Egypt!

Egypt – with excerpts from guest writer Augusto Espiritu Ph.D. J
November 15, 2007
From Anna;
My favorite country during my first voyage was Egypt – and I must say this holds true for this one as well. I think it is a semester at sea cardinal sin to say that you have a favorite country but I will break that time and time again for Egypt. Where do I even begin? Oh – before I do, friends – take your honeymoon here, take your family vacations here, celebrate your birthday here, go to Egypt!

From Augusto:
Egypt was unforgettable. I shed invisible tears as we sailed from the port of Alexandria. It seemed unreal to have visited the land of the Pharaohs, one of the two vital centers of Islam, and part of the Holy Land.

On the first day, I lead students and lifelong learners on a trip to Cairo and Sharm El Sheik. I had to do this by myself because Anna had to stay behind in Alexandria to take care of important matters. We drove three hours from Alexandria to Giza, through desert and fertile lands.

It was mystical to see the famed Pyramids of Giza. I rode on a two-humped camel from pyramid to pyramid and for some time took over the reins while it went into a nice gallop. The camel driver was a crook and managed to squeeze ten Egyptian pounds (2 US dollars) from me, but the “baksheesh” (or “tip” in Arabic) was well worth it. At the Pyramid of Khefren, I paid 25 Egyptian pounds (5 dollars) to walk on a crouch through the tunnel about 200 feet inside the pyramid leading to an old sarcophagus. It was dark and steamy inside but there were a lot of us and we had a lot of fun.