Alexandria and Cairo - 31 October

We pulled into a very foggy port in Alexandria this morning and saw doodly squat of the city because of the fog. An “American Presence Officer” came on board and gave us a history lesson of the Egyptian/American relationship while the customs officials “cleared” the boat (lingo for processing the passports). Our trip was supposed to leave at 10:30 and, of course, that didn’t happen.

It was 11:30 by the time we emerged from the ship and into the sun and got our first glimpse of Alexandria – lots of palm trees and many buildings off in the distance. We boarded our bus and off we drove through the streets of Alexandria with a police escort. Say what?! I’m not sure why but we had a motorcycle escort to the outskirts of the city at which point the bus driver put the pedal to the metal and drove! Since we were an hour late disembarking, it put us seriously behind schedule with the pyramids (the Sphinx closes at 4:00) and we had a 2 ½ hour drive ahead of us. Our guide for the trip was Bahgat. He will be going to the University of Chicago next year to work on his Ph.D. in and Egyptology and loved to share his knowledge of his country. He came equipped with maps and art books and didn’t stop talking for over an hour, bless his little liver (a family saying). On one hand I’m thrilled that we have such a knowledgeable guide but on the other he has one quirk the might drive me over the edge. He calls us “habibi” which is Arabic for sweetheart. Gak! It wouldn’t be so bad if it were done infrequently but it a part of every sentence that he utters…and he utters a lot of sentences.

We finally arrived in Cairo around 2:00. We had been informed en route that lunch was being postponed until after the visit to the area around the pyramids since the Sphinx closes at 4:00 and they wanted to give us as much time as possible at the pyramids. I was in favor of the decision but I was hungry! The 8:00 am breakfast had long since worn off and it would be hours before eating again.

But back to the pyramids. Bahgat made arrangements during our drive for us to get a camel ride from the panoramic viewing area to the pyramids. We pulled up to the parking lot and we were all agog at our first sight. They are staggering! The three pyramids were lined up in a straight line from this vantage point and it was awe-inspiring. We were allowed five minutes to take photos before Bahgat led us over to the camels. How cool is that?!

Eileen and I were to be partnered on a camel together. We approached the designated camel and Eileen hiked up her skirt and climbed on while I waited for my turn. As she was getting settled though the camel decided it was time to go and got up. Eileen almost got dumped on her head! The camel drivers around us lunged towards her and hurriedly reached up to steady her. Eileen grabbed the saddle horn in front of her and made a magnificent recovery. What a start to our adventure!

Since my camel was already mobile with Eileen, I was led to another camel and also hiked up my skirt (we dressed so wrong today). I climbed on (with much more dignity than I did with the elephant in Thailand), clutched the saddle horn and held on for dear life as the camel got up. Holy %$@# It was so cool! The rocking motion was rather alarming at first, as was the height of the camel but I soon got used to it and started to relax into the experience – and what an experience! I was riding a camel towards the Giza Pyramids!!!! It was a total out-of-body moment. We stopped at the halfway point for a photographic opportunity and then continued towards the pyramids. I dismounted from the camel (and didn’t flash anyone in the process) and tipped the camel guy along with an extra picture of him too. And there we were - at the base of the Giza Pyramids.

It was an amazing feeling to be standing at the foot of the pyramids. I’m getting “wonders of the world” overload. We had an hour to wander around and enjoy the moment before heading over to the Sphinx. We spent every second of that time just absorbing the atmosphere and marveling at our good fortune.

After the hour was up we loaded onto the bus and drove a very short distance to the Sphinx. It was so beautiful. I especially like how the pyramids framed it in the background. I have to admit, though, that I though it would be bigger. Photos always make thing appear bigger – unless, of course, it’s a pyramid we are talking about.

After we finished with our admiration of the Sphinx, we drove to a hotel for our lunch – at 5:00 pm !!! To say that everyone was hungry is the understatement of the millennium. I was so famished that I could barely maintain a civil façade because I certainly wasn’t feeling civil at that point. We quickly loaded up on food and dug in. The relief was immediate.

After dinner, we drove back to the Sphinx for the sound and light show after dark. It was a beautiful and informative show but I kept flashing back to an old James Bond movie that had a scene where Bond went to the Sphinx light show. Sometimes I worry about myself.

We returned to the buses for a one hour ride to the hotel after the show. We finally arrived at the Conrad Hilton at 9:00 and we were offered dinner before going to our rooms. I loaded up on hummus and desserts (whatever works) and rushed up to the room I was sharing with Eileen as quickly as possible. It had been a very long day but a magnificent one!!!