Thursday, 5/30. Hot hot hot. We had a lot of downtime. A morning boat ride across the Nile, then camels up to an ancient Coptic Monastery. A unique tour few undertake. No literature, but our guide did a great job explaining everything. Lots of history. Returned via camel and boat. Had a fun time with my camel (“Lulu”) and her handler. (Two companions didn’t go and one got ill during the trip.)
Pool time, with a morning beer. Drive to lunch. Great food, so-so restaurant. I’m sensing a trend. More downtime. Then a trip to the Gem Store and Papyrus Art Gallery. Learned how papyrus was made, which is why I came. Meanwhile, I sat while others bought.
Home-hosted Dinner. Nice small family. Made balloons for the young child, talked a lot to the single mother (divorce), who spoke excellent English. Works at airport security. Again, excellent food.
Morning View
Mortuary for the Aga Khan III. Though a Pakistani, he wintered in Aswan. Very popular person.
Wednesday, 5/29. Hot. Very hot. Tours are comprised of moving from one shady spot to another. I’m surviving, but my Ramadan effort went down for the heat and one other reason.
Early flight from Cairo to Aswan routine. Bused across the Aswan Dam, which should not be confused with the High Aswan Dam. The former was built by Britain in the early 20th century. We’ll see the High Dam in a few days. Arrived at a boat landing to cruise over to the relocated Isis Temple. Long talk about the Isis myth, which in the heat was overlong. Buildings were interesting. For some centuries it was a Coptic Church with minimal modifications. The island has cats. Boated over to another island for lunch. I was still fasting, but the food looked very good. Boated back to shore and proceeded to the hotel.
Five Star Hotel! The best one I’ve ever stayed at. Churchill was a regular. Agatha Cristie was too. Part of Death On The Nile was bested on it. Walls are filled with famous guests. Room is huge, view is fantastic. We stay two nights. Pool was great. I was suffering from dehydration a bit and I was in a five star hotel with custom named cocktails. Out went my fasting. Later we went to the market. Yawn. However, as we were leaving there were cloths being laid out on the alleys with dishes set out, in preparation for sunset. Some already had food out, but no consumption yet. Our dinner was off-site in a less than fancy restaurant. Delicious flatbread stuffed with a thin layer of beef. Very, very good.
We’re not actually doing that much touring, in part due to prior reviews that criticized the hectic schedule (and high heat). I con’t argue with the concept. But just looking out from my balconies (yes, two!) is enough to sense Egypt’s history.
Boat ride, with a salesman on board. Everyone eager to know which side is the one with shade.
Isis Temple. Disassembled and reassembled above the waterline. It was done after the Dam was built. There are old water lines about 10 feet up.
The Egyptian jumped into the photo, then demanded money. I gave him 30 cents.
Bathroom has a center tub, between the two sinks. Tub has a view.
View from my balcony.
The original part. I’m in the modern wing. The center (big) balcony was Churchill’s.
Tuesday, 5/28. Consumed no food or drink until sunset. It was a challenge. Especially on a day that I climbed into the Great Pyramid of Cheops. I don’t think I’ll continue tomorrow. Should be 114 degrees.
Cairo is growing so large it’s nearly encircled the Pyramid Plateau. But it’s still pretty darn impressive. Cheops’ is the largest by a good bit, but the second one (built by his son) is on higher ground. Dutiful son, but sly. Overly friendly hawkers try to hand you something, then insist you buy it. Camels and horses are common. No Chinese tourists! (Not that I’m complaining.) To walk into the King’s Chamber costs $22, so there isn’t a crowd. It’s a cramped, steep and hot climb, though not as bad as my Dad related 30+ years ago. The chamber is smaller than I thought, and it’s empty. Really not much to it at all, except for the bragging rights of having been in it.
The boat, discovered only 65 years ago, was found disassembled. It took 13 years to figure out how to put in together. Remarkably good condition. They say it would float if put in the water. Ropes run throw drilled holes in the boards were used as fasteners. Huge boat, but it looked badly top-heavy.
The Sphinx was smaller than expected. Disappointing. It was located next to the docking area so it might have often been surrounded by water. It’s mostly one big stone that, rather than clear out, was shaped into a monument. Theoretically. The new museum is nearby and looks very impressive. But not close to ready. A December showtime is doubtful.
Lunch looked good. Dinner was a buffet on a boat welded to the pier. Huge crowd immediately after sunset. 30 minutes later the buffet table is removed and half the customers go off to pray.
This was actually one of the last photos I took. The one of the left is the big one.
The original entrance is above left. The one they dug out and use is lower left.
Maybe four feet high. And steep.
Lots of headroom, but still steep.
The chamber. A whole lot of nothing. Photos are forbidden unless you pay or are sneaky.
Boat is 140 feet long!
Fasteners of rope.
Sphinx is smaller and essentially in a hole. Unimpressed.
Monday, 5/27. Saturday flights were routine. Drive from airport to Marriott Hotel was not. Horns, heavy traffic (10 PM), driver and escort (security?). “Red lights and lane lines are decorations.” If they have lane lines. Two lane roads have three-wide traffic. Massive billboards.
Beautiful hotel complex is full of revelers. Sober revelers. Fast all day, party all night. I’ve quickly learned that Ramadan pervades existence. I’m not sure this is what Mohammad had in mind.
Sunday I rested. A whole lot of nothing. My huge room has a front row view of the Nile. I had arrived one day early for the tour so the room was at my expense. $55 a night for a five star hotel. In the evening the tour group got together for a quick informal walking tour of the neighborhood. Many shops closed while people prayed and ate following sundown (in that order). They would reopen at about 8:30. Neighborhoods set up tables to serve poor people. Tour Leader kept calling the meal “Break fast”, which was disruptive to thought process.
Monday was the formal start of the Tour. Introductions. Many companions are wordy. Lots of experience to go with their age. Some in their eighties, all well traveled. I’m the outlier. Only one other has no companion. Tour of the Egypt Museum. Not a great building and poor presentation of incredible history. English descriptions on old, faded signs. A new building is under construction near the pyramids and some items have already been moved. Leader refers to “Egyptian Time” when asked when the new museum will open. Maybe December. King Tut’s items were marvelous. No photos allowed of his stuff. Lots of displays are behind glass, making photos difficult. The entire place is overwhelming in it’s collections.
Decided to follow my Roman roots and try out Ramadan fasting (i.e., do as they do). Had some water in the morning, but otherwise skipped breakfast and lunch. Walked back to the hotel rather than sit while others ate. Fitness center and pool in the PM. Counted the minutes until sunset (6:47). But after the meal I went to bed while the Egyptians partied. I found a study that examined cause of death trends during Ramadan in a city in Turkey. Suicides and homicides go down (religious fervor and lack of alcohol-related violence), while accidental deaths and natural causes go up (distracted thinking from hunger and poor health). Cancels things out.
The companions are creeping me out with their banter. After a month of 24/7 with Yoriko, I’m missing her. But I’m in Egypt! Tomorrow I see the pyramids. Things could be worse. (It’s not too hot yet.)
Note absence of lines in the road. Wouldn’t help anyway. People blow horns for any reason. Noisy.
View from my balcony, which is larger than many hotel rooms I’ve seen.
Moon over the Nile.
A copy of the Rosetta Stone. The original is in the British Museum. The Egyptians are not amused.
One hallway. Looks more like storage than display.
The only existing statue of Khufu (Cheops), builder of the Great Pyramid.
King Tut’s outer box. One of four. Wood with gold leaf.
Thursday, 5/23. Not much to see here that we haven’t already seen. Unusual church. Terrain on the way here was sorta Arizona with centuries of development and agriculture. Lots of castles in the distance. Highway is remarkably modern.
Anticipating the end of this leg. Looking ahead to Egypt. Yoriko’s looking ahead to home cooking.
Wednesday, 5/22. Drove over the Pyrenees. First was a little jog along the last 35 kilometers of the 14th stage of the 2019 Tour de France, up Col du Tourmalet, site of the highest paved road in the Pyrenees. It’s a big deal on the Tour. Set your calendar to watch on July 20th. Absolutely stunning views. We did it fairly early in the morning so there was hardly any traffic, which was good for my stress level. Some of the road does not appear truly two-way. Getting over the top was over in a heartbeat, so we didn’t stop. There wasn’t formal parking lot. Both sides offer lots of skiing, but neither seem to have warmed to the summer mountain biking generation. Ghost towns in May. One lone hairy donkey.
The day was mostly on local roads. I am 1) tired of roundabouts (“At the roundabout, take the (1st/2nd/3rd) exit.”), and 2) very tired of standard transmission (in cars). The drive seemed to take forever. Arrived in Andorra de Ville without mishap though. Beautiful modern tunnel. Very new pretty buildings everywhere, hugging cliffs. Ultra-fancy shopping “mile” with buildings that hid the mountains (no rooftop bars!). Very few souvenir shops, unless your idea of souvenirs include perfumes, watches sunglasses or booze. High prices. The high hills surrounding the town reminded me of Deadwood South Dakota, on a ridiculously more garish level. For a country famous for physical activity, a lot of smoking. Sort of disappointing. I was expecting Sound of Music, I got Devil Wears Prada.
Anyway, added one more country to my list (39). Overall, a scenic wonderland.
A little bit of Dali.
I’m not sure what the pyramid is about. Has external elevators for the view.
Tuesday, 5/21. Nearly errorless navigation today. Lots of tolls though. Great roads. While entering France we merged with what must be a major highway for transportation. Incredible number of trucks. Our route quickly diverged, happily.
San Sebastian is what everyone has described. Friendly and vibrant. Massive number of tapas restaurants, all opening at noon. Far greater number per block than anywhere else. Yoriko had a tapas of bread topped with large mushrooms. Heaven. Beautiful view from the top of the opposing hill which can be reached by a funicular. We were too early for it, so I drove the narrow, winding, under repairs road to the top. The children’s park at the top was closed, but it was still interesting. A few hours in the city was far too few.
For some reason France looked just like France (i.e., not like Spain). Architecture changed immediately. Nice route until we reached Lourdes, when the GPS took us on a weird, winding detour which included a drive through the heart of tourist country. Like Grenada, it was an obstacle course of pedestrians. The (very French) desk clerk apologized for the routing. We weren’t the first to be sent hither and yon. Hotel was great.
I didn’t do much research on Lourdes before booking. I knew the name somehow and vaguely understood it to be the second most visited french city after Paris. But I was shocked to learn that it’s the third most revered catholic site in the world (behind Rome and the Holy Lands). Five million visit annually, with a steady population of only 15,000. The source for its fame involves an 1858 incident with a young woman, an appearance by the Virgin Mary, and water in a grotto. The water is considered to have great healing power, so the city is filled with disabled and aging people. And a host of the appropriate nursing staff. Nightly candlelight events occur. It’s so routine the desk clerk just assumed that that’s why we came. Anyway, it’s a charming little town surrounded by green hills. Catholic or not, it’s an interesting place.
Huge beaches.
I think the language is Basque. The park was getting cleaned up, no doubt for the summer.
The funicular we did not use.
Just one of dozens of tapas bars. We found one with an English speaking gentleman. Great time.
Interesting marketing method: It cost me a euro to illuminate the alter.
Looks very much like a street actor. But no, it’s a statue.
The castle at Lourdes. Second fiddle to the churches.
A reminder that this is also skiing country.
The Domain, or Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Look it up. I refuse to try to describe it.
Stores sell empty bottles, to be filled here.
The grotto, where it all happened, is under the Domain. Crowds of people pray or touch the walls.
Monday, 5/20. From A Coruña we headed along the coast. The primary route of The Way is in fact far inland. Our Tour Book of Spain barely mentions the coastline, so I had to do some individual research. Wonderful roads with some impressive views. Spain has incredible bridges and tunnels. And they are all modern.
We drove into Gijon when, after many wrong turns, we realized we should have gone past it. Their one claim to fame, a failed university complex offering the largest oval church in the world and a high tower (complete with elevator) was mostly closed and largely unwelcome. It’s been confirmed several times that the north coast of Spain is unprepared for non-Spanish speaking tourists.
Santander, however, was a revelation. Pretty as a picture views, beautiful buildings, friendly people, cheap prices. Simple layout, making transportation easy. (Except our #$%&^ GPS tried to navigate us a mile away from the hotel, when I was parked right in front of it.) Lots of things to see. My first two story carousel, among other things. While it’s true southern Spain has the ancient architecture and Moorish history, the north side has its own charms that are well worth the time. It’s nice to walk around without the incessant souvenir shops.
Largest oval church in the world. Closed. Tower similar to the one in Seville, but with an elevator. Closed.
Sunday, 5/20. Left the ship at 6:30, an hour earlier than planned, which worked out well. Driving today was without a wrong turn!! Exited Portugal. Arrived Santiago de Compostela. Everyone calls it just Santiago. Lots of hikers, most with small to medium sized backpacks. Apparently The Way can be done without full camping gear. Some were in loud celebration, but it seemed most were introspective, which seems the proper approach. Generally a typical tourist town. The Cathedral is undergoing significant renovations inside, though one can still see St. James’s tomb and hug (from behind) a statue of him. I was intrigued that the original chapel facade is inside the enlarged cathedral building, but sadly it was unavailable for viewing. Had small lunch, left sooner than expected.
Drive to A Coruña was short. Hotel is right on the shore. Big room was a happy departure from the ship’s. A Coruña is home to the Roman Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse/lookout in (perhaps) continuous use since the 2nd century AD. The only Roman lighthouse still in existence. Rebuilt/renovated several times with some effort to be faithful to its original design. Remaining Roman foundation is visible below the tower by way of an ingenious underground walkway. Gorgeous view from the top. The shoreline is populated by various pieces of modern art.
The city is very beautiful and seems unknown to foreigners. Very few souvenir shops. A view curious stares at us. Our extremely early dinner was at a small restaurant that took advantage of the language difficulties and served us much more than we’d asked for. Large bill. But it was all good. Their local delicacy is chopped up octopus (pulpo). Another very popular food is ice cream. The waterfront promenade had a multitude of ice cream shops, most with long lines. The one I choose continuously swirls the ice cream to keep it semi-soft. Very good. The Sunday crowd was clearly locals out for a customary stroll.
Hotel’s restaurant didn’t open until 8:30. Sunset was at 9:53. I missed it.
The city and cathedral is all about St. James and the disciples who brought his body back from the Middle East. Maybe.
St. James is depicted as either a pilgrim or mounted knight.
Where to get your picture taken.
These two were excitedly celebrating. Most others were quietly sitting around the square, contemplating.
For reasons unclear, bagpipes are popular.
The Tower of Hercules. The myth arose in the 11th century. Just miles from Finisterre, the “End of Land” in Roman times.
Remains of the original foundation.
One of the many artworks around the Tower.
Scallops.
Octopus on a bed of potatoes. The octopus tasted better.
The promenade was fronted by bright white buildings. Very impressive consistency.
Saturday, 5/18. The one paid excursion we signed up for was canceled due to non-appearance of the guide. Took the free tour instead. Dramatic shrine at the top of 600 steps, which we didn’t have to climb. We did decide to go down. Nice walk. Cold day. Small town with a small museum and only a few souvenir shops. All full of rooster images. The story of the rooster escaped my comprehension.
The river view was, again, marvelous. The locks are still impressive. Excellent farewell dinner. Spent the day sober in preparation of our drive tomorrow. We spend the next seven nights in seven beds. Each day is a short drive, so not so bad.
For some strange reason this is called a Tuna Group. An amateur local group who sign traditional songs. Very entertaining.They put their capes on selected women. Yoriko had fun.An odd tree.Very old shrine.Poster on the inside of the crew’s door, which was sometimes left open.
