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.
