November: Barcelona and Egypt Well we are settling in to our winter surroundings with activities almost everyday. Sunday is a bike ride (usually about 20 miles), Monday is movie night, women's coffee is on Tuesday (where we discuss and solve the problems of the world), Thursday is free Spanish lessons, and watercolor painting lessons on Friday (6 Euros for two hours). There are also Spanish classes of 150 hours (5 hours a week) for 20 Euros that Rudy is attending. We still have a couple of free days left to go to the markets and shop or just walk down the Ramblas. Rudy and I also joined a sports club so we try to go as many days as we can. The club has the newest machines and three swimming pools, two of which are Olympic size and one is outdoors. We swam outdoors on the 3rd and 4th of this month in beautiful sunshine and of course the pool is heated!!! November 1st through the 9th was the Barcelona Boat Show, which we visited a few times. We went aboard several sailboats and then found the biggest boat motorboat (105 feet) to see how the rich and famous people live. The glass ceiling and the 7 or 8 bathrooms (hard pressed to call them heads) were better than most upscale hotels. They ask $45,000 for a week per couple plus fuel and food!!! Maybe next year!!! On Thursday the 6th, the marina gave the cruisers a chestnut and cava (cava is champagne but not from Champagne, France) party with trays and trays of desserts and hot chocolate (chocolate melted in a cup) to be used on a special local pastry. It was great and we had to exercise twice as hard to balance out those desserts!! We left on the 14th to visit Phyllis Smith, her daughter Nancy, and her husband Gary and their daughter Annika in Egypt on the first of 9 flights we were to take on this voyage!!! Nancy and Gary have been living in Cairo for about four years and invited Rudy and I while her mother was visiting. We jumped at the opportunity and had a fantastic time. Nancy worked with her travel agent and put together a fabulous trip. The first night we got there we had a delicious fish dinner at a nearby restaurant. On Saturday all six of us took a camel ride to get a better view of the Giza Pyramids. Rudy's camel was not very happy and complained very loudly even before Rudy got on!!! We had fun riding the camels up and down the sand dunes. However, Rudy and I walked "funny" for a few hours after and were sore a bit longer!!! We then went to lunch at the Mena House. The Mena House was a beautiful former hunting house used by royalty where we had a great view of the Pyramids as we ate lunch. On Sunday Rudy, Phyllis and I went shopping on Road 9 to do our share in helping the economy of Egypt!!! Rudy felt I more than did my share.... Monday the 17th, we (Phyllis joined us) were picked up at 6:45 a.m. (ugh!) to get our train to Alexandria. We were then met by our driver and guide Sameer and visited the Greco Roman Museum, the brand new Library, the Roman Amphitheatre, Pompey's Pillar, CataCombs, Montaza Gardens and then had lunch at the El Salamlek Palace!!!! Sameer was very informative and told us many interesting facts. He told us the legend of the Sphinx: Sphinx is the body of a jackal with the face of a King who protects the dead bodies in the desert. When we were in the depths of the Catacombs, the electricity went off; I have never experienced total blackness like that!! Sameer held my hand and I held Rudy's as we walked like blind men toward a man with a light. Then we went back to Cairo. Tuesday the girls (Nancy, Phyllis and I) went to the Suk (market) Kahn (narrow street). The Kahn reminded me of the Grand Bazaar in Turkey with its many, many stores. I again helped the economy of Egypt in my own way!!! (We will need more suitcases for our return to Barcelona!!!) On Wednesday November 19th, we got up at 5 a.m. (ugh!!) to be driven to the airport for a 6:35a.m. flight to Sharm El Sheikh at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula and the Sofitel Hotel. This Sofitel was the best hotel I have ever stayed in. Not only was it beautiful, the service great, the people were friendly, but five feet into the water was beautiful coral and fish that neither Rudy or I have seen in all our travels!!!! We went snorkeling a couple of times each day. That night we went to a dinner in the desert. They had a small band, dancing and a star lit night!!!! The next day we took a trip on a boat to Tarin Island in the Red Sea between the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba for a day of snorkeling and of course lunch!!! That night we enjoyed a dinner at an Indian Restaurant on the grounds of the hotel after our hard day on the boat. The Sofitel had a different show every night at their small outside theatre. All were very entertaining. The last day at this resort, we went shopping. Why not? The driver stayed with us to help us bargain for our purchases in the old and new markets in Na'ama Bay, the town next to Sharm. His time cost us 20 Egyptian pounds or about $3 an hour. It was well worth it!! That night we had a buffet at another of the several restaurants on the grounds of the hotel. On Saturday November the 22nd, we again were driven to the airport for another 6:35a.m. (ugh!!!) flight. This flight went to Luxor. From there we were driven to the Oberoi Shehrayar for a cruise up the Nile River, which is south because the Nile flows from south to north. Since we had time before lunch, our guide took us to visit another Suk. This market had too many people on very narrow dirt streets with donkeys, horse and buggies and cars all trying to go in several directions, very Egyptian. I was much happier when I got back to the boat!!! We boarded our ship in time for our first meal. We had a great lunch and met the two couples that would share our table and become our friends during the cruise. One couple had their own personal guide and lived in Florida, formerly from Long Island. The other couple, Shant and Vinita, lives in Bombay, India. We were together for the entire trip and we enjoyed their company. After lunch we took our first tour. When we arrived in Luxor, our guide and driver showed our group (about 16 people) the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens (over 4,000 years old) and the Temple of Hatshepsut. She built the temple for her tomb but her body/mummy has never been found. She was the only Egyptian woman King and ruled for about 20 years. She built one of the most beautiful temples and the largest Obelisk in history!!! (Ata girl!!!!) At the Valley of the Kings we had to walk 45 meters down under the ground to visit one tomb and another was over 80 meters down. The walkway was so small that Rudy looked as though he was crawling!!! Then we traveled from the West Bank to the East Bank to see the Luxor and the Temple of Amen Ra, which was extremely impressive!!! The statues were so massive and magnificent it was truly breaktaking!!! It is hard to understand how the Egyptians built all of these things with the tools and technology of that time. Then it was back to the boat for a quiet evening. After an early breakfast we visited the Temple of Karnak. Another magnificent temple! We also saw what was left of a row of 365 Sphinx, one for each day of the year. When we got back to our floating home we finally left the dock for the first time. The only lock we had to go through was at Esna. We arrived about 4 pm and had to wait till after 11 pm for our turn in the Lock. This must be a traffic jam of over 50 cruise ships every day! While we waited, the locals entertained us. They arrived in small rowboats with long 2x4's for oars and threw their merchandise into our boat in order for us to see and purchase their items. If you think it is hard to bargain on ground level, you can imagine bargaining 30-40 above ground throwing items and money back and forth and trying not to have anything fall into the water!!! However, many of the returns did land in the water because our fellow cruisers hadn't had the opportunity to develop their throwing skills. We really had to be careful walking along the deck because of all the Egyptian paraphernalia flying over the rails!! What a sight!! The next day we visited the Temple of Horus in Edfu and then sailed to Kom Ombo and the Temple of Sebekh (crocodile). We only had one problem, the boat left without us!!! After our group waited 45 minutes for a man who came with us in the same horse and buggy, the guide found out he was already on the boat. When we got to where the boat was, it had already left the dock. Our boat was the 4th boat from the dock on a raft of boats. The other three boats were ready to leave so our boat had to pull away so the others could leave the dock. Our boat had to do some maneuvering and actually hit another boat before it made its way back to the dock to pick up the stragglers, 10 of us. I don't think the captain was very pleased with the events! That night we visited Kom Ombo (the city of gold). Back onboard we had a costume party and some games. Rudy let a 10-year-old girl beat him in one game and I won a conciliation prize in the dance contest. An Egyptian woman won!!! However, I was the oldest woman in the contest by about 30 years!!! We sailed during the night and were in Aswan by morning, the end of our cruise. On Tuesday the 25th we left the ship at 8 a.m. and visited the High Dam, the Old Dam and the Philae and the Temple of Isis. This complex was rebuilt on the island of Agilkia. The 10-year project was completed in 1980 because the rising waters caused by the Dam would cover and destroy the Temple. If we weren't told, we would not know it had ever been disturbed. From there we were met by a driver and brought to the airport for our flight to Abu Simbel. The hotel at Abu Simbel was three years old and very beautiful. All the rooms looked over the desert mountains and Lake Nasser, which is the largest man made lake in the world. The Aswan Dam created Lake Nasser. That evening we walked about 20 minutes to the Temple of Abu Simbel to see a Music and Light Show. It told the history of that area in every language you could think of by way of earphones. It was entertaining, and informative. Here are a couple of facts: The statues are always standing with their left foot in front, which was closer to their heart, to ensure they would enter the Heavens with their hearts first. Also, Aswan granite was used for most of the temples and other monuments along the Nile River. It was necessary to wait for the annual flooding of the Nile to move the huge blocks of granite from the quarry to the various construction sites along the Nile Valley. All of the sights we saw contained granite from Aswan including the Giza Pyramids. The barges must have been huge to carry the various blocks of granite. Some weighed in excess of 1000 tons! Since we had a 12:45 pm (that's better) flight, the next day we walked again to visit the Temples. We continued to be impressed by the magnitude of the giant sculptures, and also by the fact this entire complex was relocated to its current site in 1960 because it would have been swallowed by the waters of Lake Nasser. It is incredible!!!!! We were picked up from the Cairo Airport and had a quiet night with Phyllis, Nancy, Gary and Annika. Nancy cooked another wonderful dish, this time with rice and shrimp!! DELICIOUS!!! On Thanksgiving Day, our driver and guide took us to the Saqqara and Giza Pyramids. The Giza Pyramid, built 4,600 years ago, was the tallest manmade object on the planet until the construction of the Eiffel Tower at the turn of the 19th century. There are 104 Super structure Pyramids and 54 sub-structure pyramids with tombs in Egypt. Our tour gave us a closer look at the Giza Pyramids on foot than we had on camel and it was more comfortable but less adventurous!! We could almost touch the huge Sphinx!! We visited the museum on the grounds and marveled at the Solar Boat found in 1952 by accident. It is pieced together and housed in the museum. The wood is over 4000 years old!!! Why did they call it a Solar Boat you ask?? It as because they believed in the After Life, the sun would power the boat for the King to reach the Heavens!!! When Rudy and I got home, we were treated to an outstanding Thanksgiving Dinner; Turkey, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, home-made cranberries, stuffing and for dessert…. pumpkin pie, blueberry pie and home-made ice-cream!!!! What a fabulous treat!!!! On Friday the 28th we had " Sunday" Brunch. (Friday is their holy day like our Sunday and they work Sunday thru Thursday!!!) We ate at the Four Seasons and tried to eat a little of everything on the tables. We decide we couldn't do it unless we stayed a week, but we did try!!! It was wonderful and I think I gained 20 pounds!!! When we got back to the house, Rudy and Gary even watch a football game on TV! What a treat!! On our last full day in Egypt, we went to the Citadel and to the Cairo Museum. The works of art and the King Tut section fascinated us. I went back for a second look!!! As with all the mummification of the Kings, they put the liver, stomach, lungs and intestines of King Tut in separate canopic jars made of alabaster. We saw these jars housed in their original ornate box. The heart, considered the seat of thought and the soul remained with the body. In the Alexandria Museum there were 23,000 pieces and in the Cairo Museum there were 125,000 pieces. We were told that it would take several years to see everything if we took several minutes to contemplate each piece. We didn't have that much time so we left after a couple of hours. That night Phyllis, Rudy and I went to see the Whirling Dervishes at the Citadel for free!!! One man went whirled for over 30 minutes the same direction sometimes with his eyes closed…incredible!!!! The next day we took it easy, packed and said our good-byes to our friends and Egypt. We had a 4 p.m. flight and got back to Barcelona at around 10 p.m. We had a wonderful time thanks to Nancy Smith and May the travel agent at Seegypt Travel. I would have changed nothing except to spend more time in Sharm and Luxor. It was a trip to remember!!