Cautious in Cairo

7/12 and 7/13
On our first day in Cairo the main event was visiting the Egyptian museum. And boy does it have a lotta stuff!

The sheer amount of statues, sarcophagi, tablets, hieroglyphs, and mummies is compounded by the fact that they do not air-condition the museum. It was about 90° in some rooms and we were sweating the whole time.
I like the  mummified pets and the two grandparent mommies of king Tut. Ilana said the King Tut section was “the best thing she seen her life.“ The super ancient stuff was pretty cool, too.
For dinner we went out for a special comfort food called Kosherie. our Uber driver, in broken English, tried to describe the situation. He said “first you eat food then you go to pharmacy.” It was actually a delicious blend of pasta, lentils, onions, tomato sauce, garbanzo beans and rice. It was a carb cocktail. We had rice pudding for dessert.

7/13
The most honest man we came across today said, "how can I take your money?" Everyone else just tried to connive, lie, cheat or extort it out of us.
This morning we taxied our way to Kahn al Khalil market. Things started out calm and we were remarked how pleasant it was walking from start to stall. But about 30 minutes later we were constantly harassed.
 For lunch, we ate some good falafel at a tea restaurant. We ordered teas, The felafel sandwiches were 2.5 pounds each. When we went to pay for the 4 cups of tea, they wanted 30 pounds. We said no way. We said that they were taking advantage of us and that that we would go get the police. They finally a accepted 10 pounds, which was still robbery. It probably cost less than 1 pound per tea at the most. Even the taxi to get back to Tehrer Square “misunderstood" what we agreed upon. So we paid him extra, too. It was a constant succession of getting ripped off.

We tried to swim at the Ritz, but no luck. So we walked down the Nile in 98° temperature and rented a falucca for a one hour sail. It was really quite nice, cool, and peaceful out on the ancient waters of the river Nile.

For dinner we Uber'ed to a fancy restaurant where we overpaid for mediocre food. Ice cream and a short walk home. Lovely sunset from our hotel. I think we’re ready to go home. It has been a good trip but Cairo was not a highlight.

Humping Around On Camels

7/11

 I’m going out on a limb here, but this may be our best trip ever. We had a splendorous day.

Breakfast was on the terrace overlooking the pyramids. My plan was to pay for the day pass, pick up a guide, then walk around and see the sights. But, breakfast was a little late in the day and it was starting to really heat up. Once in the park, we didn’t encounter any guides – just camel jockeys soliciting our business. So, we pivoted. We jumped on camels, one per person, and climbed up the dunes to a viewpoint. Spectacular and fun. We spent about 1.5 hours on the camels, which was more than enough. Benji and Marina, former camel virgins, relished the experience. But, when I tipped our guide 33%, he complained! It was annoying. We moved on to exploring the inside of the middle pyramid. It was expensive and not impressive. Ilana got a little claustrophobic but she persevered.
 By then it was 11:30 and the heat was getting intense. Benji and I both had headaches. We hightailed it out of the park to our hotel for cold water, cold showers, and air-conditioning.

We had a falafel feast for lunch. More showers and more air-conditioning after Benji got a handsome haircut. They charged us 100 pounds when the locals only pay 16 pounds and I actually tipped another 10 pounds. But, the haircut was gorgeous and still a fraction of what we pay at home. Also, they served me delicious hot sweet tea.

More air-conditioning and more cold showers and at 3:15, the hottest part of the day with 102°F, we ventured back out. We intended to just climb the steps of the big pyramid, but we got an enticing offer from a horse carriage driver.  So, we jumped on and he took us to the viewpoint behind all the pyramids. Turns out, he was some kind of cheesy photo savant. He had us pose in all of these hysterical positions:  leaning on a pyramid, pushing a pyramid, touching the tip of the pyramid, jumping, feeding the sphinx water, putting sunglasses on the sphinx, kissing the sphinx, etc. In the end, I tipped him 120% of what we agreed because I was pleased with the service. He then stuck with us and gave us a ride down and took more pictures with us. Finally, we had a feel-good service experience. But, I should also mention that our hotel does everything for us. They help us exchange money, arrange  trips, give us clean towels, buy our H2O for us at a discount. They do it all.

We washed are seriously dirty, smelly clothes today on the roof deck in 102° temperatures. The clothes dried in minutes. Instant laundry done.

On the way to dinner, Benji bought from the papyrus paintings guy, we chatted with our barber and visited with all the other people we recognize down the street. Dinner was great: sides of falafel balls, baba ghanouj, spicy eggplant, deep fried potatoes, french fries, meatballs, liver and pita. I had to have seconds on the baba ghanouj because it was so good. Mango popsicles for all and a little chicken for Ilana. Then we watched a repeat of the sound and light show before bed. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Giza with a View

7/10
Got a pick up from our tour company to the airport. Carried our gourd in hand. Flight passengers from Kenya had an unusual perspective on flight etiquette. I had kids crawling all over me and a large Masai woman elbowing me repeatedly in the ribs. We arrived safely in Cairo but our ride wasn’t there. So we called him and he sent a driver. $20 later we had completed the long drive from the airport to Giza.


Our guest house didn’t have the room we reserved. They offered us a crowded closet with four beds. It was a tense negotiation, but I recognized it as such. In the end we got two rooms one with a queen and one double for a little bit more money. I was happy and they were overjoyed. The rooms are on the roof deck and the view is amazing! We are upfront and center for viewing the sphinx and the pyramids.
The service here at the sphinx guest house is also great. The young attendant walked us to a falafel restaurant, ordered our food for us, then paid for it. He refused to accept my money. I think they felt bad about the room situation.



On our way back, we were enticed into a papyrus demonstration and then Marina bought an awesome one that actually glows in the dark.

Dinner was food to go at the same restaurant. I had a spicy eggplant dish, Benji had a meatball sandwich, Marina had a penne pasta, and Ilana had livers and falafel. We ate while watching the sound and light show from our balcony. It was amazing seeing the pyramids lit up and the faces of the pharaohs projected onto the sphinx.
I’m very happy with this hotel choice.

Gorgeous Views at Hell’s Gate

7/8

Really good breakfast, again. Surprising how well we are eating here in Africa -dough balls, fresh fruit, eggs, chapati, beans, toast.

Had to rouse our driver to get going. Arrived at the road that leads to Hell’s Gate and chose our bicycles. Six bucks each. Then rode to the park entrance. Our tour paid the lion’s share of the park entrance fee – we paid for the bike entrance.

Then we rode. It was fantastic to hear the sounds of the animals and be on the ground level with them. The warthogs, Pumbas in Swahili, were very curious about us. A giraffe walked over to check us out, too. Zebras, baboons, marmuts. It was Africa up close and personal without being trapped in a noisy van. We loved it.

The ride was down a slight incline. Along the way, we stopped at a climbing rock and did some bouldering. We took our time – it was so very pleasant.

Then we arrived at the gorge for a gorgeous hike. They wanted us to take a guide, emphatically insisted on it, but we declined. We practically do this shit for a living!

We descended into the gorge and were lost five minutes in. But then a guide pointed the way. From there we sought out the Devil’s Bedroom, a cavern at the end of a gorge. To get there we had to wind our way down a gully, climb up rope ladders, ascend and ascend more. So much fun!

Then we went down another gorge that took us past Hot Springs coming out of the walls. We went down to a waterfall and then tried to backtrack our way out. Apparently this is not recommended because it was hard getting up the walls of the gorge. But with a few wrong turns, scary moments, and a rolled ankle for me, we arrived back at the start. So much fun! I wanted to do it all again.




Then we biked uphill through the national Park. Only this time, it was afternoon and the sun was blazing hot. A family of baboons gave us the stink eye but most of the other animals had retreated into some shade.

We made it back to Nairobi by 4:30 PM. We tipped our driver, ate some Shawarma, showered layers of dust off and finally did some resting.

The Safari was a success. We had some spectacular moments with lions, cheetahs and elephants. And we saw a vast array of other animals. We took in a multitude of African landscapes, from lakes to rivers, plains to gorges, swamps to savannas. And we experienced it all with a great group of people in the Safaris Squad. Even our evening games of "Oh Hell" were part of our successful safari. I am grateful to have been able to come here and have these experiences. Kenya is awesome.

Navigating Lake Naivasha

7/7
Regal, impressive, majestic, stark – there are so many words to describe the savanna and the animals therein.

We woke early, at 5:20 AM, for a 5:45 breakfast. Then we started our morning game drive at 6:30. Mount Kilimanjaro was unfortunately clouded in. But, we saw group after group of elephants. At one point a large family crossed the road right in front of us and a little baby got distracted. So it’s mom had to give him a little shove forward with her trunk.

Sunday driving means less traffic, so we made good time to Nairobi. There we said a quick goodbye to our Safaris Squad and jumped back in the van to head to Lake Naivasha.

This morning I took a lot of catch and release pictures that I call shoot and delete. I have so many pictures of elephants and zebras. And between the four of us there’s always someone who says they’ve got a great shot of whichever animal is in front of us.

We stopped for lunch at the restaurant we had stopped at so many times before. The logistics of this tour are such that we have crisscrossed our path going back and forth across this part of the country.
We arrived at Lake Naivasha, home to the hippos and lots of birds, to learn that the cost was really pricey.  So, we actually made her an offer. She accepted it. Either way, it was very pleasant being out on the lake about an hour before sunset. The hippos, though not plentiful, looked so sweet even though they are the most dangerous animal in Africa. We saw a couple frolicking together, then one gave us a big yawn for the scrapbook.

Back at our hotel we enjoyed Wi-Fi, showers, dinner and hopefully a good night's rest. Tomorrow we have a hike in Hells gate, the setting for the Lion King.

Amazing Amboseli

7/6

Bad night sleep. Sloping bed. Going to get a new room today. Slept in and getting out late, 9 AM start.

The game drive started out slow, with some viewing of elephants through a fence, but then we got rolling. We had a nice close-up with a family of elephants walking by; another close encounter with an elephant family munching away in a marsh; and a final close encounter with a giant bull elephant who charged the van because he thought we were blocking his path. Wow!

We also had an amazing view of a pair of young lions basking in the morning sun. They then each got up and walked past the car. Cool!


While playing ping-pong at a rest stop at a resort, I had a zebra to the left of my opponent, Benji, and elephants to the right. Today we saw flamingos, hyenas up close, ostriches, hippos, wildebeests up close, and lots of birds.


At lunch Marina was a celebrity with all the school kids visiting the same viewpoint. They touched her hair, taught her to count in Swahili and gave her a big hugs goodbye. Marina loved the experience. We also saw jackals today – little cute wild dogs, warthogs and of course, the most prevalent animal in Amboseli– the zebras.
Here in the Amboseli national park you see the vast flat plains with a variety of animals intermixed. It’s hard to capture in a picture but the variety of animals in one setting is mind-boggling. It feels so Africa to look out and see pink flamingos in the water, a line of elephants and a group of zebras intermixed with wildebeests all sharing the savannah.

Splendor in the Grass

7/5
I woke up and raced off to Lake Nakuru. There were lots of baboons in the trees. We saw pink flamingos off in the distance, but due to a downed tree, we couldn’t go see them.  Perhaps our driver snuck out in the middle the night and cut the tree down so that he wouldn’t have to take us to see them. But, he did drive like a maniac to help us see a lion sleeping in the grass. He used the van to wake up the drowsy lion so that we would get good photos. I feel guilty about it, but also took great pictures. We also saw two rhinos. We were told that they are the rare white rhinos.
Then, once we exited the park, about two hours later, we spent 10 hours driving south. At one point our driver pulled over and told us that we were switching vans. Then we suddenly had a new driver. I think he recognized that our trust in him had eroded.

We arrived at Amboseli National Park at 7:30 PM in the dark. Dinner, showers, cards.
In retrospect, I would have loved to spend another day in the magnificent Masai Mara National Park. Driving up to Nakuru only to drive down south to Amboseli was an enormous waste of time spent in a car so that we could see a few a couple of rhinos off in the distance.