You must be joking - 2.30am wake-up call. We have to be across the river by 3.00am to meet Mervat and our drivers for the long drive to Abu Simbel. We stumble out of bed, and down the elevator, collect our breakfast parcels from reception, down the long drive to the boat, and make it across on time to find them waiting for us. We drive to a meeting point were all the tourists are taken in a convoy with police guard to the site. We were expecting to get onto a big bus, but to our delight we are going all the way in the mini-van - just the three of us, plus Mervat and two drivers.

Sitting in the van at the meeting point was an interesting exercise. There were police of every type everywhere - secret police, plain clothes police, millitary police, tourist police, and the general police . They were all armed and there was a heavily armed and camoflaged vehicle (which I was dying to take a photo of - but didn't in case I got arrested) and I was tempted to tell some of the young policemen (and they look about 16 years old) that I work in a police station and could I please have a photo, but again I decided that it was perhaps best not to.

I wasn't sure whether to feel safe or scared. We were the first vehicle to arrive and waited for quite some time before another arrived, and so for a long time we thought we were going to be the only vehicle going. Now that was a scary thought. But as it got closer to 4am, more buses and vans arrived and we ended up with quite a convoy. Now the interesting part was - not one of the buses were checked, and I don't recall seeing the police talk to our drivers or courier, so I am not sure if they were aware of who exactly was on the convoy. So were they protecting us against someone already out in the desert, or could some not-so-nice people have joined the convoy? I don't know, but one just has to hope that those looking after us know what they doing and what is happening.

At 4am we take off - and we are directly behind the tourist police van - and they zoom off ahead of us.

The two Lindas and Mervat were soon sound asleep, but I didn't want to miss anything and stayed awake all the way - a three hour drive through the desert to Abu Simbel.

What an absolutely amazing place it is. I was totally gob-smacked at the size of the temples , and the fact that they had been re-located and this huge Lake Nasser had been created.

And of course to get into the place and then out of it and back to the bus one must run the gauntlet of hawkers. I ended up with a book about Abu Simbel, a couple of shawls (the second one half the price of the first) and some book marks. It is such fun and Linda and I are loving every minute of it. Two or three of the guys rush to greet you as you first enter the complex, try to get you to buy and you say "later" and when you come out at the other end, there they are waiting for you. "You said later" they remind you and remember exactly what you were looking at before and start offering 'best price for you' The trick of course is not to engage with them, but it is hard not to and I just want to look at all their pashmina.

There was a guy selling these cute little musical instruments, kind of like a violin with a bow, with a goat's horn on the top of it. I kept saying I couldn't take it home, and so Leader Linda explained I couldn't buy it because of the goat's horn. He said okay and disappeared and I thought I'd gotten rid of him, but blow me down, there he was further down the line with the horn off it and a wooly tassel in it's place. I had a closer look as I thought John and Nathan might like it, but it was made of wood, so I daren't get it. And trying to pack it in my case was going to be a problem, and I need to remember that I still have another week here, plus my time in Spain to get through yet.

It was then back in the van and the long drive back to Aswan. Again we were at the front of the convoy, and I watched as two young policemen and a secret police got in the back of the police van in front of us. The two young guys promptly lay down and I didn't see them again until just as we entered Aswan, and the secret police guy sat up most of the way, then decided it was time for a nap and he lay down as well, until we got to Aswan, and then the van just disappeared completely from sight. So much for a convoy, and we just drove on down to the jetty to catch the ferry back to the Movenpick Hotel.

By this time is was just after midday so we headed up to our room to chill out and catch up on washing, writing etc. This was our free afternoon, and we were a pretty chilled little VENUS group, quietly doing our own thing.

We decided to eat at the hotel, and I had seen a sign advertising dining by the pool, but when we got to the restaurant we learnt that was only until 6pm. Oh well, we were happy to dine in the restaurant where we are being treated like royalty. The lovely waiter fusses over us and brought us all a dessert on the house - chocolate cake and mousse. Very delicious.