Here There and Everywhere

Barcelona to Abu Dhabi: Ballons Rising over the Nile and The Valley of the Kings

We were awake before the alarm went off, well-rested, and happy. And when we went to the window, a wonderful sight, balloons rising over the Nile!

We head downstairs for a quick breakfast to discover the breakfast area is chaos, there are bags everywhere with “Cosmos” on them. Merv tells us Cosmos is the agency that handles all these Egypt tours and once a year takes all the employees to a hotel for a meeting to show appreciation for all their hard work. She told us she had been given a room like ours to honor her long service, but – she couldn’t work the shower, and asked for a room on a lower level. We all laughed at our problems with the shower technology.

We are all on the bus before the deadline – what a great group. We head across the Nile to the Valley of the Kings, the group heads to three tombs, AdventureMan heads to the tomb of Seti and I settle into an oasis-like coffee shop where all the guides hang out. I drink coffee and listen to all the stories and gossip. They all know one another.

AdventureMan finds me, and we decide we don’t see any more things we like at the shops. We are not big shoppers, but we need to bring back some small things for people we know.

We leave the Valley and hit several more tomb areas – Queen Hatshepsut’s temple, Medina Habu (temple of Ramses III) which is an anomaly in the Valley as most of it is all about death, but this palace was for the living. A group was setting up for a party, or rock star performance, or something with gold chairs and all kinds of sound systems and fireworks in preparation. 

We get to clean up a little before loading back into the bus at 1:24 – this is significant – for the two-and-a-half-hour ride back to Sfaga and the Nautica.

We actually arrived back at about six. It took us a long time to get through all the little villages along the Nile, and my camera battery had run out early in the morning. I watched, I slept, I tried to take some photos with my iPhone, and it got later and later. When we finally got to the mountain road, it was nearly sunset. We stopped for a restroom break, where I paid for three people because no one else had small change and they were charging for the usage. I bought a mochaccino; it tasted great and I really needed it. 

Back on the road, slowly, slowly we lost our light and the time got later and later. Finally, we entered Safaga, and within fifteen more minutes, we had gone through Egyptian security and Nautica security, turned in our passports, and headed to our room. 

Our favorite table at The Terrace restaurant in the corner is free, so we eat outside, eager to get back to the room, catch up with ourselves, and get our daypacks ready for our docking tomorrow in Aqaba. We are on our way to Wadi Rum, a place with many exhilarating memories from a past life in Jordan.

February 4, 2023 - Posted by intlxpatr | Adventure, Building, Cultural, Road Trips, Stranger in a Strange Land, Travel | Egypt, Valley of the Kings