Cozumel – Mexican Island in the Caribbean

May 2008

Location: Cozumel

Standing at the very top of Faro Celarain lighthouse Derek and I had discovered a prime view of the southern-most tip of Cozumel. From the observation deck we looked out across the expanse of contrasting landscape and gasped in awe. To the right we watched as turquoise waves crashed down onto white sand, which in turn caused foamy spray to shower the sun kissed shoreline. And to the left, in sheer polarity, lay murky crocodile infested swamp waters. Both scenes dramatically divided by a thin fork road which snaked off into the distance.

Parque Punta Sur, an ecological park, was our first port of call for adventure on the Mexican island of Cozumel. With just one road tracing most of the island we decided to hire a car, safe in the knowledge that it would be nigh on impossible to get lost. From the Holiday Village White Sands Resort, our base on the southwest coast, we enjoyed a leisurely paced short drive further south to the ecological park. 

To kick the morning off, upon arrival, we parked up next to Faro Celarain lighthouse and then jumped onto a complimentary (albeit bumpy) truck ride which took us to a secluded sandy beach via an impressive mangrove forest trail. 

As soon as we disembarked the truck, Derek had his snorkeling gear out and was racing down to the shoreline, eager to investigate Punta Sur Reef – with all of its many interesting and colourful residents. Whilst I chilled out in one of the plentiful hammocks available, drinking a bottle of Corona and catching some Mexican sun rays.

After spending a couple of hours at the beach, we headed back through the mangrove forest to Faro Celarain lighthouse. We briefly checked out the Nautical Museum at ground level before climbing the dizzying heights to the very top of the lighthouse. Having spent all morning enjoying the sea and the sand, we were now massively drawn to the dark waters of the lagoon, despite the fact that I harbour a mild phobia for the reptilian beasties. 

What is it they say, curiosity killed the cat? Within five minutes we’d arrived at the crocodile observation point. But it’s also true when they say that facing your fears will help to conquer them, and this is a very fair statement - especially as I jumped up and down excitedly on the wooden platform, pointing and announcing to all and sundry, “There’s one, there’s one!”

Seeing a large croc bobbing about in the muddy waters filled me with exhilaration, rather than the dry-mouthed fear I had anticipated, but maybe that was because I knew they wouldn’t be able to climb up onto the observation deck to eat me (at least, I don’t think crocodiles can climb…). The overall experience was rounded off nicely when a large pink flamingo flew past and landed close by.

Grinning from ear to ear and feeling very proud of my little crocodile feat, I clambered back into the hire car and off we headed for a drive along the east coast, drooling all the while at the astounding coastal scenery. 

With Cozumel being a Mexican island in the Caribbean Sea we were pretty much sold on the location immediately. We felt as though we were getting the best of both worlds – a luxuriously relaxing Caribbean holiday with the remarkable history and culture of Mexico all rolled into one.

And to sample a small slice of that Mexican history is exactly where we were headed next…

San Gervasio - Cozumel’s largest Mayan site, dedicated to Ix Chel, the Mayan goddess of fertility. Located on the northeastern side of the island, with an abundance of jungle and wildlife, it was the furthest north we ventured in the hire car. Finding the site easily enough, we bought tickets and then enjoyed a laid-back stroll around the ruins. The temples, although small, were very impressive in their design and layout, and there were plenty of information boards dotted around, giving an insight into the history and purpose of each piece – which proved handy for us, as we were doing a self-guided tour.

Because San Gervasio is situated within a jungle area I was almost eaten alive by mosquitoes – and made a mental note to start carrying insect repellant around with me for the rest of our stay in Cozumel. Derek didn’t get bitten once, much to his amusement. As I scratched and lopped my way around the site, he set to work taking some photos of the ancient structures – and of the odd sunbathing iguana we happened across. 

Throughout the day Derek and I observed several large birds circling overhead, yet we weren’t completely certain what they were. Once back at our resort, having worked up an appetite, we headed to the restaurant to tuck into some authentic spicy chicken fajitas, and decided to quiz the waiter, Jose, about these large mysterious birds.

He looked momentarily puzzled and scratched his head, “Large birds? No, no, we do not have large birds here.”

Luckily at that moment, right on cue, one of the birds in question soared overhead outside and we were able to point it out.

“Ah,” Jose smiled and nodded in recognition, “That is not a large bird. That is a zopilote.”

“A what?” Derek and I asked in unison.

“I’m not sure what the English for this word is…” Jose shrugged, before wandering off with an armful of dirty plates.

Later that night we discovered (thanks to the internet) that zopilote is Mexican for vulture. 

“Good grief, if Mexicans don’t class vultures as being large, then I dread to think what they would deem large!” I laughed. “Pterodactyls perhaps?”

The Holiday Village White Sands Resort is an all-inclusive resort which we booked specifically because it was offering introductory discount rates – having been renamed, (formerly the Allegro), and fully refurbished. 

The resort itself was fine, in that we had all of our food and drinks (a varied enough choice) catered for without needing to dip our hands into our pockets, which suited us well. However, we felt that the overall place was more geared towards families rather than couples and lone travelers. 

A large pirate themed kiddies pool took centre place at the entrance, (which we couldn’t quite picture ourselves splashing around in). Nevertheless, we were thankful to discover a normal pool towards the resort’s pleasant beachfront where we could go for non-swashbuckling swims – although loud poolside entertainment took place daily here, so not the most relaxing place to laze about on your lilo if that’s what you had in mind. And last, but certainly not least, we found that the rooms were ample comfy and clean enough – a very worthy base. (It was just a shame that the man in the room next to ours had a violent cough and kept us awake all through the night – I fully expected that he might cough up one of his lungs).

The island’s highlights for us, without doubt, was the amazing spectrum of wildlife – iguanas lazing in front of temples, large snakes basking in the sun, vultures perching on thatched roofs and best, bar none, spritely humming birds supping nectar from the plethora of flowers in communal areas. 

Of course, the Mexicans themselves were very warm and friendly people. Whether it be hotel staff, taxi drivers or local people on the street - there was always a friendly, Hola! 

We’d already decided that we couldn’t visit Cozumel without making a trip to mainland Mexico –and the ferry terminal at Cozumel’s cute and compact city area of San Miguel made this a very do-able possibility.

Opting to see the real big daddy of Mexican sites, Chichen Itza, we chose to book this venture directly with our First Choice travel rep. The ferry crossing to Mexico sounded like plain sailing, but the road journey through Mexico daunted us slightly and we figured it would be a little strenuous, preferring the idea of being chauffeured by coach instead – although it would have been completely achievable on our own with a hire car, had we wished.

On the day of our Chichen Itza escapade, a short ferry ride from San Miguel took us to Playa del Carmen in Mexico, where we then transferred to our coach for the three hour road journey. On the way, we stopped off to visit a cenote; a spectacularly stunning sight – and a very welcome break from the long drive. 

Here we learned that cenotes are deep natural wells which link underground river systems together. Intrigued we peered down over the jagged edges of the rock formations, and were amazed to see that the water at the very bottom of the cenote was glaring turquoise under the sun’s rays.

Crowds of people had climbed down to the water’s edge and were leaping into the sparkling cyan expanse - and in the baking heat of the sun, I must admit, I was quite jealous. But not relishing the idea of squelching back to my coach seat and being soggy for the remainder of the journey to Chichen Itza, I refrained from joining them – trying to convince myself that the coach’s air conditioning would be just as refreshing.

Eventually, after an admittedly grueling drive, we arrived at Chichen Itza. We knew instantaneously that it had been well worth the endurance – all of the ruins looming ahead of us, completely awe-inspiring. 

Just as the Eiffel Tower demands the limelight in Paris, El Castillo does so in Chichen Itza. An enormous step pyramid, housing a temple at the very top, it stands proud in a central location. Standing at the foot of the construction Derek and I felt very humbled by its sheer scale and design. Rows upon rows of steps invited us to walk skyward – although, climbing on the structures is strictly forbidden – so we didn’t.

It was early May during our visit, and as we walked around the site I can’t remember having ever been exposed to such heat before. Our tour guide had plied us with bottled water before we left the coach, but the small bottle didn’t go far and we ended up forking out for a two litre bottle from a market stall trader. This wasn’t particularly costly, but the two litres didn’t last us very long – I don’t think I’ve drank so much in my entire life! 

As we visited the Great Ball Court I found it hard to comprehend how the Mayan people had played competitive Mesoamerican ballgames in this ferocious heat without keeling over left, right and centre. 

I ducked and dived into shaded areas for the remainder of the tour. And before we got back onto the coach, we managed to do some slight haggling with a local tradesman, buying a hand-carved wooden Mayan mask for 500 pesos (around £25) – which now has pride of place on our dining room wall.

The following day, in need of a much more relaxing experience, we called a taxi from the hotel reception and headed about ten minutes down the road to the Atlantis Submarine Expedition office. From here we transferred by boat to Chankanaab and then climbed into the awaiting submarine. Going down to 100 feet, we crawled along the ocean bed for 40 minutes, catching glimpses of multitudes of tropical fish and even an octopus.

This little outing had Derek itching to get his snorkeling gear out again, so in mutual agreement we decided that we couldn’t leave Cozumel without having experienced Palancar Reef – the island’s most famous reef. From our hotel we took a small boat excursion and headed off with our snorkeling equipment. 

The water was very choppy that day, yet despite not being a strong nor confident swimmer, I persevered and managed to experience Palancar Reef first hand – and made friends with a unicorn fish who appeared to like my neon pink sea shoes.

Towards the end of our two week holiday, we decided to sample Chankanaab Park – which was labeled as being Cozumel’s Adventure Land. 

Along with plenty of snorkeling areas, Chankanaab Park offered dolphin swimming experiences and snuba lessons (a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving). Yet, as nicely presented as the Park was, we failed to feel any massive sense of adventure. 

All snorkeled out and dolphin swimming not being our cup of tea, we only stayed in the park until late morning. Afterwards we headed further down the road to San Miguel to do a spot of window shopping instead. 

Friendly shop owners tried to lure us into their lairs, mostly promising us good prices on their silver merchandise. They didn’t drive a hard sale though, and a quick, No thank you, would be enough for them to leave you in peace. 

If anything, it was lovely to saunter along the sea front, watching ferries coming and going – a total contrasting scene to that of the white beaches we were more accustomed to further down the west coast where our hotel was located.

Because we were on an all inclusive basis we didn’t actually eat outside of the hotel complex – but in down town San Miguel we did notice a vast array of restaurants and bars scattered about along the seafront, within the modern shopping mall and also further up the road towards the hotel areas. Cozumel itself isn’t a large island, but whatever your tastes and budget you would be well catered for.

I suspect that there are plenty of apartments and hostels in San Miguel for the more independent traveler – however, if I was to return to Cozumel, I’d book a package deal again, in order to be on the beach front – which, if I’m completely honest, is why we chose Cozumel in the first place, to have that overall Caribbean feel. 

We both thought it a great shame that the trip had to come to an end, but we still had a surprise in store…

On our final day, as we lazed around the swimming pool indulging in some well deserved chill-out time, Derek gasped, “What’s happening to the sky?” 

Following his gaze I glanced upwards to discover a magical display of large multi-coloured arcs patterning the sky.

“Looks like God is playing Spirograph,” I replied, bemused.

Silence had befallen the rest of the poolside by now, everyone gazing upwards in a mixture of wonder and uncertainty. Following a few random mutterings and suggestions of aliens and Armageddon, a local barman finally appeased our curiosity…

It transpired that a sun halo was occurring before our very eyes. Until that day I’d never heard of such a thing – and I must admit, it was one of the most spectacular sights I’ve ever bore witness to. 

As well as the various arcs strewn across the sky, a perfect circular rainbow had formed around the circumference of the sun – apparently the result of ice crystals forming in the upper troposphere.

Settling back in my sun lounger I stretched out and enjoyed the spectacle of this strange phenomenon for a good while longer, until it faded away and blended into the vibrant blue sky, thinking all the while that a fortnight filled with flora, fauna and historical architecture had turned out better than we’d ever imagined – and the sun halo was definitely the cherry on top.

Rachael Meets Rameses II

March/April 2010

Location: Egypt (Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel & Cairo)

Wednesday 31^st March:

Me, Derek and my mam were on the road to Birmingham airport at an ungodly 2:15am. We were so hyper about going to Egypt we chatted the entire three hours or so that it took for us to get there. And we were still spritely after our five and a half hour flight to Luxor (the long queue waiting to buy visas and the even longer wait to get through customs didn’t even dampen our spirits).

When we finally arrived at our 4T Nile Explorer cruise (aka The Ritz), we were given keys to rooms 212 and 213 right next to reception. The rooms were certainly not Ritz standard – but considering we only needed them for sleeping in (for what little sleep we did end up getting!) and for showering in, it didn’t concern us. The sheets were clean and the bathroom was clean, and that’s all that mattered.

After unpacking we headed up to the top deck to watch the sun set at 6:30. As soon as the sun went down the drop in temperature was really quite significant – and we all felt nippy! Nevertheless, we all had a glass of lager and sat outside watching the world go by at the water’s edge of Luxor on the East Bank.

We discovered that meal times (we were all inclusive) were to be waiter service, rather than buffet – which was quite daunting at first, because I prefer to help myself (being the picky type). But that said our first evening meal was lovely.

Booked our entire week full of excursions after dinner, and when a man walked into the bar with the most outrageous comb-over hairstyle in the world, and shorts pulled right up to his armpits, alongside a sixty-odd year old woman who presumably thought she was Shakira, we knew we were in for a treat!

Thursday 1^st April:

As soon as our heads had hit the pillows it was time to get up again (or so it felt). After a speedy breakfast, we were boarded onto a coach and introduced to our tour guide, for the whole week, Ashraf. Our first destination was the Colossi of Memnon, where we got around ten minutes in which to get off the coach to take photos. The two stone statues were enormous, and had quite an Alien Vs Predator feel to them.

After much snapping of cameras, we were then off to visit the Valley of the Kings. As well as no cameras being allowed here (which was a great shame), coaches can’t take you to the tombs – so we boarded a tuff tuff to take us instead (a vehicle that looks like a long golf buggy). Our first stop off was at the tomb of Rameses II – where Ashraf gave us a brief history lesson outside on the steps leading to the entranceway. This tomb is closed to the general public (we had to make do with looking in through the metal gates), so Ashraf almost had kittens when we detected movement from inside – but it turned out to be archaeologists at work, and not the wandering spirit (or mummy) of Rameses II...which, again, was a shame. 

Afterwards we visited the tombs of Rameses IX, Rameses III and then Rameses I. Inside each tomb the craftsmanship was absolutely fascinating. Long eerie passageways full of wall to wall inscriptions that must have taken years to complete. And all the while, it felt as though we were walking inside of an oven. The air was stifling and musty. Some of the tombs were perilously steep whilst walking through too, and we saw quite a few people struggling and panting to get back out. The carvings and paintwork was stunning and vibrant, despite the fact that most of them are around 3000 years old – if only Dulux could learn the secret! 

We decided not to pay extra to see King Tutankhamen’s tomb. We’d been advised by other tourists that it was merely a money spinner and there wasn’t much to see. 

After our tour round the Valley of the Kings we hopped back on the coach and called into an alabaster factory to do some shopping. Derek and I bought a large stone wall plaque depicting The Final Judgement to go on our hall wall back home, and then all shopped out, we then made our way to our final destination of the day - Queen Hatchepsut’s Tomb. A massive tomb set in the rock face. It looks breathtaking, even from a distance, and we all felt small and humble walking up its steps. 

By the time we got back to the boat we had time for a late lunch, and then settled down on some sunbeds and did some serious relaxing as we pulled away from Luxor East Bank and headed off on our first stretch of the Nile cruise.

When we were all dressed for the evening, we headed up to the bar for the manager’s cocktail happy hour, where they were serving up all kinds of fabulous nibbles too. We grazed on a few bits and pieces and indulged in a couple of cocktails before then heading down to the restaurant. We all wished we’d never even looked at the nibbles though – because we were then presented with a five course meal. Yes, five courses! 

Fruit or seafood salad, followed by soup, followed by quiche, followed by steak and vegetables, followed by toffee pudding – and we thought that was the last of it, until we discovered that it was somebody’s birthday onboard and the chef had baked a massive cake that the entire boat was expected to share. We were all feeling quite green round the gills by this time, everyone tugging at their waistbands – and it didn’t help matters when the waiters made me get up to join in the birthday conga around the restaurant! (Derek and my mam escaped this embarrassment, may I add).

Arrived at Edfu late evening, and we sat with a few drinks watching people coming and going along the main street of Edfu. It was very bizarre and interesting to see that kids were playing football in playgrounds at around 11pm – and whole families were gathering and chatting in the streets. There seemed to be a whole community spirit going on at such a late hour – and I wondered perhaps if they prefer to spend time outside when the sun isn’t out. There was no longer a nip in the air either – we couldn’t decide if this was because we’d moved away from Luxor, or whether our first night had been unusually chilly.

Friday 2^nd April (my 30^th birthday)

Another early morning – but it was ok, because I had lots of cards to open, and we had an exciting day planned. Derek had bought me a limited edition Steiff bear for my birthday, which he’d given me before we’d left home, but he also had another little surprise lined up, which he presented to me with my birthday card – an aerobatics experience for when we got back home!

Went for another grab and go breakfast, and then headed off to Edfu Temple of Horus – the falcon-headed God. 

After a long mosey around, with some great history lessons from Ashraf, and also learning for ourselves that if you take a photograph of a local you will be charged (it’s best not to argue), we went back to the boat and set sail for Kom Ombo.

Spent the afternoon round by the pool, and I went for a birthday massage at 3pm – hoping to be further relaxed. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case. The masseuse was offering to give me birthday extras for free. Given his amorous behaviour and the fact that he told me to get on the floor for these extras, I almost expected to be chased around the massage table in the style of Benny Hill...so I grabbed my flip flops and scurried back to my sunbed. It was one birthday surprise I could have done without!

Once we arrived in Kom Ombo we walked up to Kom Ombo Temple (of the crocodile God) – with a trail of kids behind us asking for money and trying to flog us bookmarks. Once inside the temple grounds, Ashraf gave us a history of the temple. He also pointed out various carvings and told us what they meant – specifically birthing seats. He said that the Ancient Egyptians would sit down whilst in labour, so that gravity would aid the process and make it easier (I’m not sure easier would be the correct term, but I understood what he was trying to say – I think). And then we all sat and watched the sunset whilst sitting on a wall with the temple directly behind us. Was a perfect birthday treat.

Funnily enough, it was Galibeya fancy dress night, where everyone was expected to dress up in traditional outfits. It felt as though the entire boat was celebrating my birthday (even though they weren’t).

As we got changed into our fancy dress costumes, Derek gave me one final birthday present – a diamond bangle (my birthstone is diamond). 

At the restaurant we discovered our two waiters, Mohammed and Milad, had decorated our table with birthday banners and decorations – and the chef had baked me a big coconut cake, mmm. 

When we were stuffed, once again, we popped in to see how the party at the bar was shaping up – but when Derek got dragged up to partake in a game, and I to do a belly dance, we all slinked off outside onto the deck to enjoy some peace and quiet – and to watch as we pulled into Aswan. 

Saturday 3^rd April

Tired, hungover and, did I mention, tired? – but still, another very early morning beckoned. After a couple of mouthfuls of breakfast, we were once again onboard the coach (complete with life jackets underarm). And off we went to visit the High Dam (the world’s 3^rd biggest dam, by all accounts). 

It was a very impressive sight indeed, but for some reason I think it appealed to the men of the group more. After ten minutes or so, most of the women were stifling yawns, eager to get back on track to discover more tombs and temples. Thankfully we left High Dam just before a coach load of school kids arrived, and we stopped further down the road at a papyrus shop. After more retail therapy and a cup of Egyptian tea, we continued on our journey to Philae Temple. In order to get to Philae Temple (a temple dedicated to Isis), we had to take a boat (hence the need for life jackets). Ashraf informed us that the temple itself had been relocated due to flooding from the High Dam. Nevertheless it was a beautiful site to wander round, and all the carvings were immense.

The heat was absolutely fierce today, and we were all feeling exhausted and dehydrated by the time we got back to The Ritz – but we didn’t get time for a refreshing drink at the bar, because it was then time for an hour long trip out on the Nile in a felluca boat – where we floated around Elephantine Island and Kitchener’s Island. 

After lunch we decided against venturing out into the streets of Aswan in favour of catching some rays (and some sleep) round by the pool. Egyptian mosquitoes were really making a meal of me by this point – and I was too afraid to use the Deet we’d brought along, because it had melted my shoes and took my nail varnish off the night before...eek!

During our evening meal we were all left a little bit traumatised – by the sheer amount of food we were expected to eat. It was Easter Special night – which consisted of seven courses!

Salmon with toast, followed by mushroom soup, followed by seafood pancake, followed by lemon sorbet, followed by beef and vegetables, followed by ice-cream meringue, followed by coffee. It was just ludicrous amounts of food.

There were some Nubian dancers performing in the bar area after dinner – but after a glass of wine or two out on the deck, to aid digestion of course, whilst looking out across the Nile at the spectacular sight of the Tombs of the Nobles in the distance, we all just turned in early; the early mornings, hot sun and hectic days were really starting to take their toll.

Sunday 4^th April

Wake up call at 5:30am, and straight to Aswan airport. Boarded our 50 seater charter flight to Abu Simbel. The flight only took 40 minutes, and there was a coach waiting at the other end to take us to the impressive Abu Simbel temples. When we walked around the corner and saw the gargantuan seated figures a wave of shivers rippled through my body, despite the heat. They were more impressive than I’d imagined.

One of the temples was built in honour of Rameses II and another one was built in honour of his favourite wife Nefertary. I found a lot of the chambers inside Nefertary’s temple to be small, dark and claustrophobic – in fact the whole place had quite a haunted feel. We spent a good couple of hours wandering in and around the temples before heading back to Aswan, to our boat. After all that, we were back in time for lunch – it’s amazing what you can do when you get up early enough!

We sat out on deck all afternoon lazing in the sun, and enjoying the sites as we sailed down the Nile back to Luxor – though we were almost driven to destruction by Celine Dion music that spewed from the speakers constantly – it was on set repeat for at least 8 hours (and I’m not exaggerating)...including Christmas tunes! But inarguably, you can’t beat sitting round the pool with a cold glass of lager watching camels in the distance, and local kids splashing about and playing in the Nile – Celine Dion or not.

Evening meal tonight was a BBQ buffet – which was a big welcome relief for our over laden stomachs. We enjoyed a few drinks out on deck before dragging ourselves like zombies off to bed at around 11pm. 

Monday 5^th April

Felt like we were getting a lie in – wakeup call wasn’t until 7am! We were ushered onto the coach by 8am and headed out to the East Bank of Luxor to see Karnak Temple. Ashraf advised us that Karnak is the biggest temple in the world – with 9 bilons altogether. 

 We were left to wander around the large site, and so we made our way to the avenue of rams...a whole line-up of sphinx looking rams!

Afterwards we went on to visit Luxor Temple, which was a lot smaller – but impressive all the same. Again, the sun was ferocious today, and I was thankful that we weren’t visiting during peak summer months!

The rest of the afternoon we hung out by the poolside, catching up on sleep, catching some rays – and sipping refreshing lager.

Tuesday 6^th April

Wake up call at 4:15. We had to go and wait on a neighbouring boat, because ours was setting sail for Denderah – and we’d decided to fly out to Cairo instead. Hung around in the other boat’s bar drinking tea and eating croissants until 5:55am when we were picked up and escorted to the airport. 

Arrived in Cairo at 9am, met our guide in the airport and then boarded our coach. We hadn’t been on the road for long when we stopped at a giant mosque for photo opportunities – and then finally off we went to see the Great Pyramids of Giza. Wow! 

I’d always known that the pyramids were large, but when you’re standing at the foot of one, you realise just how jaw-droppingly massive they are. Each stone block is preposterously big, and I still can’t comprehend how the Ancient Egyptians actually managed to stack them up. 

Unfortunately we did get hassled by men trying to flog us camel rides at the foot of the pyramids – which was a great shame. We’d gone to view some of the world’s most impressive creations, and spent a lot of our time ducking and diving trying to avoid people, when really all we wanted was a bit of peace and quiet to absorb the sights. It was all quite strange too, in that I’d always expected the pyramids to be in the middle of desert – which is totally not the case. If you face away from the pyramids, there are restaurants and hotels right next to them!

 

The coach took us to a viewing point where we could see all three pyramids in the distance – which was an ideal photo spot (and free from hassle too). 

From there we then went round to see the infamous Sphinx. My mam was utterly in awe at how big its paws were, and although we couldn’t get right up close to it, we still got plenty of great photo opportunities. 

We all felt quite famous too when a man asked if he could take a photo of us standing with his little girl – not quite sure what that was all about (maybe it was something to do with our pasty skin – or perhaps my cowboy hat!).

None of us had had any malaria medication, because the holiday was mainly around the Luxor and Aswan areas, which are malaria free zones. We’d decided to chance it in Cairo for the sake of one day (which has a low risk of malaria), and we hoped for the best. But when my mam got bitten on the bum and me on my foot, we were both slightly worried.

After a quick stop at another papyrus shop – which we sat out on the coach, we headed round to TGI Fridays for lunch. We’d much rather have eaten sandwiches on the go though, because we felt that too much time was wasted sitting eating rather than seeing the sights of Cairo. 

Anyway, after a 3 course set meal, we ventured off to the Museum of Cairo – which we wouldn’t have even had time to wander round in a whole day, let alone a few hours. It was by far the most interesting museum I’ve ever visited, and I would love to go back. Inside we saw Tutankhamen’s coffin and sarcophagus, along with his famous burial mask, which was sublime. And for an extra 100 LE we went into the Royal Mummy section. Glass coffins are set out all around displaying the actual mummies of Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt. Their small fragile bodies for the most part looked charred, blackened and leathery – their hair and teeth still intact. Most of them appeared to have been really quite short, and some of them had an orange tinge to their hair.

And then I saw him – having heard so much about Rameses II all week, I could finally put a face to the name when I saw him set out in his own glass display coffin! He didn’t quite look the mighty man I’d expected. Along with a small but romanesque shaped nose, he would be lucky if he pushed 5 foot. 

We could have wandered around the museum for at least a week, but alas it was time to leave to head back to the airport. The coach journey was a white knuckle ride of sheer terror. Let’s just say driving etiquette in Cairo isn’t exactly polite – and with the total volume of traffic on the roads, it was a most scary experience – and we were all thankful to still be alive by the time we reached the airport!

Arrived back at The Ritz for 10pm, where we eat sandwiches and drank Coke out on the deck whilst regaling tales of the day. 

Wednesday 7^th April

Out of bed for 4am – the earliest yet! And me, Derek and my mam (along with a couple of other guests) were taken in a mini bus to a motor boat port in Luxor. The boat took us over to the West Bank, and from there we transferred to another mini bus, which took us to the site of the Hod Hod hot air balloons, just before sunrise. 

We all climbed into a basket and were up in the air in time to see the sun peaking over the horizon. We flew over the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatchepsut’s tomb and above people’s houses for just under an hour in total – the scenery was stunning, and completely contrasting. Towards the Valley of the Kings it was desert like terrain, but over towards the Nile there were green fields and plantations. The houses we floated above had no roofs – so we could see people still lying in their beds, and kids getting ready for school.

 

When we landed, we came to an abrupt stop in a farmer’s field – and quite understandably, the farmer was very annoyed. I do hope they receive compensation from the hot air balloon company, because I’m guessing it’s not that uncommon.

We were back on The Ritz just as they were opening the doors for breakfast – and then we headed back to our rooms to pack our suitcases for the return flight home. Egypt was a fascinating country – though I must admit, we were all exhausted for at least a week after we’d got back home! (If like us you want to see the whole shebang, try fitting it into a fortnight instead of a week!)

Oh and our stone plaque of The Final Judgement didn’t make the journey home – it was snapped in three places, which was hardly surprising when we saw a large dusty footprint on our suitcase. Rather than putting it on the hall wall, we’re thinking of putting it up in the summer house instead. We’re hoping the cracks will add character and give it an aged look...ahem.