36 Hours Later…

The huge Emirates terminal in Dubai
The huge Emirates terminal in Dubai

Time to unwind this one. Took a day and a half and three flights and two long layovers but we made it. Twenty one plus hours of tube time… Thirteen hours of layovers… Two of hours in cars…

We flew over some interesting territory, with all the news on the area I thought we would take a different path but no, all was routine.

Air Cairo 23 - Hurghada to Cairo
Air Cairo 23 – Hurghada to Cairo
Departing Hurghada
Departing Hurghada
Islands in the Red Sea
Islands in the Red Sea
The Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula
Looking across the Gulf of Suez to the Sinai Peninsula.
Looking across the Gulf of Suez to the Sinai Peninsula.
New Cairo
New Cairo
Emirates 924 - Cairo to Dubai
Emirates 924 – Cairo to Dubai
Over the Nile near Cairo
Over the Nile near Cairo

We arrived in Dubai with 8 hours to burn, Emirates has a comfortable lounge and after a glass of champagne sleep came easily. Our path over the pole meant October 30th would have two sunrises and sunsets for us.

Kim snuck this one in Dubai
Kim snuck this one in Dubai
Our plane to San Francisco
Our plane to San Francisco
Taxing out
Taxing out
Departing Dubai
Departing Dubai
Emirates 225 - Dubai to San Francisco
Emirates 225 – Dubai to San Francisco
Central Iran
Central Iran
First sunset of October 30th.
First sunset of October 30th.
Moonlight near the pole
Moonlight near the pole
Second sunrise of October 30th.
Second sunrise of October 30th.
A place to relax.
A place to relax.
Passing Mt. Rainier and Sydney on the last leg.
Passing Mt. Rainier and Sydney on the last leg.

Kim started a timer on her iPhone when we got into the van in Hurghada and stopped it when we pulled up at our home in Santa Clara so we know our travel time.

Total elapsed travel time home.
Total elapsed travel time home.

This was a great trip, saw many bucket list items. We had many friends and family who reached out to check on us, thank you for your concern and thoughts. We were in Dubai when the issues in Israel broke out. It was of concern to us however after some quick research we decided to continue since Egypt seemed fine. I will admit I had a knot in my stomach when we landed in Cairo however the warm welcome of Mohamed Rabee (the first of many Mohameds) of Sita World Tours put us at ease immediately. This set the tone for the rest of our visit which went smoothly. Security is taken seriously in Egypt, there are guards and checkpoint everywhere. But this is life here and as long as you flow with it when you visit you will be fine.

Lots of people to thanks on this trip, for those looking for people to help in their travels these people and their agencys are recommended:

  • Mohamed Rabee, Hamoudy and other Sita World Tours who met and moved us to where we were to be. As I said previously Mohameds friendliness upon our arrival set the tone for our time in Egypt.
  • Guides Heba Amer and Mohamed Salah (and others) of Cosmos Egypt for sharing their knowledge, humor and patience.
  • Deb Siegle of Come Travel Today with whom we have been working on this trip with since the beginning of this year. For a second year she has helped us go so far away we could not walk home. Thanks Deb!

With that this blog is wrapped.

The Road to Hurghada

Todays goal
Todays goal

Time to kick back for a few days. Kim wanted some beach time on this trip so we moved to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast. A noted snorkel and diving location, we went to crash out on the beautiful sand after a busy trip.

Out of Luxor
Out of Luxor
Passed may sights like this.
Passed many sights like this.
Whole lot of nothing which is kind of nice.
Whole lot of nothing which is kind of nice.

The drive from Luxor took about four hours, which could be better described as three hours of driving and one hour of speed bumps. Many bumps in populated areas which got better once we left the Nile River Valley. The only real pain was when we stopped half way at a rest stop where the sales folk were on us like flies. Just wanted to sit with some coffee… I finally had enough and beat a hasty retreat outside.

The rest stop
The rest stop
The rest stop
The rest stop
Before I was set upon...
Before I was set upon…

The terrain became more mountainous as we approached the coast, a nice change. For four hours in a van it went by fast.

A local obelisk
A local obelisk
Into the mountains.
Into the mountains.
Kind of liked this one...
Kind of liked this one…
Passed a few well decorated trucks.
Passed a few well decorated trucks.
On the Red Sea coast with a view of what we came through.
On the Red Sea coast with a view of what we came through.
Oberoi Beach Resort, Sahl Hasheesh
Oberoi Beach Resort, Sahl Hasheesh
Made it.
Made it.