Year 4 - The Final Countdown 2011-2012

This was the year of the job hunt, and subsequently it was the year of carefully budgeting my travel in case job hunting didn't go as well as I hoped (the end result of the job hunt seems spectacular and I can't wait to start my new life in Mexico!).

Because there was a self-imposed budget crunch, as well as fewer school holidays than usual, I didn't travel far. That's ok, though. Not traveling far, I still traveled well!

In the fall I went to Luxor for the second time with a group of friends and next it was off to London and Lincolnshire for Christmas. In February there was a surprise (an awesome surprise!) trip home to Baltimore to work out visa paperwork (where I got to see all of my favorite people in Baltimore at one table in my old neighborhood); and in Spring there were trips to Petra (so living the Indiana Jones lifestyle!), Istanbul, and Aswan.

Life in Cairo has been good, adventuring in and around (and further afield) from Cairo has been incredible. There are so many memories. I hope you have enjoyed this 'four years of travel in pictures.' I realize it's a bit like going to someone's house and hearing them say "Hon, get out the slide projector and show them how great our cruise to the Bahamas was!"which always inspires a sense of dread. But seriously, this retrospective is for me. My memory is terrible, and I want to be able to remember how amazing adventuring these four years has been. Because adventuring is amazing!

Luxor, Egypt

London, UK

Petra, Wadi Rum, Jordan

Istanbul, Turkey

Aswan, Egypt

Abu Simbel, Egypt

Year 2 2009 - 2010

Distraction from reading the news this morning seems like a good thing, so I bring you Year 2, my travels from September 2009 - April 2010. I actually didn't have many crazy adventures abroad that year, but I did have loads of visitors; which made life in Cairo interesting as I was suddenly not so much a passive observer as a tour guide and resident - suddenly I felt like I LIVED in Egypt; and that was very cool indeed. I also got to take one of my brothers on his first trip to Europe when we went to Rome in October; also very cool. There were also a random few nights stranded in NYC in a snowstorm while trying to get back to Baltimore, a conference in Bangkok, some mini-vacations to Cyprus and Alexandria, and my first trip to Luxor.

I am including one picture from Cairo that year, possibly my favorite picture I've ever taken. In Spring 2010, I visited the El Safa Center (a retirement home) with my National Honor Society students. There I met three sweet old ladies who wanted nothing more than to pose for pictures; and the results were the most beautiful portraits I have ever taken (and likely, the most beautiful I will ever take).

Rome, Italy

 

 

Pompeii, Italy

 

New York, NY

 

Baltimore, MD

  

 

Luxor, Egypt

 

Bangkok, Thailand

 

 

Cairo, Egypt

 

 

Limassol, Cyprus

 

Alexandria, Egypt 

Luxor

What can I say about Luxor other than - AMAZING!

First of all, this was a splurge vacation. The airfare was so cheap, that my teacher friend and I decided to spring for a fancy hotel. This was so the right decision. Our hotel was about 3km North of Karnak temple, right on the Nile. Bougainvillea bloomed all over the grounds, grass - REAL GRASS, was springy under my bare feet as I walked back and forth from the pool-side bar to the lounge chair right next to the Nile, and tall palm trees provided just enough shade to have a cool place to rest, without obscuring the sun and hindering my tan!

The first day, the plane landed around 7am (btw - the drive to the airport began at 3:30 am - but you know how vacation is; no matter how tired you are, the excitement kicks in and you are wide awake!) and after checking our bags at the hotel, we grabbed the first shuttle in to Luxor and disembarked at the Luxor Temple.

The Luxor Temple was beautiful in the early morning light and, more importantly, almost empty! I managed to get beautiful shots with no visitors in them because not a single tour bus had unloaded from the many Nile cruise boats berthed in Luxor (a typical start / end point for Nile cruises). At the far end of the Avenue of the Sphinxes I photographed workers unearthing and assembling MORE sphinx to line the long long walk. This was very cool.

At about 9:30 the temple began to fill with tourists, so we went in search of lunch. After braving the touts (who were out very early - no, I do not want a horse-drawn carriage ride at 10 am when it's really starting to get hot!) I noticed a little tiny alley filled with tables. This was a tiny alley restaurant connected to a little budget hotel just behind the temple (and just far enough from the McDonalds to make me feel decidedly un-touristy). Lunch was amazing! For less than $20 there was tea, soda, tagines, and dessert (and conversation with the owner). Not quite Egyptian prices, but certainly not crazy tourist prices! We would consistently eat delicious, inexpensive meals the entire trip (much thanks to the Lonely Planet guide on this one which directed us to some of the eats!) including amazingly well spiced fish (reminded me of Cajun seasonings - but spicier) at a restaurant in the tiny village of Karnak near the hotel.

Each day that followed was like this: get up early, have adventure (hot air ballooning over the valley of the kings, camel riding, horseback riding, sightseeing, etc) come back to the hotel and enjoy a large, wonderful, delicious, FREE hotel buffet breakfast, lay by the pool until gently roasted, and prepare for dinner back in town or at the hotel.

Speaking of hot air ballooning - it almost didn't happen! The winds were too strong and the company was about to cancel the trip (which happens often, apparently, in the Winter/Summer transition time that is nothing like the Springtime I know from the states) - many of the balloon operators had rolled up their balloons and the situation was looking rather grim when a last minute call came from the airport that we could go up! HUZZAH! Our little van got really excited and all jumped out with renewed energy - all the mutinous crankiness from just moments before had dissolved and everyone was smiling ear-to-ear.


The balloon ride was amazing. 20 people crammed into a basket under searing heat from the fire that makes the balloon go-up . . . and still it was amazing. We lifted off just near Queen Hatsheput's temple in the Valley of the Queens and flew for 45 minutes over green fields at the edge of the desert and the Nile. From the air we watched men harvesting sugarcane, children preparing for the school day in their school yard, and the other balloons rise and fall. Our pilot made jokes and people elbowed each other a bit for better camera shots, and it was worth every minute!

There's so much more - Mohammed, a local who hooked us up with all our horse/camel/boating needs; feluccas; birds; banana island ... ! I think I would go back and stay forever if there were a school there to teach at. Perfect Vacation Achieved.