Jordan for my last major trip this calendar year.

This is our 9th trip together since 2015 when we first headed out to India and Nepal.  I am thankful that her previous travel partner and mutual friend, Susan, doesn't like to travel off the beaten path and that I'm keen.  There was a two year break during 2020-21 due to Covid where we couldn't travel.  Our excursions have resulted in lots of interesting places, each very different from each other.  Peru/Galapagos, Thailand/Borneo, Indonesia, South Africa/Botswana, Cambodia/Laos, Sri Lanka, and Morocco and the previously mentioned India/Nepal trip.  Generally Judith comes with a destination idea and I get to say yes or no.  Then she takes over with the planning and just tells me when to pay and show up.  It's a perfect way to get to travel, and Judith is a great travel partner to explore other parts of the world with.  I highly recommend it.  

The trip summary:  

















Day 1-2:  Cairo:  private tour of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, Cheops Pyramid

Day 3-6:  Luxor:  flight to Luxor, view Karnak and Temples of Luxor, Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan on board Soleil, hot air balloon over Luxor, tour West Bank of the Nile (Valley of the Kings and Queens), Temple of Horus, com Ombo Temple, Elephantine Island

Day 7-8: Cairo:   Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, Saladin Citadel, Khan Khalili bazaar

Day 9:  Amman:  Shobak Castle, 

Day 10:  Petra 

Day 11:  Wadi Rum:  off road tour, stargazing excursion

Day 12-14:  Amman:  tour of Roman Theatre, Nymphaeum, Citadel, Archaeological and Folklore Museums, Wakalat shopping district, Souq, cooking class and home

It's going to be a great trip.  Stay tuned for more details!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4. Grand Egyptian Museum and Pyramids - Sept 28th

Image
 First thing this morning I stepped onto the balcony and took this picture.   Poking over a wing of the hotel complex were the two tallest peaks of the Giza pyramids.  The largest on in the middle of the picture is the Great Pyramid of Giza and is also known as the Pyramid of Khufu.  The other is the Pyramid of Khafre.   On the drive to the hotel the night before, we did get to see the pyramid silhouettes as we drove by.  They are lit up at night.  There is a haze in the morning sky; and I learn later from our guide Dalia that this is pretty typical for Cairo. We get ready for breakfast.  Since I’m on the second shift for the bathroom, I’ll meet Judith down in the breakfast area.  I have to ask for directions as it’s out the front door, past the fountains where the vehicles drop off.   The long entrance path to and from the front of the hotel and where the vehicles drop off.  This is one of two rectangular ponds which makes up this ...
Read more

7. Edfu and Kom Ombo Oct 1st

Image
I woke up around 1:00am.  There was a lot of noise going on outside the boat, some sounding like it was docking, a bit of engine reving and even some heavy metal creaking and groaning.  I looked out the window and saw a wall of metal as we floated by.  I thought we were passing by big bridge footings but since then I learned we went through the locks at Esna.   The Nile river locks at Esna were built to control the water flowing through the Nile, preserve and store the water for agricultural purposes and to provide safer navigation for boat traffic.  The locks are a popular destination for tourists who come to see the massive structure and watch boats pass through it.  This is totally lost on cruise tourists who are on a boat that comes through during the early morning hours.   Since I didn’t know we were traveling through a lock, I just went back to sleep.  When I woke, we were moored at Edfu about 110 km downstream from Luxor.  We had a lei...
Read more