Summer 2007 Week 3 ::: Egypt

Days 16 & 17 ::: All of Thursday was spent getting from Antigua to New York via Guatemala City and Houston. I finally got to Zac's place in Chelsea (thanks again!) around 11:30pm and after chatting him up for a while I left and went to Bar 13 for Taimur's Blk Market Membership party with Stadenco and some of the Crosstown Rebels crew (Jamie Jones and Matt Tolfrey). I stayed until sometime just before 3am and then went back to Zac's to organize my things and pull a blog all-nighter.
I slept from 7-10am and then got up to do some last minute shopping. Needless to say I was very rushed and wound up re-packing my bag with way too much stuff! I caught the flight out of JFK at 4:45pm, landed in Rome 7 hours later and then sad around during my 2-hour layover. For the first time in a long time, I actually couldn't sleep...which wasn't fun since I hadn't slept much the night before. After hanging in the Rome airport for a bit, I boarded the flight to Cairo and then had to sit on the plane for three hours before taking off (first a fight between an Italian and an Arab and then mechanical problems). Lovely. The flight itself took another three hours, which meant I finally arrived in Egypt around 4:30pm local time. The bad news - I missed the opening dinner cruise. The good news - I got to hang out, eat and sleep at my incredible FIVE STAR hotel with a view of the Pyramids of Giza (-: I met my roommates for the trip - Meegen and Melissa, both Aussies living in London - and then passed out. PS - check the map above for my 17 day route through Egypt and Jordan.

Day 18 ::: After an incredible 11 hours of sleep, I woke up, ate breakfast and got the Middle Eastern adventure underway! I met the rest of the crew - 18 Aussies, 1 Brit and me and then we got the trip started with a bang. We went straight to the Pyramids of Giza and spent some time at each of the three - Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus. The first of the three and largest, Cheops, was built around 2600 BC and needed 2.5 million limestone blocks (weighing in excess of 6 million tons) for completion. The pyramids are even more awe-inspiring than I could have imagined. Simply enormous, stunning and majestic. Despite numerous explanations, it is still really hard to comprehend the construction process. We also rode camels (mine was a bit loco) and visited the lion-headed Sphinx. After the first set of spectacular sights, we went to a government supervised papyrus emporium to buy souvenirs. Papyrus is an early form of paper produced from the pith of the papyrus plant (the rind is stripped, then the sticky inner fiber cut into strips, and last the strips are weaved together then soaked and dried under pressure). After the paper is made, it is used for writing and painting. The art is stunning so of course I picked up a few gifts and one for me. I choose a scene depicting the Goddess of the Sky, Nut (pronounced Noot), swallowing the sun. How appropriate for my vampire lifestyle!

Riding a Camel at the Pyramids of Giza:





That afternoon we grabbed a traditional Egyptian noodle and rice snack, kushari, and then drove to the ancient necropolis of Saqqara where we explored tombs, temples and the very first pyramid, Zhoser's step pyramid which was constructed in 2650 BC by Imhotep, the Pharaoh's chief architect. After a full first day, we stopped at a resort for Egyptians, where we swam, showered and changed before heading to the overnight train to Aswan. In case you're wondering what Muslim women wear in the swimming pool... all their clothes. And in case you're wondering what music was being played poolside... Sharam's "Party All The Time", Green Velvet's "Shake and Pop" as well as a variety of dance hits from 2006 with a smattering of 50 Cent! I was DYING!!! I spent a long time talking to one of our young tour guides about Egyptian love, life and marriage - so interesting!! And he happened to be one of the very small minority of Christians. After that, it was a relatively uninteresting night spent on the overnight train... don't worry, I upgraded to the sleeper car.

Day 19 ::: Let me take a quick minute to tell you about Egypt. The majority of the country sits on the African continent (above Sudan and to the East of Libya), however, the Sinai peninsula is actually in Asia. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The vast majority of its 78 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, the only 4% of the entire country that is non-desert and arable. Well over 90% of the population is Muslim, although there is a small Coptic Christian population.

Back to Day 19. We got off the sleeper train and made our way to the Basma Hotel in Aswan to check in, sunbath and eat poolside. While I was hanging out, I met a 30 year old guy from Sudan who is currently living in Virginia. He married an Egyptian woman a few years ago and just returned to the country for the birth of his first son, Abdul. (He lives and works in the States, but his wife remains in Egypt.) We spent some time talking about the US, the Middle East, Darfur and a bunch of other interesting topics. Then he brought his 40 day old baby outside to meet me (-: That afternoon we went to see the High Dam of Aswan, built to avoid flooding on the banks of the River Nile and to harness the power of the water for electricity. The dam created Lake Nasser, the largest artificial lake in the world, which extends all the way to Sudan! During our visit to the dam, I started speaking in Arabic (I've picked up a few words), to the guards and they quickly responded, trying to chat me up. The conversation quickly turned to religion. In fact, they asked if I was Christian, which made me slightly uncomfortable so I lied and responded "yes". One said, "me, too" but then I quickly said goodbye and walked away. It made me feel horrible to lie and to feel awkward, but I felt saying yes was better than admitting my lack of faith. Traveling here is definitely a new experience!

After taking in the view from the dam, we took a short boat ride to an island in the Nile, home of the Philae temple, which was dedicated to the god Iris. That night was devoted to shopping in a local market where I bought a bag of Indigo (the best whitener you can find for laundry) and Hibiscus flowers (for tea). I also made a stop at the pharmacy and bought the antibiotic, Cipro, for the amazingly low price of $6.

Day 20 ::: The wake up call came at 5am so we could catch a flight to Abu Simbel, 30 minutes south of Aswan and only a few km from the border of Sudan. Abu Simbel is home to a gargantuan rock temple of King Ramses II and another of his wife, Nefertari. The four main statues are each 20m high! Ummm, that is huge in case you are wondering! As a side note, it hasn't rained in this region in 6 years. It's dry and it's hot. Like really hot. After the quick visit and return flight, I went back to cool off at the pool and quickly made friends with four young Egyptian kids, who I taught how to do cannonballs despite the language barrier.




After a swim and shower, we made our way to the banks of the River Nile four our 2 day, 2 night felucca cruise. A felucca is a very simple sailboat with a flat top and cushions for lounging. Ours held 8 people and two captains - no bathroom, no frills, just the wind in the sails. We sailed for a bit that evening then tied up on the river bank to eat dinner and visit a traditional Nubian house. Nubians are the dark-skinned Egyptians from the south, who have their own distinct language and culture. The house we visited was that of the local mayor and has a very large open air courtyard that is used to entertain guests. We enjoyed some beverages, smoked sheesha and listened to stories from our beloved tour guide, Sharif. If you can possibly imagine it, Sharif is part Egyptian, part Derek Zoolander, part Rainman, part Borat... hysterical!!! That night, the bug nets came down and we slept aboard the felucca on the shore of the river. It actually got quite cold, but as soon as the sun came back up it was HOT HOT HOT!



Day 21 ::: The day got off to a leisurely start so we didn't set sail until 10am. We spent the entire day cruising the river, alternating between sleeping, reading, snoozing, snacking and sunning. Sometime around sunset we pulled to the embankment to hang for the evening and before we even knew it, we were engaged in a locals vs. tourists sand soccer match! We scored the first goal, but needless to say, the locals were too much for even the Aussies and me to handle. We climbed back aboard the felucca for dinner and then had a camp fire complete with songs, games and a mummy contest. Sometime around 11pm, we pushed back out to the water and coasted along throughout the night, landing at our final destination the next morning. Night sailing on the Nile - unforgettable!!! Well except for the part when Kent held on to the rope in the back and left a present in the river. Ewww.





Day 22 ::: Another early morning, this time 6:30am. We got off the felucca at Kom Omo, said goodbye to our captains and then boarded a bus for the Kom Ombo Temple and then the Temple of Horus at Edfu. We actually had to use a police convoy for this part of the trip - more for tradition and police overtime $$ than for safety. We finally arrived in Luxor at 2pm and checked into another five star hotel, the Sonesta St. George. I'm starting to get spoiled! After some pool time, an Egyptian Mezze lunch plate (7 different foods) and a Mai Tai at the swim-up bar, I went back to the room for a shower and wound up catching Laguna Beach on TV with Arabic subtitles. Pretty funny!

Our tour guide spent an hour that evening telling us about modern Egypt - everything from the dating/courting procedures (two coffee dates and then a proposal) to politics. It was great to hear his perspective on the current state of affairs in Egypt, since we had been focusing most of our time on the ancient periods. We then took a horse and carriage to the Temple of Luxor for an incredible night viewing and then grabbed dinner and did some jewelry shopping. I used dinner to probe Sharif further on issues related to modern Egypt - admitting some of my preconceived notions of the Arab world and pushing him on issues related to religion and gender. Despite all of the warnings everyone gave me about coming here, I must say, I have had a very positive experience and great interactions with the locals. They have been extremely friendly, especially when I have tried to speak in Arabic.


Day 23 ::: 6am AGAIN! But as with all of the previous early wake-up calls, it was well worth it! We hit the Colossi of Memnon, the Valley of the Kings (tombs, mummies and buried treasure of all the kings hidden deep beneath massive rock formations), Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, the Valley of the Queens and Temple Karnak (a complex of sanctuaries, pylons, chapels, halls and obelisks - the largest place of worship in the world). Now is probably a good time to note that Luxor is home to 1/3 of the world's monuments... and Egypt has 2/3!! I'd also like to mention that the afternoon temperature reached the mid 40s, (approx 110 Fahrenheit). After a full first half of the day in the ridiculous heat, I rewarded myself with poolside meal of shwarma before we set off for an 18 hour bus ride to Dahab (which involved a police convoy of 110 buses!!).

Summer 2007 Week 2 ::: Guatemala & Honduras

Day 7 ::: We got up and walked to the bank a few minutes before it opened in hopes of exchanging some money, but there was already a line 10 deep! Instead we grabbed a fresh pastry and went to catch the public boat to Livingston. According to Lonely Planet, the ride should have been an hour but a 30 minute delay, a 30 minute trip out of the way and numerous stops for no good reason meant it took 4 hrs! We did, however, make one cool stop to explore some caves for awhile. We finally arrived around 1:30pm in Livingston, the very cool town on the Amatique Bay, which feeds into the Caribbean. Livingston has a population of about 12,000, 75% of which are Garifunas - black Guatemalans who speak Spanish and their native language (Rastas would be the closest comparison). The guidebooks say they are descendants of African slaves, but one Garifuna we spoke to claimed otherwise.
We ate a late lunch at Happy Fish and then walked all over the town - along the water and throughout the areas where the locals live. We watched some kids play volleyball and then found a very interesting picture of a half-baby, half-chicken creature painted on the side of a building. Later on we went back to our guest house to relax and listen to some minimal techno (which Pooh plugged into their system), when all of the sudden we saw a huge spark and the lights went out! We ventured outside to see just how far reaching the power outage was and noticed that it was only our block and a few others. We went up the street to McTropic, the restaurant run by the owners of our guest house and feasted on some really good Thai curry while people watching the locals. Later that night we had a few cuba libres at Ubafu, the Garifuna bar and live music venue in town.




Day 8 ::: Because of the blackout, we didn´t even have a fan during the night which meant it was f%cking toasty trying to sleep!! So we got up at 8am and I got some breakfast up the street at Bahia Azul. Pooh and I then made our way back down to the docks to try and catch a boat to Los Siete Altares (waterfalls) and Playa Blanca (the beach), however there weren´t enough people to share a boat. Instead, we hired a very nice part-Paki, part-Guate man, Alfonso, to take us to the the series of freshwater falls/pools about 5km from town. The water was extremely rough, which meant we couldn´t get close to the dock and had to anchor off shore and then jump out and walk with our bags above our heads. We knew something funny was up when Alfonso and his son started stripping down into their underwear!!! The hike was literally through the small falls - we walked in our sneakers up the watery path until we landed at the last waterfall, which had a lovely little swimming hole. We spent an hour wading around and looking for snails before making our way back to the boat.


When we got back to town we had lunch and then spent some more time lounging at our guest house. Melanie, the woman running it, wound up asking Pooh for more techno so he copied all his files onto her computer - we´re spreading the good word in Guate!!! Around 2pm we caught the public boat to Puerto Barrios, a port city originally built to route produce from Central America to New York and New Orleans. We got off the boat and quickly walked across town to catch a bus to our next stop, Chiquimula, about 4 hours by bus. When we arrived we went straight to Hotel Hernandez and then grabbed a tostada dinner at Cafeteria Rancho Tipico next door. After that we cruised around Parque Ismael Cerna, a flower packed central plaza blaring Guatemalan pop music, while young couples made-out in the shadows. We finished the night off by watching some futbol on TV.

Day 9 ::: I got up early on Thursday and toured around Chiquimula, one of eastern Guatemala´s major market towns. Everyone was bustling around, buying or selling everything you could possibly think of - toys, fruits, fish, live chickens! We had to catch another bus so we quickly grabbed pastries and a bran cookie (to help with digestion!) and walked to the bus stop. On the road again - this time a few hours to Honduras border. We rode in an 11 person passenger van, which at one point had 25 people in/on it, including 5 school kids hanging on the outside. I was also lucky enough to have a weird old lady sitting next to me, spitting her apple pieces onto my sandaled-feet. We finally jumped out at El Florido, the border town, where we changed money (to Honduran Lempiras) and made out way through immigration. A shuttle to the town of Copan Ruinas was waiting on the other side, but in typical fashion we had to wait another 30 minutes before we moved anywhere. We checked into a cute little place called Hotel La Posada and then walked 1km to the ruins.



These Mayan ruins were significantly newer (and better preserved) than those in Tikal, but not as large in scope. However, it´s important to keep in mind that only a fraction of these sites have even been excavated - in this case only 20% - so who knows what else is still yet to be unearthed!! We saw a bunch of Scarlet Macaws and the highlight of the ruins, a hieroglyphic stairway - 65 steps of Mayan history. That afternoon we found a great little spot called Cafe Via Via for lunch and then went horseback riding through the outskirts of town for an hour and a half. My horse, Bartolo, was much more well behaved than Pooh´s! However, we both decided quickly that we weren´t cut out for life as cabelleros! The night consisted of dinner, some internet and a trip back to Via Via for drinks with a motley crew of travelers and locals. The MVP award for the night went to a nurse practitioner from San Jose, California who was in Honduras to volunteer. He was a wasted, annoying liability so we (and by we I mean, Pooh) decided to ditch him later in the night.







Day 10 ::: Another early morning - this time 5:30am to catch a shuttle to Antigua by way of Guatemala City. After 6 hours we arrived, but couldn´t find an available or suitable place to stay so we walked and walked and walked which sucks when you have those big packs on! We finally found a decent guest house, dropped our bags and then went to a cool little cafe/bar/clothing shop called Kafka. The afternoon was spent browsing the markets, looking for allergy medicine, napping and watching soccer. That night we decided to splurge on a nice dinner at Sangre, an upscale tapas restaurant owned by some friends of a friend from New York. The wine, food and ambiance were all great! However, we were seated outside and I can´t believe I´m saying this, but it was cold! I knew the temperature would be more moderate in the southern part of the country, but had no idea it would dip that low. It was a nice, refreshing surprise after a week spent in the jungle. After dinner we wandered the streets in search of a place called Peru Cafe that was supposed to have chill electronic music, but didn´t find it in time. Instead we made our way to No Se, a very cool little bar with live acoustic guitar and a tequila bordello that you had to get to via a passageway through the kitchen. We wimped out on the tequila but enjoyed a cuba libre before packing it in for the night.

Day 11 ::: We got an 8am bus to Panajachel, a town on the shore of the largest lake in Guatemala - Lago de Atitlan. We immediately transfered to a public boat which took us 1/3 of the way around to a tiny little village called San Marcos La Laguna. San Marcos is a peaceful and beautiful place most well known for it´s meditation centers, holistic therapy and massage. We trekked awhile to find Hotel Cafe Jinava, an amazing place on a hillside garden, tucked away from all of the rest and with it´s own private beach. For $30 a night, we got our own casita (little house) with a view of the lake. After a quick bite to eat, we went straight for the dock for a few hours of sun and swim.

Short Video of the Lake View:




Later that afternoon we ventured back into the village center to explore and enjoy some fresh juice. Then we climbed a few hills to get a feel for where the locals spend their time and came across a basketball court full of kids running in every direction. I´ve been really surprised about how much hoops is being played in Central America - everywhere we go there are tons of kids playing. And this time, I got an even bigger surprise because there were actually 12 or so 10 year old girls playing and playing well for their age! Las chicas!! Awesome. That night we ate dinner at Baraka and then went back to our guest house for a night cap where we chatted up Carlos from Hoboken, a leathery old guy who has been traveling and living abroad for some time. What a character! Oh the stories!

Day 12 ::: We spent Sunday exploring the surrounding lake towns - first San Pedro, known for drugs and Israelis (same difference - ha!) and then Santiago, a traditional market town set between two volcanoes. We took the public boats back to San Marcos for lunch at Las Piramides, a meditation center, then I spent some time swimming and chatting with world famous Carlos and the two owners of our guest house (Gene and Elizabeth, a German and local respectively).

Day 13 ::: Lazy, lazy day. Sun and swim followed by lunch and a massage. It´s a tough life in San Marcos! After my massage I made my way back to the basketball court and found 12-14 girls playing. I watched and took a few pictures and then found myself engaged in a conversation with a local dad who was there with his kids. Despite my terrible Spanish, we had a lengthy conversation that covered so many interesting topics - basketball, 9-11, the cost of hotels in the area, his life at 30 with 5 kids, my life in NYC at 30 with no kids and no spouse, my travels, etc. There were times that I felt terrible about being a tourist and not being able to communicate a specific sentiment. I can only hope he got a feel for what I was trying to say through my expressions and not my (mangled) Spanish words. After the long talk, I joined the girls for a game of me vs. them, which was so much fun. I haven´t played in a long time but it was so great to get out there and interact with them. One of the little gunners was actually saying ¨come on!¨ to me as she dribbled toward me...Ha! We ate dinner that night at a cute little Italian pizza cafe where we also got to watch Blood Diamond.

Day 14 ::: We left the lake and made our way back to Antigua to wrap up the trip. Antigua is a quaint town of 40,000 nestled between three volcanoes. It has cobbled streets, colored houses and amazing colonial era doors. When we got back, we exchanged some cash, grabbed a bite to eat at Cafe Condesa in the main plaza and found a room at Casa Rustica, a good spot with a nice lounge, a pool table and laundry service. That afternoon we checked out some shitty museums, a few churches and many of the town landmarks (now ruins) that had been damaged by numerous earthquakes. We sat in Parque Central for an hour or so people watching and then made our way to Chocotenango to buy some homemade chocolates - yum! After that it was off to Sky Bar, a 3rd floor roof deck, where we watched a hazy sunset and took in views of the city from above. Back home, 3 games of pool and a shower... before dinner at La Posada de Don Rodrigo. The night cap involved drinks at Cancun-like Monoloco (we only lasted one drink) and then to Reilly's, the requisite Irish Pub.




Day 15 ::: The last day! We had a traditional lunch at some random cafe and then did some shopping before catching a lovely bootlegged viewing of summer blockbuster (aka piece of shite), Transformers. That afternoon we ventured an hour and a half away to climb an ACTIVE volcano (Pacaya). What a way to end the trip! We hiked an hour and a half up a jungle path, then climbed awhile longer over mounds and mounds of hard lava rock before getting just shy of the peak. We got within feet of three streaming, red rivers of lava - so cool!!! Some people even had the foresight to bring marshmallows and hot dogs (-: Me and Pooh marveled at the lava for awhile and then made our way down back down the mountain in the dark, commando style! Our final night in Guatemala, we grabbed some dinner at Cafe 2000 and caught a bit of Sportscenter and a movie. What a great trip! Two weeks down, four to go!








Video of the Volcano #1:


Video of the Volcano #2: