Early morning breakfast cruising on the
Nile.....(bloody GF diet!!).......craving rice porridge, I'm over bacon and eggs. Very hazy and very warm morning, lovely cruise, 2 boat loads of us, what a convoy!
Back on the incredible road, wonder how many people die on these roads.
Plant life very similar to ours, Poincinas, jacarandas, palms, hibiscus, bouganvillas and even gum trees, buffalo and couch grass.
Next stop, the step pyramid. Travelling to the country past the farms, cabbages, cauliflower, corn.....amazing the line between the Sahara (desert) and the irrigated farming land. So many donkeys!
Very hot and dry here today....about 37C.
Fed the wild dogs, look a lot like dingos.
Well we have now walked on the Sahara.......the Step pyramid and surrounds, amazing. They are currently restoring parts of it. More merchants peddling wares and don't take no for answer...
Stopped off at a carpet weaving school, beautiful stuff, all hand woven, silk ones extraordinary......if only we were rich! Sat with 4 young boys who were weaving.....bless them!
Of course the purpose of the stop off is to sell carpets.....high pressure selling.....feel very sorry for the Egyptians.
Back to the Giza pyramids now....WOW is about all you can say.......such awsome structures!
Never imagined we would be that close to the pyramids.
The discovery in the 1800's of the Rosetta stone (in Rosetta, Egypt), enabled the interpretation of the Hieroglyphics (thanks finally to a Frenchman)....
The only downside is the persistent merchants and camel drivers pestering everyone, never seen it this bad before.
Very good at their trade though. Much as you don't like it you have to end up bring rude to them.......can spoil the whole experience if you're not careful.
Then to the Sphynx.....(still more merchants) .....wow again, we are actually here!
Photos upon photos......feeling hot and dirty right now......what a couple of days!
Off to lunch (2.30)......once again at a lovely hotel that used to be a castle.
3.30.......back to the ship.....ready for a shower.
We have a really cute couple from Cootamundra on the cruise and also this trip.....she is 84 and he 86, they have managed somehow to keep up and not expected any special help.....unlike a heap of whinging Yanks.....pain in the butt so many of them.
Talking to everyone on the Egypt trip, everyone have been so surprised at Cairo......the lifestyle, the filth, the roads and driving......it would be hard to know where to start fixing it, education for a start, they need to take pride in their city.
It will be interesting to see what the new govt might do.
Not sure if they have a garbage collection service, they just throw the rubbish in the canals.
They have shifts at school because of population.
There does not seem to be much alcohol consumed by the Egyptians, they seem to drink a black hot beverage, either black coffee or tea....not sure what it is. Maybe that is why you don't see trouble in the streets.
It has been an amazing 2 days......very well organised tour, so pleased we were fortunate enough to experience it......definitely worth the money!
Wind starting to whip up, visibility fading rapidly, dust and sand. How lucky were we!

Roger's thoughts on the day......

Nice breakfast cruise on the Dirty Nile River, if the boat sank and you survived, I am sure you would die from the poison in the river.
Went past a butcher shop....next door were his sheep and goats....he slaughters them there and takes the meat next door and sells it...fresh eh?
Walked around at the 3 pyramids, hagglers are getting thick, takes the shine off the experience...I came to smacking one of them in the mouth. I said to him, 'I don't care if it's gold, f... off!' He said I was a bad man! Make up his mind, 2 minutes earlier he said I was a good man!
We still have the armed guards with us, they wander around us everywhere, ready to shoot....not the hagglers though!
Massive dust storm whipping up, can't see 100m in front, looks like 30 knotts, if this had happened earlier we certainly would have seen a lot less.
Back to the ship after a great 2 days.