Luxor: East Bank

I'm glad we got a chance to relax in Sharm, as the next few days were at a breakneck pace. We took the early morning flight to Luxor. Almost immediately after checking into Steinerberger, our hotel on the Nile--which the locals pronounce as the Nil (kneel)--we headed to the Temple at Karnak. I think this is supposed to be the Temple of Amun, the King of the Gods. The grounds were expansive and it was our hottest day yet. Although we were pleased by all the giant ruins--the row of sphines, the Hypostyle Hall, the Ninth Pylon--we found ourselves running from shady area to shady area to excape the heat. Nici and I got seperated from Regina and Kaitlan when we were trying to find the sacred lake. Although the lake itself was not very aesthetically pleasing, our venture to it led us to the 9th Pylon, which was probably my favorite view of the temple. Of course, the viewpoint was pointed out to us by a guard toting a machine gun. It is hard to disagree with someone with an automatice weapon.








After Karnak, we grabbed a quick meal at Al-Hussein. This was our best meal during all of Egypt. It started with lentil soup and several sides of tahinin, hummus, tzatiki, eggplant, and other toppings to go on top of our naan. The main course was a mixed grill of meets with a side of potatoes in a yummy red sauce and rice.


After lunch we hit Luxor Palace. It was not as impressive (or a large) as Karnak, but we were grateful that it did not take long to explore it in the heat.





We went back to the hotel to swim in the pool next to the Nile. After sunset, when the pool closed, NIci and I ventured out (Regina and Kaitlin were not feeling well). After doing some shopping and witnessing a prayer session,
we hired Adam to drive us in a corniche (horse drawn carriage) to Sharia Souk, an all night market.
While we were quite happy with our ride with Rambo-gini (our horse), Adam only did a quick trip through Sharia Souk, telling us it was the fruit and vegetable market, and dropped us off at "the tourist market", which was really an overpriced store that we are sure gave Adam a kickback for bringing us there. We really liked the papyrus floor and demonstration. We ended up buying several pieces on this floor and some other items on other floors despite the high prices because we liked the selection, felt that most of the prices were relatively reasonable, and we could use our credit cards.


Fully knowing that we had been hustled, but content nonetheless, we enjoyed our ride back to the hotel. That is except for a few near death experiences. In Egypt, the roads rarely, if ever, have any lines seperating the lanes and even if they do exist, that are merely suggestions that are rarely ever heeded. It is not uncommon to have six cars driving on a 3 lane street. We learned during our ride that direction of traffic is also only a suggestion, especially if you are a horse, and that short, repeated honks mean ready-or-not, here I come. Our evening was also marred by Adam's insistence that we pay him $250 Egyptian pounds instead of the $10 pounds we had agreed upon. We didn't pay him that, of course, but this was one of the many disheartening experiences where we were asked to pay substantially more than we had agreed upon.

Sharm

The next morning, we caught an early flight to Sharm El Shiekeh. Our hotel, Umbi Sharks Bay, was conveniently located right on the Dead Sea. We spent two days snorkeling, sunning, sleeping, and diving. The diving was unbelieveable! Our first dive, which was our least favorite, was a shore dive from a nearby hotel. We saw several eels, lion fish, and a blue-spotted rays, but the most impressive sights were the amazing coral and the number of schools of fish. There was nearly every variety of color coral in an impressive array of colors. There were so many schools of fish, including a school of 8 very large puffer fish, that often times you would look around and realize that you are swimming above/below/ or in the middle of them. The next day, Regina and I headed to Ras Mohammed National Park to dive. Our first dive at Jackfish Alley had, unbelieveably, and even more impressive array of coral--I've never seen such big table coral--and schools of fish, and we saw humongous (at least 3 feet long) trigger fish as well as a giant moray eel that was completely out of its hole and winding its was around the coral.

The last dive, our favorite, was Shark y Yolanda. Even better coral, more schools of fish, a ray and lionfish, huge trigger fish, and toilet seats. Apparently a boat carrying a load of toilets had sunk leaving a path of toilet basins behind. The fist and coral had adopted the toilets and wreckage building impressive underwater features.

Although we wanted to do more diving, concerns about the nearness of our next flight forced Regina and me to spend the afternoon snorkeling. This did not disappoint though. In addition to all of the other fish was had already seen, I was so excited to see my favorite fish of all the dives . . . a masked porcupine fish. It was huge, probably two feet long, with a bloated head and bug eyes. It was bright yellow with black spots. So cool.

That night we ate dinner, as we had the night before, on the cushions and carpets laid out on the beachfront restaurant. This beach getaway was the perfect way to ease into our adventure.

Egypt: First night, first impressions

It has been a long time since I've been truly nervous about visiting a country. But after hearing all the stories about of armored guards escorting caravans between the cities, I didn't know what to expect in Egypt. Within an hour of arriving in Cairo, though, I felt very safe and welcome.

The drive into Cairo was surprising. It was much larger than I imagined. The trash and poverty were juxtaposed against the beautiful minarets rising above the sea of the huge project-like buildings and old stone shacks with curtains for doors. The heat was stifling.

After checking into Hotel Windsor, we wandered around the streets of Cairo. Within minutes we were invited to join a group of boys, who had set up picnic tables in the street, for dinner. We embraced this opportunity to experience "real" Egypt. The food was yummy and plentiful. I still have no idea what most of it was. We were worried that we had committed some sort of social faux pax, though, when a man came out and began yelling at the boys. We looked over and saw that there was a table full of women set up in the shop itself and assumed that the women and men were not supposed to sit together. Maria, who was the only person who spoke English, explained, however, that the girls just like to sit in the shop because of the air conditioning. Who can blame them with all the head coverings and long robes? She also explained that the meal was special for Rahmadan. It is called Maedt el Rahman and is somehow related to an old tradition of feeding the poor during this religious holiday. The yelling apparently was related to the dad wanting the boys to get out of the street so that he could clean up and re-open his shop.

The girls invited us up to talk and try on their headresses. I decided it is not the best look for me. :)
They also shared Kanufta (sp?), a special Rahmadan dessert with us. Maria explained that during Ramadan, after the 4:00 a.m. prayer, no one is allowed to eat or drink until after the 6:00 p.m. prayer. Prayer time occurs several times each day, during which the prayers are loudly broadcast throughout the city. This was a little disconcerting at 4:00 a.m. that first night. People join each other on the street and line up in rows on massive carptets to pray together. It was really quite impressive to see their devotion.

After dinner, we wandered around the nearby fruit market, marvelling at the variety of fruit.

Ciao

The next day, I had just enough time to say goodbye to my family (and the iguanas) before heading to the airport and back home. I love my family so much and had such a great time vacationing with them.

Some observations about Puerto Rico:

Spanglish is apparently the national language. Even the ads have both english and spanish in a single sign.

No cars move over for ambulances. Even with their flashers on, the ambulances were sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Old San Juan - Part 2

By this point in time, Kelly and Diane, Mom Dena's sisters, had joined us in Puerto Rico. Since we just had just not had enought of that really beautiful city, we headed back to old San Juan. I went with Grandpa, Kelly, and Diane to finish the walking tour of San Juan, this time heading in the opposite direction.

We started with (1) La Casita, a little house on the docks of Puerta de San Juan and (2) the big pink La Aduana (Customs House). Near the docks was this amazing outdoors photography exhibit, the Earth from Above, from Yann Arthur-Bertrand. The photography is meant to encourage sustainable development. The photos were very inspirational. Next up, El Arsenal (not pictured), a former Spanish naval station; and (3) La Princesa, a former jail current art house on the esplanade near (4) Raices, a beautiful fountain. We followed the promenade and (5) Muralla, the city wall with turreted guard towers, along the bay. Once past the (6) gates, we walked along the hilly sidewalk to (7) La Fortaleza, the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Western Hemisphere, and (8) the pigeon-filled Parque de las Palomas. We passed the (9) Casa Rosa, before heading downhill to (9) Iglesia de San Jose, the second oldest church in the Americas, and (10) Convento de los Dominicos. We ended back at El Morro, then headed to find Jayde, Jordan, and Mom. We all grabbed lunch at Burger King . . . I know, but it was the only place we could all agree on, and did some souvenier shopping. We ended our trip to San Juan at Plaza de Colon, sitting, laughing, and enjoying the good weather.

This is just a random alleyway near Plaza de Colon that I thought was pretty. Got to love the cobblestone streets and brightly colored stucco buildings with oil lamps.

The inside of Iglesia de San Jose.

A close up of Raices.

Cool trees.





Plaza de Colon


Back at the hotel, I went for one last dip in the ocean.



Here is Jayde right before a wave mowed her over. :)

El Yunque

The next morning, we explored our hotel. The beach was beautiful.

We went to the iguana feeding. They were everywhere and absolutely unafraid of humans.









In the afternoon, we headed to El Yunque. It was conveniently located just ten minutes from our hotel. It is part of the Caribbean National Forest.

Our first stop was La Coca Falls.

Next we started hiking La Mina Trail. Some of the trees in El Yunque are over 1,000 year old. The leaves were very large and, apparently, made a perfect sun shade and umbrellas.






The trail ends at La Mina Falls, the perfect swimming hole.




When we got back, Jayde and Mom just wanted to hang out in the room. Jordan was insistent that I come out to the beach to play with him until the sun set. Although I was tired too, I went. How much longer is he going to still be young enough to want to hang out with his older sister? In fact, that very thought crossed my mind while I was watching him on the beach and I started crying. He is growing up so fast! But he'll always be my bug.