Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Rawah Wilderness

2011-11-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

Poudre River canyon.

The Rawah Wilderness is a couple hours west of Fort Collins. Most of the drive over there is up the gorgeous Poudre Canyon. I had never been there before, but can't wait to go back. I think the river canyons are quickly becoming my favorite part of Colorado. Unfortunately, the Poudre wasn't why we were there. We were on our way to the Medicine Bow Trail which we hoped would be a two night camping trip.

The Rawah Wilderness.

Meandering through the aspen trees.

Our first day, we got in pretty late in the afternoon after watching Sammy tear it up in the Discathon event at the Overall Disc World Championships. I believe he ended up finishing 2nd. Second in the world. Not many people get to say that. For our late start, KLS and I were just hoping to get a couples hours in from the trail head. It was a nice meander through the woods with a few mosquitoes. Before the light faded, we found a great campsite with a nice view of a meadow. As we were setting up, the mosquitoes went from pesky to marauding. Hundreds, thousands, and millions of mosquitoes. I have never seen so many mosquitoes in my life. There were so many biting us that even Sabah got sick of it. She started sprinting just to get them off of her. Even with that, so many fed on Sabah that her mouth swelled up for two days. YIKES! We settled into bed to get away from them pretty quick.

Our first campsite in the Rawah wilderness.

If you've hiked with Sabah, you know her brilliant pounce!

The next morning, our mosquito friends were still ready to break bread and skin with us. We hoped the day would go well. It was cold, but the sky was clear. It warmed up quickly as the day wore on and we climbed in elevation. We started entering meadows, going back to the woods, and then back to the meadows. Unfortunately, we lost the trail in one of these woods. After searching for 30 minutes, we still could not find the trail. If there were not so many mosquitoes, we might have searched longer. However, our patience wore out and we opted to go back and take another trail that would be an out and back instead of a loop. As we got ready to turn back, my body decided it was not going to wait to use the bathroom. I wandered off into the woods, pretending that I could get away from the mosquitoes, and happened to find the trail!

Sabah's ears looking like they do in this photo is why I ended up adopting her (Thanks, Viv!)

Colorado wildflowers. The oranges ones are Indian paintbrushes. I can't remember what the purples ones are.

Sabah taking a break by the wildflowers.

We continued to climb in elevation and the trail continued in and out of meadows. There was still snow in large parts of the woods which hid the trail from us. It was frustrating. One time, we couldn't find it so we just used the topography map to get us where we were going. It was great to use the map and end up finding a cairn to let us know we had refound the way. Relieved, we continued onward. However, the trail didn't seem right. We seemed to be going the wrong direction. As it turned out, we missed our the short cut turn while we were using the topo map to get us back to the trail. We had not decided if we were going the long or short route yet, but we had hoped to have the choice.

Non-existent markers or markers like this on the ground are part of the reason we lost the trail

Our hike went mountain top meadow to mountain top meadow.

Sabah does whatever it is that Sabah does.

KLS strikes a pose.

The beauty of the Rawah wilderness.

The new trail followed a ridge and then dropped into a valley heading southeast. We lost the trail AGAIN. OK, at this point, you need to ask if we were inept. We might be. KLS has only done a few hiking trips, but I can't remember the last time I got lost on a overnight trip. This last time, we lost it because of melted snow. We were going cairn to cairn without any problems when suddenly they disappeared. Our best guess is that they were underwater. In August, there was still snow melting into the basin from our big winter. That snow led to lakes and creeks that were not on the map. After spending the better part of an hour going in circles around the last cairn we found, we sat down to fight the mosquitoes and make a choice. Do we head back and look for the trail turn we missed? Do we just go all the way back the way we came? Do we keep looking? Sabah decided on her own option of just sprinting as fast as she could away from us for about a half mile. She had a mental freak out about the mosquitoes. Man, they were so bad. For those of you who have been to New Zealand, they were worse than the sand flies.

A mountain in the Rawah wilderness.

The snow in the basin that indirectly helped us lose our trail.

The trail we wanted would go 2-3 miles southeast and then turned to the north. It was late afternoon and we had time so we opted to keep looking in a different way. The sun was clearly in the west and we could use it to guide us east in hopes of finding the north-south trail. If we missed it, there was a road two miles beyond it. We signed up for a pretty big slog. The first part was downhill over fallen trees. Then, we had to cross a marshy area that soaked our shoes. The soaking was frustrating, but probably good for when we had to cross the rushing creek that was moving fast enough we crossed one at a time and kept Sabah on leash. Then, more marsh and finally going back up the hill across more fallen trees. At some point, we were using the topo map to narrow in on where we were and thought we were close. About a quarter mile later, we reached the top of a hill and KLS spotted rocks that clearly marked the trail we were looking for. We were elated.

A huge fungi. I wish we had put a foot beside it to show you just how big it is.

It was still late afternoon and we had been through a lot. We just wanted to find a good campsite and some water. When we finally got to a stream, we filled a couple bottles but not all of them. The map showed another stream in just another mile. That next stream never came. The stream we had crossed was a seasonal one, probably draining the lakes that also weren't on our map. When we didn't cross that next stream after a couple hours, I didn't want to risk grabbing one of the campsites we saw with no water nearby and almost none in our bottles. I was running out of mental steam, but KLS picked up the slack. After 2-3 hours, we finally found that next stream (which was the first one on the map). It was dusk. We filled up all of our bottles and started looking for campsites. We were having trouble finding one.

This is one of the last few cairns we found to mark the trail. Sabah was doing her best to help, but we just couldn't find anymore even though they had been close enough that you can see two in this photograph. Perhaps the best part of this photograph is that it is the last one I took. After this, the trip got a little more serious and I wasn't thinking about taking photos but getting us where we needed to be safely.

As our eyes adjusted to darkness, we kept moving and talked about just walking out that night. The mosquitoes had not let up and we had had enough mental challenges to wear us out. We didn't commit either way, but kept it in mind. Shortly after, we found the second stream. At this point, we were 1-2 miles from the car and it was dark. With a little help from Sabah, we were able to keep moving forward. We still weren't finding any campsites, so we kept walking. Finally, when we were about two hundred yards from the car, Sabah ran off. She realized we were back at the car and went to lay beside it. She was done. We were done.

We hopped in the car and drove to Fort Collins. We considered camping along the Poudre that I liked so much on the way up, but we were terrified that its water might bring the mosquitoes which had been tormenting us. I know it is running water so there should not be too many, but we were so done with them that we refused to risk it. We just went all the way into town where EVERY single hotel and motel (the cheapest and most expensive) were booked. Why? Cheyenne Frontier Days was happening in Cheyenne, WY. You might think it odd that another state's event would effect Colorado, but Cheyenne is a small city. They don't have the infrastructure for all the people that come so it spills over into Fort Collins, over an hour away. We slept in the car.

Overall, we can both say this trip turned out well even though it was less of an adventure and more of an ordeal. Some of our ordeal was caused by bad choices. Some of it was caused by bad luck. However, that did not matter. We kept our cool. Neither one of us lost it and the trip brought us together instead of dividing us. This trip definitely made sure that KLS passes Meg's camping test.

Sammy.

Lost Creek Wilderness Loop (July 4th, 2011)

2011-11-25T12:28:00.001-07:00

This one is for William Tinus.

The Lost Creek Wilderness is located about 2 hours southwest of Denver. When Jay came to visit in 2006, we did an overnight hike in the area, but my friend Charley said we had not reached the best part. I put it on my list to get back to.

Lost Creek Wilderness sign

This past July 4th, I finally made it back. The plan was to take KLS out on her first multi night backpacking trip. We weren't sure if we were going to do the bigger or smaller loop. We were going to decide on the way depending on how we were feeling.

Hayman fire damage on the way to the Lost Creek Wilderness

On the way there, you drive through the area that was destroyed during the Hayman fire, Colorado's largest wildfire. It is terrible how the forest can be destroyed so quickly, but amazing to see its charred remains scattered among the first shrubs growing back.

Pine(?) tree branch and cone.

We started hiking from the Goose Creek trail head around 8am and opted to go counterclockwise around the loop and I highly recommend anyone else do the same because of the descent on McCurdy Park Trail toward Goose Creek Trail on the northwest part of the loop from the T-intersection with McCurdy Trail. I know we descended for almost an hour and I can't imagine how long it would take to get up. It probably isn't as bad as I think, but when I go back, I'm going counterclockwise again.

Up to the top of our loop.

Anyway, at 10am, we hit the junction of the Lake Park Trail with Hankins Pass. We switched onto Lake Park and we had my first major bout with mosquitoes in Colorado. I've certainly found a few before, but only a couple, not enough to require bug repellent. The melt water from the big winter had given them a lot of extra water to reproduce in. In this part, we finally left the aspens and started climbing up to a dryer area without any mosquitoes. By noon, we reached the high point of the hike around 11758'. (Future reference, there is a great dry camping spot here IF you pack in enough water.). Take the time to explore here.

Descending into the best part of our Lost Creek loop (on the north part of the McCurdy Park Trail).

You take the high road, she'll swim the low.

At 2pm, we hit the crossroads to decide if we were going to take the long or short way. I can't remember the reasons, but probably to be safe since it was the first outing of the season, we went with the short route. Future note: there was a little bit of water just before the intersection and that was the last water we saw for 3-4 hours. After the crossroads, we started a LONG, LONG descent. It rained, but luckily we stayed pretty dry in the woods. Once you clear the woods, you begin the BEST part of this hike.

Sabah is not happy about her photo shoot!

It was neat to have seen this pyramid rock almost an hour earlier from a view point and then descend to it.

More great rock formations. Granite?

I don't think anything but being there can convey the best part of this hike. Around 5pm, we crossed our first creek since the last trail intersection and it would make a great campsite. I hope to make it back there one day. It was early though, so we kept going. Around 6pm, we finally pulled into our campsite for the night. We were at one of the spots where Lost Creek rises back above ground. It is a stunning spot, that I managed to not take a single great photo of. You basically walk down a slope coming from either side to the creek and it opens up around the water surrounded by a few great rock formations. The only bad part about this campsite was trying to find a good tree to hang your food bag from.

The Lost Creek campsite, I think.

Sabah looking for something at our Lost Creek campsite.

Aspen trees.

The next morning, we got moving again through the beautiful terrain. I think we were moving by 7am. In this area, you start to pass through some dense woods. I think a number of them were aspen trees. We turned right on the Goose Creek trail at 8:30am and continued to be amazed the scenery. At 10am, we took a side trip. The one hour detour took us to an old mine, abandoned buildings, and a dense set of rock formations. I'm not sure, but it seemed like you could only walk in the way we did (trail or not) and was very isolated. If you were willing to dry camp, I think it would a great spot. The walk to the creek might be a mile. The main trail has a number of great campsites, but it is also more crowded. The closer we got to the car, the more people we saw. We saw enough people and decided that we decided to just head out that day. We were back at the car by 1pm and on our way home.

Abandoned building on out side trip.

I had wanted to go camping for two nights, but near the end my head just wasn't in it. It is has always been a weird mental state for me. I love being out in the woods, but when I am close to car, I am always excited to get back home. With so many people around and 26 miles under our belt, I was very happy to get home and take a nap.

Columbine flower.

The Grass is Always Greener

2011-10-15T08:13:00.003-06:00

This is just a quick post to share what someone emailed me recently that they had found. This passage resonated with me because I experienced some of these thoughts while traveling and tried to write about in on here a few times. Thanks for sharing, Nancy.

"I pulled On The Road off the shelf and found myself reading it between classes, and at that time in my life it was exactly what I craved, exactly what I needed to hear. I thought, “That’s the way, that’s the ideal life, that’s great. You get in a car and you drive and you see your friends and you end up in a city for a night and you go out drinking and you catch up and you share these really intense experiences. And then you’re on the road and you’re doing it again.” The romance of the road, particularly from Kerouac’s work, encapsulated how I wanted to live. I found a way to do it by being a musician, which is what I always wanted to be. The traveling and the being on tour and being away from home set a precedent for me where I thought, “Oh yeah, this is how it works.”

But then in reading Big Sur, it’s the end of the road. You end up with a series of failed relationships and you end up being an alcoholic and in your late 30s, and not having any kind of real grip on the lives of the people around you. That’s the potential other end of the spectrum when you’re never tied to anybody or anything. I run the risk of losing touch with the people in my life that mean the most to me because I have made the decision to live like this."

-Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) in Paste magazine (10 April 2008).

The Pup, part 2

2011-09-02T11:34:00.006-06:00

Sabah burrito.

Watching for rabbits at KLS' house.

Cooling off in Moab.

Checking out the local wildlife in Boulder.

The Pup

2011-07-08T19:27:00.006-06:00

Looking out the window for rabbits at KLS' place.

Cooling off in a water run off drain along the Boulder Creek about three miles out of Boulder.

Sabah's new ride.

Probably about to pounce on something . . .

The leftovers after scoop/drinking some water in the Boulder Creek.

Moab, UT

2011-06-29T15:17:00.013-06:00

Sunrise on the flatirons in Boulder, CO. This was the view on Sabah and mine morning walk everyday . . .

Unless there was fresh snow on the flatirons in Boulder, CO
This is really a post to just share some photos. The first couple are from when I was living in Boulder. The next set are from Moab. I have been there as a hiker, but never as a mountain biker. It is a mountain biking mecca. Before I went, I had heard a lot about two trails: Slickrock and Porcupine Rim.

Moab sunset from our first campsite.

Sabah is basking in the morning light.

A view from Slickrock trail.

The Slickrock trail is basically petrified sand dunes.

Sabah tries to cool off after chasing a rabbit for a half mile.
The first ride we did was Slickrock. It is basically petrified sand dunes. There is no dust to spin out on. There aren't very many technical rocky sections. If you struggle or have to get off the bike, it will be because you are going up some huge hills. I loved this ride. It was a 10-12 mile lollipop. It ended up taking quite a while. Sabah decided to tucker herself out early by sprinting after a bunny for a half a mile. Then, on the way back we were battling the wind. Note for later: The trail surface is basically sandpaper on dog's feet. Sabah didn't know it, but she should have been really happy to have her doggy shoes.

The other trail that we did was Porcupine Rim. The top part of the trail is why I think this trail is famous. You are 5-10 feet from a ledge that drops hundreds of feet straight down. Also, the view is incredible. After the top part, it was fire road and a lot of fun, dusty single track. Ignoring the view, I thought it was pretty similar to a lot of Colorado rides. At the end of the ride, you descend back to the road. However, the view is amazing as you get you closer and closer to the Colorado River. Great stuff. Fun pictures.

The view from Porcupine Ridge trail.

A view of the Colorado River from Porcupine Rim trail.

A technical section on Porcupine Rim.

Antarctica videos

2011-06-13T07:49:00.004-06:00

Some random Antarctica videos from the past many months. I like the first one because it features people I worked with and maybe places I've been. It definitely features more places I'd love to go. The second video is of someone putting on all of their ECW gear to wear on the flight down. I think watching someone put it on is more educational than the lists I would always make before.

Dry Valleys, Antarctica.

Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear.

Colorado in the Winter

2011-06-12T11:34:00.001-06:00

Zeppelin is so excited about tearing up Sabah's football at my Boulder place.

Sabah is proud of tearing up her zebra.
Colorado was interesting this winter. I have lost my passion for snowboarding. I used to be willing to go up all the time solo, but now I don't want to waste the gas. I'll happily carpool, but great snow won't even get me to go up solo. I think I am little over the resorts. Some are charging to park. Vail is charging $20. You can almost always get free parking with a shuttle ride or if you are clever, but I don't like it. A-Basin has walk to free parking. Copper has a short shuttle ride. Breck has a long one. Keystone is walkable and free. I think Winter Park is still free.

To get the passion back, I think I might start skiing again. Someone else suggested renting a place in the mountains so I would not have to drive back and forth. Maybe next season, I'll try both of those out. Snowshoeing and hiking have not lost its appeal, but the drive up the mountains is never fun. It always comes back to the drive.

In a few years, I'm going to have a hard time telling people what I did this winter. I redesigned the Sabah webpage. I sorted photos. I got back in tough with friends. I think the biggest thing I did was sort and get back in touch with myself. After being in a state of flux for so long, I needed it. I'm actually still in flux, but getting closer to nailing that down all the time.

Rocky Mountain high!

Sabah while snoeshoeing.

Zeppelin on a hike.

Peru Gulch, Colorado.

Sabah gets buried in the snow.

Sabah escapes from the snow.

Karen also get buried in the snow. I'm not sure if she got out.

Leftover photos from coming home

2011-04-05T11:19:00.004-06:00

These photos are some that just slipped through the cracks. I don't really have anything to post. Being home has been great. Spending time with Sabah has been great. Spending time with a lady as head strong as me has been great. Watching En Sabah Nur play has been great. I love pretending to be in one place.

Since I got back, I really wanted to be in one place. I made it one month in Boulder before going to Ecuador. Then, another month in Boulder. Then two months in Denver before my roommates decided that I was around too much even though I was unemployed. Basically, the engaged couple wanted money from someone, but not a roommate. Oh well. The best part about is that I moved out just before I went on almost 6 weeks of traveling around the USA to Moab, UT and the East Coast. I ended up saving a ton of money.

Now, I'm back in Colorado again and I'm finally running out of stuff to do, stuff to give me a purpose. The new Pitt ultimate webpage has launched. I've thrown out more stuff. I'm ready to work again. I'm ready to have a rhythm again. Of course, I'm also planning a few summer outings.

Sunset over America

Lake Michigan on the left and Chicago at sunset.

O'Hare airport with Christmas decorations.

The plane that would take me back home from Ecuador.

Bike Trip By the Numbers

2011-02-07T11:59:00.007-07:00

In 2010, I biked and slept on all 7 continents: Antarctica (McMurdo Station), Australia (Sydney), North America (Colorado), Europe (Austria->Greece), Asia (Turkey->Jordan), Africa (Egypt), and, finally, South America (Ecuador). It was life changing and exhausting. One of my friends from the Ice astutely said, 'it sounded like you were out too long.' I suspect he was right. There were times where I was just worn thin. However, I knew at the start of the trip that I was already worn a little thin.

I had lots of ideas about a summation blog about my trip. However, I've been busy being present and trying to get settled down instead of writing about the past. Also, I'm not done reflecting on the experience. I'm still learning how it has changed me. Instead, you get a data dump from my notebook. The day is the day number of my trip. The visited column is just the places that I stopped at during that day's riding except in row 1 where I started in Salzburg. All my other start, and therefore stop, points are listed in the Slept column. Mileage is how many kilometers I went per day.

The one trend I did quickly notice is that the number of camping and quality biking days dropped dramatically in the Middle East. Some of this was due to the exhaustion of the long trip. Some of it was the quality of riding. Some was probably cultural barriers of just throwing a tent into a field in more populated places.

Day	Visited	Slept	Mileage
1	Salzburg	Obernberg	100
2	Passau	Untermuhl	100
3	Linz	Grein	109
4	Castles and Melk	Ruin and Krems	97
5		Tulln	63.5
6		Vienna	81.5
7		Vienna	0
8	Petronell-Carnuntum	Bratislava	85
9	Masonmagyarovar	Gyor	101
10	Koromon	Esztergom	126
11		Esztergom	0
12		Budapest	73
13		Budapest	0
14		Budapest	0
15		Dudince	126
16	Banska Stiavnica	Banska Bystrica	97
17	Lower Tatras	Pribylina	98
18	Strbske Pleso - Mt Rysy	High Tatras	44
19	Poland	Krakow	140
20		Krakow	0
21		Krakow	0
22	train	Budapest	0
23		Pakozd	64
24	Lake Balaton	Tihany	111
25	Lake Balaton - Heviz	Bak	115
26	Redics-Turnisce	Ptuj	102
27	Celje	Kranj	153
28	Lake Bled	Lake Bohinj	70
29	Triglav NP, Vintgar Gorge	Lake Bled	63
30	Kranska Gora	Podkoren	44
31	Vrsic Pass-Soca Valley	Nova Gorica	126
32	Muggia, Italy	Pirand	126
33	Škocjan Caves	Postojna	97
34		Ljubljana	58
35	plane	Northampton, MA	0
36		Northampton, MA	0
37		Northampton, MA	0
38		Northampton, MA	0
39		NYC	0
40		NYC	0
41		NYC	0
42	plane	Ljubljana	0
43	Ljubljana	Croatia	133
44		Pletvice Lakes	96
45	Gacoc	Knin	144
46	Krka Falls	Troger	101
47	Split	Mostar	13
48	ferry	Hvar Island	105
49	ferry	Korcula Island	106
50	ferry	Miljet Island	100
51	ferry	Dubrovnik	43
52		Dubrovnik	0
53		Kotor	97
54		Podogorica	83
55		Bog	102
56		Tirana	149
57		Tirana	0
58		Berat	117
59		Berat	0
60	Pogradec	Bitola	103
61		Greyena	200
62	Meteora	Delfi	85
63	Thebes	Dafmoula	122
64		Athens	53
65	Piraeus	Santorini	12
66	Santorini	ferry	74
67	Rhodes	Marmaris	9
68		Dalya	94
69		Fethiye	95
70		Fethiye	11
71		Blue Cruise	0
72		Blue Cruise	0
73		Blue Cruise	0
74		Olympos	0
75	Kemer-bus	Pamukkale	31
76	bus	Ephesus	10
77	highway	Istanbul	15
78		Istanbul	0
79	Istanbul	Asia bridge	30
80		Cappadoccia	10
81		Cappadoccia	0
82		Cappadoccia	25
83		Antakya	0
84		Aleppo	144
85		Aleppo	52
86		Aleppo	2
87		Serjillah	88
88	Afamra-bus-Hama	Palmyra	82
89	Home	Crac	10
90		Tripoli	86
91		Cedars	65
92	Ballbek - bus	Beirut	94
93		Beirut	0
94		Damascus	10
95		Damascus	0
96	Sweida-Orange Market	Bosra	137
97		Jerash	94
98		Amman	2
99		Amman	0
100		Amman	0
101		Israel	102
102		Kazrin	78
103		Hula	99
104		Rosh Hanikra	108
105	Akko-cab	Tel Aviv	10
106		Jerusalem	75
107		Jerusalem	0
108		Jerusalem	0
109	Jericho	Dead Sea	80
110		Madaba	40
111		Wadi Mujib	68
112		Dana	0
113		Petra	0
114		Petra	0
115		Wadi Rum	108
116		Eliat	108
117	Nuweiba	Dahab	157
118		Dahab	0
119	Blue Hole	Dahab	0
120	Sharm-Thistlegorm	Dahab	0
121		St. Catherines	0
122		Cairo	12
123		Luxor	5
124		Luxor	49
125		Aswan	13
126		Aswan	0
127	Abu Simbel	Aswan	18
128	Cairo	Valley of Agabat	0
129		White Desert	0
130		Cairo	0
131		Cario	0

Total 6934km
Days Biking 88
Average biking 78.79545455 km/day
Rest Days 43
Average with Rest 52.93129771 km/day
Camping Days 35

Odds and ends:

Slovenia was the unexpected treat of the trip. I knew nothing and was pleasantly surprised.
If you need a bike shop in Cairo, google Bescletta. I think Ibrahim Ossama was the guy who took such good care of us.
My original plan had me biking around 8000 kilometers. I dropped 1000 in Turkey when I bused while I recovered my energy and enthusiasm.
I would not recommend independently traveling in Egypt if you don't have a ton of patience for people trying to scam you.
Petra is better than anyone tells you.
I think the only sites I didn't get over were nature's beauty and people's beauty.
Austria, Germany, and Switzerland are the kings of bike touring. They have more signs than probably all of North America combined, but we are working on that over here.
Montenegro deserves a longer visit than you think.

Things I'd like to go back and see/do:

Petrin Tower, Socialist Statue Bar park, the tower with babies, Prague, Czech Repuclib
Cesky Kreminov, Czech Republic
Alps, Austria
The castle that Disney based their castle on, Germany
Spissy Hrad, Presov, food, Tatras caves, Ginger Money hostel in Zridar, Sklene Teplice, Slovakia
Budapest citadel, Hungary, #2 tram where Matty L (sabah alumni) did this video. Full jam here.
Salt National Park, Dantes Cave, Honey wine, Slovenia
Brac, Croatia
Durmotir and Tara Canyon, Montenegro
Theth, Albania
Lake Ohrid, Macedonia
Southern part of Greece
Nehrut, Ararat, Davidya, Turkey
Mar Musa, Honeycombs, Latakia, visit Rami, Euphrates, Syria
The Negev, Israel
More desert in Egypt

Quito, Ecudaor

2011-02-06T07:12:00.013-07:00

Panecillo Hill topped with a state of Quito's Winged Virgin.
Quito. The capital of Ecuador at 9,200 ft. It's full name is San Francisco de Quito. Tina and I had two short visits there. While deciding how much time to spend there, I went through a struggle that I always have when visiting a country. Lots of people say that you have to visit this city to see this cultural thing or that. However, I usually prefer the rural and undeveloped areas. In the end, through the necessity of flying out of Quito, we spent a morning, an afternoon, and two nights there.

Parque La Alameda (Alameda Park).

The Basilica Church from the Secret Garden hostel balcony.
When we first arrived, we immediately went to the hotel and didn't explore. The next morning we walked from New Town to the hostel, Secret Garden Quito, to catch a ride to Cotopaxi. On the way, we cut across a couple beautiful parks that I almost got stuck in. I just wanted to roll in the grass on a beautiful day, but we had places to be. The hostel's balcony had the best view of the city that we saw. We had to wait for our ride, so we took a quick stroll around Old Town. Old Town was filled with the hustle and bustle of commerce and government. We dodged cars on narrow streets and narrower sidewalks while taking in the wonderful scenery. Say what you want about colonialism, but they left behind some beautiful buildings.

Typical colonial buildings in Old Town Quito.

Old Town, Quito.

To get on the public buses, you pay to enter these little enclosed sidewalk stops. Then, the bus will stop in front of them and let you on. This would have been a good stop to wait at because there was a band playing in front of the blue building and you could buy ice cream from out of that guy's bucket backpack.
On our second visit to Quito, we strolled around Old Town again trying to find a specific flea market. It gave a little purpose to our wandering as we asked person after person about where to go. We definitely had a more thorough wander around on the second try. We passed more old buildings. We found a couple schools and churches. We even found a mall.

The 500 year old Cathedral Church of Quito.

The Government Palace.

More old buildings and an Indian (Asian-Indian) boutique.
I'm not really sure what my impressions of Quito were. I liked walking around. The colonial governmental buildings didn't seem to fit with everything we had see in the rural areas. I'm sure the exact same could be said about the marble buildings in Washington DC compared to rural Virginia. They sold motorcycles in their appliance shops. Traffic was often horrendous. The roads were narrow and one way so if one truck stopped for a delivery, everyone else waited and honked. The buses seemed like a good way to go. They often had their own lanes and I wouldn't want to be the pedestrian who got to close to one of those lanes. Take a step off the sidewalk and you would have been close enough to get knocked down by a mirror.

A number of appliance shops were selling TV, stereos, washing machines, and motorcycles.

The Monastery of San Francisco.

El Panecillo towering over Old Town.
On our last night, we headed back to New Town to eat. We saw a side of it that we completely missed in our previous visit. There were cool hostels, hip bars, dance clubs, and higher end restaurants. This stuff might have been in Old Town too, but we didn't see it. Old Town didn't seem to be as trendy. If you were looking for a big night out, I think New Town is where you'd go. After a great meal, a super weird desert of tree tomato in something gooey, and a long night's sleep, it was time to leave Ecuador.

Quail and chicken eggs at the grocery store.

New Town, Quito.
I had a great time in Ecuador. I was surprised to see and enjoy so much in such a short time. On the other hand, there was a number of times that I was wishing that I was traveling on my bicycle and moving slower. I'd definitely like to go back to visit the Galapagos Islands. I didn't go this time because it was pretty expensive. I've been spending for months without a job lined up, but now that I really close to being in one place, I am reluctant to spend a lot without an income.

A small statue of a lion in Old Town.

I love that the Ecuadorian take on Catholicism doesn't need to be represented with expensive materials (though their churches are pretty ornate). They were happy to create this nativity creche with rubber duckies and other things that could easily be children's toys.

The world's game, soccer, can be played anywhere. I can't imagine how far downhill the ball goes if you miss the goal.
Originally, the idea to visit South America was to round out my 7th continent of the year. I was pretty sure when I threw the idea up on Facebook that it was a shallow goal and that I would only go if it was cheap. However, Tina took the bait and decided we should head to Ecuador. She was super excited about it so we were off. As it turned out when I got here, there was no moment of elation over the hard work that went into completing a goal. It had never really been the goal of my travels. It was just a tag on at the end of a year of adventures. Even though I was not overjoyed about the 7th continent, I was still excited about being in Ecuador. On the other hand, I recently realized that I biked on all 7 continents while I was traveling this year and that did make me smile.

Otavalo and Cuicocha Lake, Ecuador

2011-02-05T12:29:00.008-07:00

Another volcano in Ecuador. I'm sure this isn't the case, but every mountain seemed like it was an extinct volcano.
After our educational visit to the Equator, we were off to the town of Otavalo. Otavalo is famous for holding onto its indigenous roots even though a lot of money has swept into the town thanks to the success of exporting their hand made goods. Almost anyone who got presents from me got them from this town's central market. The market was a maze of jewelry, llama and alpaca clothes, blankets, paintings, wood carvings, and who knows what else. The big market is on the weekend. We were there on a weekday and it was still huge. When I was not getting lost in the market trying to buy presents, we strolled around town.

Central market.

Mountain towering over town.

San Pablo Lake just outside of Otavalo.

View from out hotel.
In town, most of the women wore traditional garb. The men, less so. The most modern were the teenagers. The town itself didn't seem that traditional even if the people were. I am coming up short on details about what else we did. I remember walking and walking to find a restaurant that was traditional and had something vegetarian before ending up back at our hotel's restaurant. It had great food. It wasn't fancy. It was down to Earth. There was lots of wood and an open air courtyard that let us hear rain fall all evening and night.

Del Jordan Church.

The Dona Esther hotel, our hotel, courtyard and rooms in Otavalo

This dog is playing it smart and hanging out at the food market.
The next morning, we caught an early ride up to Cuicocha (Guinea Pig Lake), a 3km wide volcanic crater lake. It reminded me a lot of Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, but Oregon had a lot more snow. We had wet. I don't think it was raining, but it was still pretty overcast while we hiked. We had heard numerous times to beware of bandits in the area. However, lots of locals said it was safe. We didn't have any problems.

Countryside.

Cuicocha Lake.
We did have a great four hour hike though. We got dropped off at the visitor's center and went around anticlockwise. First, we climbed a ridge to the highest point on the lake. There was a little gazebo there, but we didn't stop to rest because we had to keep moving to make sure we met our ride on time. At two-thirds of the way, we left the rim and started on switchbacks off the ridge and back up the other side. In the valleys, there was puddles. We got wet feet and clothes that were definitely not drying off anytime soon. Eventually, we found ourselves back on the ridge among pine trees that Tina couldn't stop sniffing. Then, we hit private property and finished the hike on a road without the lake in sight. I kept wondering if we had missed a turn to get back over to the lake, but there wasn't one. By the time we got back, our ride back had been waiting for 30 minutes. I felt guilty, but he didn't seem to care. Life moves at a different speed there.

The two islands, Yerov and Teodoro Wolf, in Cuicocha Lake.

For Betty . . .
When we got back to the hostel, we walked up to the bus station and finally traveled the way locals do. I loved getting back in touch with my slow travel ways. Instead of paying $40 or more dollars, we paid $4 to get pack to Quito plus an extra $6 to get grab a cab to our hotel instead of walking in the pouring rain. I loved it. I also think I slept through a lot of it.

I thought it funny that policeman with 'Driver education' written on their uniforms had batons.

The Ecuator - Mitad del Mundo

2011-02-04T06:43:00.012-07:00

El Mitad del Mundo.
Tina and my original plan was to take a bus back into Quito and then back up to Otavalo. However, our hosts said they could arrange direct transport for us and that we could get two free stops on the way, including one at the Equator. It cost quite a bit more than the buses, but it would save us a lot of time to not cut through Quito. With limited time, we opted to spend the extra money again.

Mountains on our drive.

I love how the mountains tower over the populated valley.

We were supposed to stop at a crater overlook and the actual Equator. While our hosts did a great job making sure our driver would not give us another white knuckled experience, they did not convey that we were supposed to stop. By the time we asked our driver about stopping, we had already missed the first stop. Then, he took us to the Equator monument called Mitad del Mundo. However, this isn't where we wanted to go. That amazing monument and its surrounding tourist infrastructure went up in 1979, but is built on the spot where the French said the Equator was located in the 1700s. They were off by 600m.

Cuy - guinea pig.

The monument at the Mitad del Mundo.
We wanted to visit the actual Equator. Near the Mitad del Mundo, there is a museum supposedly on the actual line. You can balance an egg. You can see water drain both clockwise and counterclockwise. The museum is apparently a bunch of tricks that can actually be replicated at any latitude, but people love it anyway. However, this was not where we, really I, wanted to go. We wanted to go to another monument that was on the main road to Otavalo. We thought no problem.

I love that these kids have, what I think, are FC Barcelona jerseys for their cement soccer match.
Our driver thought otherwise which led into a frustration that I knew well from the Middle East. I felt like the guy was trying to take advantage of us, but he said that we were taking a different road up to Otavalo which was fair. We called our hostel who had arranged the ride and talked to them. Our host said to choose somewhere else to stop. We chose Cuicocha Lake, a crater lake just past Otavalo. At first out driver agreed and then an hour later, he changed his mind. He explained that it was also too far. A little bit later, we saw the a sign saying that the town where we wanted to go originally was only 6km from where we were. We asked our driver about it and told him we didn't think 12-20km round trip was too far out of the way. He still didn't want to, but we called our hostel again and they righted the ship. We were off to the actual Equator line.

The actual center of the world.
The battle to get what we were promised drives me crazy. I get way to caught up in the principle of the matter. Tina was willing to do whatever. I definitely admire her ability to just let it go. On the positive side, I could not understand our driver's English very well so we eventually switched to my broken Spanish which actually worked out alright.

Me at the Quitsato sundial, the actual Equator.

Quitsato sundial.

The Equator monument we went to, the Quitsato sundial, had two guides and two people selling stuff. It was super quiet. It wasn't flashy. I loved it. It reminded me of something like Stonehenge even though they have no relation and this monument was built with in the last 25 years. The monument was a huge area of smooth stones. They had different colored stones in a line to indicate this or that line. They had other boulders to indicate other stuff as well. In the middle, they had a huge gaudy orange needle to create the shadows for the sundial. The whole scene worked for me. At the beginning our driver was even interested, but he soon got distracted by his cell phone.

After our quick pit stop, we were finally off to the Northern Hemisphere and the famous Otavalo market in the Plaza de los Ponchos.

Me at Mitad del Mundo.

Mindo, Ecuador - New Years in the Cloud Forest

2011-02-03T06:58:00.005-07:00

Mindo, Ecuador
Our drive to Mindo was scary for me. Our driver was happy to take us, but wanted it to take as little time as possible. He put the pedal to the metal and flew down the Pan-American Highway. From time to time, the tires let out a screech. When I wasn't wondering if we were going to roll off the road, I was admiring the huge mountains and incredible drop offs beside the highway. The valley floor was dedicated to Quito and its suburbs. The major road was regulated to the mountains.

Gas was cheap. $1.48 a gallon.

Great scenery on the drive to Mindo.
After we passed Quito, we started to descend into the cloud forest. This required going over 30km of the windy back roads. Our driver continued to hurry to our destination. That meant more screeching tires and trying to pass as many people as possible. I was used to some of this from the Middle East, but that was just among other drivers. This trip added in the twisty roads. I tried to just admire the scenery, but I couldn't ignore the lurching car and squeals of the tire. It was white knuckled riding. I felt confident that our driver knew what he was doing, but when the rain started, I wish he would have slowed down. I loved when we got caught behind a bus for a while.

Descending into the cloud forest.

Cloud forest.
The entire drive there, I kept wishing I was on my bicycle. The scenery was amazing and there was such a celebratory atmosphere. Since it was the afternoon of New Year's Eve, people were getting ready for that evenings festivities. One tradition was for kids to dress up in costume or drag and demand a toll from cars passing by. They stopped the cars by stringing a rope across the road. Unfortunately, we were insulated from the fun atmosphere in the back of the truck The driver talked to everyone who stopped us. We just rode along. If I had been on my bike, it would have taken times as long, but I would have experienced more than three times as much.

New Year's supplies were on sale at every major intersection.

Sometimes kids, dressed in costume, and even drag, put a rope across the road. You have to pay them to pass.
When we finally arrived in the town of Mindo, our driver didn't trust our directions. He asked a local whose sister happened to work at our lodge. She hopped in the back of the truck and showed us the way. Later, our hosts relayed that the woman also said our driver was crazy and for an Ecuadorian to say that was a big thing because they have lower standards of what constitutes safe driving.

A neat plant.

A flower that looks like it has upside down pink bananas reaching for it.

A frog on our night hike.
The hostel was run by a man who had lived in Mindo since before it became a tourist town and his wife, a woman from California. That night, we enjoyed a fun New Year's meal with the other guests. It had more Western influence than I would have liked, but all the guests were Western and the cook was too. It made sense. After dinner, we went out on a nature hike where our host could show us whatever he was able to find. I remember glow in the dark algae, frogs, a couple spiders, and lots of fruit trees.

Fireworks are part of every New Year's celebration that I know of.

Some leftover Christmas, and possible Hanukkah, decorations.
After the walk, I was ready to go to sleep. We had already done a big hike that morning, then rode in the car which always tires me out, eaten a big meal, and gone for a second short hike. I really wanted to go to sleep, but I also wanted to experience the celebratory atmosphere that I had seen all day through the car windows. Our hosts were headed to the town center to pick up their kids and would return just after midnight. Even though I was tired, it seemed like a great opportunity. I am a sucker for taking advantage of opportunities.

These effigies represented the Old Year. You put your bad energy in them and burn them when the clocks strikes midnight.

At midnight, you burn the effigies.
Unfortunately, I didn't experience New Year's in Mindo as much as I watched it. It was still fun though. It really is a family affair. I saw very little drinking. Families are out. Five year old kids are running around on their own. People are setting off fireworks. They ate. They danced. They celebrated. They put last minute decorations on their effigies and at midnight, they lit 'em up.

Watching all their bad mojo go up in smoke.

Not everyone comes to the town center to celebrate. Each home might have their own effigy.
The effigies each represent El Viejo Ano (the old year), even if there is the face of a famous person on them. You could see them strapped to the front of cars while we were driving to Mindo. Each El Viejo Ano is dressed up and decorated. The things put on the effigy usually represent something from the past year that the decorator wants to leave behind. Then, when the New Year comes, they burn the effigy and send all that bad mojo up in smoke. This tradition reminds me of the Xoxobra festival in Santa Fe, NM where they create a 100 foot Old Man Gloom and burn him around Labor Day.

Mating butterflies.

Another colorful butterfly.

A questionable bridge over to the local swimming hole.

The local swimming hole.
The next day, we did another waterfall hike. Unfortunately, very little of it was hiking. Mostly, we followed the road. It was billed to us a waterfall hike that you could swim in at the end, but there was no swimming in this waterfall. They said people can't even boat down it. However, 20m upstream from the waterfall was a nice family spot to spend the day and you can get in the water there. In that area, they have changing rooms, a little restaurant, a great view of the waterfall, and a couple man made rock pools to soak in the water on a hot day. Unfortunately, it was drizzling and definitely not a hot day. That didn't seem to be stopping anyone from enjoying it though.

Huge leaves make Tina look small.

I don't think this is a bromeliad, but it is growing off the trunk of a tree.

Unrolling Fern fiddleheads.

I'm not sure, but I think this is star fruit.
On the way back, we were supposed to stop and do a canopy tour, but I was kind of tuckered and really wanted a nap after too many nights of bad sleep. We ended up doing a couple hikes right around the lodge that were actual hikes in the woods. It was wet, but it was great. After that, we passed the night away doing crosswords and chatting with another traveling couple. They had been on the road for five years following the husband's oil work to the North Sea and Eastern Russia with lots of fun vacations in between.

That furry thing will be come a leaf, just like the one to its right.

Another fun flower in the cloud forest.
The next morning, we were booked into a birding tour. Neither Tina or I are birders, but I felt like we should take advantage of it since the area is famous for it. When we woke up for our 5am tour, it was pouring rain. No tour. Back to bed. After another fantastic breakfast, we were off to the Center of the World, the Equator!

Huge leaves or a little me.

Cotopaxi, Ecuador, Part Two

2011-02-02T06:56:00.004-07:00

Our view from breakfast.
I probably wasn't at Cotopaxi long enough to justify a second blog post, but there are so many photographs that I want to share.

Our final morning there, the weather was very different. First, there were no clouds anywhere in sight. Also, it wasn't misting. It was sunny enough to get a light sunburn and warm enough to hike in a t-shirt. I was sweating on our hike up to Pasochoa (4200m), the extinct volcano directly behind our hostel.

Tina and Mash hiking through the forest.

The moss covered forest.
The start of the hike took us through the Andean fighting bull fields again. This time, we did see a couple bulls. They didn't move and we took the long way around to avoid them. After we got lost in the fields, we found our way with a little help from a second guide and entered the moss covered forest. The forest was damp and, at times, hard to walk through. The trail had never been maintained or cleared. It just seems like people have formed it by walking there year after year and pulling branches out of the way as necessary. It was fun, but I was definitely over it by the time we cleared the forest.

Hiking inside the extinct volcano.

Hiking among the tussock.

These two dogs, Mash and Bazel, escorted us the entire way.

Some of the vegetation we tramped on our walk up.

Our guide, Carlos,and Bazel.
When we cleared the forest, we came out onto a clearing filled with tussock (bunched grasses). It looked like we were walking around and up the inside slope of a long extinct volcano. On the way, we saw wild horses and even learned a little Spanish from our guide, Carlos. I was really happy with how functional my Spanish was. When I studied in school, I was usually a B student, but in Ecuador, with a little work, I was usually able to communicate most of my ideas in Spanish. Tina doesn't really know Spanish, but was able to follow along with her other language skills.

Next to last ascent before we reached the summit.

It is amazing how many different plants grow in such a small area.
As we got into the tussock, the clouds had moved in over Cotopaxi. We couldn't see it at all even though when we woke up there was not a cloud in the sky. I can't believe how quickly the weather moved in. Luckily, it did not move in on us. We continued to have sunny weather all the way up to the summit. On our way up, the hostel dalmatian, Bazel, and dachshund, Mash, stayed with us the entire way. It was only a five hour hike, but Mash's legs were so short, I didn't think he would make it. He did and he did it day after day, which is probably why he was so skinny. When I saw them get fed, Mash actually got a bigger bowl of food than the other dalmatian who didn't hike with us.

A great view back down the mountain (we came up on the right).

Looking north towards Quito.
At the summit, the ridge was holding back a huge cloud bank. I think that ridge is the only reason we had such a sunny hike. During a snack on the summit, we couldn't see anything to the north because of the all the clouds. Just as we were about to leave the summit, the clouds cleared and gave us a quick peak at Quito and the terrain to the north.

Heading back home. Cotopaxi is behind those clouds.
After we came down from the hike, we had a quick lunch at the hostel. Our original plan had been to go to Quito and transfer to a bus. However, they said they could arrange a driver directly to Mindo which would save us a bunch of time. We happily accepted, piled into the truck, and were off.

Me.

Cotopaxi, Ecuador

2011-01-25T09:02:00.012-07:00

Cotopaxi.
Tina and I arrived in Quito, Ecuador at midnight. We were supposed to arrive at 7pm, but we had to wait two hours in Chicago for a backup copilot because the first one had a family emergency. I had started my day at 4am, I was exhausted. Tina was revved up for vacation though. We were definitely coming from two different places. My thought when I arrived was, 'Here we go again.' I was happy to be there, but I was not bubbling over with enthusiasm.

Tina was happy to be on vacation.
After a short night's sleep, we took a long stroll across Quito to another hostel hoping to catch a $5 ride down to Cotopaxi National Park. The $5 ride wasn't there. If I had the time, I would have waited a day. With just over a week in Ecuador, we didn't have the time. We took the more expensive $40 ride to the Secret Garden Cotopaxi.

The main building of our hostel.

Hammocks at the entrance to our hostel.

Our hostel and its view.

Another mountain viewable from our hostel.
The Secret Garden Cotopaxi is just north of Cotopaxi National Park. From the hammocks hanging in front of the hostel, you can see the perfect cone of the highest active volcano in the world at 5,897m/19,347ft. This hostel was fantastic. Our time there might have been the highlight of our trip. It reminded me of the Slaughterhouse on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. A single family ran it with help. There was large community area, but they had their own separate quarters as well. Outside of the main building, there was one house for dorm living, a couple private rooms, and a few tent spots. They had some ecofriendly practices in place to minimize their impact on the land. They both had great dogs who loved being showered with attention.

Pretty purple flowers in the cow pastures.

They cut the hill in half to mark the property boundary.

Llama.

Sunrise.

The end of our waterfall hike.
We arrived at the hostel after all the big tours had left for the day, so we took an unguided walk up to the waterfall just behind the hostel. On the way, we had to cut threw an area where they raise aggressive Andean fighting bulls. They said to just avoid them, but there were cow pies everywhere. I wondered just how many bulls there were and where they were hiding because we didn't see any. After the pastures, we spent most of our time walking in the stream. When we got the waterfall, we turned back around and went back to the hostel. On the way, I saw bromeliads, which I have given as gifts in pots, growing wild for the first time. They were rooted to the branches and trunks of trees.

The two red things in the tree are bromeliads.

Cotopaxi at sunrise.

Cotopaxi with the one of the two house dalmatians.

Cotopaxi at sunrise.

The view of Cotopaxi on our second morning at the hostel.
The next day, Tina and I booked a tour up to the Cotopaxi, the mountain that dominates the landscape, at least in the morning before the cloud cover sets in. The tour would take us to the hut at 4900m where people who are going to summit rest before heading up around midnight. I really wanted to summit the mountain, but I didn't think I had enough time to acclimatize. Since we had arrived, I had waffled back on forth on whether to attempt it. I had ascended 12,000 ft in one day before, but I didn't want to risk getting sick on such a short vacation. In the end, I decided three nights was not enough to acclimatize. I wanted to wait at least 4 nights, but we just didn't have time. Tina had prebooked us into an ecolodge in the cloud forest. We could have canceled the reservation, but we also wanted to see more of the country. Pros and cons. Give and take.

Cotopaxi.

Another extinct volcano near Cotopaxi.

The last refuge for people attempting to summit Cotopaxi.

As we were coming down, we saw the start of a giant snowball fight.
After a quick cup of tea at the hut, we headed back down to our truck. Tina and I opted to mountain bike back down the volcano. Another guy rode down in the truck. After a fun descent, where you couldn't see a thing because of the fog, I decided I wanted to ride all the way back to the hostel. I had not been on a bike since my trip ended and was loving it. I even managed to beat the truck back because they had to slow down for the tons of pot holes in the road. These roads might have worse than Albania though the ones to the hostel never paved.

Coming down the mountain . . .

Donkey on my bike ride.
I can't remember much about that night. More fun conversation with fun travelers. Great communal meals. Lots of crosswords. A candle lit hot tub. While there wasn't anything specific that we did at the hostel, its proximity to the outdoors and low key nature was exactly what I was looking for.

The Holidays: Wisconsin to Boulder to Wisconsin.

2011-01-17T10:55:00.015-07:00

After a full day in New York City, I flew to the Central Wisconsin Airport. While I live in Colorado, my mom was letting my car sit in her driveway and taking care of my dog, Sabah, in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. I received a great greeting from my mom and an unbelievably energetic greeting from Sabah. She still remembered me. They always do. Sabah proceeded to follow me around the house and never let me out of her sight.

Sabah and my mom's cat, Oreo, learned to tolerate each other, but just barely.
After months of traveling, it was time to be still. I think I was home for six days and my mother got me to leave the house in a car twice. I slept. I walked the dogs. I tried to catch up on this blog. I watched movies. I sorted six months of mail. I did crosswords. I napped. I almost fell out of a canoe into the cold Wisconsin River while trying to dislodge a 50 lb (?) branch from my mom's favorite tree that has a branch hanging in the water. I ate my favorite foods. It was exactly the no pressure decompression pad that I needed when I got home.

Sabah burrito in Boulder, CO.
After my time there, I reluctantly loaded up to head back to Colorado. It wasn't that I did not want to return to Colorado. I really wanted to see my friends, but I also really wanted to be still. I was sick of moving through space (as Betty likes to say). However, I got over myself, loaded up the car, loaded up the pooch, and did the 1,000 mile drive in one day even though I planned on two. In western Nebraska, the sun was just starting to set. The colors were showing all over the undersides of the clouds. It was gorgeous. It made me excited to get home so I just pushed on.

The Boulder Flatirons at sunrise, my view on Sabah's morning walk.

Sabah eyes up the deer in the alley at my place in Boulder.
When I rolled in to the Denver/Boulder area, it felt good. It felt great. I made a couple quick pit stops to see old friends and new ones. Then, I got up to Boulder where I was staying. Kate had left the light on to welcome me back. I moved and started being still by passing out. I did the same things that I did in Wisconsin with a few more friend visits thrown in. Writing, sleeping, eating, and enjoying being back in the good 'ol USA.

Jude on Vail Pass.

Annie and Jeason on Vail Pass.

Everyone on Vail Pass.

Eddie.
A couple friends wanted to talk about my trip. It is impossible to talk about my entire trip. There is too much. I can talk about a specific adventure or a specific country. The whole trip is out of the question. One friend wanted to see my photos, but didn't make it past three countries. It isn't that people are not interested, but the attention span isn't there for my story telling abilities. I'm not sure if anyone could really sum it verbally. So much happened. I have seen documentary movies of adventures like mine at the Banff Film festival, but they skip so much. They focus on a few highlights, usually on what people want to see and hear. I need to learn to do that.

If you know Eddie, you know this is a quintessential Eddie face.

Group shot.

The wonderful Colorado Rocky mountains.

Sunset on Vail Pass.

Sunset ski.
I have heard of a couple other friends returning from the Ice or other long trips and having similar experiences. Everyone is very excited you are back and wants to hear about the trip, but one dinner conversation does not cut it. However, after a dinner conversation, they have lost interest. It isn't that they don't care. It is just too much to take in. You just go back to the status quo of your relationship, if you are lucky. One of the tricks of being gone so long can be that you are not always part of the status quo anymore. You have to be active to reintegrate yourself into the community. It is similar to moving to a new place, but you are lucky enough to have a bunch connections to get you started.

A gray jay, one of our morning visitors.

A bear carving at the hut.
In my first week back, my friend Annie organized our sporadically annual hut trip to Vail Pass. I haven't seen her in two years since we keep passing through Colorado at different times. I was so excited for the trip, but when the day came to go up, I didn't feel like going anywhere. I still wanted to be still. I loved sleeping in the same bed night after night. I ended up going and was joined by two other Ice friends, Eddie and Jude, and two new friends. I had a great time. It was probably our best trip yet. If the hut trip was not the highlight of my time in Colorado, then sleeping in the same bed for over 2 weeks straight was.

Even the dogs get presents on Christmas morning. I think this was a cow knuckle.
After those two wonderful weeks, it was time to uproot again and head back to my mom's in Wisconsin for Christmas. I had not been home for Christmas in at least 5 years. It was overdue. My two brothers were also able to make the trip as well as my brother David's wife, Becki. We did the usual Christmas gig with lots of food, fun presents, and a little family time. I think the highlight for me was my brothers, sister, and I all pitching in to send my mom to Iceland. It has been a dream of hers for years and I thought making this happen for her was a great way to thank her for helping my dreams happen, especially since I was about to leave Sabah with her for one more week so I could head off to Ecuador for New Year's.

Goodbye faux hawk.

New York

2011-01-15T11:49:00.002-07:00

After getting hand searched in Cairo, my flight was good. 10 hours. Movies of my choice. Good food. I had a lot of time to start feeling out the idea of being back in the States again. It still seemed faraway. I had been gone too long to really appreciate the idea of home.

Sunrise in New York.
One of the things I was looking forward to the most was being able to communicate and understand complicated ideas. That paid dividends almost immediately upon entering the country. First, I got pulled into a special room to chat about my trip. I suspect it had to do with the Syria stamp in my passport. They let me free soon enough. Then, I had to chat with the bag checkers. For some reason, when I changed my flight date, they broke it into two different flights. When I went to recheck my bags in New York, they tried to charge me for having a bike again. I was able to talk to them and explain that I had already paid. Problem solved. Being able to work out things like that had me excited to be back.

The subway.
When I left the airport for my 10 hour layover, I grabbed my favorite subway into Manhattan. I didn't really have a plan of where to go. I just wanted to stroll around a city I love. A few years back, I joined my friend Liz at the Christmas tree lighting after Thanksgiving. I was in town on the day before Thanksgiving when they were still setting it up. I was curious what setting the tree up looked like. I headed into Rockefeller Center to take a look. It was almost complete, but still had the scaffolding around it. They were driving a Zamboni around the ice to get it ready for skaters.

Rockefeller Center ice rink and Christmas tree.
As I left, I saw a huge crowd. They were watching Kings of Leon practice at 6am for their 9am spot on the Today Show. I had heard Betty talk about the huge crowds outside her work around 9am for these shows while we were traveling, but I had never seen them. I certainly didn't think people would be there at 6am to see a rehearsal. It was crazy.

Kings of Leon 6am rehearsal.

Shortly after, I reached a friend in Brooklyn. We set up a time to grab breakfast. To pass the time before I met them, I went to the ridiculous Apple store on Fifth Avenue. I can't believe it was open before 8am. I am looking at getting a laptop to travel with and a MacBook Air is on the potentials list. I left without a thing and headed over to Central Park. Surprisingly, there were still some colored leaves on the trees. I was really excited because I was worried that I had missed my favorite season, fall, for the second straight year.

Late fall in Central Park.
My friend in Brooklyn and a sunny day gave me a chance to throw the Frisbee for the first time in almost six months. It felt great, even if my shoulder didn't appreciate it. I can't throw a backhand more than 10 feet, but my flick was passable. I miss chasing that piece of plastic. I miss the teammates that go along with it.

It was a short day, but it was filled with so many tastes of home, so many tastes of America. I loved it. It was refreshing and a great first step back on home soil.

Cairo, Final Take

2010-12-30T11:29:00.015-07:00

The Sphinx and one of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Betty, Thea, and my return to Cairo almost proved to be difficult. The website had said that they do pickups and drop off in Cairo. However, when we had first arrived, the owner said that returning might be tough because their taxis were not allowed in the city. I really wanted to know why their website said something different, but had learned not to ask these questions. Anyway, our guide got us back on time. Then, the owner who subcontracted us out to our guide was subcontracting our ride back to Cairo out to another guy. He made it very clear that if anything didn't go right with the ride that it was not his problem because he was going to have us pay the driver and not him. He gave extra money to the driver in case the police did stop him. Later, we asked an Egyptian guy about this later and he said he had never heard of it. He suspected that they didn't know the address or didn't want to deal with traffic.

Half way to Cairo, we stopped to go to the bathroom. While I waited by the car with the driver, he tried to get me to pay him. Having learned from my earlier mistakes of paying people before services were delivered, I told him that I would pay him when we got to the bike shop. He grumbled about it, but we continued to Cairo. When we arrived in Cairo, he didn't know where we were going. He stopped at a taxi stand. I thought he was going to try and put us in with someone else. He didn't. He picked up another driver to show him the way. Together, they still didn't know the way. They paid another driver to guide us in his cab. After a few phone calls, we eventually made it to the bike shop.

A fancy bike rack and pump at the bike shop.
The bike shop was the first high end bike shop I had seen in the Middle East. We wanted to them to take apart our bikes and box them. We could do it, but we preferred to go play tourist. We tried to negotiate the price. They didn't budge. They were friendly. They were helpful. It was like being at a bike shop in the states. We told them we needed our bikes that day and arranged for them to be dropped off at Thea's house. We didn't want to have to come back later. It was easy. It was probably our best business transactions in Egypt.

From there, Thea went home and Betty and I went to see the Pyramids of Giza. We found a driver to take us down and also pick us up. When he dropped us off, he told us where he would be waiting and to talk to no one because it was not safe. Giza is a poorer area, but I didn't think it was that dangerous. We hopped out, didn't buy the fake tickets that Thea warned us about, and proceeded to the main entrance where we got our real tickets.

The Sphinx.
Our first stop was the Sphinx. It is big. It is grand. It stares east out over the streets of Giza. I would guess that the streets start less than 200 yards away. I can't imagine the changes that the Sphinx has watched there over 5 millennia. To the west, the Sahara Desert begins. After crossing the desert highway, I don't think there is anything except sand until you get to the Siwa Oasis near the border of Libya. To the north, were the pyramids that I had traveled so far to see.

The Sphinx looks east over Giza.
The pyramids were why I had come to Egypt. Way back when I conceived of my bike trip, I saw a ferry from Athens to Cairo and thought biking to the pyramids would be a great way to end my trip instead of stopping in Athens. From there, I realized just how close Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and so many other great treasures were and my trip grew. It was a bummer to not bike up to the pyramids as planned. However, I don't think I would have been able to anyway since I can't imagine they let bikes through the gate. Unfortunately, despite causing the most excitement during the planning of my trip, the pyramids were a let down.

A very unhappy camel.

Unhappy camel (turn your sound up).
As soon as you left the Sphinx area, camel riders approached you to take their picture in front of a pyramid and charge you for it. The camel mounted police wanted to do the same thing. Some guys wanted to give you camel, horse, or carriage rides. Others wanted to sell you stuff. If you didn't want any of those services, they would happily take your picture from what they considered the best spot to get a picture of you and the pyramids. I can only imagine what the tip is like once they have your camera in their hand. It was a nonstop barrage of trying to extract money from tourists. Essentially, it was Egypt. If only we had seen this part first to brace ourselves instead of visiting the rather timid, in comparison, Sinai Peninsula.

In front of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the policeman asked for baksheesh for looking pretty on their camels.
The first pyramid that you arrive at is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khufu. It is the largest and oldest pyramid. It is the only surviving structure of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. It is an honorary member of the new 7 wonders of the world. It was the tallest man made structure in the world for almost 3,800 years. The only surviving relic that shows Khufu's face is in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. It is approximately a one inch statue. I guess it is a good thing he built a huge pyramid to be remembered by. Betty and I heard that going into the pyramid was a waste of time so we skipped it and headed back to the second pyramid.

Pyramid of Khafre.

The Pyramid of Khafre and a museum that holds a boat they found on site.
The second pyramid is the Pyramid of Khafre. It looks larger because it is on a hill, but is actually smaller. This pyramid still has some of its casing stones near the top. The casing stones were originally white polished limestone that must have added quite a bit of flash to the pyramids. Unfortunately, they are almost all gone. You can see some piled up at the bottom of the pyramids, especially at the last pyramid that a later Pharaoh tried to destroy.

Two of the pyramids of Giza.

The outer casing stones of the pyramids.
The last pyramid, the Pyramid of Menkaure, is the smallest. However, because it is the longest walk away and the least impressive, it is also the quietest. Right next to it, there are three queen's pyramids which are dwarfed by any of the Pharaoh's pyramids. While these were not the most impressive, you had a chance to really spend time with them and not get harassed by anyone. It was nice. In fact, it is so quiet back there we even saw one guard sleeping.

After these few pyramids, the desert opened up. There were a few hills that you could see camels and horses taking tourists to the top of. However, there wasn't anything else. I am sure you could walk right to the pyramids for free if you came from that direction. If I ever go back, I'll be sure to head in that way. I think looking at the pyramids from the peace and quiet of the desert would be a much better way to go. In the movie Cairo Time, that I watched on my flight back, they showed a sunrise visit to the pyramids. It was peaceful. It looked precious. If it is possible, I'd recommend it.

A mosque near the highway in Cairo.
From the Pyramids, we went back to Thea's and her fiance, Sami's, apartment. They lived near an expatriate area. It was a lot quieter than the rest of Cairo. After a couple hours to nap and get cleaned up from our desert adventure, we went out for dinner. We drove and drove and drove to find a place. It was funny to hear them try to decide where to take us for our one meal. The meal was alright, but the dessert was the memorable part. They took us to a fruit smoothie place pronounced far-ga-lee. Don't let anyone else say otherwise. I can't even remember what I had. They put arugula and avocados and all types of crazy stuff in shakes. It was great.

Great green plants along the Nile.
After dinner, it was time to sleep. Betty had to be up early to leave. Her cab showed up early, we loaded up her bike, and she was off for her one day solo birthday adventure in Amsterdam where her layover was. She had tried to book a flight around the same time as me, but ended up booking one 12 hours too soon. Oddly enough, I had a direct flight to New York, where she was going, before I connected to Wisconsin. The best she could find was the Amsterdam layover which she made as long as possible so she could get out and play without rechecking her bags. That still left me with an extra day to explore.

The Red Pyramid in Dashur.
The Red Pyramid of Dashur had been recommended me to so Thea and I decided to catch a cab down there. When we got to the entry gates, some guy in a suit got in the car with us. We were not given any explanation of why. Not every car got someone. I expected to shortly be harassed for him to guide us or sell us something or some new inventive way to get our money. As it turned out, he was a gun carrying security guy. When we got to the site, he didn't do anything. He hung out by the car while we walked wherever we wanted.

Descending into the Red Pyramid.

The inside of the Red Pyramid.
I had expected the Red Pyramid to be red like the rocks of Petra. It wasn't. Because of that, it was a bit of a disappointment. Expectations ruin everything. However, Thea and I did go inside this pyramid which was neat since I had skipped going in the day before. After climbing up a few meters up, we entered the pyramid and started descending down. To do this, you could only be less than three feet tall so we had to hunch over. As I did, the first thing to hit me was smell of the stale air. It was terrible. Thea said, it smelled like urine. I think she was on to something. After descending 68m in the crouch position, we were at the bottom. It was hot. Hot and smelly, my favorite combination. On the other hand, there were only about 5 other people down there with us and we could explore the 3 chambers at our leisure. The walls down there looked a bit red. Two of the rooms had very tall walls that slowly came together near the ceiling. The other one was a regular room. It was neat to try imagine where these small rooms were inside these huge structures.

The Bent Pyramid.
According to the Internet, the Red Pyramid got its name because the outer limestone is red tinted. I did not see it. Originally, it was not red at all. It had the same outer casing that the other pyramids had. This was the largest man made structure in the world before the Great Pyramid was built. It is also the first true pyramid. Before this, according to Thea's architecture classes, they were still figuring out how to make them. Also at the site of Dashur is the Bent Pyramid where it was clear they were still learning. While it was being built, its angle of inclination changed from 54 to 43 degrees. It makes it look like it has sagged over time, but it was built that way.

A kindred spirit, this guy attracted all the dogs in the parking lot when he fed one them his lunch.
We returned to Thea's apartment by noon. I had eight hours before my flight. I looked up a few 'must sees' in Cairo and was going to visit them. However, it didn't happen. The train line was right there and would have taken me to town quickly, but I wasn't feeling it. I was enjoying the peace and quiet of their expatriate neighborhood. It had trees. I walked until I found an area where the expatriate area was butting up against the more Egyptian part. I found a great bagel shop for lunch. I found a great falafel shop for dinner. I read. I watched the world go by.

Palm trees along the Nile.
As I wrote this post, I realize just how many times I've written about peace and quiet. I was missing it. It isn't much of a surprise that I didn't go back into Cairo proper for more sight seeing. It wasn't that I was done exploring, I just needed to do a different type of exploring. I also needed time to think. The idea of being home in a day seemed ridiculous.

After being gone so long and traveling the way I had for so long, that was my life. Even though I was craving stability (in the form of people or location or employment), I couldn't really fathom having it. In a way, I had become institutionalized again, just like when I was in Antarctica for a year. I just got used to things and made them part of me and part of my rhythm. I think that ability to adapt and make the current circumstance be my circumstances are why this trip went so well. Yes, the touts and other things got on my nerves, but I never lost it. I adjusted and found a way to keep enjoying myself.

When it came time to head to the airport, I got a ride from the same guy that took Betty and I to the pyramids and Thea and I to the Red Pyramid. He drove slow. He didn't scare me. I was able to really look around and soak in my final views of Egypt. It was a wonderful way to go.

Me and the Sphinx.

The White Desert, Egypt

2010-12-29T12:34:00.009-07:00

I tried to fit our three day desert tour into one blog, but there were just too many photos that I wanted to share. Day two of our tour took us to the White Desert, a small part of the giant continent spanning Sahara Desert. The White Desert was the reason I had heard about the desert road and why we booked the tour in the first place.

Desert panorama.
Our morning started off with the standard Egyptian breakfast. It didn't matter that we were camping. We had almost the exact same breakfast we had every time someone else provided breakfast for us. I think the one difference is that we had cookies and that happened to be the same cookie that Betty kept buying for me based on weight. A lot of the Egyptian cookies were wafer based and not cutting for it what I wanted it taste or calories (calories = weight).

Me at the bottom of a dune.
After breakfast we were back on the road for 4x4 in the sand shenanigans. They weren't nearly as nerve wracking the second time. I was definitely enjoying more of them today until he tried to turn right off a dune where there was vegetation he could not run over on the bottom. He had to slam on the breaks. We stopped where the dune starts to angle down, but were not facing down yet. I felt like we were going to tip over. We couldn't back up. As he inched us forward, I felt like we tipped more. Eventually, he got out to dig a little. Then, he zigged. Then, he shimmied and, since I am writing this, we made it down the dune. After that adventure and trying to go as fast as possible (>55mph) on the sand straightaways, his shenanigans took us to two different springs in the desert.

Driving down the sand dunes.
The first spring we stopped at was the Magic Spring. Near it, there were two decaying bodies from the Roman era. Our guide didn't have any history on them. I am guessing they ran out of supplies and chose to at least stay near water. In addition to the dead guys, there was a palm tree and two trucks full of guys enjoying their holiday. Somehow, the holiday of Eid was STILL going on. We think that was the last day, but we thought that too many other times to be sure.

Dead bodies near the Magic Spring.

The Magic Spring.
I can't remember the name of the second spring. It had a lot more stuff growing there. We also saw dog tracks there. I know the spring is a source of water, but I can't imagine where it gets food. This spring was more pleasant. That might have been because the group of guys at the Magic Spring were not around to ogle Thea and Betty. In Egypt, they have both grown accustomed that behavior, but still don't appreciate it. It was extraordinary to see these springs with vegetation, even a palm tree, in the middle of no where.

Another desert spring.
Somewhere in our day, we stopped for lunch under a tree. Our guide told us to be sure to watch our for snakes. As I walked around to go to the bathroom, I kept my eye on the sand. Suddenly, something slinky fell out of the tree on a branch a few feet in front of me and surprised me. It was a snake. I know snakes can live in trees, but that is not where I instinctively look for them. The rest of lunch went on without incident. We even saw some butterflies in the tree. Having snakes and butterflies in the tree seems a little weird.

The Sahara Desert.
Something that I did not expect was how easy going to the bathroom in the desert would be. It is just like camping where you dig a hole and bury your waste. However, the digging is a lot easier. I found it kind of funny that going to the bathroom in the desert required less thought than most places in Egypt. At most places, I would wonder if there were squat toilets, if they had toilet paper, or the last year they had been cleaned. In the desert, you have none of those issues. It reminded me of Antarctica where I didn't have choices so I didn't care, but if I do have choices, I am pickier.

Thea and Betty hiking in the White Desert.

Mushroom and chicken (the second rock) in the White Desert.
The finale of our day was the White Desert. It seemed manic compared to the rest of the serene desert that we had been visiting. There were these giant white cliff formations everywhere. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to them. The yellow sand surrounds these white rocks that just shoot up into the sky. That area is the most crowded part of that part of the desert. We had only seen 2 other trucks the entire day, but as it got darker, we saw more and more. Our guide drove for twenty minutes before he found a campsite where no one else was in sight to preserve the idea of being alone out there.

Looking for cool rocks near the White Desert.

The White Desert.
Our second night was similar to the first. Peace. Quiet. Good food. Full bellies. Bedouin tea. I slept well in the desert. None of us had tents. Just sleeping bags and blankets. It is so nice to be able to camp out and not worry about being harassed or the elements. It was a great way to wind down the trip before heading back to the craziness of Cairo.

Sunset in the White Desert.

Moonrise in the White Desert.

Teatime in the White Desert.
The next morning, we were up at 4am to start heading back. We wanted to get back to Cairo by noon so that we had enough time to get Betty ready to go the next morning. We made a quick stop at Crystal Mountain. It is a large rock that, as far as I can tell in the dark, is one giant geode. I would love to go back there at some point and see it in daylight. It wouldn't be the coolest thing you would see on the tour, but it is definitely worth a stop.

Crystal Mountain.

Crystal Mountain close up.
On our way back to the oasis to get our ride to Cairo, two things happened of note. First, we did not run out of gas despite Betty worrying about it for the past day (she's a city dweller who never drives). Two, we had to cross three police checkpoints. Our guide had lived in the area his entire life and resented the checkpoints. When we were approaching two of them, he turned off his lights and went off the road and around them. He said the police don't like it. They didn't give any kind of pursuit or raise any kind of alarm though. Maybe it is the same type of security as the Temple of Philae. Maybe they didn't see us because our lights were off. I don't know. Time to go Cairo.

Getting crushed in the White Desert (Yes, this is staged).

The Black Desert and Agabat Valley, Egypt

2010-12-28T10:34:00.032-07:00

Wind lines in the sand of the eastern Sahara Desert

Leaving Abu Simbel set into motion the longest day of traveling of my entire trip. We drove three hours from Abu Simbel, checked out of our hotel, and got a ridiculously good Egyptian pizza. It was like regular pizza, but had two layers of crust. One thick and one thin on top. It was greasy. It was cheesy. It was delicious and completely filled me up for our overnight train ride to Cairo. The train was supposed to leave at 6:30pm and get in at 5am. The guys working on the train laughed and said that they never get in at 5am. They said 6:30, if we were lucky.

Our sleeper car.
Our sleeper car was not nearly as posh as our first class car had been. However, it was good enough for me. It was a lot more comfortable to stretch out in a bed to sleep for eight hours than trying to figure out how to get comfortable in a bus seat. They even served us dinner and breakfast. In the early morning, we rolled into Giza and hopped off the train.

Thea in the Black Desert.
We met our driver who was going to take us to our desert tour at the station. Unfortunately, we didn't meet Betty's mom's friend's friend, Thea, there. They went to the station that was actually in Cairo. After too many phone calls and a ton of confusion, we met up with Thea and were off to the desert.

Desert road.
I had wanted to bike the desert road since I had considered making this trip. It seemed like it would be a lot better biking because I would be avoiding the busy Nile Valley. However, I also liked the idea of biking through nothingness for days. However, since we ran out of time and the ferry wasn't running, biking it wasn't going to happen. Squeezing in a tour could. We searched the Internet for tour companies and finally settled on one marketed by a German woman. Normally, I try to go with locals, but I didn't want any miscommunications or questionable business practices to vex my last few days of my trip.

Desert panorama

Betty in the desert.
After our 5 hour drive through the desert to the Bahariya oasis, I got to meet the German woman. She spoke perfect English and then directed me to her Egyptian husband who actually ran the business. He did not speak perfect English and I quickly realized the website was to sucker in people like me. The best part is that the Egyptian guy didn't even guide the tour. He passed me off to a Bedouin guy with his own truck and supplies who spoke even less English. I felt bamboozled, but it didn't matter. Our guide was brilliant and we had a great time.

A close up of the Black Desert.

Black Desert panorama.

Thea and Betty hiking in the Black Desert.
After a quick late breakfast, Thea, Betty, and I set out with our guide, Reda. We drove on paved roads for a few minutes, but soon turned off into the sand. Our first stop was the Black Desert. It is black because of volcanic rocks that are in the area. I have no idea where the nearest active volcano is (maybe Etna in Italy or Uganda), but a volcano from long produced enough black rocks to still cover most of the area. I was envisioning pitch black desert just like the black beaches of Hawaii and Greece. This was just a dusting, but was still great.

Sand swept desert dune road.

Desert dune.

Desert rock formations.
After a short hike in the Black Desert, Reda took us who knows where to do off roading tricks like spinning his wheels out, up and down dunes, doing donuts, and fish tailing. I was definitely a little nervous. However, our guide had been doing this for 10 years and knew what he could and couldn't do. I had to keep reminding myself of that and eventually started to enjoy it.

Agabat Valley.

Agabat Valley.

Sand dunes in the Agabat Valley.
Our original plan had been to spend one night in the desert, that would have been at the White Desert. By staying a second night, we got to the visit and sleep in the beautiful Agabat Valley. The valley is where the yellow sands of the Sahara Desert meet the white cliffs of the White Desert to make brilliant formations. Betty found some sea shells lodged in these rock formations. This area used to be part of the ocean. There is something so serene about that part of the desert and the formations that we saw. I can't really say what.

An arch in the Agabat Valley.

I was going to just include this picture of Thea on an overhanging rock, then Betty showed me this photo of me taking the original photo.

The moon rising in the desert.
When we went to set up camp for the night, our guide would accept a little help but not much. He didn't need it. He was a machine and was used to doing this stuff. The first thing he would do was set up a three-sided wind shield. One side was against the car and the other two came our perpendicular from it. We ate, and later slept, in this space. After that, he got right to cooking dinner. He started a small fire to cook the meat in and used a gas cooker to cook everything else. The meal that he whipped up was one of the best of my entire trip, except for maybe the meal he made the next night.

Our view from the campsite in Agabat Valley.

Sunset in the Agabat Valley.
After dinner, we went for a stroll, but didn't do much else. We had Bedouin tea from the fire. We enjoyed the stars. We slept. It was wonderful. The calm and serene of the desert night was a great way to slow down the trip. We had been going, going, going since we left Dabab. Zoom to Cairo before leaving as fast as we could to see Luxor quickly, then Aswan, then Abu Simbel, then all the way back to Cairo, and finally down to the desert. The desert was the perfect place to unwind. I can't recommend it enough.

This is where we found some of the petrified coral and shells.

In the morning, we went for one last stroll around the area. Thea ventured the farthest and found the most interesting thing we saw in the desert. She found petrified coral. The first pieces we saw were very smooth and looked like wood. However, the second larger pieces that we found were clearly coral. It is so amazing to see these things from the sea in the middle of the desert. We always learn about these things in natural history classes, but it is another thing to see it. Look at those pictures and imagine it all being underwater.

Me hiking in the Black Desert.

Abu Simbel, Egypt

2010-12-27T11:12:00.001-07:00

I like getting up early, but waking up at 3:00am to check out of our hotel and be picked up in our lobby at 3:30am was not a great way to start the day. It got a little worse when we circled back to a hotel right next to ours after 45 minutes of picking people up. Then, we went to the caravan meeting point and waited for twenty more minutes. When we finally got underway, the caravan didn't stay together anyway. Ugh. However, we were finally on our way to the grand temples of Abu Simbel.

The desert on the way to Abu Simbel from Aswan.
Abu Simbel is a three hour drive south of Aswan, about 25 miles as the crow flies from the Sudan border. I'd been looking forward to Abu Simbel since my trip had started. I wasn't sure if I would actually make it, especially if biking, but I was hoping. Abu Simbel contains two rock temples. Pharaoh Ramesses II had them built in the 13th century BC as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari. These temples were originally carved into a mountain side, but were moved when the building of the High Dam caused them to be flooded.

The temples of Abu Simbel.

Putting the face of a colossi back on at the new temple site (notice there is no mountain behind them yet).
I want to stress that they moved these temples. Actually, they didn't just move the temples. They moved the mountains they were carved into block by block. Over a period of 4 years, they cut the temple into 20-30 ton blocks and moved them to the new temple location, 65m higher. When you look at the temples today, you have to look closely to find the joins between the blocks. They have a great exhibit about the move in the visitor's center with step by step photos and descriptions.

Graffiti on the colossus' leg.

A close up of one colossus.

The Great Temple.
When we arrived, we only had a couple hours at the site to find those joins.. The trick was that that whole caravan of people heading down got there almost at the same time. We were ants marching up over the hill to take a look at these great temples. While at times it was crowded, it didn't matter too much. The temples were huge and, unless you went inside right away, gave us plenty of room to spread out.

This looked like a bicycle to me. If you could see the rest of the picture, it is actually a chariot.

Inside the Great Temple.
The Greater Temple is easily identified because it has four 20m colossi. The Smaller Temple has six 10m colossi. The Great Temple has a row of baboons across the top that I don't think I saw anywhere else in Egypt. They are the Watchers of the Dawn. The Great Temple has a number of small statues between the colossi that represent Ramesses' wife and family. The Smaller Temple's colossi represent Ramesses and Nefertari, but this is the only place in Egypt where they have found statues of the queen that were as big as the Pharaoh. Normally, the queens were smaller, no higher than the knee.

Nefertari temple.
One reason the temples were built so large was to help intimidate and impress Egypt's southern neighbors. I'm not sure if it worked, but I know it impressed me. I could have sat there for hours just soaking in their grandeur, but we didn't have the option to spend the night because we took a tour. After too short of a time, we loaded back into our bus for the very long ride back to Aswan.

Me.

Aswan, Egypt

2010-12-24T12:43:00.029-07:00

There are thousands of feluccas on the Nile near Aswan.
Our train ride to Aswan from Luxor, I expected an experience similar to Europe. It was better. When we arrived, they were eager to help store our bikes, but this was because they wanted baksheesh. When we got off the train, they weren't shy about asking for it. Once we got on the train, we found our first class car pretty easily. It was almost empty even though most of the train was full. The seats were comfortable. There was room to spread out. I was loving it. The scenery was interesting. On the west side of the train, there was desert. On the east side, there was the Nile River, lush green irrigated farmland, and possibly a dune in the distance. It was a drastic contrast that was a little surreal because you got the different views by looking out the opposite sides of the train.

Looking out the opposite sides of the train.

The view out the west side of the train.
When we arrived at Aswan, we had some trouble finding a hotel. One that we found would only let us store our bikes in the ground floor foyer while the reception was upstairs. They insisted the street was busy and that someone would see if someone tried to steal our bikes. I insisted that the street was busy and anyone interested in taking them would see them unattended. They didn't budge. We left and eventually found a place that we had to go up a street of steps to get to.

Feluccas on the Nile.

More feluccas.

After checking in, we decided to get to visit the large Elephantine island in the middle of Nile. There was a 1 pound ferry to get across. The kid said the tickets were 5 pounds. I said we knew otherwise. An old guy came around and said it was a special rate for the holiday. I gave a long winded version of saying bull that one another kid salesman snickered at. He knew I knew what we were talking about, but he wasn't making the decisions. While this was happening, an Egyptian guy came by and paid 1 pound. We said, see, the price is 1. They said it was just because he was a regular. We wanted to go to the island, but we weren't willing to play into this ridiculousness. We walked. Their price didn't change when we left. Usually, it does.

Nubian boat and home.

Boy trying to hitch a ride with our felucca in his own boat.
While we walked down the river to let me clear my head from the frustration of people trying to rip me off, a bunch of felucca drivers harassed us. One guy wasn't too aggressive and didn't get under my skin. We started chatting. Sooner or later, he talked us in to going for a sail around the island instead of going to it. It might be the best thing we did in Aswan. It was peaceful. It was quiet. No cars. Just Betty, me, and our two captains as we sailed around Elephantine Island as the sunset. At one point, one of our captains used a cup to take a drink directly out of the Nile. We asked him about and he said it was safe because it was so far up river. I wasn't willing to try it for myself.

Felucca

Felucca at sunset.
After the felucca ride, we grabbed dinner at a place that didn't have any prices on the menu. The host quickly filled them in when we asked. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel for the night. We were going to be getting picked up at 3:30am for a day tour down to Abu Simbel and needed some sleep. I had decided that I wanted to take a tour because I was sick of going through the frustrations of making each step happen by ourselves. With the tour, they would take care of everything. There are two tour options, a short one and a long one that stops at extra places on the way back. When we were getting ready for bed, we decided that we did not want to do the longer tour so we called down to change it. When Betty called around 10pm(?), they let us know that both tours were full and they could not get us on. Betty asked when they planned to tell us that or if they were going to wait until 3:30am in their morning. They didn't get it and said, 'Well, we are telling you now.' I suspect we would have found out at 3:30am in the morning.

Bread baker in the souq.

Morning in the souq.
The next morning, we went for a stroll in the souq before it really got busy. On our way through, we found a spice guy selling variety packs that were displayed together brilliantly. A few of you now have those packets as presents. From the souq, we filled up the rest of our day with a quick tour of the sights just outside of Aswan: the High Dam, the Temple of Philae, and the unfinished obelisk.

Spices in the souq.
Our first stop was the High Dam. Before the dam was built, the Nile River flooded every year and brought nutrients to the floodplain and delta. It made for ideal farming during good years, but the floods unpredictability also led to unpredictable crop yields. Some years it might be right. Other times, it might be too high and wipe out crops or too low and a drought would spread. The dam stopped the unpredictability, but it also keeps the annual nutrients from reaching the floodplain and delta. Even though the dam is culturally interesting, it is not that interesting to visit, unless maybe you are an engineer and can appreciate the hydroelectric plant. It isn't as dramatic as the Hoover. It is just a huge wide dam. You drive up on it. You look out over the giant lake that was created, Lake Nassar, and then leave.

Lake Nassar.

Hydroelectric dam at the High Dam.

Temple of Philae.

Next up was the Temple of Philae, which was my favorite site near Aswan. It was taken apart and moved when they built the High Dam because the lake that formed would have flooded the temple. To get to the new temple site, you had to take a boat. Once there, you were free to explore. The temple was the usual set of wonderful Egyptian architecture and hieroglyphics, but two things were different. One, it was on a small island surrounded by Lake Nasser. Two, the type of people we were visiting with. Sure, there were plenty of Western tourists, but there were a ton of Muslim tourists too. Based on the number of families there, I think it was getting a ton of Egyptian visitors because of the holiday of Eid.

Kids posing at the Temple of Philae.

A Muslim tourist at the Temple of Philae.
At this site, I finally got a video of some of the so called Egyptian security. There have been a few terrorist attacks on tourists in Egypt over the years (maybe 7 in 20 years). I assume a lot of the security measures are in response to these attacks and a desire to keep the tourist dollar flowing into the country. As a tourist, you can't drive yourself through most parts of Egypt without a police escort. In some areas, they force you to join a convoy. On every road, there are multiple checkpoints. In every tourist town, there is at least one guy sitting at banks, at major road access points, at the Temples, and at any place a tourist might go. However, they don't do seem to do anything. We have this same perception problem in the USA. We don't know how many attacks the invasive security actually stop at home or in Egypt. Granted, I never pulled a gun out, but I think most of it is just a show in Egypt. Just take a look at this video:

Egyptian Security at the Temple of Philae.

Temple of Philae doorway.

Temple of Philae hieroglyhpics. Check out the cross on the left that was added when it was converted to a church.

Temple of Philae courtyard.

The one Egyptian guy I stayed with said that the one thing that the security is in place for is for the tourists to get help getting rid of the over aggressive salesman. Apparently, it used to be worse of a problem. I didn't see the tourist police helping anyone. A more jaded take on what the security does it that they collect baksheesh. At multiple sites, security would let you cross lines and even take your picture, if you gave them a tip. One interesting thing to realize was that we were not the only ones being harassed for baksheesh. A well-to-do Egyptian couple from Cairo was more fair skinned and dressed nicer than most Egyptians even though they were born and raised in Cairo. They said they would always get treated like tourists until they opened their mouths. Our driver around Aswan had a passenger with us. He got stopped and harassed for it at the security checkpoint for the Temple of Philae. I don't know if he paid, but when he got back in the car, he was fuming about police and baksheesh. The final time that I saw non-foreigner tourists get hassled was when a policeman stopped traffic to let an Egyptian man we were riding with get out of a parking spot. He said it was a joke that the guy helped and we did not need it, but he also said that he didn't dare not give some money to the policeman because of what they could do.

Temple of Philae art.

Temple of Philae columns.

On our boat ride out to the Temple of Philae.
Our last stop on our short tour was the unfinished obelisk. An obelisk is a 4 side pillar with a pyramid like top. One of the Pharaoh's had ordered the biggest obelisk ever to be built. To cut it out, they used rocks about twice the size of a fist to break the stone around the obelisk away. It looks like they almost had three sides completed when the obelisk cracked. They abandoned it and left it there for us to find and marvel at. Curiously, there are only 9 ancient Egyptian obelisks left standing in Egypt. The rest have been moved. The Roman Empire particularly liked them. Italy has 18. Then, there are 4 in the England, where so many other Egyptian treasures have been taken. Finally, there is 1 each in Israel, France, Turkey, Poland, and the USA ('Cleopatra's Needle' in Central Park).

This unfinished obelisk would have been the biggest ever.

The tool used to cut out stone.
When we got back from our tour, it was time to get ready to leave Aswan. Since we had eaten feast food in Luxor we thought Eid was done and didn't have any concerns about booking our tickets back to Cairo. We were wrong. Eid is a multiday feast that just keeps going and going. After spending too much time fighting to keep our place in line, we found out all the trains were full. The song We Gotta Get Out of Ghis Place by the Animals kept going through my head. We went to an Internet cafe to see if we could book tickets online. We found one site. We couldn't book online. We called. They said there was one available the next night, which is when we wanted to leave, but we had to go to the station to pick it up. They didn't give us a reservation number or take our name. I asked how the station would know the ticket was ours. They just said to go get them. Betty went to fight the lines again. I stayed online looking for possibilities and making phone calls. After only ten minutes, Betty came back and Willy Wonka's We got a Golden Ticket was practically busting out of her. We were good to go.

Pushing to hold a place in line.

McDonalds boathouse.

To celebrate, Betty coaxed me into going to for a treat she knew I'd been missing, a milkshake. The only place she could guarantee I'd get one that was up to par, instead of flavored milk, was the McDonald's boathouse. The milkshake was fantastic. Having a McDonald's in an old boat house was pretty cool too, if not a little weird. The view was fantastic and a great way to close out our time in Aswan.

A Mobile ATM.

Luxor, Egypt

2010-12-22T14:24:00.026-07:00

Luxor, Egypt. Home to the Valley of the Kings where most of the New Kingdom Pharaoh's were buried until we dug them up and moved them to museums around the world. We arrived in Luxor in the morning, immediately biked into town to a hotel, and then headed for the valley.

Schindler's Lift. Get it? Haha.

To get to the valley, you have to take a ferry, and then get back to the valley which is 5km away from the Nile. I'm not sure how the other tourists do it because I didn't see cabs, but it was ideal for our bikes. It was great. There are a couple different companies that rent out bikes, but not every tourist up there was on bike. A lot came on a tour bus. When you leave the river and head towards the valley, you see mountains ahead. Eventually, you creep up on two colossus that mark the start of archaeological sites and the way to the Valley of the Kings.

Entry colossus.
On the colossus side of the mountains, there is a couple temples, monasteries, and the Valley of the Queens. We headed right back to visit of the Valley of the Kings first. To get to the Valley of the Kings you need to head north on the main road and then wrap around to the back side of the mountains. The main road is littered with tourist shops, especially the alabaster factories with poor English translations that seemed like I should vote for them (X for Alabaster, instead of the X Alabaster). Once you leave the main road and start into the valley, the mountain scenery is stunning. The roads, like all Middle Eastern roads, were in spectacular condition.

There were 20-30 of these eye sores that were alabaster factories.
At the Valley of the Kings, we bought our entrance ticket and opted to walk up the small hill instead of taking the 5 Egyptian pound, 3 minute, tram ride. The best part about the tram is that you can't see how far the tram goes when you are buying your tickets. As soon as you get a glimpse around the first curve, you realize just how short the tram ride is. It seemed like trickery to me. Anyway, there are 63 tombs in the Valley, but only 18 that are ever open to the public. Of those, 6 are usually closed for repair work. We decided to head right to the back of the valley and then work our way forward.

The bike ride up to the Valley of the Kings.
The first three tombs we visited were neat, but nothing spectacular. They were generally a straight corridor that opened up into a larger room at end. Sometimes, they had a smaller room in the middle. The art would get more elaborate the closer you got to the sarcophagus' room. It was interesting to see that some of the artwork was incomplete because the Pharaoh died before they were done.

An underground map of the burial tombs.
There seemed to always be two guys working the popular tombs. One guy stood at the entrance and checked your ticket. The other guy followed you into the tomb with a flashlight and things to show you so that he could earn baksheesh (a tip). Even if you told them, you didn't want to have them show you anything, they would show you anyway and ask for baksheesh. It would be so nice to spend some time in the tomb in silence, but instead this guy is chattering in your ear to look at this and look at that. Every once in a while, they definitely point out something that you would have otherwise missed. Most of the time, their help isn't needed though and they took away from the experience rather than added to it. I find it maddening.

An Egyptian tomb.
After we visited the back three tombs, we started for the other ones near the front. The first one took us up a ton of steps. When we got there, the guy would not let us in because our ticket was only good to visit three tombs. Upon closer inspection of the ticket, it did say that it was only good for three tombs. Betty and I were frustrated because no one told us that and it didn't say that anywhere when we were buying tickets. It seemed like just another way to way to milk tourists for money, even if it was official. We decided to buy into the Egyptian system and offered the guy baksheesh to let us in. Unbelievably, he said no. I was shocked. It was nice to meet the first guy involved in the tourism business that wasn't corrupt. OK, that is a poor exaggeration and I was frustrated that he wouldn't let us in, but it was also nice to see the rules being upheld for a change.

A sarcophagus.
We went down to buy tickets to see more tombs. There are three tombs that require special tickets because of the number of visitors they were receiving. The King Tut tomb isn't supposed to be that great, especially since everything inside it was moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The ticket salesman said that if we really wanted to see the best tomb we should not get a ticket for three random ones, but to buy the special ticket for Ramses VI tomb. The Ramses VI doesn't have anything in it either, but it has the most remaining artwork on the walls.

The Ramses VI tomb was the best that we visited. Because it was the best tomb I had been in yet and because I was feeling petulant about the three tomb ticket, I decided to use my video camera to film my walk down the tomb even though it is prohibited. The sign at the tomb says no flash photography, but there are others that say none at all at the entrance to Valley. It isn't the clearest, but I knew they didn't allow it. Somehow the guy saw Betty or my camera and came running down. We gave him our camera batteries and he let us continue down.

The front side of the Valley of the Kings.
The tomb was amazing. I can't describe the colors and hieroglyphs very well. All I can say is that these are the best that you'll find in quantity and quality in the Valley of the Kings. The rooms were bigger and the art work was more extensive. I realize that calling the hieroglyphs artwork probably isn't accurate, but they are pictures and I can't necessarily tell when something is artwork versus writing. Most of the hieroglyphic writing was the same size and written in neat rows and columns. However, some of those same hieroglyphs seemed to be drawn in much larger sizes.

Walking into the Ramses VI tomb.

On the way out, the guy who took our batteries approached us. He wanted us to put the batteries back in. Foolishly, I complied. I figured he wanted to make us delete the photos. As soon as the battery was in, he grabbed the camera out of my hand. I started to fight him, but it was my small fragile video camera that would break if we did that. After making a huge todo about how we could get in big trouble if he turned us in, he gave the camera back and let us go with more baksheesh in his pocket. I was much happier to give him $10 than have to buy a new $25 battery.

Betty and I clashed about how to handle this situation. She wanted to go right to the police. She was right that the police would chastise the guy for taking our camera and not turning us in, but I felt certain that giving this guy baksheesh would be an easier way out of the problem than paying an official fine and who knows what else to the police. Of course, it is just as likely the police would take baksheesh, but more of it, to rectify the situation.

Egyptian artwork in a temple.
After visiting the amazing Ramses VI tomb, it was time to leave the Valley of the Kings. There were a number of temples on the other side of the mountains that we wanted to check out before the sunset. Our first stop was Deir al-Medina. The site wasn't what we were expecting. Someone has recommended it as one of the best. It had one hot tomb that was in a lot better condition that others we had seen, but we didn't see why it was recommended. We also didn't see the building that was pictured on our ticket. We asked someone and they directed us a few kilometers to the north. We walked that direction, but just found a great temple that no other tourists were at. We did not find the one on the picture. After talking to a few people, we found out that the picture on the ticket was to a different monastery that you had to buy a different ticket for. All I can really say is that I don't know how these things work. It makes no sense to have a picture of a monastery on a ticket that isn't for that monastery.

Medinet Habu temple.

Colossus at the Habu Temple.

Giant pillars at the Habu Temple.

Our next stop was the Huba Temple, my favorite spot in Luxor. I can't figure out a specific reason why I loved it so much. I wish I had a picture from the air. This temple is huge and has a great backdrop of the mountains behind it. It wasn't too crowded either. Some of the columns would take 3-4 people to get their arms around. Maybe the video can show you what I mean, but it might be a 'have to be there' place.

Habu Temple doorway with mountain backdrop.

Habu Temple cooking cauldrons, just kidding.

Habu Temple walking tour and request for baksheesh.

Next up, was a big big lunch. I think the dish we had was called fatta. It was some kind of soggy bread at the bottom of a bowl of chickpeas dribbled in pasta sauce, I think. The important part was that they said I could have as many free refills as I wanted. I was starving so this was perfect. I think they were giving out free refills because they had been serving it up for the Eid feast earlier in the day. They had to get rid of it one way or the other and I was happy to help.

Deir al-Bahari
Our original plan had been to leave after lunch and head back to the town, but we had been sucked into wanting to see the temple that was on our ticket. That temple was Deir al-Bahari so we retraced our steps to head back over there. It seemed a lot farther than the first time we rode over there. When we arrived, it was very, very busy. It felt busier than the Valley of the Kings, but I suspect there was actually less people, but less room to spread out. Deir al-Bahari is actually three temples, but we, and everyone else, seemed to only visit one, Hatshepsut’s Temple. The temple looks fabulous because it was restored, but apparently it was a poor restoration and the details are not like the original. The most notable parts about the temple for me were the human parts.

Deir al-Bahari columns.
There was a small contingent of women, probably Eastern European, who were doing sexy poses around the temple. I saw this in Hawaii for the first time and saw it again here. It is weird. Most people want to look good in their photos, but this was taking it to a new level. The other memory of people I have is that on the way out, I saw two Russian girls being followed for almost 100 yards by salesman. One salesman was grabbing the girl's arm and trying to make her turn around. I know how I reacted in Cairo when the guy did that briefly to me. I can't imagine my reaction if a guy followed me a hundred yards while trying to physically turn me around. They kept their cool until they got back to their larger group, that included men.

Luxor Temple.

Luxor city plaza.
That night, we booked a train ticket down to Aswan and checked out downtown Luxor. The neatest part might have been the Luxor Temple which was converted to a church and now holds a mosque. However, I think the general scene at the central plaza took the cake. Eid was still going on and the entire town seemed to be out. Young kids were playing soccer. Older kids were checking each other out. Parents were watching their kids. It was the place to see and be seen. Betty and I saw it all from the balcony of Snack Time. A restaurant serving up favorite western treats, like grilled cheese and brownies.

Karnak Temple columns.

Karnak Temple statue.
The next morning we were off to Luxor's second most famous monument, Karnak. It is a large collection of temples. I believe it is the largest outside of Giza. Because it was the most talked about ruins site in Luxor, I had expectations. As we all know, expectations are the mistake that ruin so many good things in life. The ruins were good, but they were't great. The temple was similar to Huba. In fact, it was probably bigger, but something was missing. I don't know what.

Karnak Temple obelisk

Karnak Temple's row of ram headed sphinx.
I can't remember the rest of the day. We had a few words with our terrible hotel clerk when we went to check out. His defense was that he was just following policy. I can't remember how many things he did to grate on our American sense of customer service. I realize that we, as Americans, can suffer from a bit of entitlement. This wasn't the case. I have lowering my standards during my entire trip. This was just ridiculous. It left a bad taste in our mouth that was completely wiped out when we realized just how pleasant our train ride to Aswan was going to be.

I was surprised how few Arabic showings there are, just one, for the Karnak Temple sound and light show. I realize that Luxor is an international tourist destination, but I thought they would get more Arabic visitors.

Cairo, Take One

2010-12-21T07:00:00.003-07:00

What you might find wandering the streets of Cairo (those are cut up plastic bags on that line).
Once we returned to Dahab, we found out that our hostel guy, Jimmy, was blowing smoke up our butts. Pessimistically, I had thought this all along based on experience and because our own research found nothing. However, Betty was leading the charge on this and I was happy to try and be optimistic. We ended up in a cab to Cairo. It was not much more than the bus and it was a lot faster so I didn't complain. We went through that great valley north of Dabah for a 4th time and right past Mount Sinai again. When we got to the west coast of the Sinai peninsula we saw a very different Sinai. You could see oil rigs in the Gulf of Suez arm of the Red Sea and the coast was lined with oil refineries. This was not the tourist side of Egypt. The final step to leaving the Sinai Peninsula was to go under the Gulf of Suez via Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel (or whatever the name of the tunnel is inside that tunnel because the first tunnel was leaking). The access points to this tunnel were the most heavily guarded part of Egypt that we saw.

Crossing the Sinai desert one last time.

An oasis in the Sinai desert.
Even though we had finally got off the peninsula, the problem was that we had no connection in Cairo to get to Luxor. Jimmy had said he was checking on the trains, but never called us back. We had to call him. He had nothing for us. The final hitch in our plan was that our driver, after flashing everyone with his high beams for two hours from the tunnel to Cairo, let us off about 3km from the train station. He fed us a line that he wasn't allowed to go all the way into the city. 3km is not far when you have a bike and you know where you are going. We had bikes. We had no idea where we were going. It was dark. We didn't speak the language. The traffic was worse that Istanbul.

This Cairo crosswalk sign shows just one small example of the crazy traffic.
As I lead the indirect charge to the train station, Betty told me that I almost got hit a few times. I didn't notice. I was just trying to focus on the road ahead. We asked for directions multiple times and got sent in every which way. When we finally found the train station, we found out there were no trains for that night. The holiday feast of Eid was still going on. We went to the bus station and got the same story. Trying to find the bus station was great because it has an Egyptian name, but our guide book and the tourist signs in Cairo call it the Cairo Gateway instead.

Egyptian bicycles all have the double horizontal crossbar.
Outside of almost being run over, the most interesting site that night was watching a horse act up on the road about a block from the bus station. It had a cart. It backed up and spilled the cart. Then, it started to pull forward into traffic. It was weird to see livestock in such a larger city, but it was only the very start of what we were about to see. I'm not sure if it is always this way or if there was only so much livestock in the city for the holiday feast of Eid al-Adha. Greater Eid requires each family kill an animal to eat and share, usually a ram.

Of course, there is a herd of sheep in a major city.
So, despite our best efforts to get out of Cairo, we were going to be spending the night and an entire day there. We would catch an overnight bus to Luxor the next night. Everyone I talked to, that knows me well, said I would hate Cairo. I decided to trust them and not plan to spend much time there so it was a little bit frustrating to be spending an extra day there. However, we made the most of it.

This typical scene makes me question my stereotype that the Middle East has water shortage.

First up, we signed up for some local food. We went to a random restaurant near our hostel. They were billed as a vegetarian restaurant. It was late and they had run out of a lot of their food, so they only had two vegetarian entrees left. Betty ordered one. I ordered an appetizer. When the food came out, Betty received the entree she did not order. She said she ordered the other one. Our waiter said that was impossible because there was only one available. This is the same waiter who gave us two options over an hour earlier. Did I mention the service was incredibly slow? The quality service followed us back to our hostel where we had been told we would have 24 Internet access. When I woke up at 4am, I wanted to kill some time until Betty woke up. The Internet was not working. In fact, the computer was not working. I touched it and felt an electrical current going through me. I don't think that problem happened overnight. So many of the businessman seem incredibly hospitable. They will say anything they think you want to hear. I used to think it was a language barrier, but more and more I think it is a choice because there are very few repercussions from tourists who are always on the move to the next stop and don't want to waste time arguing.

Slaughtering sheep on the street.

Weighing the sheep.

I have never seen these fat-tailed sheep before.
The next day, we continued to try and make the most of it. We headed over to the Islamic Quarter. I wanted Betty to experience the bazaar and a couple mosques. She had not been in any yet and it is definitely part of the Middle Eastern experience. On the way over, we got to see what I can only guess is an impromptu slaughter house on the street because of the number of animals needed for Eid.

This might be the shoe quarter of Cairo.

Pick a bike, any bike.

Fireworks area of the locals market.
After that, we headed for Khan al-Khalili, the grand bazaar. I think this bazaar is mainly for tourists so it was lucky that on the way over, we ran into a few other bazaars that, I believe, were directed towards locals. They had everyday supplies instead of souvenirs. They didn't hassle us as much either. It was unbelievably crowded, even on a week day.

A Khan al-Khalili shop owner trying to make a sale.

A random street in Khan al-Khalili.

A bakery in Khan al-Khalili.
After wandering around a bit, we did find Khan al-Khalili. It was early enough that we were able to look around without getting harassed too much either. That was nice. After exploring and getting lost, we stopped for some chai at a 200 year old traditional coffeehouse. I'm not sure what that really means, but it there were people smoking sheesha, as always.

Shoe shiner trying to make a sale in the Khan al-Khalili

Fishawa coffee shop in Khan al-Khalili.
From the coffee shop, we wandered back into the Khan al-Khalili and through the Islamic Quarter to find the garlic and onion market. I wanted to see it because I couldn't conceive of an entire market dedicated to them. While we weren't finding it, we stopped in the most amazing mosque I have seen yet, the Al Hakim mosque. It was so beautiful and serene.

Al Hakim Mosque courtyard.

Al Hakim Mosque columns.
Islamic Cairo was my favorite part of the city. It was a little bit quieter because some of the streets were too narrow for honking cars to drive on. Of course, that just meant all the people were pushed together tighter instead. I'm not sure why the area is called Islamic Cairo. All of Cairo is Islamic. It might have to do with the high concentration of mosques in the area. I remember six, but I think one guide book said there are ten. In the City of 1,000 Minarets, I'm not sure if this is actually a lot of mosques for a small area. There is a lot and these are some of the grandest. One of them, Al-Azhar, claims to be the oldest university in the world, built in 970AD. Western definitions of university, not surprisingly, rule out Al-Azhar. The University of Nalanda in India is older, but was destroyed and rebuilt. There is also a university in Fez, Morroco that makes a claim back to 659 AD. Who knows. They are all old.

Bab El-Futuh (Gate of Conquest), a northern gate of the Old City, now the northern boundary of the Islamic Quarter.

Al Aqmar mosque

Islamic Quarter street.
When we finally left the Islamic Quarter, we headed for the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. I am not normally a museum guy, but this one did the trick. They had a ton of stuff from old temples and looted tombs. It was great to see so much old stuff preserved. However, Betty also pointed out how poorly it was protected. A lot of the stuff was out where anyone could touch it. Other stuff was just in a glass box. Maybe since it has lasted 4,000 years, they aren't worried about it suddenly falling apart. One of the most curious exhibits was a small section with curvy statues that had a more sexual presence. Most Pharaoh statues aren't as close to regular human form.

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities (photo by Sailing Tours, because you are not allowed to take pictures in the museum and I actually obeyed.)
When we left the museum, we went looking for a koshary restaurant. Apparently, koshary restaurants only serve koshary and it is supposed to be a great vegetarian dish. On our way to find it, we asked directions. A guy insisted on walking with us a bit, which is always a bad sign. It usually means he is about to try to sell us something. He showed us his cab and told us that if we need a ride, we should come see him. I thought we were in the clear, but then he followed us a little farther. On the way to the koshary, he showed us where his shop was. Betty poked into another store and I was left alone with the guy. I wanted to wait on the street for her, but he forcibly pulled me into his shop by surprise. My anger rose. As soon as we were through the door though he let go, which was a good thing because I was just about to respond physically to get him to let go. That isn't my normal response, but the Middle East has been wearing my patience down and him grabbing me like that had put me over the edge. Somehow, I thanked him for guiding us part of the way to the koshary and left. He started whining, but I didn't hear him. I needed to leave.

Koshary.
We finally got to the koshary. Koshary is a great way to fill your belly. It won't be your best meal. It won't be your most nutritious meal, but it will be fast and it will be filling. At the restaurant, the only thing they make is koshary so you just tell them a size and they fill you up. They fill you up with short spaghetti looking noodles, brown rice, macaroni, fried onions, lentils, and chickpeas. You can top if with vinegar or a spicy tomato sauce. This became our go to meal for a couple days when we were looking for something quick.

Burqa mannequins with what might be every variation of the burqa.

Angry mannequins (photo by B. Cremmins).
After dinner, we wandered back to pick up our bikes out of storage at the hostel. We biked up our street which was a major shopping area with some crazy store displays for the last time. Then, it was back into the thick of traffic for our crazed ride back to the bus station. It was a lot easier this time at dusk and having been there once, but it was still pretty crazy. When we got there, our bus driver said nothing to us, which was fine. However, some other guys came by to ask about where we were going with our bikes. They were driving other buses and were just curious, but their questions made me think they were driving our bus. Only when our bus driver finally came over and made a stink about the bike did we realize our mistake. Luckily, one of those earlier guys was able to act as a middle man and we got our bikes on the bus to head down to Luxor.

Mount Sinai, Egypt

2010-12-19T14:23:00.017-07:00

The Sinai desert.
Our 4th day in Dahab was a painful planning day. We wanted to head up to Mt. Sinai (7497 ft) and then come back down, take a ferry from Sharm el-Sheikh to Hurgada, and then bike to Luxor and Aswan. Unfortunately, the ferry had been requisitioned to help transport Muslims across the Red Sea on their way to Mecca for Hajj. Our only option was to take an overnight bus or taxi to Luxor. We assumed a taxi would be expensive and tried the bus. It was full because it was the Egyptian holiday of Eid. Our smooth talking hostel owner told us that he could get us a ride up to Mt. Sinai and when we got back, he would have a way to get us to Luxor, either by bus or by bus to Cairo and then train to Luxor. It was all becoming a big headache and I just wanted to bike across the Sinai to Cairo and call the trip good.

This is more like the Sinai Desert that I expected.

Saint Catherine's valley.
We took the afternoon ride to Mount Sinai. It took us back through the stunning valley to the north of Dahab that we had biked at dusk. It was great to see it in better lighting. The entire drive up to Saint Catherine's monastery and Mount Sinai was fantastic. I would have loved to have biked it. Betty regretted not biking it too because the big uphill that we were expecting wasn't there. It was just a long slow incline.

A close up of Saint Catherine's monastery.

One of our hiking partners on the way up Mt. Sinai
When we arrived, we were told we would need a guide that would cost us 85 pounds to take us up the well worn camel track to the summit that even a novice could fine. A Dutch group was being told 100 pounds. We pulled the Dutch group aside and asked about forming one big group. The tour guide cartel didn't want to let us combine. After the Dutch couple went to leave, pissed that they were being charged extra for who knows why, the tour guide organizer relented and let us go up with one guide for 85 pounds. While we didn't want him to guide us up, he did have some useful historical information to share.

The view from the top of Mt. Sinai.

The last commercial outpost before you summit Mt. Sinai.
After two hours of easy hiking past Bedouin shops selling tea and chocolate bars, we were at the top and settling in for sunset with about twenty other people, a small church, and a small mosque. The views along the hike only let us look back down one valley. Once we got to the top, we could see in every direction and every direction was incredible.

An overlook from Mt. Sinai.
As soon as the sunset, everyone left in a hurry except two Bedouin salesman who would sleep up on the summit with us. They wanted to be there before the sun came up to rent out blankets and mattresses and to sell hot drinks. After renting us a couple mattresses, they disappeared for a while but when they came back one was impressed by our camp stove that we were making dinner with. Ramen noodles are a great warm meal on cold nights.

Me at sunset.
After dinner, we explored to find a good place to sleep. Our guide had recommended a specific rooftop as nice and quiet. The quiet part is important because people start arriving at 3am to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing directly on to that rooftop, making it pretty cold. We settled onto a platform on the side of the church. We were woken up a couple times when people did come up in the morning, but we were warm so I didn't really care.

Sunrise.

Betty trying to stay warm.
Sunrise was an entirely different experience that sunset. Yes, the rocks were illuminated in similar ways as the sun sat close to horizon. However, there was closer to 150 people. Also, the type of people there at sunrise were different. I feel like more of the sunset folks were up for a hike or tourist venture, not for a religious pilgrimage. In the morning, there were people from America, Malaysia, the Philippines, Europe, China, and even Egyptians. Some broke out in religious songs. It didn't rival the religious fervor of the mosques of Damascus, but there was definitely something brewing here. There was something connecting a lot of people up on the mountain even if some of us, Betty and I, were just there to enjoy the view while drinking some chai.

Morning psalms on top of Mt. Sinai

Hiking back down Mt. Sinai.
After sunrise, we all left. It made for a pretty big bottleneck on the way down the trail. We eventually got around it when we turned off the main trail to take a different trail down. On the way up, we took the longer camel trail. On the way down, we were going to take the shorter, steeper 3750 Steps of Repentance route to Saint Catherine's monastery that one monk built. That had to be a labor of love.

Saint Catherine's monastery.
When we got to the bottom, we were unable to visit the monastery because it was closed for worship. We just jumped in our van and headed back down to Dahab. When we got down there, our guy had not got us a bus to Luxor or Cairo. We were taking a cab, for about the same price though, to Cairo. We weren't happy, but at least we were leaving the Sinai Peninsula. People really do get caught in Dahab!

The internal decor of our ride to Cairo

A checkpoint on the way across the Sinai Peninsula.

Dahab, Egypt and Diving the Red Sea

2010-12-18T13:02:00.017-07:00

Sunset over the Red Sea.

One of the first things that you hear about Dahab is that people get stuck there. They come for a couple day and stay for months. Instead of two focus days of diving, we ended up there for four long days of lazing and diving.

The Dahab boardwalk at night (photo from Internet).
The woman, who referred us to our dive center at the hostel, thought Betty would be able to use her referral and finish her open certification in two days. She thought I would be able to get set up to and visit all of the dive sites I wanted to see in two days as well. That wasn't the case. It would take three days for me to get set up. Also, the dive center would not accept Betty's referral so she would have to do a full three day course. Then, if we wanted to climb Mt. Sinai we would have to do no diving for a 4th day before going up for the night. We weren't thrilled, but we finally felt like we had the time.

The easy access to great diving and snorkeling in Dahab is amazing. We were eating dinner on the boardwalk when we saw this guy walk in from snorkeling.
Betty got right to work on her certification. I went to entertain myself until they could take me to the Lighthouse dive site for a refresher course and naturalist dive for my advanced open water certification. That night, we wandered around town a little bit. The boardwalk was lots of restaurants aimed at the tourist crowd. It reminded me of a boardwalk anywhere in the western world. However, the first street off the boardwalk was definitely Middle Eastern. It was interesting to see these two style butting up against each other so successfully.

A squat toilet.
Our second day turned out a bit better than the first. Betty spent most of the day at Lighthouse acing the rest of her dive course. She finished in two days instead of three. I got to head out with Ann, a dive master from Australia, to two dive sites, Blue Hole/Bells and Canyon. The Canyon dive site took me down to 28m for the first time. It was pretty neat to drop down there where no one else was. It didn't feel any different that other depths, but I'm sure that is just because I don't know what to notice. My second dive at the Blue Hole/Bells was really cool. We walked into the water, swam out to the reef, dropped down 30m through a 'chimney' that exited along a reef wall that drops down to 800m!! You can't see the bottom. If you look out to sea, you can't see anything but water. It was a little intimidating to have the great wide open in all but two directions (towards the wall and up). I needed the reef wall to keep my bearings. We swam along the reef wall until we got to a saddle where you can easily enter the Blue Hole.

The Blue Hole is the dark blue water right in front of the buildings. The lighter colored water is much shallower.

Dahab's Blue Hole is the dark blue spot in the middle. (photo by B. Cremmins).

The Blue Hole is right off shore. If you don't enter from the open sea side via the saddle, you can walk out to it. It only drops to 130m instead of 800m, but when you are diving, you are encircled by walls. It is supposed to be the most dangerous dive site in the world. This is only half true. If you don't push yourself beyond your limits, the site isn't dangerous at all. However, lots of people use the Blue Hole to try and push their limits because of its easy access from shore and its proximity to a major diving town. Some people want to try to get down to 100m. Others want to find and pass through the tunnel at 60m from the Blue Hole out to open sea even though the recreational diving limit is 40m. In retrospect, the Blue Hole gets all the fame, but the Bells was the best part of the dive. It was teeming with life. The Blue Hole didn't have a lot of coral or fish left. The best part of the Blue Hole was probably coming back to the surface and seeing and dodging the dangling legs of snorkelers in the water.

Dead divers plaques beside the Blue Hole (photo by B. Cremmins).

An incredible free dive of the Arch at the Blue Hole.
I don't remember doing much that night. For some reason, diving is exhausting. You try to move as little as possible to save oxygen, but you still come out tired. Some people say it is from breathing the air in the tanks instead of regular air. Some say it is the extra pressure of the water. I just say it is time for a nap.

Our gear on the dive boat.

Ras Mohammed National Park.

Day three saw me heading to Sharm el-Sheikh at 3am to catch a dive boat to three dives at a shipwreck and national park.. At the shipwreck, we would do two dives. The first would be around the outside of the hull. The second one would be into the ship itself. The wrecked ship, the SS Thistlegorm, was a British vessel being used to transport military supplies. It was bombed while anchored. The way it exploded has made it very easy for divers to get in and out. Unfortunately for me, it isn't quite easy enough.

BSA motorcycles and their inflated tired aboard the shipwrecked SS Thistlegorm (photo from Internet).

A mock up of the SS Thistlegorm shipwreck dive site (photo from Internet).
There was a small hatch that we were using to navigate between two levels of the ship. I was not moving fast enough and received a push from below which forced me to reach out and grab something to keep from going up too fast. The piece of metal that I grabbed was really sharp. I ended up bleeding for the rest of the day. I still have a scar. On a much cooler note, you could still see motorcycles and trucks in the storage part of the vessel. You could see the anti-aircraft gun on deck. There was an air pocket in a cabin that we each took turns poking are heads into, but making sure not to breath in the old air.

Giant moray eel (photo from Internet).
On the way back to Sharm el-Sheikh, we made a final drift dive at Ras Mohammed National Park where we got in at one place, but got out at another. At this dive site, you are hoping for big currents because they bring in the big animals, but we did not get them. We did get to see another wreck that was hauling bathtubs and toilets though. It was strange to see that stuff piled up on the ocean floor. On this dive, I also got to see my first giant moray eel. It was huge! I'm sure my eyes made it to be bigger than it actually was, but it easily looked 1 foot around its head and 10 feet long. We saw 4 of them. They have a bad reputation for attacking people, but a lot of those attacks are from when humans mess with their burrows or in poor visibility when a finger might look like a fish! I kept my distance.

The old market of Sharm el-Sheikh. Eh.

After returning to port, we had a quick look around Sharm el-Sheikh. It was supposed to have all of Dahab's diving mixed it with some ritz. It didn't seem that much different than Dahab. The beachfront was taken up by western style hotels that were far beyond anything Dahab had, but when you got away from the water, it was the same. I didn't like it. However, it was definitely a diving mecca. The number of dive boats in harbor was ridiculous.

The Sharm el-Sheikh dive boat harbor.
That night Betty raved about her visit to the Blue Hole. She was definitely hooked on diving. We celebrated at a burger joint run by a Kiwi woman with a couple other travelers. It was my second Kiwi encounter of the day. On my dive ship, there was also a Kiwi from Ashburton. I was excited to be done with Dahab. I had really enjoyed my diving, but it was time to move on. I definitely wanted to stay in one place, but Dahab was not the place for me. I'm not sure why even though I'd love to go back for more diving or to try windsurfing and kite boarding.

Sinai Peninsula's Red Sea Coast, Egypt

2010-12-18T08:00:00.025-07:00

Welcome to Egypt!
Clearing the Israeli border was easy. It was once again staffed by young cute super friendly folks. The Egyptian side wasn't quite as easy. The isobutane fuel that we bought in Eilat for my stove looked like a bomb on the Egyptian x-ray machines. They started to give Betty crap about it until she told them what it was. When we were about to leave, a guy took our passports to an office to do who knows what. When he was done, he didn't return them. He walked them to a table in between us, put them down, and told us to come get them. It wasn't like there was a ton of people around to steal them before we got to them, but I am used to my passport going directly to someone and directly back. I am not comfortable having a guy leave it on a table in a large room.

These wild camels surprised me when we came whipping around the corner.
Just after the border, I managed to miss the turn for Taba. I'm not sure we missed much though. I believe it is just another resort town, but it has a little historical significance. When Israel ceded the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt, they kept Taba. However, in 1988 an international court ruling moved the border 2km north and Israel lost a major chunk of its Red Sea coast line, including Taba.

Morning chai break on the Red Sea.
When it warmed up a bit, Betty and I stopped on the coast for a morning chai and coffee. Soaking up the scenery enjoying yummy drinks was a great way to start a very long 157km day of biking. I was pretty happy that they didn't confiscate our stove fuel.

Betty biking down the Red Sea coast.
Biking along the Sinai coast, there is ocean on your left and mountains and electrical lines on your right. After Taba which is right at the border, there are no towns. There are only resorts. There is no shoulder on the road, but that isn't bad because there isn't too much traffic.

Pharaoh's Island.

The fjord.
The only identifiable sites on the road, other than resorts, were Pharaoh's Island and a fjord. Pharaoh's Island, also called Coral Island, was originally a Phoenician seaport. In the 12th century, the Crusaders built a castle on the site. Then, it was taken over by Sultan Salah El Din who enlarged the castle. Today, it is a great snorkeling spot and it looks like they have added a pool. They are not sure of the origins of the fjord. It might be a geological fault. It might be an old river valley.

Mid level resorts along the Red Sea.
After the fjord, the Sinai Peninsula coast to Nuweiba was not what I expected. There would be nothing for miles, then an upscale resort, then nothing for miles again. There were so many new resorts being built, but I can't imagine the tourism industry sustaining them. The existing resorts we saw did not look busy and November is supposed to be the start of the high season. Next to the some of the resorts being built, it looked like there were temporary villages to house the constructions workers. There were no stores. It was weird to see the high end resorts beside such poverty, though I'm not sure that is the right word. I believe the villages were built poorly because they are only temporary. I've seen that contrast many times this trip, but have never been comfortable with it.

Temporary worker villages near the new resorts.

I liked the contrast of the resort looking building, next to the rocks, next to the temporary home.
As we got farther south, there were less high end resorts and more down to Earth resorts. Instead of giant hotels, there were small buildings and bungalow style huts built from palm trees. I liked these. They seemed more mellow. One of these, Sallyland, was mentioned in a book, Return to the Desert: A Journey from Mount Hermon to Mount Sinai, that I had read in Israel. It was neat to see it in person after reading about it. I'm not sure why the fancier ones were closer to Israel. I know that Israelis can enter the Sinai Peninsula part of Egypt without a visa. Maybe they are trying to attract the Israeli tourists.

Bungalow style resort
The one really strange part about the bungalows coming from palm trees is that there were almost no existing palm trees. The only vegetation was at the high end resorts where they are growing it. There are a few wadis with water, but I don't think they could provide that many palm trees. Perhaps they bring in the palm tree trunks and fronds from somewhere else. There is certainly room on the overloaded trucks and vans that we saw. I can't believe how high they load some of those vehicles. I would guess that some are loaded 1 to 1.5 times as high as the vehicle.

How to properly load your van.

This market near Nuweiba left something to be desired.
I can't remember if we did anything in Nuweiba. We picked up some supplies and looked for a road that did not exist. The map insisted that there was a road along the coast. All we found was a kid who grabbed onto the back of Betty's rear baskets and pulled while she was trying to ride up a hill. She was almost forced to body slam the kid, but he ran off before she got a hold of him. I gave him the stink eye and yelled at him instead which was not nearly as effective.

Mountains along the Red Sea.

Biking up the Nuweiba-Dahab hill
From Nuweiba to Dahab, there was more spectacular riding. The road left the coast and started up a mountain pass with towering peaks on both sides of us. We climbed 800m over 15km against a headwind in the heat of the day. I was tired, loving it, and feeling a little bit guilty for it because Betty was struggling. She never gave up though. For some reason, I love the hills and have adapted to the heat enough to bear it. The one problem was that I ran out of water, which ended up being pretty neat to observe what happened to my body. In thirty minutes, I went from glistening sweaty skin to dry salty skin. I didn't think anything of it because the wind had picked up and I felt cooler. I didn't suspect I was dehydrated. However, after Betty and I met at a false summit, she gave me some water and I started sweating again almost immediately. When I ran out of water a second time, I stopped sweating again too.

A dead camel that might have stopped sweating.
Somewhere in there, my ridiculous amount of sweat got into the space between where my bike computer connects to the bike. The extra salt water was causing the electrons to bounce around a few more times and trigger the computer more than it should. A few times, my computer thought I was going over 100km/hr until I dried out the connection.

The last valley before Dahab.

Contrasting rock coloring in the final valley before Dahab.

More great rock formations in the valley before Dahab.

Even more great rock formations in the valley before Dahab.
Once we got to the real summit, we were excited. We figured the rest would be down hill. However, we just kept riding across terrain that seemed flat. When we were about 20km away, the mountains spread out a little bit and we entered a stunning valley. Unfortunately, it was almost dusk. We were going to be racing against the sun to get to Dahab. We biked at an exhausting 30km/hr to beat sunset and were confident that we would eventually hit the big downhill. When we finally arrived at Dahab, we realized there was no big downhill. We had been going slightly downhill since we crossed the pass.

More great rock formations.

Last great rock formation.
When we rolled into town before sunset, we luckily ran into a windsurf shop manager who showed us the way to the Indian restaurant we were looking for and recommended a hostel to stay at. I don't think we would have ended up in the right area at all without his help.

One of hundreds of restaurants on the boardwalk in Dahab (photo from Internet).
The Indian restaurant was fantastic. When we were deciding if we needed to order more, our waiter said that there was no way we would have any chance of finishing what we already ordered unless we were starving. We told him we were and to trust us. We easily finished off all of our meals and 4 flavored mini-milks to aid our muscles in recovery. After dinner, we rolled into the Bishibishi Garden Village and into our beds to aid the rest of our recovery. We had big days of diving ahead.

I have no idea what I am doing. Probably asking for directions. Looking at this picture, I am starting to understand why three different people offered me shirts on my trip (photo by B. Cremmins) )(edit: Betty tells me that I was being a 'real man' and asking for directions when we were looking for the supposed coast road from Nuweiba to Dahab).

Eilat, Israel

2010-12-17T08:04:00.008-07:00

Check out the layers on the rock.
The morning ride from Wadi Rum, Jordan to Eilat, Israel had a little more stress on it that I would have liked. You can't get a visa at the border so I had to go to the Egyptian consulate where you have to drop it off by 11am for same day service. Smartly, Betty had got hers in New York City before leaving for the trip. Since we had over 100km to cover, we wanted to leave early. Unfortunately, we did not able break camp until later than I would have liked. We had 5.5 hours to get to the consulate instead of the 6 I was hoping for. That wasn't the end of the world, but it was going to make everything a little bit tighter. Luckily, Wadi Rum is the highest wadi in Jordan, so we were going to be on a mostly downhill ride to Eilat at sea level. If we didn't stop for breaks, we should be alright.

The ride down to Aqaba took us through more great desert scenery. Instead of being sparse though, the mountains began to crowd in. Soon we were riding in fully lined valleys. Once we cleared the mountains and were approaching Aqaba, a major headwind kicked up. We were struggling against it. It gave two kids a chance to throw rocks at us. That was Betty's first experience with it. She handled about as happily as I handled it my first time. As we were approaching the city of Aladdin, magic carpets, and genies, we took a hard right back toward the Israeli border. The headwind continued.

Welcome to Israel!
We got to the border around 10:15am. I felt like we were easily going to make it. Then, the border security stated asking me about Syria and Lebanon again. I thought that stuff would not be an issue this time because I had already crossed into Israel once since then. Betty cleared the border while I answered questions and waited. Then, I waited just a little bit more and a woman came out to welcome me to Israel. It did not take nearly as long this time. Alos, this border was not staffed with a majority of young people like the last two border crossings.

Eilat, Israel is a major resort town.
Entering Israel, felt like returning to the homeland again. I loved it immediately. Maybe it was the taste of western culture. Maybe it was the kinship with other Jews. I still don't know. I just know I was happy to be there. By this point, it as almost 11am. We had about 10 minutes to bike the 3km to the city and find the consulate. I think the headwind was finally a crosswind, but it was still making our life miserable. After biking up a huge hill, we made it to the consulate at 11am. It didn't look like they actually closed at 11am because they wanted me to wait until my visa was processed. My crappy guidebook might have been wrong again.

A fun advertisement at a roundabout for their Underwater Observatory Marine Park.

How do you define happiness (photo by B. Cremmins)?
Instead of waiting, Betty and I went to find her some coffee and me some ice cream, preferably Ben & Jerry's. It took a little bit, but we were able to find a market that sold B&J Cinnamon Buns ice cream. Yum. Betty made the wise choice to ditch coffee and go for ice cream instead. We headed back to the consulate to enjoy our sweet treats. Before we even finished our ice cream, they had processed my passport. We were clear to enter Egypt.

I loved that these dusty cars probably got that way while they are waiting to clear some customs hurdle.
Egypt would have to wait though. I was happy to be in Israel again. It was really hot and I didn't see the need to bike in the heat. We stopped in an Internet cafe to waste some time. After a couple hours, we hit the road again. Unfortunately, our motivation was gone. We had already biked 100km and just didn't see the need to bike much more. Instead of clearing the border when it wasn't busy at night, we would head over early in the morning. We found some potential campsites on the beach about 1km from the border and then went back to get Thai food. The Thai place was closed, but we ate at the adjacent hotel's restaurant. The food wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it was good enough. Also, the hotel had free Internet that we could poach to look for dive shops in Egypt. Looking for shops on the Internet was the same as it was in Australia, very frustrating. I wasn't getting anywhere and eventually gave up.

Eilat, Israel is a kite surfing center.
We went back to the rocky beach that was going to be our campsite. An hour into sleeping, Betty woke up in a worry about the water. She thought the tide was coming in and we were about to get wet. The tide wasn't coming in. A large boat farther out in the Gulf of Aqaba arm of the Red Sea had gone by and we were just catching its waves. Yes, they were coming within a few feet of the tent, but we were fine. I had trouble falling back to sleep and the two or three times that I made too much noise, Betty shot up and worriedly asked if the water was still getting closer. I kept telling her it was fine and to go to bed. It reminded me of when I was camped in a place I thought I might get bothered. At every sound, I would wake up and worry about getting harassed. After doing that for enough nights, I stopped worrying and slept better. It was interesting to see Betty doing the same things I had done for so many months at the start of my trip.

It wasn't the best day in Israel, but I still enjoyed it. Betty and I were able to get a lot of errands done and were ready to tackle the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.

Wadi Rum, Jordan

2010-12-16T08:00:00.016-07:00

The King's Highway from Petra to Wadi Rum
It was time to leave Petra. It was time to bike again. Weaving through town to leave was a mess. There weren't signs and our directions weren't clear. With a couple stops to ask directions, we were soon on our way. Those directions took us up a giant hill to the main road. Some of my worst fears about biking with Betty were realized when she got off her bike to push on the first major hill. I wondered if Betty and I had received a trip saving blessing by not having her bike show up those first few days. We would have had three days of 1000 meter climbs. I'm not sure I would have had the patience. I just kept pedaling and kept my mouth shut. So did she.

These guys might be nomadic, but they are living in style. Check out the satellite dish.

Rock formations along the King's Highway.
We both knew what needed to be done. Just push onward. Once she got up the hill, she got back on her bike to ride. She lagged on the hills for the rest of the trip, but she never got off her bike again. In fact, with the exception of the uphills, her fresh legs and skinny tires had me working double time on the flats and downhills just to keep up. Her freewheeling was usually equal to my pedaling. I was jealous of her light bike, but the number of flat tires that she got made me happy to have my touring tires instead of her road tires.

Wild camels!

The road to Wadi Rum.
Our ride to Wadi Rum was stunning. For half of it, we were on the King's Highway which doesn't see much traffic. We climbed 700m up to the plateau which offered great views to the west. Near the start of the descent to Wadi Rum, the police waved us over. They didn't want anything official. They just wanted to chat and offer us tea. A friend of theirs offered to take us to Wadi Rum. I was interested in accepting to get there a little earlier. However, another guy said it was only 25km. I checked my map. It said 56km. I showed it to the 25km guy. He said the map was wrong. The map turned out to be right. It was a long ride, but it was beautiful. The scenery became more sparse, but was broken up by huge rock formations that dominated the landscape.

Rock formations in Wadi Rum

Petroglyphs
We arrived at Wadi Rum visitor's center two hours before sunset. While we were there, we discovered there are three ways to see Wadi Rum: by foot, by camel, or by 4x4. We couldn't bike across even though my map showed a road and we also didn't have time for a hike. The camel idea seemed alright but, I wanted to maximize what we saw so we went with a 4x4 tour. There are one hour to multiday tours. It just depends what you sign up for. We took a 3 hour sunset tour with a fifteen year old kid that looked eleven.

Our 15 year old driver (photo by B. Cremmins).

The 7 Pillars of Wisdom named after T.E. Lawrence's book.
Our first stop was a spring that T.E. Lawrence wrote about in his book the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. To the western world, Wadi Rum is most famously associated with the British officer T. E. Lawrence. The movie Lawrence of Arabia was about him and his assistance in the Arab Revolt. While he was involved with the revolt, he based out of Wadi Rum. The spring wasn't anything special to look at except for the fact there were plants growing there and no where else. Our driver offered us a drink directly out of the spring . . . . via a hose. It didn't taste great, but I suspect that had something to do with the hose.

The entrance to Khaz'ali canyon.

Climbing in Khaz'ali Canyon.
Our next stop was Khaz'ali canyon. It didn't seem like a canyon, but I'm not sure what a better name would have been. There are two giant red rocks that have a gap in between them. The elevation doesn't drop at all. I thought the elevation dropped in canyons. You can walk in between the rocks for about 200 meters before hitting a wall that you'd have to climb up and over. A rock climber could do it easily. I am not, so I didn't. On the way out, we saw a tour guide point out some 100AD Nabatean petroglyphs that we missed on the way in. It is amazing how much you can miss in a place if you don't know what to look for.

Petroglyphs in Khaz'ali canyon

Red sand. Green Keen.

Red sand in Wadi Rum.
Our final stop on the tour was a giant red sand dune. We climbed up and watched sunset over the area. It was the best part of the tour. The red sand stuck out in the sandstone valley. The golden hour light was brilliantly illuminating the rock formations. We could see trucks driving and camels walking around which looked miniature compared to the rock formations. Before nightfall, we were another of those miniature trucks heading back to the village.

Dusk in Wadi Rum.

Sunset in Wadi Rum.
The Wadi Rum village lets you pitch a tent for $1 a person. You get access to running water, a bathroom, a shower, and picnic tables to make your dinner on. The local market provided us enough food to get by and we gorged ourselves after a long day's riding. After eating, all I had enough energy to do was look at a few stars and fall asleep. Camping under those desert stars was my favorite night in Jordan.

The desert road to Wadi Rum.

Petra, the Gem of Jordan

2010-12-12T12:13:00.002-07:00

My first look at the Al-Khazneh, the Treasury.
Petra. I was doing a great finishing this blog until I got to Petra. Words defy it. Sorting through the 400 incredible pictures I took over two days was just too much of a task. Doing a year's worth of updates on the En Sabah Nur ultimate website didn't help either, but that came when I needed a break from sorting photos anyway.

This view shows almost all of Petra. At the bottom is the Street of Facades. Just beyond the end of the photo to the left, is the Treasury. On the middle left, is the High Place of Sacrifice. On the right side of the photo is the Colonnaded Street. Off the photo to the top right is the Al Deir monastery.
Betty and I got dropped at a hostel that her friend recommended to us. The hotel host gave another that was three times what we had expected it to cost based on experience and the guide book. I just turned around and walked out. I was not in the mood to be negotiating anymore or to deal with people who I felt were trying to rip me off. The host followed me back to the van and wouldn't let us close the door for a minute while he tried to convince us to stay. We left and went to the hotel that the other guy in the taxi was going to. It was cheap. They didn't try to overcharge us. I was happy.

A close up of the decoration of Al Deir monastery.
As soon as we dropped our gear, we were off to the ruins of Petra. It costs a fortune to get in. It is 50 dinars for one day if you were staying local, 55 for two days, and 90 if you were just coming in for a one day tour and not sleeping in the city, like off a cruise ship. 90 Dinar is 127 United States dollars. We didn't have enough money and they don't accept credit card. There is a hotel near the entrance that has an ATM, but it was broken. We had to walk the 2km back up hill to town to get money. However, just after we got started a guy let us ride in his truck bed that still had sheep scat in it. On our second trip down to the ruins, we finally got our two day pass to get in.

Rose red coloring.
Petra is an ancient Nabatean city from the 6th century BC. It is commonly called the Rose Red city in reference to the colors of the rocks. The Nabateans controlled the land and oases from the Euphrates in eastern Syria to the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. They were powerful traders, but Rome annexed them in 106AD. All they have left behind is pottery and tomb sites, the most famous of which is Petra.

A Bedouin salesman, perhaps the ancestor of one of those traders.
Unfortunately, Petra was destroyed by an earthquake in the 6th century AD and was abandoned. Then, it was forgotten about by the Western world when Saladin conquered the entire Middle East in the 1100s. I've mentioned him a lot in my blogs because he was the one who laid siege to and defeated so many Crusader strongholds. It was not rediscovered until 1812 when the Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, explore the area in disguise. He had to pretend to be an Arab scholar because the Bedouin were not the most welcoming to outsiders at the time. Even though Western scholars rediscovered the site in 1812, I think that the general public and pop culture did not rediscover Petra until it was used in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

This tomb was a rare exception because it had carvings on the inside. Most did not.

After a short walk down a dusty path, we got to the entrance of As-Siq, the canyon that leads to the most famous landmark in Petra, the Treasury. The trail looked crowded and we had two days to explore so on a whim, we turned off for the Wadi Muthlim trail. It didn't have any of the major sites along it, but would end near some.

Wadi Muthlim.
When we tried to confirm the starting point of the trail, the police didn't want to let us go. They said you it was too dangerous. I was over hearing this subjective line being repeated and said thanks and went to leave. The police continued. He said they had a camera and that the headquarters might call them to have them stop me. He said we should take a guide because it was dangerous. We left because the sign said that guides were recommended, but not required.

Crazy color patterns in Wadi Muthlim.

The tunnel you are supposed to enter for the Wadi Muthlim trail (photo by B. Cremmins).
A guide would have been helpful for the start of the trail. You are supposed to drop into a canyon and go through a tunnel that the Nabateans built. We didn't realize this and walked above the canyon looking in. Eventually, we got stuck or just realized that we had to be in the canyon. I can't remember. We tried to climb down, but it was a little sketchy. We just went back to near where the police were and discreetly walked down. No one, police or guide in waiting, bothered us.

The valley that Wadi Muthlim opened up on.
The canyon was as dry. It was the end of summer and it has not seen water in months. However, there was a ton of stuff to show that water had been there. You could see that garbage had gathered in one spot. You could also see the rock worn away in patterns that matched the waters' current. It was gorgeous. We thought that canyon was only going to be geological wonder because there was nothing on our map, but Betty spotted some carvings. They were pretty cool. Hiking the canyon was a bit of work. I don't think it has been modified. You need to climb up some rocks and down some boulders. Your ankles better be strong because you are never walking on even ground. It was a great hike that dropped us in a valley where we had lunch.

A donkey rider heading up the valley.
While we ate lunch, we interacted with a Bedouin man. He was mute, but we were still able to communicate a little bit. I have no idea where he lives or what he does, but I know he is good at finding quiet spots to soak up amazing views. It was brilliant to come out of the canyon on to the open valley. It was sand stone colored instead of the rose red, but that provided a great contrast. There were a bunch of tombs that no one visits up there either. One of them used to rival the treasury, but has eroded over the years. We practically had the place to ourselves.

Tomb 646 used to rival the treasury until erosion got a hold of it.

A Bedouin man who shared his tea with us.
On our way down the valley to the Royal Tombs and the main tourist path, we were waved over by a Bedouin man in a cave. He wasn't selling anything. He was also just enjoying a quiet spot. He said the only tourists he usually saw in that area were the ones sneaking into the sight from the village above. He offered us some of his tea. Betty got a mini metal mug. I got a half a tin can. We both got a cup of sugary goodness. Bedouin might be sweeter than Southern sweet tea. I know his might be blasphemy, but it might be true. Sweet tea has always good. Sometimes the Bedouin tea was too sweet.

The Palace Tomb is called that because it looks like a palace. It wasn't one, but it is one of the Royal Tombs.
When we reached the Royal Tombs, we still didn't get on the main road. We climbed Jabal al-Khubtha mountain. From the top, we got a great look at the entire area. Also at the top, was a Bedouin vendor. I can't remember if he was selling water, food, rocks, or trinkets, but I was amazed he was up there. It wasn't the hardest ascent, but we didn't see that many people up there to buy stuff. Maybe he was just cornering a small part of the market.

Sextius Florentinus' tomb. He was the Roman governor of Arabia. The tomb was carved around 128AD.

Urn Tomb, the largest Royal Tomb at 17m x 18.9m.
When we finally came down the mountain, we were in for a treat. The sun was shining a golden color on the the Royal tombs. We explored each of them. Most of the exploration and amazement is done from the outside. On the inside, they are almost all just empty square rooms. Lots of the ruins have names, but they aren't those things. The Treasury was not a treasury. The Palace Tomb was not a palace. They were just tombs. As far as we read and could tell, every ruin was a tomb. I've read this was a full city, but I'm guessing that all the other buildings were destroyed. It is similar to mos ruin sites, I guess. The regular buildings don't survive the test of time. The only exception I can think of is Pompei where everything was buried in ash. I'm sure there are others. Anyway, we took a seat and watched the golden hour light illuminate the tombs and a donkey get loose and run from its owners. They work the animals hard and I cheered the donkey on during his escape.

Me beside Urn Tomb, the largest Royal Tomb (photo by B. Cremmins).

Royal Tombs and part of the Street of Facades.
On our way out, we passed the huge theater and the Street of Facades. Then, we turned off for the Siq. We walked right past the Treasury, but I made a special point not to check it out. I wanted to make sure I had a surprise for the next day. When we got back to the hotel, we were in for a treat, Betty's bike had arrived. I was really excited to getting riding again. However, first we had one more amazing day in Petra.

The Siq Trail leading to the Treasury. Watch your step because the carts might run you down.

The eroded remains of a statue soldier. This might be my favorite carving in Petra.

A closer view of the Treasury from the Siq.
We got up early to try and get to the site at 6am when it opened. However, the breakfast we were promised would be ready, wasn't. We had to wake a guy up, who went to buy bread, and then they sent us on our way. We got to the Treasury around 6:40am, I think. We were almost alone. There were two camels and a guy offering camel rides. After we said no, he politely left us alone. Over the next hour, about ten other people joined us. It was peaceful. It was special. It will be one of the most memorable moments of my trip.

Two perfectly placed camels in front of the treasury for your riding pleasure.

Walking through the Siq to the Treasury.

I think this dog was guiding us through the Siq in hopes of getting a treat (photo by B. Cremmins).
The sun had risen, but the sunlight was not on the Treasury yet. I was hoping to take some photos with the treasury illuminated, but the sun was not getting there any time soon. We waited. Got bored. Walked. Came back. Waited some more. Repeat. Around 9:00 am the sun finally hit the top of the treasury. Unfortunately, in the three hours we dilly-dallied, the crowds had arrived. It wasn't nearly as pleasant so instead of tainting our wonderful experience from the morning, we just left.

The view from the High Place of Sacrifice.
Today's plan was to head up to the High Place of Sacrifice. It was another big hike that took us away from the main path. The High Place of Sacrifice wasn't the best ruins, but it provided great views of another valley that we were going to descend into. Along the way to that valley, we saw stray dogs that pulled at my heart strings and a few ruins.

I find food to feed a stray dog (photo by B. Cremmins).

Another stray dog that suckered me into feeding or watering it.

The Lion Fountain looks a little bit like an elephant to me. He is standing on all fours. The tail end is on the left.

The Garden Temple Complex used to have a garden in front of it. I imagine that when the Lion fountain lost its water source, so did the garden.
The lion fountain was an illusive ruin. We looked at for a few minutes and could not figure out where the shape of the lion was. Finally, a Bedouin woman showed us where it was. I wish the earthquake had not destroyed all their water infrastructure because I can't imagine how they got water up to it. They probably didn't it the same way we do it today, but I don't know how we do it today either. I know the Romans had running water in 100AD and the Nabateans were famous for their water engineering in 600BC, but at what level was their technology? At the entrance to the Siq, they had built a dam and a tunnel, that we had hiked through the day before, to control flash floods and their water supply.

I think this was the Roman Soldier's Tomb.
After dropping into the valley and exploring another dried up wadi, we got back to the main tourist road. We stopped to eat at an overpriced lunch buffet that I tried to make pay for itself by eating a lot. Since I couldn't quite do the task alone, I grabbed some meat to feed to the stray dogs and cats. They were very happy and greedy. One kitten at the Treasury stole the chicken wing from its mother who had been nursing it.

Another almost empty wadi.

Our last big site in Petra was Ad-Deir Monastary which was probably a tomb, but may have also been a temple. You have to climb 800 steps up to the monastary. Some people take a camel. It was amazing to see just how many people were willing to make the hike up. When I got there, I understood why. The monastery is amazing. It was built the same way as all the other tombs, but it was bigger and the views around it were amazing.

Al Deir monastery.
Just beyond the monastery, some businesses have taken up a marketing campaign to get you to visit. One Bedouin stall was marketed as the Best View in Petra. Another was the Last View in Petra. Another was the most beautiful and they all had a bunch of signs. It was funny. They all had great views. I would have trouble saying that any single one was much better than the other.

Me in the doorway to the monastery. It was huge!!
Eventually, we wound our way down from the monastery and home. We had spent two very full days in Petra, but I suspect we could have spent more. We had covered all the major sites, but there was at least one more mountain to climb and who knows how many hidden tombs among the winding wadis. Even as I was writing this, I am realizing a coupe more nooks to go back and explore.

The capital of Jordan, Amman, used to be called Philadelphia.

Karak and Dana, Jordan

2010-12-08T15:02:00.012-07:00

Dead Sea mountains
Our next step ended up being both of us jumping in a cab to the Dana Nature Preserve with a short stop in Karak to see a crusader castle. If we were biking, Karak would have been in our next stop. However, since we were cabbing it, it would be cheaper to just stop for a little while in Karak and move on instead of taking 2 separate rides. This would also give us a little wiggle room later in our schedule. We considered taking the cab all the way to Petra, but we were sick of being in the car by Dana. I chose not to ride because the ride would take up most of the day and Betty would have been traveling solo. She was fine with that, but I believe the reason to travel with someone else is to spend time with them. I would have felt guilty going solo.

Another one of those colorfully painted trucks that I saw all over Syria.

Mountains on way to Karak.
In the past, I have always enjoyed castles the most from the outside. The insides have all been stripped or have been turned into museums. I think just looking at the outside lets my imagination run. When visiting Karak, I had really just wanted to see the castle from the outside. However, the town is built around three sides of it and while we were in the car we didn't realize we were on the open side of the castle until we were under it. Maybe because I never got a good view or maybe because I went inside, it just didn't capture the imagination the way so many castles in Europe or Crac des Chevaliers did in Syria. Worth a drive by? Yeah. Worth a visit? Maybe. It is the biggest castle in the country and they did have some good falafel right outside the entrance, but you can get that anywhere.

Karak valley

View from Karak castle.
The best part of the cab ride might have been teaching the driver about his own country. There are three north-south traverse roads in Jordan, the Desert, King's, and Dead Sea Highways. We got picked up on the Dead Sea highway and he drove us up to Karak where the King's highway passed through. Dana is also on the King's Highway. However, instead of taking King's, our driver tried to go an hour back down the mountains to the Dead Sea Highway, traverse there, and then go back up the mountains. We stopped him and had him go the other way, but he was confused. We didn't understand why until he stopped to ask for directions. Betty said she could see him checking out the new terrain while we were heading to Dana.

King's Highway

A nomadic village along King's Highway.

This lake and black hill are some of the rare natural features that broke up the brown mountains monopoly on the scenery.
We rolled into Dana after dark and settled in for a quiet night. We probably could have spent the entire night marveling at our hostel. The layout made no sense. It seemed like they had one building and they chose to reclaim another that was falling apart to expand to and then another and then another. Where needed, they just built in a new wall. It was crazy. Even inside the buildings, there were steps going in a few different directions. The decor in the communal areas was Bedouin, but the individual rooms all had their own curious themes. I think the room we chose had dolphin stuff in. I should have taken more pictures. Our host was a curiosity too. He spoke English well, but he insisted on finishing every conversation with multiple 'Welcome to Jordans.'

Parking for your transport here, car or donkey.

The Bedouin decor in the Dana Tower Hostel.

More Bedouin decor. This is a different room. Honest (photo by B. Cremmins).

The Dana Tower Hostel and its future buildings to expand to.
In the morning, Betty and I both woke up with wicked headaches. We wondered if it was something in the room, but never figured it out. Our intent was to go on a hike in the Dana Nature Preserve before heading down to Petra. However, after going to the visitor's center, we learned the only hike was a 5 hour downhill into the valley that ended at an ecolodge. It took 7 hours to get back out. The lodge sounded fantastic, but we didn't feel we had time to stay another night or the desire to hike down and pay someone to drive us back out. We decided to just soak in the amazing view from the valley rim and then head onward.

Dana Nature Preserve.

The valley that leads down to the ecolodge.

Luckily, when we were getting ready to leave someone else also was trying to get a cab to Petra. We loaded up my bike and headed out. According to the locals, there were no major hills. According to my map, we crossed one wadi which meant there would be. I really struggled with whether to ride and meet Betty or to take the cab with her. In the end, I thought getting to Petra earlier so both could spent 2 days exploring Petra would be better than getting there late and possibly only having a day to explore.

Shobak Castle
The drive to Petra was more of the beautiful Jordanian highlands. It turned out that the locals were right for a change about how big the hills were. We passed the Shobak crusader castle, stopped in a small town or two, appreciated more of the highlands, and finally arrived at the gem of Petra, Jordan.

It was election in Jordan and these rally tents were everywhere.

The Dead Sea Highway and Wadi Mujib, Jordan

2010-12-07T08:38:00.017-07:00

The Dead Sea mountains.
Dropping out of the highlands back down to the Dead Sea did not turn out to be quite the bike ride that I had hoped it would be. Instead of taking the same route down, I opted to go another way that would take me over new terrain. I rode the plateau for an hour or two before I got to go downhill. When I did get to the downhill, day light was fading. I was able to enjoy half of the downhill, but it was dark before I got all the way down.

The road across the wadi (river canyon) in the Jordan highlands.
On the way down, I passed a police check point. The regular routine ensued. "Who are you? Welcome, welcome! Where are you from? American? Obama! We like Obama! Where are you going? You are going there? That is too dangerous. You can't go there. Yes, I can. I have been biking since Austria. Since Australia? No, since Vienna. Oh. . . . well, OK. It is very dangerous though. Be careful. Thank you, ma salama." And away I go.

It turned out that they might have been right about the danger. I should not have been riding at dark. As I descended back down to the Dead Sea highway, I saw very few cars but one pulled into my lane as I was going by. I don't know if he was trying to scare me or just wanting to use up the entire road. I didn't like it. I didn't really have a choice about stopping though. Betty had my gear in the cab. I ended up riding at dark because I made a mistake about what time the sun sets. I thought it set at 6pm. It really set at 5pm. I had been caught in a timezone change. Oops!

The Jordanian Dead Sea coast view from our campsite.
By the time, I got down to the beautiful, mountain lined, Dead Sea Highway, it was dark. Very dark. Whenever cars came, I got off the road. As the evening wore on, the wind picked up. It was blowing garbage everywhere. It was swirling. Sometimes helping me. Sometimes stopping me. On one long stretch, I remember leaning to one side to counter act the crazy amount of wind that was blowing. I couldn't believe that I wasn't just falling over. At another point, I was about two feet from my first dog bite. I have had a lot of luck with the dogs this trip because I can usually see the danger coming. In the dark, I didn't see this one until he was almost on me and I was going up a hill. Ugh. Tired legs. Most of the Dead Sea highway is flat. There are some hills. I didn't like them when all I wanted to be is getting is off the road quickly.

Sunset over the Dead Sea.

When I finally rolled into the Wadi Mujib reserve area, it was not clear where the camping was. I had a map, but it didn't seem right. It had me going towards an industrial area and dog filled checkpoint. I thought I must be wrong and continued to the bridge that crosses the wadi (river canyon). After looking around, I realized that the industrial site must be near where I was camping, lovely. I went down towards the site, but luckily some guy stopped me and sent me in the right direction back along a rode that passed the checkpoint with all the dogs barking. I couldn't see them in the night to know if they were tied up or not and I was on a rocky road that I had no chance of outrunning dogs on. I found our campsite a couple minutes down the rocky road.

Our 'campsite' had a fantastic view.

The campsite was not a campsite at all. It was overpriced single room chalets. Each room has a bed, a refrigerator and air conditioning. They share one common bathroom. It was a nice enough place to stay, especially after a tough bike ride, but I had been hoping to save some money by camping. Oh well. Betty had tried to find a campsite, but soon found herself in the uncomfortable situation of being surrounded by men who were trying to help.

The start of the Siq Trail at Wadi Mujib.

The Siq Trail in Wadi Mujib.
The next morning, it was time to explore Wadi Mujib. Most of the hikes in Wadi Mujib require a guide, that cost a little too much. I had heard the funnest hike was the Siq Trail up to the waterfall. Also, it did not require a guide. I had hoped to explore more of the park, but it seemed to strike a good balance between exploring the park, being cheap, and giving us time to get to the next destination.

Watch out for falling dice.

A video of a Japanese guy coming out from trying to go under/around the waterfall.
The hike requires that everyone take a life jacket because most of the hike is in the water. We were visiting at the end of summer, so the water was pretty low. In the spring, you can be forced to swim across certain parts. The start of the hike is in a wide canyon where the wadi is about to run into the Dead Sea. However, as you get up around the first bend, it narrows significantly. It reminded me of the slot canyons of Utah, but not as narrow. The hike ends at a waterfall. In between is a lot of walking, a little climbing, and a few ropes to haul yourself over slippery or steep rocks.

The crazy patterns on the canyon wall in Wadi Mujib.

A close up of the patterns in the canyon formed from the rushing and eddying water in Wadi Mujib.
The colors in the canyon were outstanding. Everything seemed to have a red-orange hue. In some places, it seemed purple. In those colors you could see the different current patterns that had shaped the canyon over the years. We went so early in the morning that we ended up not catching too much sunlight on the way up. On the way back down though, it was good to see the canyon in a different light. I would definitely recommend this hike, especially if you need to get out of the heat or wash the Dead Sea salt off if you went for a swim.

Betty is still a bit hungry from traveling.

Salt capped rock along the salt capped Dead Sea shore (look at the blurry ones in the background).
After finishing up with the hike, Betty and I once again were trying to figure out our next step. Her bike had not arrived yet. It had gone to Brazil. I don't know why it took us so long to decide where to head to. I think it had to do with being lazy, taking a nap, resting in the hammock, and playing on the shores of the Dead Sea. On the shores, it was amazing to see the salt layers that were left behind on the rocks. Some were solid 10 by 12 inch pieces. I couldn't believe that a salt structure could be so strong. When we were finally packed up and ready to go, we went back to the visitor's center to wait for a cab and be attacked by flies. We could have taken public transit, but I didn't feel like switching buses multiple times. Back to the King's Highway!

Oh, the horror, the horror, the flies!