Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

– Ferris Bueller

I was very excited about getting to go and visit Egypt.  I’ve always been fascinated by the pyramids, and I truly enjoy reading and learning about ancient history.  I find it amazing to learn how people lived and died thousands of years ago, and how similar and how different their lives are from ours.  Egypt was one of the countries we put on our wish list back when we were in the very early planning stages for this trip.  When we were in Sri Lanka trying to figure out where we would go next, we were all excited to make this our next destination.  Now, to be completely open, beyond visiting the pyramids, none of us really knew what else we could do or see while we were there.  But we booked our flights, and with no real plan, we boarded our plane bound for Cairo.

So, if you’ve been reading our blog, you might have picked up that Henry is a connoisseur of all things fancy and expensive.  He researches them, and he’s like a walking version of Google if you get on the right subject.  One of the things that he has been talking about since the beginning of this trip is that he hoped that somewhere, some way, we would get to fly business class or first class on one of our flights.  Of course, we knew the budget we must keep to, so while we told him we would always be on the lookout for an opportunity, we didn’t really expect to do it anytime soon.  But when Brian started looking for flights to Cairo, he found an opportunity to make Henry’s wish come true. 

The cheapest economy seat tickets Brian could find were around $300 each. Then, he started looking to see what options we had if we used some of our credit card points that we had been saving. By using a combination of points and cash, he found tickets from Colombo to Cairo, on Etihad Airlines Business Class for $165 each!  We decided to go for the nicer option, but before we could make it happen, we’d need to jump through a few hoops.  We didn’t tell Henry about it because if this opportunity fell through, we knew that he’d be crushed, and it would make those economy seats feel that much worse.  Also, Henry has a tendency to get a little overly excited, and we didn’t want him to completely tune out for the rest of our time in Sri Lanka while he was anticipating this flight.  Before we could book the flight, we needed to transfer the points from the credit card company to a partner airline.  Normally, this is a very easy process that can be done online, and your transferred points show up immediately in your airline rewards account.  For some reason, that didn’t happen this time.  We got an email saying the transfer was pending, but it could take seven days to complete.  The flight we were trying to book was seven days away. If it took that long, we wouldn’t be able to take the Etihad flight, and the other flight we had found would probably be more expensive.  Oh, and did I mention that our Sri Lankan visas expired the day after we were trying to leave? It took several lengthy international phone calls to both the credit card company and airline and some pleading prayers to get our credit card points moved over, but thankfully, a few days after we found them, we were finally able to reserve the flights we wanted.  The plan was that we would arrive in early evening at the Sri Lankan airport, board our flight at around midnight, fly for 5 hours to Abu Dhabi, have a 4 hour layover there, and then fly 4 more hours on to Cairo.  It sounded a bit miserable to me as I do love my sleep, but with upgraded lounges and lay-flat seats, I figured we would at least be moderately comfortable. 

I had never heard of Etihad Airlines before this flight, but apparently, I was in the minority.  They are a luxury airline based out of Abu Dhabi, and as soon as Henry found out we would be flying with them, he was thrilled.  He told me all about how they had a reputation for being exceptionally luxurious, and he assured me that even in economy, it would be the nicest flight we’ve ever taken.  I picked on him about his excitement and played dumb, acting like it was no big deal to me, but deep down, I was pretty excited about the flight too.

We had gotten to the airport at around 6 pm so that we could get safely inside and grab some dinner before our flight.  Unbeknownst to us, the Colombo Airport has a security check point before we could get up to the check in counters, and they would not allow us to go through there until 3 hours prior to our flight time.  Thankfully there were a few food vendors setup so we were able to grab a sandwich or two out there.  After waiting in the lobby outside of security for a few hours, we were finally let through so we could go check in at around 9 pm. 

We still hadn’t told Henry about the business class seating, and we really wanted to keep it a secret for just a little longer.  Thankfully, Etihad currently has a program called “Verified to Fly.” With this program, you can upload your Covid test results and all other necessary documents ahead of time to speed up the check in process at the airport.  So, instead of walking up to the business class check-in counter, we went to the Verified to Fly line.  We thought we’d be able to still get through the line quickly but not give away our little secret to Henry just yet.  Everything was going well until the clerk that was helping us asked for the details for our flights out of Egypt.  Egypt required proof of onward travel before we could successfully check-in to our flight, and we’d forgotten to book something before we got to the airport. So, we stepped out of line to get that taken care of.  Most countries we’ve been to require this, and because our travel schedule is very open and flexible, we typically only book something long enough to show the proof they need.  When we get to our destination, we cancel the flights, and we ensure that we leave the country well before our visas expire. 

The easiest way to manage this has been by using our points to book the flights.  Our points program allows us to cancel any flight with no penalties in the first 24 hours after booking.   Unfortunately, our points program had recently undergone a website change, and for some reason, we were getting an error when we tried to book the ‘onward travel’ flights.  We tried over and over, using different accounts, different devices, booking the flights to different locations, but it was to no avail.  We tried calling customer service, but they got nowhere either.  All the while, the clock was ticking towards our flight, and we were getting more and more anxious as the minutes went by.  We had been looking at a particular flight onward to Morocco already, and with nothing else working out for us, we finally decided to just book those flights directly with the airline.  Best case, we would be able to cancel them once we landed in Cairo.  Worst case, we had our flights out of Egypt locked in.

With flights reserved, we walked back up to the counter, and we got checked into our flights in just a few moments.  While Brian was talking to the clerk, I did my best to keep Henry occupied so that if the clerk mentioned anything about our class, Henry wouldn’t overhear it.  Henry was really excited though, and it took a lot of creativity to keep him away from the counter and paying attention to me instead.  Finally, with boarding passes in hand, we grabbed our carryon luggage and walked through the second security check point.

We found the Araliya Lounge with no issues.  This lounge is only for Business and First-Class customers, and Google-Henry had already looked that up.  He had also determined Brian’s Priority Pass membership (another credit card perk) would get us access to the Lotus Lounge.  When we arrived at the doors to the Araliya Lounge Henry questioned us about it and said we wouldn’t be allowed in. Brian told him that the clerk had felt sorry for us after the issues we’d had and gave us passes to get in.  He was excited enough not to question it further.  Inside, we grabbed some dinner and drinks, and we rested up for what was sure to be a long night ahead. 

We walked to our gate when they started boarding and making sure we discretely kept the boarding passes away from Henry, we scanned them as we entered the waiting area.  Once the passengers were all scanned in, we were left to wait together in a large room until the flight crew was ready to load us up.  Over the intercom, the attendant announced that they were ready to begin boarding their business class customers, and we stood up.  Henry corrected us and told us that they didn’t call us yet, but we told him that he must have just misheard the announcer.  I started recording him on my phone so that hopefully we’d be able to get his reaction to the upgraded flights on video.  As we walked past the airline attendants, they checked our passes and let us through with no issues.  Henry was still dubius, but thankfully he just went with it.

Henry led the way down the corridor to the plane, and you could see the excitement all over him.  We stepped on board the plane in the hallway between the business section on the left and the economy seats on the right.  He told us several times that day that he was going to ask the flight attendant if he could peek in the business class section to see what it was like before going to our seats.  Instead, he chickened out and turned to start walking in the economy section.  Brian stopped him and sent him the opposite way towards the business class seats.  Henry stepped out of his way not understanding what Brian wanted him to do, and Brian told him that they were going to check out the business section since he’d always wanted to see it.  Henry went with it, and they walked a little further up the aisle.  When they got a few seats in, Brian pointed to Henry’s seat and said ‘I think that’s your seat.’  Henry didn’t understand him, so Brian repeated it and showed him the boading pass.  It was about that time that Henry finally got it.  He stepped back in shock, and he immediately began to cry.  Shaking and emotional, he climbed into his seat and buckled himself in.  He was thrilled to get to fly on this plane, and he couldn’t believe that he’d actually get to fly business class in it too! 

You can watch the video right here. He was so happy!

I went to my seat on the opposite side of the plane, but I watched them talking and enjoying the moment.  It was gloriously luxurious, and I had so much room to myself.  I drank my freshly squeezed orange juice as we waited for everyone else to get settled in.  My large pillow and oversized blanket were soft and comfortable, and I was certain that my lay-flat seat was going to feel amazing too.  I sat in my little cubbyhole with no one around me and no one to share the armrest with, and I was both happy and sad in the moment.  It was wonderful to get to sit here and enjoy this, but it was sad that they were too far away for me to enjoy it with.  I had my own window, a massaging chair, and an array of electronics to play with, so I entertained myself finding a movie and getting comfortable.  I ordered a gourmet breakfast from the in-flight menu, and when it came shortly after takeoff, it was just as fabulous as Henry had promised me it would be. 

When we landed, we made our way directly from the plane to the Etihad lounge where we’d spend a few hours waiting for our next flight.  We grabbed some food and found a comfortable place to relax until it was time to go to the gate. 

Our second flight was even better than the first because we all sat closer together.  Brian and I sat in side by side pods, and Henry sat in his pod facing backwards on my right.  We could talk when we wanted to, but we each had our own space.  Lunch was fantastic as well, and after a month of living in Sri Lanka and not having beef to eat, I very much enjoyed my juicy and delicious beef tenderloin.

We landed in Cairo around noon, and Henry deboarded the plane carrying his coat with him in a very awkward manner.  When we got to immigrations, I found out the whole story.  At some point towards the end of the flight, Henry had called the flight attendant over to ask if he could take the super comfy blanket home.  The attendant told him that technically he wasn’t allowed to take it.  Henry was sad, but he was okay with it.  However, a few minutes later, the attendant came back by and told him that as long as he didn’t see it, and as long as no one else saw it, he thought it would be okay.  Henry said he wasn’t sure about taking it then, but when a few minutes later, the flight attendant came by again and gave him an exaggerated wink, he decided it was going to be his.  He had wrapped the blanket up in his coat and was using that to get it off the plane.  I fussed at him, told him that I didn’t want to hear any complaints about how heavy his bags were from here on out, and then I laughed at the fact that he’d even ask them about taking it.  He is something.

We quickly made our way through immigrations and baggage claim, and our hotel driver picked us up outside of the arrivals area.  After about a 40-minute drive, we arrived at the Cecilia Hotel in the middle of the downtown area.  We chose this area because it was inexpensive, close to several things we wanted to see, and it promised to give us the best glimpse of Cairo.  We knew it was going to be crazy busy and chaotic, and we had tried to prepare ourselves for it.  I’ll just say right now that we did not do an adequate job with that. 

Our hotel occupied the 5^th and 6^th floors of a 100-year old building very near Tahrir Square.  There was a small sign over the door identifying it, but it would have been difficult for us to find if we had travelled there on our own.  Thankfully the driver knew exactly where he was going.  He circled the block trying to find parking, and when he couldn’t, he simply stopped on the side of the road to let us out.   As we were exiting the car, several men started grabbing our bags and walking away with them.  They were talking to us the whole time, but since we didn’t speak Arabic, we couldn’t understand what they were saying.  Based on the reaction of the driver, we had to assume that this was both expected and okay, so I tried my best not to panic.  I must have looked concerned, because one of the men who spoke English tried to reassure me that everything was okay as we walked in.  We entered an open door on the ground floor of the hotel into what looked like an old, abandoned building, and after crossing what was once a nice foyer, one of the men opened up a door to a very small elevator.  They placed our bags inside and started climbing in.  My panic level rose higher because there was no way we could fit in there too, and I feared that we might never see our bags again.  One of the men stopped them, and after a brief moment of discussion, they all got back out leaving only our bags inside.  He then directed us into the elevator instead and he stepped in with us to show us to the reception on the 6^th floor. 

At reception, the hotel staff was very warm and welcoming. Kero, the man who had accompanied us up in the elevator, sent us quite a lot of information about the area so we could plan our stay. He and George, the owner, invited us to come lounge with them once we’d gotten settled in, and they gave us a tour of the common areas and the terrace before they showed us to our room.  They had two lounge areas with comfy pillows lining the floor; the first was near reception and the second was out on a pretty terrace overlooking the city.  Our room was nice, albeit very basic.  We had four twin beds with very warm blankets and a private bathroom.  The building was old, but they had done some work to make it more modern.  It still needed some work, but it had everything we needed for our stay.

We opened the window in our room and enjoyed watching the people go about their lives down on the street below.  There were no lines painted on the road, but a mass of cars up to 6 cars wide were jostling for position as they passed by us.  People seemed to drive haphazardly, meandering from left to right and back as space opened up.  And everyone honked.  You simply wouldn’t believe how much Egyptians in Cairo really love the sound of their car horns.

We rested in the hotel for a few hours, but at dinner time, we ventured out to a little restaurant called Oldish that was only about half a block away.  We ordered our food, not knowing anything about what it was that we were getting, but it turned out to be delicious.  I had a minced beef sandwich that was very similar to a patty melt.  Henry had chicken fajitas, and Brian had some very flavorful chicken kabobs.  We enjoyed watching the people, but our favorite activity during dinner was trying to use the Google Translate app to understand some of the Arabic writing on the menus.  I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t working correctly, because my menu said “Shave me with my throat pierced me and Danny.”  We were all tired enough to find that hilarious.  After the meal, full and exhausted, we climbed into our individual beds very early, and we slept as hard as we have slept in a very long time.

On our first full day in Egypt, we decided to go to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.  This downtown museum houses many of the treasures that have been removed from the pyramids, the valley of the kings, and more, and we couldn’t wait to see it.  We’d read that there would be a lot to see there, and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to wander through all of it.  So after having a delicious breakfast of falafel and potato sandwiches on the terrace of the hotel, we headed out to the museum. 

Now, the museum was only about half a mile from our hotel, so we decided to walk to it.  We could see it from a few blocks away, but getting to it proved to be quite a challenge.  It was a Thursday, a workday, and traffic was in full swing.  Tahrir square is a large roundabout, and at that time, it had 4-6 very full lanes of traffic moving in every direction.  There were a few traffic lights around but not many.  To get around this area, we would have to cross most streets in the traffic.  At first, we tried waiting for a clear stretch where we could safely cross, but it didn’t take long to realize that was never going to happen.  The only way to really get through was to take a deep breath, say a little prayer, and then walk out in whatever opening you could find.  Cars would slow down (sometimes) or go around you, beeping their horn at you the whole time.  Uncomfortable with this ‘taking your life in your own hands’ approach to crossing the street, we followed the locals.  If they went, we went with them praying the whole time.

We met a few people that first morning.  The problem with being a tourist in a foreign country is that you look like a tourist in a foreign country.  We were easy to spot, despite our efforts to fit in and look like we knew what we were doing.  The first man we met passed us on the street, and then turned around to talk to us.  He told us that the museum is better to visit after noon when all the tour buses have left for the day; the crowds are much smaller then.  We didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not, but we wanted to eat first, so we figured we could wait until noon to go with no problem.  He also told us about the government run souvenir shops, and we stepped into one of those briefly to look around.  These shops offer the same gifts that all the locals have in theirs, but they have them at lower, set prices.  Since we’ll be travelling for another 5 months, and we have to carry whatever we buy for that whole time, we generally don’t buy many souvenirs.  But we browsed for a moment before continuing on our way.

A short while later, a second man stopped to help us find our way to the museum.   He also told us about the tour buses leaving the museum at noon, but then he quickly went on his way again.  By this point, we were en route to the Chili’s Bar and Grill we’d found on the map in the Zamalek neighborhood to get a bite to eat. 

A third man stopped us and told us that the route we were going wouldn’t work because we couldn’t cross the bridge we were heading for as pedestrians.  He told us to go a different route, and then insisted on walking with us.  He said he was from Detroit, that he was a history professor, and that he was visiting his family in Cairo this week because his sister was getting married on the weekend.  As we walked to the street we needed to get to, he asked us to stop by his family’s shop so he could get his business card for us. 

We shouldn’t have gone in, but we did.  His family’s business was a papyrus shop where they created beautiful art on papyrus sheets, and he was very proud of it.  He took one of the small sheets of papyrus out and wrote Henry’s name on it, and we knew we were in trouble. We’d read about people pulling these kinds of scams, but we’d underestimated how difficult it would be to get out of it. He kept pulling out sheets and writing on them as a ‘gift’ for us, and then afterwards he used the guise of hospitality and friendliness to guilt us into purchasing the papyrus.  We gave him a little money for it, and then we left as quickly as we could.  We felt frustrated and cheated when we left, and as childish as it sounds, I decided right then and there that I didn’t like Egypt anymore. 

I hated this one experience almost as much as when we were robbed in Colombia.  We try to be nice people, but these types of people prey on that.  The worst part about it, for me at least, is that because of people like this guy, it feels like I can’t trust anyone anymore.  And when you’re traveling in an area of the world that you don’t know, you have to trust a little bit or you’ll drive yourself crazy.  I hate being rude and cold to people, but unfortunately, to protect ourselves from this type of scam, I know we’ve had to act that way to people who were genuinely good along the way too.

We continued down the street and found the Chili’s on an anchored boat in the Nile River.  It was a pretty good meal, considering we were on the other side of the world.  Our food tasted just like the food at home, so that helped a little.  Henry had really been missing home, and the only reason we’d come was to give him a few minutes of normalcy.  It was nice for all of us, really, even if you don’t get the normal perks of free refills and free chips in salsa (in the bar).  We had drinks with ice, and that was like a little slice of paradise for me. 

After lunch, we made our way through the stream of traffic, Frogger style, and over to the museum.  It was a very large building, and we only had about 4 hours to go through everything before they closed.  Many of the exhibits didn’t have tags or markers on them, so while we could see what they were, we couldn’t learn much about them or where they’d come from.  There were tour guides who would show you around for a fee, but already feeling like we’d been ripped off, we didn’t want to add that expense too.  We walked around learning what we could from what we saw.  It was amazing seeing real life artifacts like I’ve seen in books – hieroglyphics, tombs, statues, and mummies.  I was very interested in learning more about all of this, and over the next few days, I read as much information as I could find on it.

I also felt incredibly sorry for these ancient people.  They went to great effort to ensure their remains were being stored in the best way possible to ensure a fantastic afterlife.  Now, here they were with their tombs robbed, and all their personal effects (and in some cases, themselves too) were out on display for the general public to view in a museum.  It felt like an extreme invasion of their privacy.

We walked through the museum until they made us leave at closing time.  I really enjoyed all of it, and so did Brian.  Henry lost interest about halfway through, but he enjoyed seeing the mummies in the last section of it.  We found our way back to the hotel and settled in for the night with our unwanted papyrus souvenirs to remind us about the day.

We woke up the next morning to a text message from Brian’s sister.  She wanted to talk to us before we went out for the day, and she would be up waiting for him to call.  We knew that couldn’t be good, so we called as soon as we saw it.  There was a medical emergency back at home with Brian’s dad.  His mom and sister were with him, and they’d update us as soon as they knew more.  We were scared and emotional at that point, and we began trying to figure out what options we had.  Since we couldn’t do anything until we heard more from the doctors, we decided to go forward with our plans for the day, and then hopefully by the afternoon, we’d know more. 

So, at 8 am, Isra, our hotel recommended tour guide, picked us up for our trip out to see the pyramids.  She was an incredibly nice and friendly woman who had been doing these tours for several years.  She instantly made friends with Henry, and we laughed as she kept reminding him that she was single.  We started out the day by heading to Saqqara, the location of the very first pyramid in Egypt.  This oldest one is a stepped pyramid, and it is called the Pyramid of Djoser.  Archeologists date it back to 27^th century BC, and some say it was designed by Imhotep, the high priest and chancellor to Pharoah Djoser. 

We pulled up at the entrance to the pyramid complex to find that they were having some type of 5K race there.  Runners were everywhere, and the traffic directors told Isra that we were going to have to walk from there, a lengthy distance to the pyramid.  She bargained with them to get them to let us drive up, and after a 5 Egyptian pound fee ($0.30), we were allowed to drive up.  She let us out, gave us a few pointers, and told us where to meet her when we were done.

As soon as we walked in, an older man began trying to show us around and tell us about the place.  He insisted that he wasn’t interested in our money, that he worked there, and that he was just happy to help us, but we made it a point to get away from him as quickly as we could.  Unfortunately, here like in many other countries, people will be helpful to you even if you don’t need or ask for their help, in order to get a generous tip.  Those that don’t want tips are typically working with someone else who happens to be at just the right place at just the right moment to sell you something else.  Since the man had us moving quickly towards the camels, we assumed that was probably his intention.  There’s a joke we’d heard about how in Egypt it costs 5 pounds to get on the camel and 150 pounds to get back off of it; we didn’t want any part of that.

It’s a shame, though.  Again, I don’t want to be rude to anyone, but here we were being as cold and deliberately uninterested as we could be to this man.  One of the hardest parts about traveling anywhere is trying to decipher who is being genuinely kind and helpful to you and who is just setting you up.  Egypt is not really worse than anywhere else for this, but after leaving people that we felt were genuinely good to us in Sri Lanka, it felt that much worse.

We walked around the pyramid, taking lots of photos and admiring the site.  Other than having to fend off several other people, we really enjoyed it.  Isra had moved her car when we got down to the parking area, and for just a brief moment, we all kind of freaked out when we couldn’t find her.  She didn’t really leave us, did she?  She wouldn’t do that, would she?  How in the heck are we supposed to get back to our hotel an hour away?  Could we really be stuck in the middle of the desert?  But, just as I was beginning to get my blood pressure up, we saw her standing in line to buy some overpriced coffee from one of the 5K vendors.

Our next leg of the trip was to head to Memphis.  Memphis was once the capital of Egypt, and there are quite a lot of relics there as well.  We pulled up to the museum, and before we got out of the car Isra told us to walk up and look inside before we bought our tickets.  She said that two of the exhibits were in really good shape and that they were great to see, but she said that most of the others were pretty rough, and if we were going to go visit other Egyptian historic sites, we might get a better view of similar artifacts there.  We walked up, and from the very quick glimpse we had, we decided that she was probably right.  It might have been a wonderful experience that we missed out on, but if our guide was not vouching for it being a fantastic experience, it probably wasn’t going to be worth the money.  We climbed back in the car and headed down the road to our next stop.

Isra had coordinated a visit for us to a local carpet making factory where we were able to get a personalized tour of the carpet making process.  The owner of the business taught us about their different materials, and we were able to watch his workers hand-tie their carpets one string at a time.  The first person we watched was a lady working with silk, and she was knotting the silk strands so quickly you couldn’t follow the movement of her fingers.  She was working by a pattern, and with her design and materials, it would take her about three months to produce one square meter of carpet.  The second worker we watched was a man who was using wool.  His process was very different from hers.  He didn’t have a pattern, so instead, he was designing the carpet with his imagination as he went.  Because of the different processes and the different materials, he could make one square meter of carpet in about a month.  We looked over their showroom which was full of beautiful designs in various sizes and colors.  If we had been heading home, I would have loved to purchase one; they really were quite exquisite.

Our next stop was to a tourist-centric restaurant on our way back towards Cairo.  The food was delicious, and we enjoyed relaxing with Isra and getting to know her a little better.  She was a lovely woman with a contagious laugh.  We talked about everything from religion and politics to peculiar or interesting traits of the different nationalities that she’d worked with.  She loved her job, and it showed.

Once we were back on the road again, Isra took us to a papyrus seller.  Our guide in the store showed us the papyrus plants and explained where they grew and how they were harvested.  Papyrus only grows in Egypt, and it used to grow abundantly in the waters of the Nile.  The shoots come up through the water, and the plant emerges at the surface.  The stalks of the plant are triangular shaped and very pulpy, and they are the part that gets used in making the paper.  She demonstrated the manufacturing process for us by first peeling the green surface off the plant stalk.  She then used a hammer to flatten the stalk into very thin layers.  The stalk is very brittle when it is whole, but once it is flattened, it becomes very strong and pliable.  After soaking the flat strips for several days, papyrus manufacturers will then lay them out in a crisscross pattern to the size of the sheet they want to create.  Once the strips are assembled, they are placed under a press and pressure is applied for a few days until they are good and dry.  She also showed us how to spot fake papyrus.  If you hold real papyrus up to a light, you can see the horizontal and vertical strips running in the paper.  Paper made with banana leaves or another similar material won’t have grains in both directions.  Also, you can wet papyrus, disassemble it, and then later reassemble it which was pretty neat.  Armed with that bit of information, we suddenly couldn’t wait to get back to our room to see if our unwanted papyrus souvenirs were actually the real thing.  To our surprise, it was.

Our last stop was the one we had been waiting for. We drove into Giza, and over the tops of the buildings you could see the peaks of the Pyramids.  There are actually 9 pyramids in this region.  The largest was built for King Khufu, and each side of the base of the pyramid is roughly 755 feet long.  The two smaller ones were built for King Khafre, Khufu’s son (707 feet), and King Menkaure, Khafre’s son (356 ft).  These pyramids were plundered both inside and outside a long time ago.  Inside they are all empty, and the Khafre pyramid is the only one that has any of its original outer limestone coating; you can see this in the pictures near the top of the structure. There are six smaller pyramids in the complex, and they were used for members of the royal families as well.

There are many other tombs, buildings, and structures in the area, but time has reduced most of them to mere foundations.  There is also the Great Sphinx.  It has the facial features of a man, but the body of a lion.  It is 240 feet long and 66 feet high, and it is made of limestone.  Ancient Egyptians thought the Sphinx was a spiritual guardian, and figures of the creature were included in tomb and temple complexes. Though the purpose of the Sphinx is unknown, it is assumed that it somehow helped the kings in their afterlife.

Isra introduced us to her tour guide friend in his shop just outside the pyramid complex.  We sat with him for a few minutes as he explained his services, and after negotiating with him to get a deal we could work with, we took off with his guide Mohammed to find our camels.  We each mounted a camel, and we started our slow and quite rough ride up and around the complex.  We were taking the long tour, which meant that we would begin by riding the camels up to a panoramic viewpoint where we could see all nine pyramids in one spot.  After stopping briefly for photos, we rode the camels down to the pyramids and took pictures right beside Khafre’s pyramid while we admired their immense size.  I knew they were big, but until you’re standing beside one of them, you just can’t comprehend the magnitude. 

From there, we mounted the camels again and walked towards the Sphinx.  I hated this part of the trip.  My camel was almost as graceful as I am, and his hooves kept slipping on the sand covered limestone.  If you’ve never been on a camel, let me tell you that they are very tall – way too tall to comfortably fall from.  And going down a sand covered limestone mountain on the back of a clumsy camel isn’t very fun.  It took a while, and I was white knuckled the whole time, but he got me there in one piece, thankfully.  The Sphinx was impressive to look at as well.  I wish I understood more about its purpose, though.  I’m certain it took an immense amount of effort to build, and they wouldn’t have done that if it wasn’t worth it to them. 

We returned to Isra after the ride and hopped back in the car.  The camel ride was fun, but my legs were already a little sore from holding on with my death grip.  It had been a very good day, but we were anxious to get back to our room and see if there was any news on Brian’s dad.  Isra offered to take us to a factory where they extract oil from the lotus flowers, but we declined so we could get back sooner.

Isra was a great tour guide, and we had a lot of fun hanging out with her.  She talked to herself a lot, and she would talk to the other drivers as if they could hear her.  I really wish I spoke Arabic, because I’d like to know exactly what she said them.  Many Egyptians, Isra included, speak with a tone of voice that makes you think they are upset even if they aren’t.  She may have been having a friendly conversation, or she may have been biting their heads off; I’m not really sure, but there were several other drivers that I got the impression she didn’t really care for.  On second thought, maybe it’s better that I don’t know what she said.

At about 3 pm, she dropped us at our room, and after taking a photo with her, we parted ways.  Up at the room, we got news that Brian’s dad was making some slight improvements, and we all began to feel some bit of relief.  We grabbed some dinner, and we spent the rest of the night in our room figuring out what are plan would be for the coming days.  We still weren’t sure if we needed to go home, or if we would be better off sticking to our original plans for the time being.  We talked about going home, but even if we went home, there was nothing we could do to help.  We talked about staying in Egypt, but we were uncertain about that too.  We didn’t want to get out to the middle of nowhere and then need to rush back.  We knew that no matter what we decided to do, if we needed to get home quickly, we could and certainly would. 

We didn’t really care for the big city.  If you know us, you know that Brian and I kind of like to do our own thing.  We don’t like being in the very touristy areas, and we hate crowds.  Cairo felt claustrophobic to us.  It was loud and chaotic, and everywhere we went, we felt like we were targets for people to try to take advantage of.  We were cold, tired, worried, and a little miserable.  We had talked about following the typical tourist path and visiting Luxor and Aswan.  These areas are supposed to be beautiful and full of interesting historical artifacts, but they are also full of tourists and the vultures that pounce on them.  We also talked about going the opposite direction towards Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea, but it was even colder weather there.  We weren’t excited about either of those options, and we had several days left before we would fly on to our next destination if we stayed on course.  After a few hours of discussion, we decided not to do either of those.  We found an apartment to rent in Hurghada, a small town on the shores of the Red Sea and a few hours outside of Cairo, and we found our bus to go there the next morning.

We woke up early and ate our breakfast sandwiches while we watched the doves on the terrace tend to their baby chick.  The hotel had these two beautiful doves, and they had a brand new baby chick in the nest.  The mama dove was still sitting on her nest waiting for her second egg to hatch, and the dad appeared to be bored as he paced back and forth the whole time we were there.  We had a little time until we’d need to head to the station, so we piddled around and tried to rest up.  The employees of the hotel called Henry up to hang out with them at the reception desk, and he nervously went up to join them.  I came to check on him about 15 minutes later, and they were having a ball, picking on one of the other employees. 

We decided that we wanted to take an Uber to the bus station, even though it wasn’t very far at all from the hotel.  We didn’t want to be bothered by anyone, especially with us having all our stuff with us.  The Uber driver pulled up and asked where we were going before he would let us in the car.  When we told him the bus station that was less than a mile away, he shook his head saying no and drove away.  The second one we called got hung up and was taking far too long to get to us.  We were getting a little tight on time by that point, so we ended up walking to the station anyway.  We decided that we’d walk with purpose and just be downright rude if people wouldn’t leave us alone.  It worked, and no one even said a word to us.  We got to the station with not much time to spare, but we were able to purchase our tickets and board the bus in time.

The bus ride was smooth and comfortable.  We laid back in our reclining seats and watched movies or played games through most of the trip.  I stared out the window watching the desert go by for a good while.  I was trying to image what life would have been like here all those years ago when the local people built the pyramids and all the fantastically large monuments we see today.  I also thought of the Biblical narrative of the Israelites’ exodus out of Egypt.  The stories about Moses and the Israelites didn’t happen in the particular area we were traveling through, but it wasn’t hard to imagine the land looking very similar to this.  The landscape was extremely harsh outside my window.  There were a handful of bushes, but beyond that, it was all dry and hard and barren.  I cannot imagine surviving out there for more than a few days.  The Israelites wandered through similar terrain for 40 years, and during that time, the Bible says that God supplied them with water to drink and manna from heaven to eat.  I get why now.  There was absolutely nothing else.  Barren doesn’t even begin to describe it, and the only way a million plus people could survive this horrendous landscape was by the grace and mercy of God. 

We made it into Hurghada by about 6:30 that evening after a 7-hour ride.  As we were grabbing our bags from the bus, a local man offered us a taxi ride.  We were negotiating a rate, but before we’d agreed, he grabbed my big backpack and started walking out the back exit to his parked car.  Brian and Henry were doing their best to keep up with him while I was contacting our host; it felt a little sketchy.  When we got to his car, he admitted he wasn’t a taxi driver; he said he was a bus driver that was trying to make a little money on the side.  Being unsure of the area, we politely declined, grabbed my bag from his car, and walked away.  He may have been a super guy, but we didn’t want to take the chance.  Unfortunately, it was already dark outside, and the area we were in behind the station was not well lit or populated, so we decided to take a longer route and walk up to the main road so we could at least be seen.  At the main road, we were relieved to find that there were plenty of marked taxis on the street.  We hailed one of those, and within only a few minutes, we met Mohamed, our host at our rented apartment. 

We’d found several nice places to stay in the Hurghada area, but we’d picked this apartment because in the pictures, it looked like it might feel more like a home.  We were all a little homesick, and we needed a bit of time to relax and unwind together after our stressful few days in Cairo.  After registering with security downstairs, Mohamed showed us the apartment which was in the very nice Florenza compound.  The resort had apartments for sale and rent, and the area had restaurants, markets, and spas all around.  Typically, there was resort only access to the Red Sea beach as well, but during our stay, that area was under construction.  While we started getting settled in, Mohamed, knowing that we were hungry, was kind enough to bring us some snacks, water, and juice to share.

While we were visiting Hurghada, Mohamed helped us set up a trip out to the Red Sea to dive, snorkel, fish, and visit an island for the day.  He picked us up from the complex at around 8:30 in the morning and drove us out to the beautiful Mellow Yellow boat that was moored at the marina.  He waited with us to make sure we were okay until Kareem, his friend who would be going with us, joined us, and then he headed on to his real job for the day.

There were a few other guests on board when we arrived, and by the time we pulled away from the dock, there were probably 20 passengers and 8 or so crew.  We signed our activity waivers, and the dive masters were surprised to learn that we were certified divers.  After a few minutes of confusion, we realized that this was a trip that was geared towards an introduction to diving; each guest would get to go down with full scuba gear with an instructor and dive for about 15 minutes to see if they were interested in taking a course afterwards.  Since we were already certified, that would be a disappointing experience for us.  They let us know that we were welcome to go on a regular dive with Kareem, our dive master, instead.  I had never heard of this kind of introductory course, but it was a very neat concept.  Being the control freak I am, I don’t know that I would have liked it myself, but I’m sure that many people do.

We did our dive at a site near the most beautiful coral reef I’d ever seen.  It was cold, and we had to have wetsuits to be even moderately comfortable.  Because of the introductory course, the crew on the boat set up our gear completely for us; we just sat down at the edge of the boat while they mounted everything on us and dropped us in the water.  I can understand and appreciate why they’d do this for all the beginners, but as an experienced diver, I prefer to check all my own gear before getting in.  It wasn’t a big deal, but it was a little unnerving to trust someone I don’t know that completely.  It was a shallow water dive, so I wasn’t overly concerned.  Once Kareem, Brian, Henry, and I were all in the water, we went down together.  It took a few minutes to get used to that bitterly cold water washing into the wetsuit, but once we got moving a bit, it wasn’t too uncomfortable.  Unfortunately, Brian had an issue where he couldn’t seem to get his breathing right, and he chose to abort the dive only a few minutes into it.  He was able to communicate underwater well enough with Kareem, and Kareem swam us back towards the boat to make his ascent easier.  Henry and I continued with the dive at Brian’s encouragement, and we both had a great time. 

I’d always heard that the Red Sea had some of the world’s best diving, and it certainly deserves that reputation.  I have seen more fish in other regions, but the reef was by far, the healthiest one I’ve ever seen.  The corals were enormous, and there was life everywhere.  I was completely mesmerized by it.  After about 45 minutes of diving, though, Henry and I had had all we could take of the cold, and we let our diver master know we were ready to go back.  At the surface, the crew had us remove all our gear in the water so we could climb the ladders on the back of the boat unimpeded.  I’m not used to this either, but it was pretty awesome.  It’s always extremely difficult to climb up on a boat when you’re worn out and wearing another 70-pounds of equipment on your back.

We could have gone on a second dive, but we elected not to.  Brian wasn’t sure what had gone wrong for him, and he didn’t know if he’d have issues on another dive too.  Henry was very cold and couldn’t get warm.  I would have gone with him if Brian wanted to try again, but I was pretty happy to go inside the salon and get warm too. 

Some of the passengers went snorkeling, but we hung out in the salon of the boat warming up a bit.  The crew was fixing us a meal, so we just enjoyed watching them work.  The lunch was delicious, and we all ate more than we needed.  There was baked chicken patties, prawns, fried fish, pasta, beans, and eggplant. 

After lunch, we all tried our hand at fishing.  They didn’t use rods and reels like we are used to, but they had little wooden spools that you simply wrapped the fishing string around.  I think maybe a few people caught fish, but in typical Swain fashion, we came up empty-handed.  Honestly, I’m not sure that we have actually ever caught a fish.

Our last stop for the day was at Orange Bay, a touristy but beautiful spot on one of the islands in the sea.  The water was a beautiful clear turquoise blue, and there were comfortable lounging seats lining the entire beach.  The water, however, was frigidly cold.  I may be a little dramatic, but if felt insanely cold.  You’d put your feet in, and within seconds, they’d become completely numb.  It took us a while, but eventually we were able to get to thigh deep water so we could take some pictures at a swing beautifully positioned over the water.  Henry had gotten down in the water completely, which I don’t understand how, but right after we were done with the pictures, we were all done with the water too.

Henry had made a friend though.  There was a Russian boy named Roma on the boat that was about his age.  He spoke some English, and he and Henry seemed to get along pretty well.  He liked splashing around in the cold water too, so that gave them something in common.  Their favorite activity, though, was once we got back on the boat.  The crew brought around fresh strawberries and juicy orange slices as a treat to everyone, and these two boys devoured them.  I don’t know how many they ate, but they weren’t going to let any go to waste. 

We met some really nice people in Hurghada.  Each day we bought snacks at the market across the street from the complex.  Snacks were incredibly inexpensive there, and the two brothers who ran the market were awesome.  Each time we went into the store, we would spend 5-10 minutes talking to them.  They were funny and more than a little sarcastic, which of course we loved.  One day, Brian was trying to pay for our food when a local man cut in front of him to pay for his stuff first.  The clerk looked at Brian and and smiled as he said “Egyptians have no appreciation for waiting in lines.  Welcome to Egypt.”  Henry would talk to the cats that roamed the street and market while we talked with them about the area, Egyptian culture, and the United States.  We were actually a little sad to go to the market for the last time on our last day in town.

We also met a lovely young lady at one of the local restaurants.  She was Egyptian, but she spoke English with a better accent than me.  She said she loved Americans, and she watched American television to learn the language.  One of the waiters in another restaurant also became a friend to us.  He waited on us the first day, and we tried to eat at his restaurant several other times during our stay.  Unfortunately, something was going on with their chef, so while they could serve plenty of drinks, they had no food.  We enjoyed his warm smile and good conversation, though, and we hated to say goodbye to him as well. 

And then there was Achmed at a third restaurant.  He served us twice during our stay.  During the first visit, he chatted up Henry.  He invited us to stay for some live music they were having later in the night.  We did, and we had a great time listening to their musician sing everything from I Will Survive to Gangster’s Paradise to Achy Breaky Heart.  We stopped by on another evening, and Achmed greeted Henry by name as we walked through the door.  I love when people include him, and Achmed made him feel like he was his honored guest.

On our last full day in town, Mohamed helped us with our PCR tests we would need for traveling on to Morocco.  He set up the appointments for us, and when it was time, he had a driver pick us up at the compound.  A few minutes later, the driver picked up Mohamed as well, and he escorted us to the testing center where he helped us get our fees paid and our tests completed.  His driver took us back to the compound, and Mohamed took our receipt so that he could help us pick up our results.  In this area, we’d take our test at the center, and then 24 hours later, we’d need to go to the hospital to physically pick up our printed results.  Mohamed said he had a friend that worked at the hospital who might be able to help us get the results sooner, since 24 hours would be too long for us to comfortably wait to head back to Cairo. 

When I had texted Mohamed to ask if he knew where to get COVID testing done in town, I was just hoping for a quick reply with a location or website to check.  I couldn’t believe that he took the time to go with us across town, and that he would be willing to help us through it and help us get our results.  We were humbled by his hospitality and willingness to go above and beyond.

While we were in town, a local businessman had been talking to us about visiting the spa inside the Florenza compound.  It sounded good, and it was fairly inexpensive, but it wasn’t something I was actually considering either.  Brian talked me into getting a massage, since I’d never actually gotten the one I wanted for my birthday back in October.  Since we had some time to kill while we waited for our COVID results, I decided to go for it.  Let’s just say it’ll be an experience I’ll never forget.

I scheduled the Cleopatra Treatment, which sounded pretty amazing.  With it, I would get to spend a little time in the sauna and the steam room, and then I’d get a full body scrub, a facial, and a massage.  We stopped by the spa after lunch and scheduled the appointment, and I couldn’t wait!

I arrived promptly for my 4:00 pm appointment, and Maria introduced herself to me and helped me to their changing area.  I removed my clothes, locked them in a locker, and then, wrapped up in a Turkish towel and sandals, I headed out to the sauna.

The sauna was hot.  For the first few minutes, it felt good.  The air in Hurghada had been chilly as it was still winter, and it felt nice and cozy to sit there.  After about 5 minutes, though I began to think I might actually combust.  I could feel the sweat trickle down my back, and I tried to imagine the wonderful things this was doing for my pores, but all I could think about was escaping the heat.  I didn’t have a clock with me, and with no one to talk to, it felt like an eternity of sitting there waiting for relief.  I felt every single breath.  The time ticked by so slowly I could barely stand it.  When Maria stopped by the door to let me out, I pasted on a smile and calmly stepped out towards her instead of bounding out like a caged animal with a chance to flee.

Our next stop was the steam room.  I had been looking forward to this one.  I love a super hot and steamy shower better than just about anything else, and I was really excited.  The room was small, maybe 4’ wide by 6’ long, and there was a heated granite slab on one side of the room.  I knew from a tour the previous day that it would be warm, and I could rest on that while I was in there.  I walked in, and Maria told me to remove my towel.  Now, me being the modest person that I am, I was trying to figure out how to do that without showing her my everything, but I couldn’t come up with any way to do that.  So, after awkwardly trying to hand her my towel at her eye level, I finally gave up.  She was just going to have to see me naked.

The steam room was nice.  It wasn’t hot, but it wasn’t cold.  The granite slab was very warm, and I laid comfortably on the slab while I soaked in the steam.  It began getting in my lungs and loosening up the phlegm in them, so I started coughing.  And coughing.  And coughing.  I began to worry that she’d think I had COVID and make me leave.  Maybe my time was over, or maybe she felt like she had to get me out of her steam room, but the steam began to abate, and I heard her come in with some supplies.

Now, Maria is a very sweet lady, but she doesn’t really speak English so communication is a bit difficult.  She’s also about my shape and size, so 5’ tall and a bit round in the belly.  She came in the room dressed in a small t-shirt and shorts with an apron on to keep her from getting soaked.  I assumed she was getting ready to do the body scrub, and I was hoping that I hadn’t somehow insulted her by laying here naked, although really, I wasn’t sure what other option I could have gone with.  She took my towel, after all.  She didn’t seem bothered, so I just did my best to relax while she did her thing.  While I was resting with my eyes closed, she did something with her supplies, and then I heard her turn the water on and get it adjusted right.  About that time, I felt a massive spray of water over me.  It was really warm, and it had good pressure; it felt good after the first shock of it, and I thought that it was interesting being washed off on this rock slab by a complete stranger. 

She had a step stool that she used to climb up on her knees on the granite slab.  And then when I was contemplating the oddness of this situation, she broke out her little scrubber sponge.  I don’t know if you’ve ever been scrubbed with a coconut husk, but it feels exactly like you might expect it too.  I tried my best not to cringe or cry out, but it hurt very badly.  And apparently, I had underestimated Maria.  For such a little woman, she was very, very strong.  Now, I’ve never been to prison, but I imagine that if I were ever getting scrubbed by someone in prison, it might feel exactly like this did.  It was incredibly painful, and this woman worked me over like it was nothing to her.  I was grateful when she came to a stop and rinsed me off, but then she said ‘Change Please.’

I didn’t know what that meant, but after looking at her quizzically, she motioned for me to roll over on my back so she could continue to scrub my front.  I tried to think of a way out of it, but trying not to be rude, I couldn’t.  Reluctantly, I began rolling over, but at about that time, my body began to slide around on the slippery, soapy granite slab.  I laughed out loud as I started to slide off the end and couldn’t stop myself.  This woman had to think I was some kind of special because I simply couldn’t stop laughing.  After what felt like an eternity of slipping around quite ungracefully, I finally slid myself back on the slab and kind-of in the right place, and then she scrubbed my front half. 

We repeated this process a few times, and every time I tried to move, I slid around like a greased pig.  Every time I laughed hysterically.  Either she felt sorry for me or she thought it was comical too, because eventually she started laughing too.

After a final rinse, the horrific coconut scrub was over, and we moved on to the next treatment.  She rubbed something all over my skin, and then she told me to lay there for 10 minutes while she left the room to do something else.  I don’t know what it was, but it looked and felt like coconut oil and coconut flakes.  The oil felt good, but the flakes just made me itch all over.  And they were everywhere!  I laid there like a good customer, and when she came back, I was eager for her to wash them off of me.

Instead, she turned on a different handheld shower and told me to wash off and come out.  I sat up and very ungracefully slid off the end of the slab and onto the floor, trying not to let momentum make me hit the wall on the opposite side of the room.   I don’t know what happened to the shower head she used, because the one she gave me didn’t have much pressure.  I was absolutely filthy and trying to take a shower in a trickle of water.  And those flakes weren’t having any part of coming off me.  I washed and cleaned, and it felt like they just kept multiplying.  She must have been worried about me, because she kept peeking in to check on me.  I would think I was almost done, and I’d smile at her and tell her just a moment more, but then I’d find more flakes.  At some point, she gave up and just stood in the door watching me.  I didn’t know what else to do; I couldn’t get her to understand that there were more flakes in places the flakes shouldn’t be, and the whole time I was awkwardly trying to clean myself off, she was there watching me, and I hated that too.  I finally took the least uncomfortable path and just turned the shower off, figuring I’d take another shower as soon as I got back to the privacy of my room.

When I was out, she fixed me a tea, and I sat on a comfortable chaise lounge enjoying my drink.  I have learned to drink hot tea, but only under specific circumstances.  I like it very weak, and I like it with a lot of sugar.  I prefer tea flavored sugar water.  The cup she brought me was really strong, and she might have put three granules of sugar in it.  It tasted terrible, but I figured to be polite, I’d just have to drink it like a civilized person and move on.  I tried really hard.  I did.  But while a normal person may have found it delicious, I thought it was awful.  Thankfully she gave me a reprieve when she asked if I was ready for my massage.  I quickly said yes and sprang up from my chair!

Now, I think it’s fair to say that I didn’t relax and enjoy the treatment until this point.  The massage changed things though.  It was absolutely, fantastically amazing.  Maria was excellent at her job, and when I finished up my 60-minute massage, I was as loose as a goose.  I have never had a back massage like the one she gave.  At some point she was up on the table with me working at my shoulder blades.  I knew I’d be sore the next day, but it felt heavenly.

As we wrapped things up, the spa owner tried to talk me into other treatments, but I was hungry and tired and ready to get back to my family.  I couldn’t wait to regale Brian and Henry with my latest adventure.  I’d spent too much extra money on the treatment already, and honestly, I wasn’t sure that I could handle anything else.

That night, we worked on packing up so we could get back on the bus the next day.  I woke up early that morning to see that Mohamed was able to get our results picked up, and instantly I felt relief.  I’m not exactly sure how he got them, but he delivered just like he said he would.  We made arrangements to meet for breakfast at a nearby restaurant before we’d head back to the bus station.

Mohamed was delayed that morning, so when he arrived at the restaurant, our breakfasts had already arrived.  He enjoyed a coffee as we ate, and we talked about our visit and how grateful we were for his help.  He had surprised Henry with a tub of Egyptian candy, and Henry was excited to try it.  When it was time to go, Mohamed surprised us by picking up the check too.  He helped us hail a taxi, and then he rode with us to the bus station and helped us get our tickets for the bus.  At the bus, he even talked with the driver to make sure he knew to let us off at the right stop.  As we said goodbye, we were all sad to leave.  It was nice to have made a friend, and while we would like to make it back to Hurghada one day, we also know it will be a while before that happens.

Our bus ride back to Cairo was uneventful, and we arrived at the station at about 6 pm.  Our Uber driver took us to our hotel, and Henry was beside himself.  We were staying at the Novotel, a large hotel perfect for conventions and weddings.  It was very large and very comfortable.  We’d be flying out early the next morning, and the reason we’d picked this hotel was for their airport shuttle.  Since Colombia, we’ve been a little nervous about traveling late at night or very early in the morning, and we didn’t want to be flagging down a taxi or Uber at that hour.  The hotel was nice, but it was very expensive.  We ate a decent buffet dinner in the restaurant, but it was the most expensive meal we’ve had in months, even with Henry eating for free.  And it wasn’t that good. 

We woke up bright and early the next morning and caught the 3:30 shuttle for the airport with two other guests.  The airport was quiet, and we made it through the check-in process with no issues.  Thankfully, we also made it into the Pearl Lounge for a ‘free’ breakfast and some quiet comfort to rest in until our flight boarded.

Egypt was an interesting country to visit.  We didn’t care for Cairo, but that may have been as much a product of where we were in the city as anything.  We stayed downtown because it was close to the action and relatively inexpensive.  There were nicer, calmer areas, and had we stayed there instead, we might have found the city to be a little more livable.  I’m grateful we got off the beaten path and went to Hurghada for a while.  I’m sure Luxor and Aswan were incredible, but we needed something a little different in that season. 

Hurghada was a very nice area, and we really enjoyed the people we met there.  I’m very grateful for the friends we made as they helped to change our opinion of Egypt, and they’ve left a very positive impact on all of us.  We were there in the winter, and the weather was a little too chilly to enjoy the beautiful pools and the sea very much.  In the summer, I think we would have wanted to stay for much, much longer.  I cannot wait to one day go back and do more diving there! 

With Brian’s Dad’s health scare, we were reminded that life is short and tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us.  Even in the traveling, we can get so busy going and doing all these amazing things that we miss out on what is most important in life.  We all need friends to lean on.  We all need family to hold on to when life gets tough.  And we all need the reminder to slow down and take it all in.  After all, life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.