Blyde River Canyon and Swaziland

"Goeie dag" South Africa! It has been a breath of fresh air from our two week Egyptian experience. The weather is nice, prices are labeled, and the rules of the road are actually obeyed, minus the cows of course. After clearing customs we picked up our rental car, a VW Citi Golf, and we were off after Jason found the driver’s side, which of course was on the right. It was a little bit of a challenge shifting with the left hand but we got a hold of it pretty quickly and drove on the left side… most of the time. We named our trusty steed, Pumba, as it seemed appropriate for the short, stubby, and soon to be stinky Volkswagen. The village of Sabie was our base for three nights exploring the Panorama Route, Blyde River Canyon, and a day of Kloofing (a.k.a. canyoning). The main vantage points of the Panorama Route and the canyon are the Three Rondavels, God’s Window, and Bourke’s Luck Potholes.

We met two fellow travelers, Iris and Steven, at Sabie Backpackers that were up for a day of Kloofing. Basically, Kloofing is similar to canyoning, where you climb, swim, and jump your way through a canyon towards the 68 meter Mac Mac Waterfall. As we chose to visit South Africa in the early Spring, the water was a bit frigid; however, after hiking our way into the canyon the cold water was refreshing. We spent about four hours hiking through the river; Jenny even managed to swim under Mac Mac Waterfall, thanks to a hard head! Nikita (the owner’s dog) even accompanied us through our journey. She is a special dog; we compare her to the squirrel from Ice Age; however, change the nut to a stick. After the day of Kloofing we celebrated around the braai (BBQ) with beer and wurst . After our stay in Sabie we headed south to the small country of Swaziland for a day with the other two we met at the hostel.

Iris had volunteered with All Out Africa in Swaziland the year before and offered to show us around the town. There are many volunteer organizations (http://youngheroes.org.sz) as this country, unfortunately, has the highest AIDS population in the world, with an estimated 40 – 50% infected! While South Africa is believed to be 1 in 4 people. Walking around the town you can spot many posters and signs warning about AIDS and safe sex. Swaziland, compared to South Africa, is much more rural where you still see some grass huts and women bathing in the river. It was a neat cultural experience as the country was preparing for the Reed Dance. The Reed Dance was described to us as the American Idol of Swaziland, where women perform on stage for the King. The King has the option to choose one of them to become his next wife (we think he’s up to 13 or so wives)! As we already had our accommodations booked for Kruger National Park, we didn’t get to stick around for the actual Reed Dance. Rather, we saw some of the children parading through the streets with the Reeds singing and even a few people dressed in traditional tribal garments. We wish we had more time to explore the beautiful scenery and culture of Swaziland, but for now we are off to find some lions!

Cairo: “Run like an Egyptian”

Cairo has been the craziest city we have visited thus far with homicidal minibus drivers, six “lane” roads, and no stop lights or crosswalks, however, it was probably calmer than normal since we were there during Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month. We arrived in the morning as we stumbled from our 10 hour overnight train ride to search for our hostel. This adventure included our first experience with the metro system, apparently the only running metro in the whole continent. We tried to hop onto an empty car to discover it was designated for women’s only. We agreed to get off in three stops as Jason made his way to the fuller mixed car. The doors closed and a few seconds later I saw Jason waving outside the door window as he was unable to squeeze his way on. However, there was no problem and we were reunited once the next train arrived. We spent the rest of the day hiding in our room. Later in the evening we met up with Jon and Brittany, friends from home, for dinner at KFC, because our GI system couldn’t handle anymore Egyptian food.

The next day we visited the Egyptian Museum where artifacts from the tomb of King Tutankhamen are kept along with much much more. It is said that to view each exhibit for one minute would take you nine months to see everything! We felt most of the museum was set up like an antique flea market with only a couple of nice exhibits that provided some historical information. However, seeing the sarcophagus and head mask of King Tutankhamen was amazing, with the color and detail still preserved. Perhaps we are just spoiled with the Smithsonian back home. After our “educational” experience we incorporated our Italian travel style and took part in a mid day siesta. Once the temperature got cooler we ventured out along the Nile River to the Cairo Tower for a sky rise view of the city at sunset. You could even make out the vague shapes of the pyramids as the city began to light up and the call to break the fast echoed from the mosques.

We awoke the next morning for the trip to Giza by bus; it was interesting to see the pyramids appear from the desert just outside the city. Of course if you are not part of a tour group you are fresh meat. As we made our way to the pyramids we are told that “the ticket office is this way.” This way however led away from the attraction to horse and donkey stalls. Being wise to this game by now we blow him off and continue our way to the real office. We believe we must look like turkey legs and ham bones as we walk through the entrance gate because we are yet again met by someone who “checks” our tickets and continues to hold them as he informs us to follow him. Realizing this is the same song and dance we demand our tickets back and finally made our way to the real reason we came. It’s a strange feeling when you encounter these sales men, because you know they are trying to make a living in a developing country but at the same time it can be so cut throat and ruthless leaving you with the feelingof being deceived and taken advantage of.

The pyramids were amazing as we walked up to one of the Seven Wonders of the World towering at 455 feet. It is thought that the pyramids were built as tombs for King Khufu in 2560 BC. Based on the history it took only 20 years to complete. While some think aliens did it, the other story involves moving large stones from a nearby quarry. We chose to enter the Khafre pyramid, though smaller than the Great Pyramid, it was cheaper and said to be very similar inside. The entrance is very small, possibly 4 feet tall, as you scrunch down into a funky crab walk and descend to the tomb chamber. After the pyramid we make our way to the Solar boat while being stalked by camel drivers. The Solar Boat was built to carry the pharaoh to through the afterlife.

As we left the air conditioning sanctuary we broke down and agreed on a price for a camel ride. We didn’t truly get to have an official “camel race” as they sneakily broke us up from Jon and Brittany. However, as we sat on our camel facing a rock, Jon and Brittany made their way down towards the Sphinx, so we deem them the winners of the dare. After our shotty camel excursion we made our way to the Great Sphinx, which was small compared to what we had envisioned. Later that night we enjoyed dinner at Pizza Hut on the roof top as we watched the sound and light show for free.

The final day was spent at the Khan El-Khalili bazaar in Coptic Cairo. Yes we voluntarily subjected ourselves to a plethora of shop owner’s taunts. If you want to do some shopping this is the place where you can find jewelry, curios, and any other Egyptian junk you wish to buy that you hadn’t already been coaxed into purchasing. This is also a good place to practice your bartering skills. General rule we’ve found for price is to divide the stated number in half and then take a little more off. Often times walking away drops the price even more. We said farewell to Jon and Brittany as they continue on through Egypt and got ready for our 1:40am flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.

We think this was a once in a lifetime visit, but if you chose to explore Egypt on your own pack an open mind, keep your guard up, and have a huge sense of humor cause you’ll need it!

Luxor

We decided to overland by local bus to Luxor, which took about 5 hours. About half way there we began to regret sampling the street falafels and food from the bean cart in Hurghada. A quote from the Bucketlist came to mind, and that is “Never trust a fart.” So true Jack Nicholson, so true. Though we did enjoy the sugar cane juice and hibiscus tea. While on the bus we discovered we had lost our hostel information, including the name, but recalled the two we had considered. We arrived in Luxor, which looked like a verdant oasis set along the Nile River especially after the hot journey through the desert. We found a taxi and negotiated the price with a "this is all we have" technique and pulled into Oasis Hostel. We choose the wrong hostel, but looking back are happy we did. The owner arranged VERY cheap prices for tours and there was a beautiful room top bar that served a sunset tea every evening.

Our first exploration around Luxor was the West Bank, where the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple are located. Valley of the Kings is believed to date back to 1500 BC where Kings and influential nobles were laid to rest in extravagant tombs. This location was chosen because the mountain peak resembled the Great Pyramid and its location was isolated, though most of the sites have been raided of their treasures. The Valley of the Kings is most notable for King Tutankhamen’s tomb as it was the most intact tomb ever found. He ascended the throne at the young age of eight and ruled for only 10 years after mysteriously dying. Some believe it was foul play while others think he developed gangrene from a broken leg. The British explorer, Howard Carter and his horse, made the discovery in 1922 as the animal’s foot fell through the sand into one of the chambers. There is much superstition surrounding this expedition as many people on the team died shortly after the excavation began including Carter, leading to a “Curse of the Pharaohs” theory.

While visiting the tombs of Horemheb, Ramses IX, and Ramses IV we learned a little bit about Egyptian afterlife and burial rituals. It was believed that once you died your soul was guided by Anubis, the god of mummification, to the hall of judgment where your heart was weighed against a feather to determine your fate in the afterlife. If it was lighter than the feather you were deemed to have a pure heart, not weighed down by guilt or sins. If found to have a heavy heart, it would be consumed, and you would therefore not exist in the afterlife. Other organs like the intestines, lungs, liver, and stomach were preserved in jars along with the mummy and the average mummification took seventy days to complete.

Next was Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple, where Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple remains. She was the longest reigning female pharaoh and regarded as very successful. She is the only woman to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. After her death, her step-son who succeeded as pharaoh attempted to erase Hatshepsut from history by destroying her statues at the temple. This site is also known as the Luxor massacre after fifty eight tourist and four Egyptians were killed by Islamic terrorist in 1997. Today you see guards carrying rifles at all the sites.

After a stop in the alabaster shop we toured the Valley of the Queens which was very similar to the Kings. However, if one is willing to fork over $4,000 you can enter Queen Nefertiti’s tomb for 15 minutes as it is claimed to be the best preserved burial chamber. Needless to say we passed and took their word for it.

The next day we wondered around the east bank and Karnak Temple. In the afternoon we enjoyed a sunset felucca sail out to Banana Island. This was definitely the highlight of Egypt. Later at night we board the overnight train to the capital city, Cairo.

Greece Photo Album

Click here to view our Greece photo album.

Italy Photo Album

Click here to view our Italy photo album.

Hurghada, Egypt

Our first stop in Egypt took us to Hurghada on the Red Sea, which is home to some of the best diving in the world, though we like to call it “Here I rob ya.” Our adventure started at 11pm when we boarded our flight to Cairo. We arrived at 1 am and were “greeted” by a swarm of taxi drivers waiting for their next “agnobi” prey. Just so you know, you are not their friend AND they do have a “special price for you”, and it is usually 2-3 times more than you should pay! After many “La Shokrans” (No, thank you in Arabic) we found the domestic departures terminal for our flight to Hurghada, which left at 6 am.

We arrived at Waves Hotel around 8am, which we had booked and paid for 5 nights. It seemed as though we were a burden to the hotel staff and short of giving a tip just to get some information about our room we wouldn’t have known what to do. Long story short they didn’t have our reservation, then they did, then they “lost” it and needed us to pay again because they never received payment. We were not informed of this last part until 1pm (check in time). We managed to get a refund from the online site and found another hotel, which ripped us off too, but after 30+ hours of sleep deprivation we didn’t care. Even the guy at Burger King, BURGER KING, tried to charge us almost twice the price, and things are labeled! We were just about to buy a flight out of Egypt but the next couple days were significantly better. We stayed at the Golden Rose Hotel, which had an extremely helpful and friendly staff who taught us some Arabic.

We’re glad we stuck around because some of the nicest people we have met thus far have been in Egypt. It is a bizarre spectrum the Egyptian people make up from the most hospitable person who would walk you to the ends of the Earth to help you find what you need to the money sucking, rip you off street vendor who could care less. Unfortunately as a foreigner, you seem to encounter the latter more often; however, the others you met defiantly make up for it. We meet a couple other Americans on the boat. One was studying Arabic in Hurghada for a couple of months and helped us around the city, helped us with Arabic, and invited us over to his house for a home cooked meal. We are so thankful we met him, because he gave us a completely different perspective on Egypt.

So about the diving, Deep-Divers.com is a great dive shop. We only did 8 dives in four days because our dive times were 60+ minutes each, with our longest dive being 74minutes. We saw a little bit of everything underwater from nudibranchs to Clown Fish to even a Crocodile Fish. The vast number of marine life kind of makes the Caribbean look like the Wal-mart fish section. Everything was so vibrant and healthy with schools everywhere. We didn’t get to see any dolphins or rays underwater; however, dolphins would periodically swim near the boat. Jenny’s favorite part was the cleaning stations, those fish had their work cut out for them! The dive days were long with the boat departing around 9am and returning to port at 5pm, but we already miss the water and will come back to the Red Sea one day. Now we’re off to explore the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Karnack in Luxor!

Greece

We arrived at Athens airport and after three trains and a bus we found our way to the hostel. The first advice we received was to take anything valuable out of our back pockets. Apparently, pickpockets are professionals in Athens and their office is a packed bus or subway. They usually work in groups of 2 or 3 and wear nice clothing as deceptive camouflage. But we did arrive to the hostel with our valuables still in hand and headed straight to the roof top bar to sample Mythos Greek beer with a wonderful view of the Acropolis. We met some Aussies, which seem to make up the biggest traveling population in the world, and watched the 6th Century BC structure light up in the night before we headed out for some gyros.

The next day we walked around the town and visited the “flea market” which is really just a bunch of shops selling tourist stuff. However, on the weekend vendors bring their wares so perhaps then it has that flea market feel. We made our way up to the Acropolis, Zeus’s Temple, and finally watched the changing of the guard in front of the Greek Parliament. After a day of wandering we head back to the bar to take in some more beers and views.

In the morning we caught the Nova Ferry out to Aegina, one of the Greek Islands with great seafood, ouzo, and beaches. We found a nice restaurant on the coast and ordered the octopus and a shot of ouzo, not really knowing what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised with the octopus; kind of like calamari, but octopus. The ouzo tasted like black licorice. After consuming our 8 legged friend we walked around the streets taking in the local fish market, fruit stalls, and little shops. Now it was time for the beach. We found a little spot with just a couple of speedos swimming around and dove in. On the way back to the main land we decided on the Flying Dolphin hydrofoil back to Athens to catch our 11 pm flight to Cairo!

Roman Holiday

Ok, so maybe Rome isn't quite the way Audrey Hepburn would remember it but we find this pulsing city, the heart of the Roman Empire, quite charming and romantic with its fill of ancient relics.

Our first excursion in Rome is the Catacomb of Domitilla, one of the 40 discovered underground burial sites from the 2nd century. For public sanitation it was law that these burial grounds lie outside of the city limits. This particular catacomb is the oldest found in Rome, with 15 km of underground caves that are accessed from a sunken church. It is believed that over 150,000 burials occurred here. All of the remains have been removed from the tombs but you can still see the chambers were families or workers of similar trades were buried together. After enjoying the cool underground air it was back to the living with a free walking tour. We went with a different company Rome Free Tours. They were still decent but not as informative as the others we had taken in Germany. We visited the Spanish Steps, Fontana di Trevi, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona where we witnessed the most entertaining site thus far on our trip, check it out!

Next day we get ready for our visit with Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th pope in Vatican City. He had some important pope business so we didn't get to see him but we did visit the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. We admired paintings and sculptures from namely Raphael and Michelangelo while dodging zombie tour groups. The Sistine Chapel he Colosseum to was impressive with the painting of Judgment Day across the front wall and different scenes along the ceiling. Michelangelo did not want to take the commission for painting the ceiling as he felt he was a sculptor, not a painter, and that the pope was too lavish in his chapel design. However, this 12,000 sq ft of painted ceiling became Michelangelo's masterpiece. We avoided being struck by lightning the whole day and met up with Niam and Cindy, friends from back home, for a delicious Italian dinner.

In the morning we walk down to tabsorb some history. This massive amphitheatre was completed in 80 A.D. after only 10 years of construction and the Romans held 100 days of games in celebration. Performances were free to the public and could seat 40,000 to 70,000 spectators; however, certain groups were shunned like gravediggers, actors, and former gladiators. Gladiators had to fight about 2 times a year with an average life expectancy of 30 years, but that was not much shorter than the average person. People would take passageways called “vomitoria” to enter and exit from their seats, which translates into Latin as “rapid discharge” or in English “Vomit.” The arena floor hides a two-level maze of tunnels and cages where gladiators and animals were kept. Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered props, fighters, and animals to the surface of the floor. Above the stadium a retractable awning could be extended across in the event of poor weather. After the Colosseum we headed over to the Roman Forum which was the center of the Republic and gathering place for locals. We spent our last night in Rome with a fancy meal and a view of the illuminated Colosseum.

Pompeii

Pompeii was an ancient city buried for almost 1,700 years after the devastating volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on August 24th, 79 A.D. Coincidentally, a day after the festival to the Roman god of fire. However, there is some controversy on the exact date, which is based on written witness accounts.

It is hard to believe that after such a catastrophic disaster so many of the buildings and paintings remained intact as we explore the streets of Pompeii. You can make out some of the temples, bars, brothels, and public baths as you navigate around the large cobblestone roads. You ponder what life was like in a thriving city of the first century and what they must have thought as fire and ash rained down from the volcano onto their homes and families. We stumble upon perhaps the most eerie part of Pompeii, the remains of victims. Excavators discovered spaces in the debris, left by the bodies, and poured plaster into the voids creating molds of their last moments. Still to this day you can see bones and teeth in the molds.

There were several indicators forecasting the instability of Mt. Vesuvius, from mild earth tremors to the destructive earthquake in 62 A.D. The earthquake (supposedly a 7.5 on the Richter scale) shattered the town. It was discovered that the city was still rebuilding when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. The explosion in 79 A.D. lasted over 24 hours, burying the city under 60 feet of ash and rubble. Even those who escaped to the shores asphyxiated from toxic air, killing an estimated 20,000 people. Since then there have been several other eruptions, the last one in 1944, but none as disastrous as 79 A.D.

One would think that residing beneath an active volcano would be a poor place to live, but it did have its advantages. The huge land mass provided protection from invaders and the valley area was fertile for growing crops. And in all fairness to the early settlers, the volcano had been inactive for an extended period of time. However, today, it is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the 3 million people residing in the area and earning yet another title, the most densely populated volcanic region in the world. However, volcanologist are continuously monitoring for seismic activity, and are able to predict an eruption weeks in advance, so don’t let all these titles scare you from a visit!

Amalfi Coast

We arrive in Naples by train in the afternoon and continued our way to Sorrento, where we would day-trip the Amalfi Coast. This area is home to several Mediterranean fishing villages scattered along the cliff sides and Lemoncello, a sweet liquor made from, you guessed it, lemons.

You can take a city bus down the coastline but before you purchase your ticket be forewarned that this ride may not be for you if you are prone to car sickness or have a fear of heights. But that's not how we roll, so we hopped on board for the hour and a half ride along the beautiful coastal scenery. Your music selection consists of the many different interpretations of the bus driver's horn. "Beep honk" translates into many different meanings like: "Hello", "Move it buddy"(G rated version), "Watch out, cause I'm big and I'm coming around the corner", and (my personal favorite) "because I'm the bus driver and I can honk if I want to." Every now and then the road just isn't big enough for the two of us, buses I mean. Below is a video of our bus narrowly escaping the other after 10 minutes of creative maneuvering and a change in drivers.

We made it in one piece to Amalfi to find quaint homes and shops built into the ledges. We walk down to the harbor to get a look at some of the smaller fishing vessels and decide to "have-a some pizza pie" and gelato, which has consisted of most of our meals in Italy. We wander around the town looking at shops selling Lemoncello. There are lemon farms and a factory that you can visit but we found them closed. Nevertheless, we purchased a bottle in town and held on as we serpentine our way back to Sorrento on the bus.

Big and Leaning Towers

We planted ourselves in Siena, Tuscany for two days in hopes of exploring the country side and smaller towns. However, we feel to truly get that experience you need to rent a car and go at your own leisure.

We stayed in a cabin at a great campsite called Camping Colleverde and spent a day in San Gimignano, one of the medieval towns in Europe that survived WWII with its towers and city wall intact. It actually reminded us of an Italian Rothenburg and there were several German tourists so that probably added to the feeling as well. Wine production is very popular in this area and you see grape vine plots along the hillsides and olive groves all around town.

On the bus ride to the city you pass a couple classic Tuscany sunflower fields with cottages set up on hills surrounded by Cyprus trees. There are a couple museums in the city and the Torre Grossa, or Big Tower, that offers a lovely view of the city. It was a little windy above the city and I pulled a Marilyn Monroe a couple times. Afterward we bought some spicy cheese, salami, and Chianti in the town square we headed back to enjoy the fair.

On the way to Naples we stopped in Pisa to strike a ridiculous pose like all the other thousand tourist at the leaning tower. We actually found people watching more enjoyable than the actual attraction. So how does a poor engineering design become one of the most visited sites in Europe? Well it starts like this: In 1173 construction began on a foundation of loose and unstable mixture of clay and soil that resulted in a ground shift. The lean was first noticed after the third story was completed, however, it was too late to correct. So, like Aggie Engineering close to straight was good enough and they continued buidling. Today the white marble tower weighs over 14,500 tons (that’s 31,967,028 lbs) and leans at a 3.99 degree angle after restoration corrected the 5.5 degree tilt in 2001!