Alexandria to Cairo

 



An early morning arrival into the port of Alexandria. I'm up early as well, as my shore excursion to Cairo meets at 6:30am. Lots of people at breakfast as most people are going into Cairo today. With Covid restrictions each group must be 30 or less, so a nice size.

 I meet up with my new friend Carmel and we head for the bus for the approximate 2 1/2 hour bus ride. All the buses go in a convoy with police escort. Alexandria is a large city, about 5 million people. Some parts are quite run down, but lots and lots of building going on, especially apartment buildings and infrastructure. Our guide gives us a run-down of Egyptian history during the drive. There is a bit of high overcast and lots of smog as we approach Giza on the outskirts of Cairo.

 It's such a strange and amazing sight to see the Pyramids appearing in the distance above the buildings! Because of our early start it's not too hot yet. We have 3 stops at the Pyramid site, the first to get a panoramic view, the second to get right beside the great pyramid (there was an option to go inside, but as it's totally empty and very cramped I declined) and the third stop at the Sphinx. We had lots of time to take pictures and wander around. Lots of vendors but not as bad as I had expected. After a while they leave you alone so you can enjoy and take it in. It's getting pretty hot as we get back on the bus to head to the Museum of Civilization.

 It's a lovely modern museum, air conditioned and very well laid out. The highlight is the Royal mummies hall, absolutely amazing the detail that you can still see. No pictures allowed. Our next stop was a late lunch on the Nile. A very ornate boat, also air conditioned which was very welcome as air quality in Cairo was poor. Lunch was okay, but certainly revived us. And I think the beer/wine/water/tea etc helped. There were dancers to entertain, but I was more interested in seeing sights along the river.

 Our last stop was to see how papyrus was made, and a chance to shop. I could have done with-out this, as there was absolutely nothing that I felt was worth buying! Then the drive back to the ship, arriving about 8:30pm. I think most of us napped. The ship had the restaurant open late, a wonderful Moroccan buffet. And then back to my comfortable cabin for a much needed sleep!











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