Finally online, our pictures of Egypt. A lot of ancient ruins, temples, a lot a lot of hyroglyfs, a few piramids and some pictures of the river Nile including proof that I swam in the Nile.
In the end we did not really select the best pictures but posted almost all pictures we had. Don’t freak out if you suddenly notice we posted around 700 pictures.
Egypt proved to be a very impressive place. It is incredible to see the constructions they made 5000 years ago. Huge temples and gigantic pyramids and at the same time precious jewelry with incredibly small details. If make you think twice about the world of ‘progress’ in which we are living.
We started of with a boat cruise over the Nile. A very nice adventure but with a very busy schedule. A lot of days (I was unable to sleep a lot) we got up before sunrise to go on an excursion to visit yet another piece of history. It was nice to see hieroglyphs had been carved in almost all the stones. All around 3000 to 5000 years old, joined here and there by names and dates of about 100 or 200 years old. ‘Piet was here 1843’. I was able to restrain myself and did not add my name to this part of history.
After the cruise we spend a few days in Cairo. The city was very very crowded. There are more people living in Cairo than it the entire Netherlands. In the city center it is always busy. You can clearly notice that the local Muslims don’t really have a positive attitude towards non-Muslims and tourists. Especially girls and woman suffer because of this. They get regular pinches in the ass and get touched at every occasion by the hairy Muslims. As a tourist you should not return the favor with a totally covered Muslima because then they cut of your hands (or so they say).
It was quite an experience! We planned on a lot of excursions from the start, and this was maybe overdoing it a little. A lot of excursions were really very nice, but there were a lot where commerce was clearly on the mind of the Egyptians.
If you get the chance you should definitely visit Egypt. However, if you don’t like chicken and rice be warned because there seems to be little other food available. We made around 700 pictures which I’ll have to look through, so be patient.
Last weekend I spend on the Güi-güi beach. A nice little beach in the middle of nowhere. We went there on Saturday morning and made the return trip on Sunday morning.
The big advantage of this beach is that it is almost deserted. The reason is simple: you need to walk for two and a half hours to get to the beach. Around one and a half hour is spend climbing a big hill and then you spend an hour going down towards the beach.
The beach is quite nice. The water is very clear and the surroundings are breathtakingly beautiful. Still it is quite a lot of effort you need to undertake. There is no shop or anything near the beach so you need to bring everything along; water, beers, a tent, towels, sunscreen, everything.
The route: Drive to Tasartico. In Tasartico the road changes from asphalt to dirt and stones. Following the path you reach a little parking place that will fit around 3 or 4 cars. This is where the path starts. First cover your body with sunscreen and then just follow the path. After a hike of about an hour and a half you will reach the top of the hill. Quite a hike and you should rest a little on top, before starting the descend. The way down made difficult because the path is covered with loose sand and little pebbles. Quite dangerous because you slip very easily. When you finally arrive the only thing left is to feel happy and proud of the hike you just did. Finally you can start enjoying this little piece of paradise.
We finally booked our holiday. We both have three weeks off from the 19th of September till the 12th of October. The first week we’ll go and visit Egypt. The other two weeks are still without plan… we’ll see what we’ll do.
Our itinerary for Egypt is posted below. It is a babelfish translation of the Spanish page with the holiday outline, so there will be some errors, but the main idea should be clear.
Basically the plan involves four days on a cruise across the Nile. Visit some places and slowly get used to the tremendous heat and the bugs (although bugs are a part of everyday life in Spain), and afterwards we have three days in the capital. We are planning on a trip to Abu Simbel, a nice village and we’re considering an evening out dining and enjoying a belly-dance. Just one month more to prepare ourselves and then were going to experience Egypt. I’m already looking forward to it.
Day 1 MADRID – LUXOR
MondayPresentation in the airport 2 hours before the exit of the special flight. Invoicing in the counter of the company that corresponds and exit with Luxor destiny. Arrival and procedure of the visa in the airport (34 € by person to pay directly). Transfer to the motor-ship of category selected by the client to initiate the cruise by the Nile. Accomodation in the staterooms. Lodging on board.
Day 2 LUXOR – ESNA
TuesdayBreakfast and visits of the Necrópolis de Tebas, visiting the famous Valley of the Kings, the temple of medinet Habu de Rameses III, the temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossuses of Memnon, that kept the entrance to the funeral temple from King Amenophis III, visit of the Temples of Karnak and Luxor that form the monumental but important set of Egypt. After the visit, return to the motor-ship. Lunch and to the estimated time beginning of the passage. Dinner and lodging on board.
Day 3 ESNA – EDFU – KOM OMBO
WednesdayBreakfast and arrival to Edfu, we will visit in caleche the Temple of Edfu, the God of head of Hawk Horus, who this considered the best one conserved of Egypt, besides being the second greatest one of the country. Of return to the boat, – we will sail by late, we will visit the temple dedicated to the Gods Haroeris, of head of sparrowhawk and Sobek, God with crocodile head. Said temples it consists of double entrances, door and altar; in Kom Ombo, also we will be able to contemplate the Nilometro, used by old the Egyptians to measure the level of waters of the river. Boarding in the motor-ship and lunch. To the estimated time, the passage will be started again towards Aswan. Dinner and night on board.
Day 4 ASWAN
ThursdayBreakfast in the boat. The city of Aswan, is about 900 kilometers of the city of Cairo; located the Tropic of Cancer in the heat of. Visit of the high prey, an incredible engineer installation that retains waters of the Nile river, creating the Nasser lake, later, visits of the red granite quarry, where is the famous Unfinished Obelisk, of 41 meters of height, and where we will be able to observe the ingenious procedure used by old the Egyptians for the extraction of the granite blocks. Return to the motor-ship to take the lunch. In the evening, a stroll by the river will be realized in the typical boats of fishermen met like “falucas”. Return to the motor-ship. Dinner and lodging on board.
Day 5 ASWAN – Cairo
FridayBreakfast and visits optional the impressive temple of Abu Simbel (in airplane or by highway), carved in the western cliff of the desert by Rameses II in century XII before Christ, with dedicated statues the God Amon Ra of 20 meters of height; and the temple of Nefertari, dedicated to the Hathor goddess; after the visit, return to take the airplane to Cairo. Arrival to the airport of Cairo and transfer to the hotel of the selected category. Lodging.
Day 6 Cairo
SaturdayBreakfast in the hotel. Optional visit to the museum of Egyptian Art. In the evening, the visit from noon will be realized to the esplanade of Pyramids of Gizeh, magnificent monumental set considered one of the seven wonders of the old world that correspond to Pharaohs Keops, Kefren and Micerinos as well as enigmatic of human head and the body of lion. Lodging.
Day 7 Cairo
SundayBreakfast in the hotel and free day at the disposal of the clients. We can realise some of the facultative visits that to us our representatives will propose like for example: complete day to visit monuments and the library of Alexandria, Memphis and Sakara, the Citadel of Saladino, the Mosques of sultanes Hassan and Rifai or the Bazaar of Khan the Khalili. (Optional Excursions). Lodging in the hotel.
Day 8 Cairo – MADRID
MondayBreakfast and collection in the hotel to the been suitable hour. Transfer to the international airport of Cairo to embark in special flight with destiny Barcelona or Madrid. Steps of invoicing and boarding.
Some time ago we went on a little trip to Fuerteventura, a nearby island. The island was the absolute paradise for beach lovers. Gigantic white beaches and an ocean so clear! Together with some nice sunshine. In addition to the beaches the island does not have a lot to offer. There are lots of goats and you can eat some nice goat meat prepared in a traditional manner and there are some fishermen, but the most important parts of the island are the sun, the ocean and the beaches.
The trip on the airplane was very nice. There are small airplanes flying between the islands without jets but with old fashioned propellers.
From the airport we had to walk over the runway to our little plane and on the return trip we entered the airplane as one of the first passengers (thanks to my Dutch desire to arrive on time). This time we took our seats in front of the plane, which had two seats facing backwards, Yes, it was my first time flying backwards. The experience was not so special as I had imagined, and I only noticed a strange sensation during the landing which pushed me into my seat, but it was nice to be in the perfect spot for chatting with the stewardess. ;)
Here are some pictures of our weekend in Fuerteventura!
On the website of a Dutch newspaper I found some holiday news about the Canary islands.
On the Canary islands you can enjoy the sun, the sea and the beaches any time of the year. Some of these islands, there are fifteen different islands, are perfectly fit for active holidays with kids!
The weird thing is that this news item is talking about 15 islands. If you ask anyone here which Canary islands there are everyone will reply with the names of the seven islands. Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, La Palma, Lanzarote, El Hierro and La Gomera.
What happened to the other 8 islands the Dutch newspaper is talking about? Maybe they are referring to some rocks or tiny islands that are sometimes near a normal island, but these tiny places are not really holiday destinations. In most cases there are no hotels on these rocks and sometimes people are not even allowed there. I still have 5 more ‘normal’ islands to visit.
During the Easter weekend we went and visited Tenerife. The visit ended up being a very Spanish event because we had only arranged the crossover by boat. We did not arrange any place to sleep on the island. Getting lodgings was done on a very Spanish way. First be would be traveling all day long, being the tourist and seeing the sites. Then, at night, at the last moment we went and search for some place to stay. To my surprise this did not result in problems, except for one day.
We had arrived is a small town where we wanted to spend the night, but there was no hotel in the town. We continued our trip to the next town, and after talking to the locals we visited some homes that could potentially house us for the night. We were not so lucky. There was no place anywhere. In the next town a Easter parade blocked our way and we asked a local police men for some advice and this started our real adventure. The police men turned out very helpful.
First we went to the police station. The police officer called about 8 locals he knew would sometimes rent out apartments. In the mean while he told us there was a hotel in town, but it was a bit expensive. Eventually we went in the police car visiting a couple of places where they might be able to shelter us for the night. We were driving through town with the cop calling and using his communication devices. The police men even gave us some tips about places to eat and things to visit. Eventually we found a place.
The only bad thing was the next morning. No breakfast but we did get a wake up service. From 8:30 till 10 we were forced to enjoy the song ‘Shout‘ that was being listened to by some big fan, and who repeated the song over and over.
It was a very nice weekend in Tenerife.
Don’t worry. Except for a generally hot climate caused by the sun I haven’t seen any fire yet. Only on the TV. I live and work in the parts of Gran Canaria that are not effected by the big fire raging in the south of the island.
Today it is horribly hot! Luckily it’s only extremly hot in the south of Gran Canaria. This morning in the north it was nice and cool. I left home at 6:30 and when I arrived at 7:30 it was still a little dark. I did not see any sunshine. However, when I opened the door of my car there was such a hot air it was unbelievable. Without the sun such a terribly hot air I could not believe it. It’s almost impossible to remain outside a long time.
I was told it was the ‘Calima’ which is the name for a meteorological effect where hot air all the way from Africa is blown across the ocean and passes the Canary Islands. The result is a few days with a lot of heat. Pfff.
I’ll be in Gran Canaria from the 6th of April until the 14th. Ana wants to evaluate her future job and I will go and enjoy the sun for a week. Afterwards we’ll return to Madrid and we’ll have a decision to make. Do we or don’t we go to Gran Canaria for quite a long period. Who knows. In a few weeks I expect to have an update.