Atyrau Journal - Egypt

In March (before the last post about the impending flood), we decided to visit a new continent, Africa, and headed off to Egypt for a week during the Kazakh spring holiday of Nauryz. It was also during the Islamic observance of Ramadan, which meant the crowds were small all week.

We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Cairo and then went off to ride camels (named Bob Marley and Moses), and see the pyramids and the Sphinx! Our "adventurous" tour guide and "capable" driver then drove us to see more of the over one hundred pyramids in the country, specifically, two that we could actually go inside. After "traveling" through a rural village on very, very bumpy "roads" we arrived. We were surprised that there were just a handful of other tourists, nonetheless, we entered the first pyramid only to find that there we would have to climb down a 100 rung makeshift ladder at a 45 degree angle in a tunnel that was only about 4 feet high - backward! Once we got to the bottom, we had to climb up a scaffold - discovering several bats at the top! Getting out was as difficult as getting in, and of course, the ten-year-old "guide" wanted a tip for doing absolutely nothing. The tour guide said the second pyramid was much easier. It wasn't. That was exhausting.

The following day, we went to the Sahara Desert and saw a cool oasis (picture below) and some whale bones in the far desert. Then came the "African Safari," which involved the "capable" driver "who knew every inch of the the desert" leaving the road to take a short cut and getting lost in the desert. It was unsettling to unexpectedly come upon a menacing military installation. What an adventure!

We finally made it back to Cairo. Thankfully, the rest of the week being much more relaxed and we had a good time.