Chapnet

It’s hard to open a post with the phrase, “Despite the open drainage system and lack of hot water…” but I’ll try.

Despite the open drainage system and lack of hot water, Lamu is a really nice place to spend a week. Lamu is an island off the coast of Kenya; we’re staying in Lamu Town, a hard-to-explain kind of place that is probably best understood through a series of anecdotes.

The town is old and mostly unchanged in the last hundred years or more. There is no sewage system. Gutters along the narrow streets drain to the ocean.  Thankfully the town lies on a gentle hillside that mostly points down to the water. I’m guessing you get used to the scent after a while…it’s never overwhelming, but omnipresent for the first-time visitor. Despite my prepared-for worst-case-scenario, I haven’t seen any of “that” making its way to the beach.

The “streets” are really, really narrow. Not really “streets” by any definition that I’d adhere to. In many places you can easily place your palms on the walls of the buildings on either side. Keep in mind that the drainage gutters often take up their share of the walkway, even in the narrowest alleys.

The narrow streets make motor travel nearly impossible, so there are no cars of any kind anywhere. (Almost no motor vehicles whatsoever, but you do see the odd scooter or small motorbike.) Donkeys are the main non-foot-based mode of travel, and they’re everywhere. Everybody has a donkey. I already kind of want a donkey.

Donkeys provide transportation for people and goods; the term “beast of burden” is much more meaningful after you see a donkey with a massive load of concrete blocks lumber past.

When the donkeys aren’t in use, their owners leave them to roam the streets freely. We asked a local how this works: “Everybody knows your donkey. We know where they go. When it’s time to get your donkey, you just go where they go.” Free-roaming donkeys also sometimes lead to a donkey stampede, which we experienced on our first nighttime walk up main street. We heard galloping, but I couldn’t identify the source. I did notice Michelle dive to the side of the road in front of me (narrowly avoiding the gutter). At the last possible moment, I saw a donkey braying and chasing another down the street—a few meters away at most. I braced for impact, but luckily threw myself against the wall as the rampaging donkeys galloped past.

Outside of the donkey attack, our time here has been quite lovely. We finally arrived Saturday evening after 36 hours of flying and layovers, which led to a certain level of stir-craziness in the waiting area of Wilson airport.

We took a long walk yesterday to a swimming beach. Instead of walking along the water (a 45-minute trek), we took our innkeeper’s advice and followed an inland route that took us through a couple of small villages. We left the hotel at noon, almost exactly. So we were a little hot.

On our walk we bumped into a local who told us that his mother had died and her funeral was taking place that day. He asked if we had anything we could spare because the family was very poor. I handed over 200 shillings (about $2.50) and he thanked us and pointed us in the direction of Shela beach. About 20 minutes later, we heard a shout from behind us and the same man was running at full speed down the path.

“The ladies from the village came to the funeral and said they saw two white people walking along the path to a dangerous village. I say, ‘I know them! They are my friends! I must make sure they are ok!’ So I come to find you! Nobody will harm you if I am with you.”

He still had his spoons in his hand from the meal he’d been eating. I don’t actually think we were in danger—the path we were taking took us over some sand dunes that led to a beautiful beach. But there is a town further along the beach that has a well-earned bad reputation and he was worried that we were headed that way. It was a touching moment.

Last night we joined two other guests from Jambo House (our Spartan-but-comfortable lodging) for a boat ride to a nearby island to watch the sun set. The captain and his mate prepared a fabulous dinner of fresh fruit, vegetable stew, and freshly-caught snapper that we ate aboard the ship as night fell.

Today we had a more relaxing day exploring the town. I’m sitting on the rooftop balcony of Jambo House listening to the evening calls to prayer echoing through the walls and rooftops around me, looking for a good way to wrap this post so we can head to dinner. This seems as good a time as any. Until next time!

Your first impression on entering Cairo in any type of vehicle (taxi, bus, bicycle, donkey cart) is, “How does anyone survive to adulthood??”  There are no discernible traffic laws, thousands of cars weaving around each other, and flocks of pedestrians wading through the quagmire for good measure.  Lane markers may as well not exist, as drivers will happily squeeze between a slower car and oncoming traffic…even on a narrow, two-lane road.

After a few days, though, you realize that you’re witnessing an elaborate dance with its own special rhythm that everybody is attuned to.  The chaos requires heightened awareness by everybody and constant communication between drivers, riders, and pedestrians.  Drivers speak a special language using their car horns, a constant chatter that lets everybody know where they are and what they’re doing.  In our time wandering the twisting streets of this grand city, we didn’t witness a single mishap or accident or even a single act of road rage.  Sure, the drivers would yell at each other if one broke the unspoken (and seemingly incomprehensible) code of conduct, but any such explosion was greeted with a wave and a nod and maybe even chuckle.  Never hard feelings.

As we wait in the airport seven hours early for the start of the next leg of our adventure, I got to thinking that the chaotic ballet performed in the streets of Egypt’s cities and towns is a fitting allegory for the country as a whole, at least the tiny bit that we were able to experience in our limited time here.  This is a country of devastating poverty and run-down infrastructure, but one that also boasts some of the most magnificent works of art and engineering that humankind has ever produced.  The people are passionate and excitable and may baqsheesh you into distraction, but will always greet you with a warm smile and a genuine, “Welcome!”  They are very much, Egyptian.  And they gave us a fabulous week.  Thanks, Egypt!

Our next stop is Lamu, but that’s two more flights and one more border away, so it still seems unimaginably distant.  Our last two days were spent mainly in Luxor (we flew back into Cairo early this morning).  The highlight of Luxor was our trip to the Valley of the Kings—a jagged, dry valley in the mountains to the west of the city.  The pharaohs of the New Kingdom realized that decorating their tombs with huge pyramids was a good way to draw unwanted attention and, ultimately, grave robbers, leading to plundered treasure.  The Valley of the Kings hid their tombs from plain sight in a valley below an appropriately pyramid-shaped mountain…although that didn’t ultimately work either.  The only tomb that’s been found with anything left inside (besides the mummies themselves) was that of King Tutankhamen—an otherwise forgettable king, famous only because the entrance to his tomb was hidden by rubble from the building of another (Ramses VII) and its contents were still present when Howard Carter stumbled into it in 1922.  Seeing the amazing array of items that were found in King Tut’s tomb on display in the Egyptian Museum leads you to imagine what a truly great king’s tomb might have looked like.

You can reach a level of “temple fatigue” on a trip like this, but at the same time every visit brings the history to life that much more.  Standing in these temples on the same stones as the builders, artists, architects, priests, pharaohs, and everyday citizens is an awe-inspiring experience.  We’re on a bus ride to Luxor from the second of two temples that we saw today: Kom Ombo and Edfu, one of the best-preserved temples in all of Egypt.  Both were actually built by the Greeks to appease the people and, more importantly, the priests, during Greece’s rein over Egypt.

The temples all share a similar design: an elaborate entrance into a common plaza area where the commoners would bring their offerings to the gods of the temple, and a sanctuary where the priests would make the actual offering to the god.  The offerings were laid at the feet of a statue representing the god.  Of course, the statue couldn’t actually do anything with the gifts, so many of the priests became very wealthy and some were even anointed pharaohs.

The temples are huge and intricately decorated with thousands of carvings in the pillars, walls, and ceilings.  The carvings tell stories or depict offerings to the gods.

In some cases, the original colours are still visible.

We spent yesterday sailing down the Nile on a felucca.  It was a nice, relaxing respite from the constant motion of the last week.  We were sailing into a headwind, so we didn’t travel too far and had to keep tacking back and forth across the river, trying to avoid a seemingly endless flotilla of river cruise ships on each crossing.

Sailing isn’t allowed in the dark, so we docked when night fell and had dinner aboard our motorized support boat.  With nothing to do and nowhere to go after dinner, we had good conversation and  lot of laughs with the rest of the tour group (6 Canadians, 4 Australians, 3 Americans, and one Russian (although he’s a Canadian citizen), and our Egyptian tour guide, Michael).

When it came time for bed, we retired to our feluccas and unrolled our sleeping bags for a night on the Nile.

For the rest of today and tomorrow we’re in Luxor, with a donkey ride and a visit to the Valley of the Kings tomorrow morning.  We’ve been warned that the sellers at the bazaar in Luxor are the most aggressive yet, which is hard to even fathom given the completely unabashed For-You-Special-Price! You-Can-Just-Look! Is-A-Gift-You-Can-Do-Money?? we’ve been subjected to so far.  Thankfully Michelle has mastered enough Arabic to get us out of most jams: “La shukran! Mafiche faloos!”  (No thank you!  I have no money!)

We’re riding in a bus back from seeing Ramses II’s magnificent temples in Abu Simbel.  It was an early morning (up at 3:30, on the road by 4) because Abu Simbel is a 3-hour drive south of Aswan.  For those who know their Egyptian geography, this put us 50km from the border with Sudan.  Apparently there have been incidents of Sudanese bandits preying on tourist buses (not unlike ours) and kidnapping all aboard.  The trip is made early and with a huge convoy of other buses and police to reduce the risk.  The landscape is desert, and looks hot, even though the temperatures have been cool most days.  I can see mirages in the distance that look like huge lakes.

Abu Simbel is amazing for at least two reasons.  One is the grandeur of the temples themselves.  There are two: one dedicated to Ramses II and one to his favourite wife, Nefertari.  The scale of the temples is a reflection of the ambition and ego of the king considered to be the greatest of ancient Egypt.  His statue sits with three other gods at the far end of the temple, and the sun shines directly on him twice a year: February 22nd (his birthday) and October 22nd (his coronation).

The second thing that’s amazing is that the temple currently sits 200m above the hillside into which it was originally carved.  When the Nile was dammed in the late 50s to prevent flooding, the rising waters behind the dam started to cover these temples and many other ruins in the valley.  The Egyptian government, with help from UNESCO, carved the temple into pieces and re-constructed it in a man-made hillside.

Yesterday was another busy Gap day that was highlighted by the reason for this post’s title: a camel ride!  A motorboat took us across the Nile to West Aswan where we were paired up with a camel and a guide.  We rode our camels through the dunes as the sun was setting.  At times the dunes hid any hint of civilization and you could almost, almost, feel like an authentic desert explorer.

…and I cannot lie.  (Note: this opening was rated highest among all candidates for today’s post.  Read into that what you will.)

I’m lying here in the lower bunk on a sleeper train to Aswan.  We have a tidy, cozy, private cabin in a car with the rest of our tour buddies.  The bed is reasonably comfortable and the gentle rocking and swaying is soothing and should be conducive to sleep.  Unfortunately, the sudden stops and lurching are not.  We’ll see how the night plays out, but right now we’re sitting at about 50-50 sway vs. lurch.  We were served dinner as soon as we boarded (right).
Today was the first day of our Gap adventure and we really packed a lot in with a trip to the pyramids in Giza and the afternoon at the Egyptian Museum.  The museum is amazing.  It would take a week to really explore it in depth, but we crammed our visit into three hours.  Thankfully our guide Michael is very knowledgeable and took us to the most important exhibits, explaining each one in detail as we saw them.

The remnants of King Tut’s tomb were fascinating.  The museum holds everything except the mummy itself (that’s at the tomb in Luxor).  King Tut’s famous mask is the highlight of the exhibit.  It was very, very cool to see such a recognizable artifact in real life.  We also strolled through the room containing the mummies of some of Egypt’s most famous kings.  It was well worth the 100 Egyptian Pounds to see the spectacularly well-preserved remains of all of the kings, especially Ramses II, right down to his shock of wavy white hair.

The pyramids and the Sphinx were also very impressive.  Lying on the edge of the dusty Cairo suburb of Giza, the pyramids stand as majestic and proud now as they have for thousands of years.  I was blown away by their sheer size in real life, with the natural, “How’d they do that??” rolling through my engineer brain.  We took the opportunity to enter the smallest of the three pyramids—a claustrophobic trip downward through a long tunnel to the tomb chamber below the ground level.  The chamber itself is uninspiring, but the trip down was well worth the price of admission.  I’m just glad we took the trip in the middle of winter and not on a hot, sweltering summer day.
The train has switched back from lurching to swaying, so I’m going to take a stab at sleep.  Until next time…

We were woken at 4:30am this morning—a typically glum situation rendered much happier by the arrival of our bags.  My fatigue after roaming Cairo in search of replacement underwear was easily overcome by my joy at changing out of the ill-fitting boxers that we eventually found and into something a little more comfy.  (Note: men’s underwear is perhaps the single most challenging item to purchase in all of Cairo.)

Our underwear adventure came on the heels of a fantastic day of sightseeing that included only one obvious scam that anyway allowed us to look out over the city from the top of a minaret.  All in all, it is a story perhaps best told in pictures…

Delicious coffee at Cilantro Café.  Very westernized coffee shop near our hotel.  The American University is nearby and many of the restaurants cater to ex-pats.

The Nile!

Off to Islamic Cairo and the The Khan el Khalili Market, where you can find…

…shoes!  Also, stuffed camels, shawls, gold, silver, trinkets, etc., etc., all at Great Prices  For You My Friend!

Also…cats:

While we were in Islamic Cairo, we found ourselves on a private tour with the Muezzin at a mosque…which was fantastic, but also cost us more in baqsheesh (tips) than we’d anticipated.  A memorable experience nonetheless, especially getting to climb one of the minarets.

Today (Saturday), we walked along the Nile to Coptic Cairo.  Lots of police presence due to the recent attack on Coptic Christians in Alexandria, but the city seemed very serene and safe.

We made a friend on the way.

And ended the day with a refreshing beer on the rooftop deck of the Osiris Hotel…

…as the sun set on Cairo.

Tomorrow we’re off on our Gap adventure, where we’ll finally see the pyramids!  An overnight train will then whisk us south to Aswan where we begin our trek back north along the Nile to Luxor…a trip that includes an overnight ride on a Felucca (which I mention mainly because I like saying the word Felucca).

Frankly, traveling with too much luggage is an encumbrance, so we say forget it!  Just leave your bags at Dulles International and go on with a couple of toothbrushes and no change of underwear.  We’re roughing it!

Thumbs up for a little shuteye!

Besides that minor issue, we made it to Cairo safely despite the white-knuckle cab ride from the airport and with only a half-hour delay leaving Frankfurt that we may or may not have caused (ok, that we definitely caused).  Moral: don’t get too comfy on the amazingly comfy chairs when you board in half an hour and aren’t actually at the gate.  A tasty dinner at a seafood café (they fed us “FEEEESH” the kids kept laughing and repeating “FEEEESH!”) capped off an eventful day.

It’s late now, and time to fall asleep with the incessant honking as a lullaby.  We dig into Cairo for real tomorrow!