I didn’t want my time in Egypt to end.
Despite a few rough moments… a burning coral reef gash on my leg, a middle-of-the-night gas station assault, two bloody ankles, muscle soreness in spots I don’t care to describe, henna stains on my face, a market chase scene, sore feet, freakishly swollen hands, heart palpitations, a brutal 18-hour bus ride, a jerky, smoky overnight train, a broken down boat, potty breaks in the open desert, an 11-hour overnight hike…
Ok, so there were more than a few rough moments.
Then how come it was so hard to say goodbye to Egypt?
- Perhaps it was all my adoring suitors at the market, shouting my name (Shakira, of course), offering me many camels for my hand in marriage.
- Or it might have been crossing off multiple items on the old Angie Away bucket list. (LOVE crossing anything off a list!)
- Possibly it was sailing down the Nile on a felucca feeling like Cleopatra herself.
- Maybe it was walking like an Egyptian… all over the country. Or hot air ballooning over The Valley of the Kings. Or riding a camel at the Great Pyramids of Giza. Or scuba diving in the Red Sea.
My Egypt recap video – it’s a fun one!
When you tabulate the ups and the downs, it would seem the trip was a lot more painful than pleasant. But I could not have had a better time in post-revolution Egypt – injuries, sleeplessness and harassment included. I made brilliant new friends, had genuine, all-night gab-fests while floating down the Nile and enjoyed a blissful summer camp camaraderie I thought I was too old to ever get back.
I dreamed of touring Egypt Indiana Jones-style, with mummies and tombs and mysteries and romance. I may not have discovered the Holy Grail or unearthed an ancient pharaoh’s tomb from the sand, but I managed to tick quite a few of those boxes without even trying. And I did it all wearing a very cool hat.
I think Indy would be proud.
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Thanks to On The Go Tours for providing the brilliant King Ramses tour. As always, all opinions are my own.
Definitely a dream trip.
Bet you were sad to go!
Man, looks like great fun. Even the bad parts.
Where next Angie ?.
Off to Kenya!
Loved following along on your Egypt adventures. What’s next?
Thank you for sticking with the journey! Up next… KENYA!
Glad you had fun in Egypt! I went last year and would love to visit again… so much to see.
What was your favorite part?
Love those two photos of you! I really need to get better at taking photos of myself when traveling.
I take a lot, haha. Love to look back a few months later and actually see myself at whatever amazing attraction… makes me so happy!
It sounds challenging but so worth it – what a great trip!
The challenges somehow make the best memories, don’t they!
So jealous! I’m sure the bad memories will seem even more hilarious with time, and the good memories will be the stuff your grandchildren will be telling their friends about. But I am a little shocked that you turned down such generous offers of camels in exchange for your hand… C’mon, Shakira, CAMELS!!!
I KNOW! You’re totally right. I missed out on an opportunity to be one of the only pop stars in the world to own so many camels. What was I thinking turning that down?
You were thinking, “I bet I can get even MORE camels if I play hard to get!”
I totally was. And I was thinking of the sick belly dancing music video I could make with Wyclef Jean and like, every camel in Egypt. Sigh. It wasn’t meant to be =(
Thanks for sharing all your great Egypt posts! I have enjoyed them!
Thank you for keeping up with me!
An amazing trip!
It really was – thank you for reading about it =)
Fun video indeed! Also, you look so happy in the last photo in your post. I think Indy would indeed be proud. And, thanks to all your posts about it, I think Egypt has moved higher up on my list!
Wooowooo! My work here is done!
Ok… my Egypt work is done. Now on to Kenya!