Egypt - Luxor and Karnak

The Luxor Temple commands the little city of Luxor acting as a prime destination for tourists and city square for locals. However, the Temple of Karnak seems to dominate in size and beauty and was once connected to Luxor by a row sphinx several kilometers long.

After a long day of tomb site-seeing, the very pleasant owner of Ali Baba complemented us a couple extra plates of food that we felt "obliged" to eat. It was a fabulous restaurant sitting on the second floor with a open walls and a view overlooking the Luxor temple and square. Great food and ambience. We then trailed to the Nubian cafe for tea and dominos, another friendly visit with locals who were fascinated some tourists were blending in so well they actually asked us if we lived in Luxor!

A felucca sailboat on the Nile at sunset.
A kind gentlemen who was all too kind to show some of the better highlights of the Karnak Temple and take photos, of course for a little baksheesh (or rather mandatory tip).
Vivid color survives over several millium.

Sphinx that once connected the temples of Luxor & Karnak.
A very tall palm tree.
134 columns still stand in the Karnak temple.

Cairo, Egypt

Slightly disappointed I didn't see Indiana Jones frolicking through the streets in pursuit of ancient treasure, Cairo is certainly not a city to be disappointed by. Women traveling alone may want to come up with a strategy, otherwise the city has culture, trendy restaurants, atmospheric ahwas (coffee/sheesha houses) and miles and miles of markets. Mike and I literally became lost in the city market. Too exhausted to make our final destination we parked at an ahwa, sipped lemonade to recover from the heat, and retreated back for an afternoon nap. Poor us.

Satellite dishes seem to be a part of every rooftop almost everywhere.

Egypt - Giza Plateau

The Giza Plateau.

Not as small as it looks, the Pyramid of Khafre stands 471 ft. Nevertheless it is smaller than his father's, Khufu, in the background which originally stood 481 ft, but has eroded to 455 ft over time.
Mike and the Pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure look over the city of Giza.
Plenty of tourist opt for the carriage or camel ride up to tour the plateau.
Clyde, Ethel, and the Great Pyramids of Giza, what lucky sock creatures are they!

I had no idea that the great pyramid of Khufu, one of the seven wonders of the world, watches over the city of Giza! One doesn't have to travel far from Cairo to see these massive pyramids and the Great Sphinx.

Rwanda - Lake Kivu

Ken, Misti, and little Simone
Post-ride Celebration at Paradise, we were fed great food, complements of the owner!
Upside down Ken and Simone

He's having it rough...
Every night the fisherman leave the village by boat, hand paddling, humming and singing a song that carries over the water. They return early in the morning, truly a beautiful sight.

Another relaxing couple of days at Lake Kivu happened to be a very adventurous introduction to Rwanda. Our first afternoon Mike and I ran through the village, accompanied by about 50 to 80 children, older ones who ran our entire run, and others so little (4 to 5 yrs old!), running along side in flip flops!

We then had our first mountain bike adventure with Ken, again descending trails not so much meant for bicycles, but rather skinny walking paths through fields of beans, corn, and sorghum. The trail was pretty difficult, but we couldn't help but enjoy the excercise, especially to finish up with some complementary food provided by our hotel Paradise.

Rwanda - Camping in Akagera

Ken, Misti, and Simone shared one of their favorite camping spots with us in Akagera. We spent the evening hoping to spot some passing giraffes, and Misti wielding a smores stick, to present a little bit of America for the international crowd we were camping with.

Rwanda - Climbing

We spent many days enjoying Ken's home-made wall at home, in preparation for some actual rope climbing and bouldering. There were yet another set of curious onlookers, and a little audience during our last climb who gave cheers when we all ascended a more difficult route during the day. Enjoying vistas and climbing with friends Manfriend, Odile, and Ken, it was another spectacular day in Rwanda! -Heather

Rwanda - Catching up with Ken

Well, we never literally caught up with Ken until he actually stopped riding! Here are some great pictures of our descent and our post-ride celebration over Mutzig. -Heather