March 31 Cape of Good Hope

After breakfast we all jumped in the van to head to Table Mountain National Park. We drove three hours to the very tip of Africa. We did several hikes that were phenomenal. The wind was unbelievable and we had to hang on to our hats and glasses. We could actually lean into the wind. Brendan, being the lightest, had the most difficult time. Every step he was blown to one side or the other. We had to hang on to him well when we were climbing!

Kryt brought us to the most spectacular restaurant, the Two Oceans, for lunch. Exceptional cuisine at excellent prices. Kyrt It reminded Joe and I of eating on the coast of Big Sur while on our honeymoon.

We hiked up to Cape Point. The view of the crashing waves, rivers of kelp, and surrounding mountains was breath-taking. It was a good hike up. We were all up for walking back down but Kyrt insisted that we take the funicular so that we could fit in more sights before the end of the day.

Sabrina wanted to take sunset pictures so we stopped at Camp’s Bay. What was meant to be a five-minute stop ended up being well over an hour because we were all so entertained. We watched the waves crashing, the surfers, and the swimmers (brave ones as the water temperature was around 8 and 12 degrees!).

We had a lovely seafood dinner and then watched a film on South Africa (Kyrt and RJ have a giant screen, like a personal theatre – spectacular and much appreciated by all of us, especially the boys!).

March 30 Somolier Class

The boys are receiver their higher education early using their sense of smell!

March 30 Stellanbosch

Winery tours! First stop after the 1 hour drive to Stellenbosch was to taste the friuts of the Bergkelder and their Shiraz, Cabernet Suvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and new to us, Pinotage (a hybrid grape of the American pinot noir roots and vines of the hermitage grafted). We also tasted their sweet dessert wine – not to my taste (Joe). The tasting were in a candlelit cellar – very romantic! The weather was fantastic and the view on the drive were great.

Our second stop was to the Spier winery with lunch (for us and the gigantic protected carp and catfish who truly enjoyed swarming over our buns and baguette slices). After lunch we checked out their wildlife preserve with their highlighted domestic Cheetah. among many other African delights: zebras, osterich, gnu and unpronouncable deer-like species. Eventually we made our way to the vineyard and tastings – their Cab being my favourite! We had an impromptu soccer game on their lawns!

We had a great evening. Kryt, RJ, Sabrina and David (American guests), Joe and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning chatting and drinking South African wine.

March 29 Capetown

Next thing we new, we en route to Johannesberg (where we mostly slept) on the overnight flight from Cairo. We then connected to Capetown – and back to civilization! We were met by Curt from the Seabreeze B&B. It is positively beautiful. The owners RJ and Curt are amazing hosts and their home and compound is awesome. We met their 4 dogs including one that is part wolf. Brendan has quite a good scratch from the biggest dog (an accidental claw from the big dog) while they were playing.

We continued the day down at the waterfront shopping and restaurant in the heart of Capetown port. We ate at Mitchells, a local brewery and rib shop (the ribs were amazing!) and then were wisked back to the B&B where we watched City Slickers, a movie about penguins living in Capetown!

And Joe finsihed his thriller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. What a book!
A couple of the sights include Table Mountain, the Clocktower and a statue of Nelson Mandella!

March 29 Return to Cairo en route to South Africa

Our return to Cairo by air was uneventful. Ridiculously we flew on the 00:20 flight from Aswan arriving at 2:00 a.m. We were put up at the Zoser Hotel in Giza. After breakfast the boys enjoyed the swimming pool (although the water temperature was only 24 nd the air temp about 20! We’re off to the Corniche later on in the afternoon to walk and have a late lunch. We ate on the Nile at Tariton and then went to the sculpture museum of MK. We then did a few hours of homework in the lobby and Deb returned with dinner from the local market.

March 28 Tombs

This gives you an idea of the extent to which the interiors of tombs, temples and monuments were decorated by the pharaohs. In this example, the colours have been washed away, either by Nile floods or by humidity from the breath of toourists and grave robbers for the last 4500 years! The temples created by Ramses II in Abu Simbel still maintain their colours. However, you won't see it on our blog because for the past couple of years, NO photos allowed in temples, tombs, monuments nor museums controlled by the Egyption government. Joe

March 27 Abu Simbel

We’re now on our way to Abu Simbel. It is 300 kilometers from Aswan and the government has dictated that all tourists travel in a convoy for safety. This is an experience it itself. We drove to the site where the convoy begins (at 11:00 am – the first was at 4:00 a.m. and there was no way that the Kuffners were going to make that one!). Armed guards using a long pole with a mirror to check that there were no bombs underneath our van. The guards then verified that our guide was with us along with two drivers (two because they keep each other in check – i.e. one stops the other from nodding off). We’ve been on the road for over an hour and the only thing to see on either side of us is the dessert. There are forty vehicle in our convoy. This is considered small as the early morning one can be comprised of over two hundred! The hghway is new..Although a two-way, vehicles travel down the middle unless there is oncoming traffic. We’re trying to relax and just go with the flow but it’s a bit unnerving!

According to Lonely Planet, the village of Abu Simbel lies 280km south of Aswan and only 40 km north of the Sudanese border. Abu Simbel was carved out of the a mountain west bank of the Nile between 1274 and 1244 BC.

We questioned whether we should drive three hours in each direction to spend an hour and a half at Abu Simbel (the maximum time that the constraints of partipating in the convoy allows). Everyone we talked to, however, said that it is an absolute must. We now wholeheartedly agree. When you arrive at the site you have to walk around the back of the mountain and down towards Lake Nassar. Rounding the bend we felt our hearts beating. There in front of us was the huge façade of the Temple of Isis towering over us. Mahmoud, our guide, spent twenty minutes outside explaining what we would see in Ramses II’s temple and that of his wife, Nerferti (unfortunately guides can’t accompany tourists inside the temples). The boys said that it was like visiting the Petra site from Raiders of the Lost Ark and we had to agree. The sheer size of the monument inspired our imaginations..

Before we knew it, we were on our way back to Aswan. We joined the convoy and started our three-hour journey back. Two hours into our ride night fell. It was disconcerting, to say the least, to have to ask our driver to turn his lights on (Egyptians generally don’t uses their lights at night, certainly not in the city). Our guide also found in quite unnecessary to wear seatbelts. We insisted and occupied the seats in the van where they were not broken. The trip went quickly. Joe immersed himself into a book that I had just finished (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) while I read ‘The Last Lecture’. The boys read for a while and then played DS for the rest of the ride. Thank you, Marie-Josee.

March 26 Colourful Souks

Everywhere we went, the colourful souk: Indigo in blue.

March 26 Aswan

Today we visited the High Dam that created the 2nd largest manmade lake in the world (Lake Nassar). The buildng of the dam forced the movement to higher ground of eighteen temples. The largest, the mountain temple of Ramses II moved to Abu Simbel. Philea Temple also had to be moved or it would be buried for eternity. Luckily UNESCO intervened at made the whole enterprise possible.

The Aswan High Dam creates enough electric power for Egypt and Sudan and controls the Nile’s floodwater. An unintended result was that the rich, dark fertile soil that the floods brought no longer arrive. This created a dependence on fertilizer – and tons of it (that’s what you get for playing with Mother Nature)! The tour also includes the Old Dam but it is of little consequence since the larger dam was installed.

After the dam, we took a motorboat over to the Philae Island to see the Temple of Isis. Two boys about the ages of Ryan and Brendan piloted the boat. Education in Egypt is not mandatory.

For years, due to the building of the dam the Temple was submerged. Tourists would take boats over to it and glide amongst the pillars. Between 1972 and 1980 the massive temple complex was dissassembled stone by stone and reconstructed 20 m higher on Philae Island.

The highlight of the day was a felucca ride around Elaphantine Island. We saw several different types of birds along the way and had an excellent view of Kitchener Island. Above us, carved into giant sand dunes, were tombs of nobles. From a distance we could see the Aga Khan Mausoleum. We passed Nubian villages.

We all found the ancient Nilometer that we passed very interesting. When the Nilometer recorded a high water level, it meant a good harvest… and more taxes! We found it amusing that the tax structures was based on the Nilometer. It did, however, make perfect sense!

The best thing about the felucca ride is that we could just kick back and enjoy the cool breeze and setting sun. Aswan is so very beautiful!

Once back at our hotel, Joe and I hightailed up to the terrace to watch the sunset. It was a heady experience looking down over the Nile as the colour of the sky changed to a soft amber light over the desert..

In the evening we had dinner at Makka. There was a power failure (as Brendan put it, both times that we went for formal dinner, the power went out! A reference to a beautiful meal at Mara’s in Luxor – and the power went out). Luckily we were just finishing our dinner as the entire restaurant filled up with smoke (the ventilators were off in the kitchen and the staff just kept on cooking!).

We spent the next hour walking around the souk – our favorite so far. The touts were bad but not nearly as bad as in Luxor and Cairo. The hustling is so vey annoying. To their credit, however, the Egyptians do not, for the most part, steal your money – something that we’re going to have to watch out for in South Africa. That being said, Egypt would not be a country that either Joe or I would return to as there is not (without exaggerating) a minute that you are not being approached. The other issue is the hygiene. We have actually been very lucky. Joe and the boys have had just minor tummy problems, but nothing to keep anyone home for any time. Drinking bottled water and eating only cooked food has kept us, for the most part, out of trouble.

March 25 Nubian Studies

The boys in their Nubian Studies class!

March 25 En Route to Aswan by Military Train

We’re now on our way to Aswan. We were supposed to take the train but the government has just decided that no tourists are to take any train except the sleeping train (which is guarded by armed soldiers) until further notice. No reasons were given and everyone is in a bit of a tizzy. Luckily, our representative, Mohammed, has arranged for transport by minivan. It will be a four hour drive (usually three hours but we’ve asked our driver to go slowly).

A couple of days ago all flights were cancelled in the Luxor/Aswan area due to a major sandstorm. Tourists were stranded in Cairo. Fortunately, we had just arrived back to Mara’s when it struck. Joe was putting our bathing suits out on the clothesline when he came in and said, “I can’t see a thing for all the sand blowing around.” He came back in and then we heard a loud knock at the door. It was Sarah. “Close all the windows and doors! There is a major storm! Put the couch up against the window and stay here!” We put a heavy table in front of the doors. We later went down for dinner. The power went out off and on and we ate by candlelight. Other tourists weren’t so lucky and got caught in the storm. We talked to a couple who were at Karnak temple when the storm hit. Scaffolding was blowing around and everyone had to take cover. They had seen a huge black cloud but ignored it as they knew that it only rains in Luxor for five minutes or so once every two years. Sandstorms such as the one that hit are extremely rare.

Anyways, on our way to Aswan, everything was going great until our driver made a u-turn in the middle of nowhere – no explanation. Discussions ensued with what looked like armed farmers – then we started taking the donkey path through a village. At this point our driver was shaking. As the donkey path (which happened to parallel to the highway) passed the military checkpoint (every 10km or so), he was pulled over. Speeding. 100 EL. Naturally he asked us for money as he had just 50EL. Two hours from Luxor. One hour from Aswan. 24 hours from civilization. We fronted him the money without batting an eye. (Epilogue: He repaid us).

Then we arrived at our Menmon hotel. 3rd rated in Tipadvisor.com. A complete dump – 0 stars if you can imagine. A quick tour of the room had us thanking our stars for Muhamed who had met us and the driver upon our arrival. First we visited a couple of 4 star places, and finally settled on a 3-star – the Marhaba Palace. Perfect.

Next stop: Nubian museum. Another major UNESCO project honoring the 6000 years of Nubian life that became submerged after the Aswan High Dam project completion in 1964. This excavated and moved not just Nubian artifacts but the Ramses II and Nefrititi temples/monuments that were relocated to Abu Simbel. Imagine moving Mount Rushmore! That’s the scale of the project! Czech University, Egyptology was a major player in this move and it earned them archaelogical rights at the pyamids as a way of thank you from the Egyption government. Wow.

March 24 Luxor

We walked the Nile Corniche and spent a couple of hours walking around Luxor. We let the world unfold and unfold it did! We talked with many locals and enjoyed strolling and taking in daily life. We were, however, hastled non-stop. I have never experienced anything like it in my travels. Not a minute went by without people offering their services – caleche, donkey ride, souvenirs, taxi, etc. Eventually we just stopped even making eye contact or responding to anyone. Mara had suggested this and we could not believe a few short days ago that we would be just ‘shutting down’ when locals approached. It was very sad, but everyone (however seemingly kind) just wanted money.

The boys asked whether we could go to the Mercure once again. Joe and I were just as anxious for some peace and quiet as they were so we readily agreed. I swam for an hour and the boys played volleyball. Joe read and looked after the backpacks. We were all in ‘heaven’ just doing our thing. We feel well-rested and ready to head to Aswan first thing in the morning.

The boys also continued their home-schooling program of math, reading, French and of course, Egyptian studies!

We’ll be driving by van as we have been told that as of tomorrow that tourists are no longer allowed to take the train. We are not sure why this is. The sleeping train is permitted but no other train travel. As we were supposed to go to Aswan by train, our representative will be picking us up and driving us the 3 ½ hours to Aswan.

March 23 Valley of the Kings

After an early breakfast we met up with Maria and our driver to go to the West Bank. The Valley of the Kings has 63 royal tombs from the New Kingdom Period (1550-2055 BC). We visited three of these tombs – Maria’s favourites (Rameses IV, Siptah, and another). The tombs have suffered great damage from treasure hunters and floods. We were sad to learn that the humidity caused by tourists (sweat/breathing – an average of 2.8 g per person!) has affected the reliefs and the pigments of the wall paintings. We felt guilty even being there after learning this. Hopefully, the government will put systems into place to preserve the tombs shortly. Sadly the country does not appear to have the infrastructure to do so.

It was thrilling to see the tomb of Tutankamun. We also saw Howard Carter’s house high on a hill where he lived for approximately twenty years. Carter searched for close to eleven years before making a last ditch effort to find the tomb of Tutankamun. His sponsor had given up all hope and was soon to cut off all funding. Can you imagine chow thrilled Carter and his team were to discover the tomb after so many years of work!! Carter called his sponsor and told him to get to the valley as soon as possible. He waited for him to arrive before removing actually removing the sarcophragus.

It was also very exciting to see several archeological digs currently in progress. Discoveries just waiting to happen!

We then left the Valley of the Kings and drove over to the Temple of Hatsheput (1473-1458). The temple is carved into the dramatic, rugged limestone cliffs on the other side of the Valley of the Kings. The temple was vandalized over time. Thuthmosis III removeede his stepmot5her’s name whenever he could. Years later the early Christians turned it into a monastery and defaced the pagan reliefs. Maria’s knowledge of Egyptology came in very handy and she told us story after story about the temple’s history.

Before leaving the West Bank we stopped at the Colossi of Memnon. The pillars are the only part left standing of a Amenhotep III’s memorial temple, believed to have covered an area even large than Karnak! The magnificent colossi are each cut from a single block of stone and weigh 100 tons! They were even a tourist attraction during the Greco-Roman times!

It was exhausting touring the Valley of the Kings and it was only 20 degrees Celcius. We couldn’t imagine touring during our summer when the temperature can go as high as 50 degrees!

We headed back to the Mercure in the afternoon and spent hours swimming, reading, and just hanging out. Back at Mara’s we indulged yet again in their Egyptian feast. The boys loved it and Steve, Mara’s son, made sure to pack up enough food for Brendan for the entire next day.