Up at 5:30a to run with the goats through the streets of Luxor, dodging road apples from the horse drawn carriages. There were few cars on the street and at least, I was on a familiar, smooth asphalt surface. Once again, there was only time for the minimum mile to keep “The Steak” alive. We packed up our Viking stateroom, grabbed a quick breakfast, caught the Viking bus, and got on another flight, our sixth in the last week, this time back to Cairo. I’ve been through so many x-ray machines that I have a certain glow. Tomorrow’s flight is even earlier.
It’s becoming a familiar routine: Run. Shower. Eat. Tour. Eat. Tour. Nap. Drink. Eat. Drink. Sleep. I have not yet been able to absorb the magnitude of historical facts and sights we’ve covered. Plus, I find limited time to write about it all, currently making notes on my phone while waiting at the airport for our flight. Thankfully, there are no vendors past security and a no-tipping sign in the washroom. We’re running out of Egyptian pounds and our next stop, Jordan, is a separate JOD currency.
This afternoon, before we check-in to our room at the Cairo Intercontinental CityStar, is lunch and another museum tour, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. We’ll then unpack and check out the shopping complex before dinner. It will be early to bed for a 2:30a wake up alarm and probably a quick run on the fitness center treadmill. Then, it’s off to Jordan, flight number seven, and the next phase of our fantastic journey.
Our last Egyptian Temple, located in Edfu, was also the most complete, after being buried for centuries under the sand. It honors Horus with several giant statues of falcons at the entrance. In ancient Egypt, “the god Horus appeared as a hawk, and was variously the avenger, son of truth, lord of two lands, and god of war.” He was the son of Isis, goddess of marriage, fertility, and magic and Osiris, god of peace and prosperity. As legend has it, Osiris’s brother Seth was jealous of the two, so he tricked Osiris to lie in a coffin that he unexpectedly nailed shut, attempted to drown him and ultimately dismembered him, distributing the body parts all over the world. Isis gathered all the pieces of Osiris together and had him embalmed in preparation for the afterlife. She was magically able to restore his life briefly, during which she became pregnant with Horus. Horus eventually fought Seth to the death in an effort to avenge his father but lost his eye in the process, now a powerful talisman in Egyptian mythology.
We continued to sail our Nile River pathway back towards Cairo, passing through the Esna ship locks shortly after lunch aboard the Ra. As we pack our bags for tomorrow’s disembarkation, my wife continues to negotiate with a vendor tied to the side of our boat. He has thrown several scarves on our top-floor balcony in a last-ditch effort to sell his wares. Unfortunately, one of them fell in the water – the cost of doing business – despite her lack of interest. I told you these vendors were like the hawk, relentless.
For a little variety today, we commuted by boat rather than bus and navigated an Aswan, Nile River inlet to dock near a Nubian Village. School was in session, so my wife distributed our gift of writing supplies. These kids apparently by law have to study in Egyptian schools but preserve their own language and customs through classes in their village. I also got to hold a tiny Nile crocodile and sampled more dry bread. As is the case at each site, we then walk the gauntlet of aggressive vendors, the most unpleasant experience in visiting Egypt.
We next boarded a Viking bus to another small watercraft, once again pestered by persistent vendors along the way. This one carried us to the Agilkia Island Temples of Philae, dedicated to the goddess Isis, built around 370 BC. It was another group of structures relocated through UNESCO funding because of flooding due to the Aswan Dam project. We concluded the morning with a visit to the Papyrus Institute and purchasing a piece of custom artwork depicting an Egyptian wedding scene. On and off and on the bus, we went before drifting off for an unexpected afternoon nap while the Viking Ra took us up-river for yet another Temple.
In this case, it was a short walk to the Kom Ombo Temple, dedicated to two triads of deities: Sobek, his wife Hathor and their child Knonsu; and Horus, his wife Tasenetnofret, and their child Panebtawy. Both Sobek, the Crocodile, and Horus, the Falcon, are two of ancient Egypt’s primary gods. The highlight of this Temple, in my opinion, was the Crocodile Museum, with their mummified remains. It was time to move on to Edfu on this incredible journey.
My wife and I celebrate 9000 days together today, as we cruise down the Nile River. She’s a planner and I’m a counter. In this spirit, it’s also the 5,267th day of my running streak, our 23rd Mother’s Day tomorrow as a couple, and only 37 days until her birthday. Twelve days of this fabulous adventure remain, perhaps the trip of my lifetime. Planning wise, I’ve already taken care of her birthday request, but the landscaper planted the wrong palm tree – not a foxtail. I hope I can get this straightened out but unfortunately, he doesn’t speak English. It was supposed to match the one he installed next door – but doesn’t! I should have left it to the planner because she can’t count on me.
Ramses II, whose tomb we walked through yesterday in the Valley of the Kings and his beloved queen Nefertari, mummified in her elaborate resting place in the other Royal Valley, are once again presented larger than life in the giant structures outside Abul Simba Temple. It was at least 100-degrees as we walked down the unshaded pathway to their separate entrances. These remarkable structures would not exist today without funding from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). They now look over Lake Nasser rather than forever submerged and out-of-sight, its intricate carvings washed away by the underwater currents. They might never have been found in their original location if not for the young boy, Abu Simbel. His sharp eyes and youthful curiosity spotted the top of their heads, buried under the sand, and reported it to archaeologists. The popular tourist site is therefore named after him. The monuments were eventually uncovered and moved to the present higher elevation location.
It was a lot of money, work, and hassle to see these magnificent religious, works of art. Two bus rides, roundtrip Egyptair flights, along with numerous security screenings, a long walk in the brutal heat, admission tickets, and fighting off the vicious vendors, much worse than attack of wild dogs, were required to visually admire them. I was forced to buy a belt to keep my shorts from falling down. The belt I brought with me on the trip fell apart when the screws fell out this morning. Negotiations lingered on far too long for my liking. My wife bought an alabaster camel, miniature pyramid, zebra mask (her high school mascot), and a Terracotta baking dish.
The long, hot day ended with more tips and another bus ride back to the Ra. We have a spacious suite on the top level with a short walk to the restaurant. This was fortunate on a night when we were dragging, with another early start looming and more temples, tombs, and pillars to explore after another morning run. Farewell, Abu Simbel.
I’ve yet to board a true train on this adventure with the exception of perhaps the Tampa Airport terminal loop, but I’ve been in cars, taxis, busses, river boats, motorboats, planes, golf carts (tuf-tufs), and even on a camel. In the case of the last, I’d rather walk a mile. My wife was comfortable on its back while I held on for dear life. It was an actual Hump Day – Mike, Mike, Mike!
It’s now been over a week since we left home, while a palm tree was planted in our backyard and the ceiling trays are being painted. The cleaning crew will be in next, a friend is watering our plants, and the pool people have done their job -a lot of activity for an empty house, as the electric meter keeps spinning. Tally, of course, is at Schnauzerville, wondering why she isn’t getting Ham Time.
Two more weeks to go before our return. We’ve spent one night in Lufthansa Business Class, two-nights in Cairo at the Sheraton Casino, and 4-nights on the Viking Ra riverboat cruising the Nile, with three more to go. Then, we’ll pack our bags and fly to Amman, Jordan for a couple of days on the Dead Sea at the Movenpick Resort and a visit to Petra. A last night in Cairo will be at the Airport Intercontinental before the flight to London for our final six days of exploration from the Marriott Vacation Club.
The food is very spicy with lots of dry bread and soups. Aswan is the spice capital of Egypt. Fava and Garbanzo beans are key ingredients. I’m not a fan because of the flavors, even with bread that has always been a favorite of mine. Fortunately, the Viking chef provides us with options like burgers, omelets, steak, and pasta. My wife, of course, did buy an Egyptian cookbook at the airport gift shop.
So far, things have run smoothly except for the two-hour delay at the airport that pushed back our tour of the famous Abul Simbel Temple and eliminated any time for lunch. There’s a 31-to-1 conversion rate from U.S. dollars to Egyptian Pounds and a need for more ATMs. We do have an excellent tour guide that will continue with us into Jordan. Once she gets us on the plane to London, we’re on our own. The biggest hassles have been the persistent vendors and having to pay for toilet paper or to pee.
I deserved a power nap rather than sitting through a falafel cooking lesson, but I did learn to write my name in hieroglyphics before nodding off. It was dress-like-an-Egyptian night for dinner and a Nubian dance performance once we stopped for the night in Aswan, the Land of Gold. My wife had bought an appropriate pink-beaded dress at the market. She was once again the Belle of the Boat. Other souvenirs purchased include several scarves, an embroidered pillow cover, cookbook, magnets, scarabs, and a Bes figurine, the god of laughter. The vendors were very aggressive!
We needed to get to sleep promptly for an early flight to Abu Simbel. At least the boat was docked by an area where I could get in a 2-mile run. As was the case every day, I had to grab a pass to leave the Viking Ra, but at least today there were smooth surfaces to navigate and I could actually enjoy my surroundings rather than focusing on my feet. I haven’t had time for a full 5k since Luxor, so only 25-miles so far this month in 12-days applied to “The Streak.”
On the way to the airport, the Viking bus made a quick photo stop at the top of The Aswan High Dam. It was Damn fine, but certainly not as impressive as the Hoover Dam, however it is actually a combination of two – High and Low. We’ll be flying round-trip this afternoon just to see the ancient monuments that were moved to rescue them from the flooding that occurred during dam construction. It was a monumental task!
I’m not doing a good job of keeping up on these posts, but the Viking schedule is quite demanding. We barely had time to unpack following the charter flight to Luxor, and several bus or shuttle rides before making our way to the Karnak Temple, Luxor Library, and a Heritage Center tour. These were my first encounters with hieroglyphics, obelisks, and ancient carvings. We were on the go until finally settling down for a late dinner, our first on the boat before finally succumbing to exhaustion.
I have to get up at 6a every morning to squeeze in a run. It was easy the first day aboard, knowing that I had to be back at the Ra by 8a for departure with plenty of time to cover a full 5k. Each day the window of opportunity would get more and more difficult, settling for the minimum mileage or finding a safe course to maintain “The Streak.” Day 2, I followed the a similar outdoor path along the Nile, but found myself a bit unsettled after being chased by a pack of wild dogs. Day 3, we were docked in Esna, while the security folks would not let me leave the compound, so I was forced to jog over uneven pavers. I’ve been assured that when we get to Aswan tomorrow, I will once again be on the streets for my daily workout.
In this 3-day time frame, we saw Luxor’s Goornah, the Valley of the Kings, the Rameses family tombs, and King Tut’s mummy, along with Howard Carter’s home during its discovery, the Valley of the Queens, Nefertari’s elaborate resting place, Colossi of Memnon, and the Temple of Khnum. It was a whirlwind of tourist activity, much like the Whirling Dervish performance onboard the Ra. As we cruise along the lush Nile Riverbanks, we’ve taken classes in the ancient Egyptian game of backgammon, language lessons in Arabic, and how to create our own Cartouche. It’s now time to relax for a day of sailing after seeing our fill of Tombs and Temples.
The force on the fourth was with us, as we started our journey to Egypt. After a quick run and dog duty, a driver took us to Tampa International Airport for the first of three long flights. The movie, The Whale, held my attention but I did not quite get to the end before touchdown. Newark was the first landing spot, with thoughts of a future boat ride on the Hudson River with our friends from nearby White Plains. We could see the distinct towers of the Big Apple in the distance as we shuttled by bus from one terminal to the next. Not knowing that we would be so well fed on the next flight, we had some meatballs at Piattino’s.
Our seats for the next leg were in a spacious Business Class pod with adjustments for a lounger and bed. Dinner was served on a white tablecloth with champaign. I then finished The Whale and Marry Me, struggling to get any sleep. We landed in Frankfurt with enough time for a run and exercise in a small, secluded landing just outside the Lufthansa First Class Lounge – it was probably a hundred tedious laps to cover the required mile in sixteen minutes.
The two-hour layover at the airport may turn out to be my only time in Germany after studying the language in high school. I also briefly saw the beautiful Swiss/ Austrian Alps sticking out over the clouds. We landed in Cairo surrounded by nothing but brown sand as far as the eye could see. Welcome to the desert and Cinco de Maya.
Two near tragedies were avoided along the way after security located my passport that I somehow misplaced during the security scanning steps. Also, when we arrived by taxi at the Sheraton Casino Hotel, my left hearing aid fell out and after frantically searching the ground and all but giving up finally found it stuck on my shoulder. Good fortune was with me in both cases. Dinner was on our own at Sapporo for sushi in the hotel before collapsing from exhaustion in our comfortable bed of Egyptian cotton.
In that first early morning, I chose to run a couple of miles through the chaotic streets of Cairo while my wife had breakfast. We were both soon touring the city by Viking bus and fascinated with the visit to the Egyptian Museum and Salah El-Din Citadel where we got our first glimpse of the Giza Pyramids through the haze. King Tut tomb treasures, of course, was the highlight. A late afternoon nap further confused the time difference from home, and it was back on the bus for the crowded marketplace and dinner at Zeeyara. My wife and I successfully bargained for scarves, an inlaid jewelry box and hand-tooled brass dish.
Sunrise came quickly. I completed my daily run on the treadmill instead of joining the group for the breakfast buffet. We were soon back on the bus for Giza and stops at the largest, oldest, and newest pyramids in the world, including a rare but claustrophobic, hunched-over descent into the actual burial chamber. Afterwards, I then narrowly avoided buying fancy rugs while observing the weaving process at a nearby carpet school. Lunch was at the Steigenberger Pyramids hotel directly across from the construction site of the new Grand Egyptian Museum. A camel ride and the Sphinx concluded an amazing afternoon in the Sahara Desert. Another short nap, then dinner at our hotel before setting another early alarm.
At 3:30a, I was ready to go to the fitness center, but it was closed so I did laps around the outdoor pool area. After packing our bags for the valets, I also had time for breakfast before the bus to the airport. We were then off to Luxor by charter plane to board the Viking riverboat Ra and the next leg of this incredible Nile River adventure.
I grew up in an era when awards weren’t issued simply for participation, so there was no trophy shelf in my bedroom growing up. My primary athletic skill was speed since I was small and skinny entering my teen years. I didn’t really have a growth spurt until later in high school. I fondly remember winning a grade school 50-yard dash in a track meet, establishing me as one of the fastest in the city but could not sustain this for any distance. Basketball and track were my sports, but I was only slightly better than average. At least I could outmaneuver others in flag football, and this proved beneficial in college intramurals when our freshman dorm team won the league championship. I also tried wrestling in high school but turned out to be nothing but a tackling dummy on two state championship teams.
I played a lot of ping pong and pool in the basement of the house and became proficient in both. These skills came in handy in college, particularly at the fraternity house, with an occasional winning bet that was always more rewarding than a trophy or ribbon. I attended Junior Basketball Camp for four years, hoping to improve my basketball skills but that provided futile. However, I did manage to win several blue ribbons for free throw shooting, frisbee, ping pong, and the talent show. As I took up distance running in my twenties, I also won a blue ribbon for my age group in a 10k, but that was probably because it was held in sub-zero conditions with very few competitors. All of these ribbons must have been important to me because I still have them in what I call my “Crapbook.”
Come to think of it, I might have also received a grade school perfect attendance award, but sadly I never got selected for crossing guard duty. One summer our neighbor talked me into joining the little league baseball team that he coached. Since I had never played organized baseball before, he put me out in right field where I could do the least damage. In my mind, I made a game saving, diving catch. In later years, without much of an arm but a good bat, I continued to play right field or second base in the media softball leagues where several team trophies were earned. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten an individual sports trophy. I also tried playing golf one summer and spent a lot of time at the country club. Even though I did break 100 and got a new set of clubs from my dad for doing so, I found golf to be boring and frustrating.
The only honor I earned through high school was an “E” for Elkhart High School in choir. I still have it with a couple of silver medals attached for solos performed in the state competition. I never got an “R” for Rice Elementary School, a “B” for Beardsley, or an “N” for North Side Junior High, although I participated on their teams but apparently was never worthy of a letter. Only starters earned the right to wear a letter sweater, while I sweated just to keep up with these “studs.”
I was a good student, making the National Honor Society, but never tried very hard or studied much. An afterschool program called Junior Achievement proved to be my forte, winning Salesperson of the Year along with other awards, including a small scholarship. Sales and business skills, along with self-confidence, learned in this 4-year program proved to be an asset throughout my career. I paid this back by serving on the Board of Directors of JA for many years. I do have a plaque for that!
I’ve never had much luck with motors and mechanics, starting with my very first car that had trouble doing just that. Before this first purchase, I drove my dad’s cars in high school, with no interest in motorcycles or scooters. My driver’s test took place in his 1965 Mustang convertible, and I snuck away to California in his Ford Galaxie. The wood-side-paneled Country Squire station wagon was our vacation and go-to-Church car, while I used it a couple of times to cruise Main Street. We packed it up as a family and dropped me off at Albion College where several of my fellow classmates had their own car. Without access to one of my own, I also did some hitchhiking back then, mainly down to Indiana University for weekend getaways.
I bought my own car in 1972, a brand new, bright red, Triumph GT6 fastback model, with a little help from my parents, after transferring to IU. It looked good on the outside, but the dual carburetors could not handle the icy, Indiana winters. It had trouble starting in the mornings and became a frustrating problem getting to classes on time. I took it into an automotive shop and learned a valuable lesson about buying sports cars that probably saved me thousands over the course of time. I dropped the car off in the evening after spending the day trying to get it going and instructed them to keep it inside for the night. The repair bill included a towing charge because they left it in the lot for the night. I refused to pay and was further infuriated when the mechanic told me that “anybody that can afford a car like this can pay the extra fee.” Going forward in life, all I ever wanted was a car that was reliable and affordable. But first, I wanted to get rid of this one.
The Triumph took me on a memorable drive to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but after a year of marriage, it continued to give us problems in the winter and severely tested my mechanical ineptness, so I begged Marcia to trade it in on something. She came home with a used Gremlin, proving that her taste in cars wasn’t much better than mine. It was just another lemon, but we soon settled on a Volkswagen Beetle that changed my whole attitude about cars. It got great gas mileage, could get through the snow, and started without fail. We also had a Dodge van that she used for the Hall of Ivy plant business. Despite this streak of carefree motoring, I was able to avoid buying a boat, but I did have some misfortune with a snowmobile that broke down in the woods and was left to rust.
When I went to work at WTRC Radio, I developed a great relationship with the owner of a Buick dealership and bought several cars from him, including a Skylark and Regal. As I got into management, I was fortunate to drive company-owned cars for most of the remainder of my career, The first was a Jeep, followed by a Honda SUV, and finally a Toyota Camry. I then married a woman that loved driving her reliable Lexus but wanted a convertible, so our second car became a red 2011 Solara that we bought while living in Austin. However, she quickly passed it on to me once she eyed a used 2005 Gold, Lexus SC430, hard-top convertible that we still own in Florida. Just recently, we traded in the Solara for an electric golf cart, hopefully limiting my exposure to automotive problems and all things motorized.
