Tag Archives: Travel

Egypt and Jordan – Day 11 – Feb 13, 2026


A Balloon Ride over the west bank of Luxor – To Go or Not to Go?.

Hussien starts off the ‘sales’ pitch by telling us that the Balloon Ride is expensive, and that there are 32 people in the basket with you – plus of course the Pilot. And you must get up super early to get to the launch site. And it’s possible that the Balloons won’t fly because the wind is wrong, or there’s too much sand in the air.

Given that Cairo is under a Sand Storm watch – We do hesitate for a second – but then Hussien continues by telling us that it is unbelievably good.

To go or Not to go? But I loved my balloon ride in Turkey – so we decide – Ok – we’re going.

Turns out that 15 of the 21 of us opt in – so we will make up 1/2 of the basket. That sounds a bit better – but I’m still wondering about crowding. Well – we will see.

The alarm rings, we dress warmly (I don’t know WHY I listen to Egyptians complaining about the temperature. They are wearing faux fur coats and I’m in short sleeves and shorts – and find it warm). But maybe it’s colder 300’ above Luxor.

We all pile into a large van – and head out. The city is very quiet – there are folks around, but the real action hasn’t started yet, thank goodness. So traffic is light, very very light by Cairo standards for sure.

In the pre-dawn, we cross over the Nile, and quickly find ourselves in a van parking lot! There must be over 100 white ‘tourist’ vans jockeying for parking locations, but our driver knows exactly were to go – so we’re parking right acoss from 2 balloons spread out on the sand. The first of these is ‘Our’ Balloon.

Most folks opt to stay in the van, but I’m way to curious to do that. So out I hop to check out the action. There are ‘coffee’ shops along the side away from the balloons – and probably 100 balloons laid out on the sand, ready to start the process as soon as they get the ok to fly!

I walk over to our balloon. The basket is on it’s side – and there are 3 Giant Fans on the right and left side of the basket. The basket is huge – figures if 33 people are going to be inside. And the size of the balloon is equally huge. Way larger than the balloons I ‘flew’ in Turkey for sure. The width of the opening is larger than the basket – and the balloon itself stretches at least 100’ off.

I am totally surprised when a voice from inside the basket say – hi! A face peeks out of a foothole in the basket – and I ask – who are you? Maybe a better way might have been to say hi back – I’m Leslie – Who are you. But never mind – too late to fix mistakes.

He explains he’s part of the crew! I then realize that what I’d taken to be an empty set of steps is now the resting place for 4 other guys – and they are taking out drums to entertain themselves before the balloon gets launched. I’m chatting with them when suddenly folks are running past me in all directions – sprinting to their assigned Balloons. The ‘GO’ signal has sounded.

Everyone has his assigned job. Guys man each of the Giant fans, and 3 other guys open up the mouth of the Giant Balloon. The fans fill the balloon with air – slowly at first, then increasingly effective as more and more of the silk gets filled. The guys walking around inside the balloon straighten folds, push out the sides, and then check that things are going correctly.

The pilot arrives – walks the interior of the Balloon – just like a pilot inspecting his airplane, and then he signals to the crew that the fire will be starting. A huge flame erupts from the center of the basket – hot air is driven into the air filled balloon, and it starts slowly to rise up.

What seems like a slow process accelerates as the Balloon fills, and starts to float over our heads. Suddenly there’s a tap on my arm – Andrea has joined me to watch. Victor, Andrea and I decide to share a section of the huge basket. Over the noise of the flame – the pilot explains that there are 9 sections – one for him and 4 on each side. 4 people max can go in each basket section – but one group will be 3. We opt to be 3.

That settled we wait for a few moments as the crew pushes the basket up right and readies the basket for us to clamber in. The sides are high – to my chest for sure – so no falling out! I watch how other folks get into their sections – and the teams bring a step stool up so we can get a start on the height. But to get down off the rim, we have to drop down 3.5 feet. I do a horse descent – super glad for that training – and suddenly everyone is in the basket. We are instructed on the landing position – bend your knees hard, duck your head, put your hands on the cords on the side of the basket and DON’T move until the pilot gives the all clear.

The crew has stopped holding the fans – and are now circling the basket holding it down while the Pilot get’s the engines ready to take us up. The air in the balloon has to be heated before the crew can let go – but there’s an exciting minute or so while the crew puts all their weight into keeping the balloon on the ground.

The pilot signals the crew to let go – and we wave goodbye! Suddenly we are flying.

Our balloon rises quickly – and now that I’m not paniced – I take a look around. There are over 100 balloons flying – We are in the middle of the pack – but 2nd to go up. The balloons were laid out in such a way as to keep enough space between the balloons to avoid collisions. I’m guessing they also control ‘lift-off’ time to stagger the balloons further.

The ride up is actually quiet and the view is amazing. We are looking towards the hills that seperate Luxor from the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens and the pilot explains that we definitely don’t want to go over those hills – There’s no easy place to land. And we aren’t allowed to cross the Nile for exactly the same reason. It would be really hard to find a landing space for one of these huge balloons in Luxor City.

So we are hoping to drift North towards Cairo where there is a good place to land the balloons.

But right now – he’s going to spin the balloon and the basket so we can all get a Pano picture of the sunrise over Luxor. Insanely beautiful. I’m so happy.

We drift over towns on the west bank of the Nile – Victor loves the view of the roof tops – it’s HO scale! I’m just enjoying the breeze, the feeling of flying, and the thrill of being up so high.

My heart is definitely racing! This is so beautiful. Much better than the balloon ride in Turkey!

Folks in another basket ask our Pilot how much training he has – and after quiping that this is his first try – admits that to be a Pilot you must do 3 years of training and get something like 1000 hours of experience before you can take up a balloon on your own – let alone with guests.

He then starts explaining about landing – reminds us of the landing position – and then shows us where it is safest to bring the balloon down. Only then does he also explain that it’s almost impossible to hit a good spot – so we need to be prepared to stay in the landing position till his all clear.

Our 90 minute flight is almost over – and to say it has flown by is an understatement! Wonderful.

We start to decend – and while several of the balloons are already down in the right place, we decend a bit quicker than our Pilot planned – and we are going to be landing in a rougher area than he likes. He cautions us again about the landing position – and then asks us to assume it!

We are only 20 feet above the sand and rock – and the crew has driven around to be directly below us with the truck parked safely to the side. As we decend – the crew grabs the basket and tugs it into a flatter part of the landing area.

Then once again they put all their weight into holding us down. The balloon as a different idea and makes a quick dash for the sky – but loses the battle and falls gentle to the ground.

Now most of the crew stop hanging onto the basket and switch jobs. The silk of the balloon can not be torn – so they have somehow spread a large mat on the rocks and sand where we have landed and pull the lower part of the balloon onto that mat. There is still a bit of air in the upper part of the balloon so they team up to fold and twist the lower part of the balloon, safely protected by the mat, and pull it forward into a fold. Pull, twist, fold, Pull, twist, fold – repeat until the balloon has been emptied of all the air – and safely carried onto a truck.

Next it’s our turn. The crew circles around the basket helping folks out of their sections. We were the last section in – so we’re the last section out. And it’s not like getting out of bed, but it’s easier than getting up from the ground without using your hands! Victor waits until both Andrea and I are safely out of the basket and in the hands of the crew before climbing out himself.

Now we must board a flat bed truck to be taken back to our van. Remember we were last out … well – everyone else is already sitting in the truck bed – we have to squeeze in. This is made more interesting by the fact that the side of the flat bed has to be raised to hold us all in. Us and 29 of our closest friends cuddle up on the bed of the truck with some members of the crew. Other crew members sit on top of the truck Cab!

It’s about a 5 minute drive – 30 minute walk – to where the vans are waiting. We get off the truck bed, into to the Van – and all of us cheer! We’ve done it – and it was super fun.

My heart is racing the entire ride back to the hotel for a quick breakfast. Surprisingly there’s an Egyptian Gal with a Chef’s badge working the omlet station! I’m so surprised – it’s one of the few women I’ve seen working since we got to Egypt. We start to chat and I tell her that my daughter and my granddaughter are also chefs! She asks about what they do – and without mention the animal – I explain that Adrienne used to butcher animals and use the meat to make sausages and that Anais is a running a bar and the head Mix-ologist. She says – say hello to them from a Chef in Egypt!

So Hello Adrienne and Anais from Chef Yasmine!

Now we regroup for the moments this tour has been working towards – visiting the tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the tombs in the Valley of the Queens.

Hussein explains that there are 32 tombs in ‘good’ condition in the valley of the Kings, but only 5 are open to visits each day. They rotate which of the 5 will be open – but always include one of the ‘Super Stars’! And he thinks 2 of the 5 of the ones open today are amazing!

But first we are starting with the place that King (Queen) Hapshepsut had built to be mummified. Imagine – this was built for just 40 days of use! And every Pharoah had one. Despite the efforts of her nephew to remove her name from the lists of Pharoahs, this survived quite intact – and was an amazing place to visit.

The outside is more amazing than the inside – but still – pretty cool. On the ground floor on the left side of the building (a 3 story hehemoth with a huge entrance staircase) are some well preserved carvings celebrating the Expedition to Punt – still with some of the original 4000 year old coloring). This is one of the few military victories for Hatshepsut – doesn’t it surprise you that she believed in compromise over the sword? We check those out, climb the steps up to the actually Temple, and then Hussein explains that because so many tourists visit these temples – as of 6 years ago – the government banned all guides from entering.

It was determined that having the guides in with their tour groups delayed folks from quickly leaving the inner chambers – and I have to admit that most folks move a lot faster when someone isn’t trying to get them to see a particular carving.

Hussein outlines the ‘top’ things to watch for – including the stunning blue sky with stars in the Santuary. I recognize and gleefully photograph the image celebrating the fact that this Pharoah ruled both upper and lower Egypt. It’s clearly Horus and Set holding ropes that knot around the spine (for stability) to the lungs. I particularly love the fact that in this rendition the feet of the Gods are so vividly pushing down on the lungs to get more pressure on the knot.

There are frequent occurances of the Lives Life slogan.

Unlike the paintings on the bottom floor – the carvings in the Santurary are High Relief and very well done. Given that her nephew tried to erase her – it’s a miracle that her Mortuary Temple survived.

I meet an Egyptian family wearing of all things – Disney attire! They pose for a picture with me – what fun!

Next stop – the Valley of the Kings. First stop Tomb of Ramses IV – and as Hussein predicted – it’s extraordinary.

One of my concerns has always been that the Valley of the Kings – because of the massive amount of tourists that visit it – will disappoint. I’m pleased to report that I was wrong. The carvings are truly magnificant – from the Book of the Dead carved into the walls to help the Pharoah’s Ka find it’s way to heaven to the stars on the ceiling to full color (4000 years old people) images of his attendance in different colored robes, to the magnificant ceiling – still highly colored.

I can’t read the Hieroglics – but I can admire them.

After all of Hussein’s efforts – I do recognize the symbol for Ra giving Life to the Pharoah!

The way into the tomb is fairly straight – and easy – and again guides are not allowed in so the stream of folks moves fairly quickly. Yet again I run into another Egyptian Family – also touring the tombs with their 1 year old son. Did I get a picture – of course!

Hussian challenged us to find the image of the sky – a woman bending at her hips and shoulders to protect the land. Her legs are firmly planted on the land, her hips to shoulder are the sky, and from the shoulders her arms reach back down to the earth. It’s a very powerful way of seeing the world.

There are also full colored carving of the Pharoah taking the boat thru the night to reach heaven. Not surprisingly – the carved boat looks very much like the one found near King Korfu at the GEM.

Hussein also challenged us to keep our eyes out for snakes – a re-occuring theme in tombs of this period. There are good and bad snakes of course – the good ones protect the Pharoah, the bad ones provide challenges he must overcome to get to Heaven.

One last challenge – see if you can find the ‘good’ people and the ‘bad’ people. The ‘good’ people are shown walking upright to greet their God, the ‘bad’ people are shown upside down, and sometimes headless on their way to Egyptian hell.

Our next tomb is the one created for the sons of Rameses II. Given that he had close to 50 sons – there were lots of folks to celebrate – and the tomb is fairly large.

We pause for a photo of the plaque showing where the tomb of King Tut Ankh Amun was found – they charge extra to enter the tomb ($20 US) – and Hussein warns us that it is small, crowded and empty. There are not even any carvings because he died so young.

We also get to visit the Tomb of Rameses VI – originally intended for Rameses V but quickly repurposed for Rameses VI. Like the one for Rameses IV – it’s covered with paintings – but the carvings at the top level are much less impressive and have been damaged. You have to continue walking downwards to get to the ‘good stuff’.

I particularly liked the carving showing Rameses VI on his throne and suplicants coming to him up a staircase. They represent the different tribes he had conquored! Again its the richness of the blue and yellow colors that is most surprising. How can artifical colors, created by chemist 4000 years ago have lasted so long?

In this tomb I easily find the upside down folks heading for their punishment – They are actually carved in Low Relief right below their more fortunately fellows heading to heaven!

This tomb goes on and on – as it spirals downward – the colors are better preserved and the carvings become High Relief – clearly the artists started at the lowest level.

Hussein explains that when the 40 days required to mummify the body was finished – all work immediately stopped on that Pharoah’s tomb, the body was sealed inside and the artists moved on to the tomb of the next Pharoah.

My favorite image in this tomb – just for the use of color – shows the Pharoah on his chair holding blue and white colored staffs crossed, a red sash that is tied and flows down to the hem of his robe, and an offering of a Lotus Flower.

At the lowest levels – this tomb is insanely beautifully decorated – and at the very lowest level there is the final burial chamber – with it’s images of the sky as a woman bent over the earth to protect it.

The colors and carvings at this level are breathtaking.

Without Hussein’s guidence I can only guess at the meanings – but I easily find the snakes – both good and bad, and the details are just wonderful.

We then visit the tomb of Rameses III – I do love the crocodile details and take a close up image of the Pharoah (identified by the snake shown on his forehead ready to spit posion at his enemies offering smoking incense to a God. I am reminded yet again that High Relief makes a huge difference!

There is also a surprising image of a large block of stone sliding down a ramp. Is this a hint at building techniques?

Did I mention the other Egyptian family I met who had brought their 2 year old son to view the tombs. Friday is a day off for Egyptians – which explains why today I’m meeting Egyptians among the hoards of Foreign Tourists!

We get back on the bus – and Hussein has a treat for us – the Egyptian version of Lays Potato chips! Yum!

We move on the Valley of the Queens – where we are offered access to two tombs. One has been severly damaged by water coming in over the years from the Nile, but the 2nd one is my personal favorite.

Unlike most tombs which just celebrate a Pharoah and at best have interesting scenes of the conquests marching towards the Pharoah with their hands tied behind their backs – this one has a very loving story to tell.

The Prince buried here was the Pharoah’s favorite and his death was a shock. So the images on the walls of the tomb show the father first telling his Queen that he will return and the son is shown walking behind the grieving couple. The young prince is identified by his side hairlock and the Ostrich feather he proudly carries. In another scene his father introduces him to the Gods, and in the last scene – the father is seen leaving the tomb with his son among the Gods.

I’m emotional just writing about this story. It is told so clearly and so beautifully.

Like the best of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings – the carvings are high relief, the colors brilliant and the story told well.

Our last tomb is the least impressive – although it is much more famous – it’s the tomb of Titi. Unfortunately the damage by the water seeping in and out of the tomb has destroyed the colors and made the carving hard to see. Because they are so damaged, glass panels have been placed over them – making them hard to see and a challenge to photograph.

We board our bus and head back to the hotel for a mixed grill lunch and an afternoon of leisure. Victor and I grab a nap – then try to take a walk outside. We manage to go in the wrong direction – so we quickly run out of anywhere to walk.

We are approached by two different gentlemen – who say that they remember seeing us at breakfast in the hotel.

Fortunately – Hussein had mentioned that this had become the newest ‘come-on’ – so we know to ignore them. But isn’t that funny – twice – about 5 minutes apart.

We return to the hotel, eat dinner – and go to bed. Later tonight (like 1:30 AM) we have to wake up, pack our bags, and check-out. We fly to Cairo at about 4:30 AM and definitely can’t be late.

Signing off for a few hours of rest – The Soup Lady

Egypt and Jordan – Day 9 – Feb 11, 2026


Our assigned Visit time at the Edfu Temple is 5:45 AM – so clearly we are going to get an early start.

At least we don’t have to pack first. We just need to get up, get dressed, and get down to the lobby.

I’ll admit that I’m wondering why the rush. I never even heard of the Edfu Temple – and we don’t even have time to grab breakfast first.

Well – it turns out that there are several reasons for our very early start.

One – your group leader must pick a time to go to the temple – this is done to try to cut down on over-crowding. I will admit that it’s a great idea – but there are an awful lot of folks getting up really really early to check this place out.

Two – The Amwaj Livingstone needs to get on it’s way early to meet our designated time to get thru the locks at the first Cataract. The plan is for the boat to sail at 7:30 AM to make our assigned time at the locks, and we will actually get an easy morning and afternoon after we return from the Edfu Temple.

Three – this is a really really cool Temple. So suck it up lady – you are going.

Ok – now that I understand – I’m willing to go with the flow and get up and downstairs on time. 5:15 AM. You have to be kidding me.

It’s dark when we leave the ship – and yes – we’re not the first ship here either, we must cross thru 2 other ships on our way off. And Hassien has been warned that the ship might move. He’ll have to check when we get back.

There are scores of horses and buggys waiting to pick up guests from the different ‘floating hotels’ – but Odyessy has decided not to use the horse and carriages – we are told that they are worried about the way the horses are treated, so we board a bus to get to the Edfu Temple.

Along the way – Victor and I check out the horses – and we really don’t see signs of abuse. The horses actually look quite happy to be out at this early hour – and it is clear that they are well fed. I suspect the issues arise when a horse can no longer fulfil his carriage pulling job – but there’s no one to ask.

They do have sunshades for the horses – lots and lots of them are located near the temple. And most of the carriages have an alfalfa supply under the feet of the driver for ‘horse munching’ when it needs a fresh treat. I’m told that Alfalfa is a major crop here in Egypt, although I’m sure it’s not just for the horses in Edfu.

Surprisingly – despite the early hour – there are lots of folks at the temple, and Hassien tells us that we’re lucky it’s not very crowded. Right.

One advantage of our early start is that we get to watch the sun rise over the Temple of Edfu – a stunning sight. The colors of the sky here, well above the pollution further down stream are simply stunning.

Edfu is famous because it is very very large – and almost completely intact. It was saved because it got used by more than just the Egyptians. There’s evidence of it’s use by the Greeks and the Christians.

Unfortunately the Christians decided that some of the images were inappropriate – and ‘removed’ them by chiping away at the offending parts – generally the faces, arms and legs. Apparently looking at carved bodies distracted from serious worship. I think the priests might have been bored. But again – no one around to ask. Fortunately – the carved images were left intact in the Storerooms, so not surprisingly – Hassien hussles us in that direction.

His plan is simple – hit the highlights that will get seriously crowded first, then double back to see the larger parts of the temple when the crowds are less of an issue. And I can see his point. We get to take our time admiring the glorious carvings in the relatively tiny storerooms – and can still easily enjoy the large columned mid Temple and peacefully admire the huge front Courtyard. Good planning Hassien.

This is a temple built by Ramses II – and to make sure that no one repurposed it easily – He had his name carved in huge Hieroglyics – about 4 times the normal size and depth. This worked because his name is still visible all over the place!

Many of the carvings are in excellent condition (we are talking 4000 years) – and Hassien loves to point out the most interesting ones – like the one of the ‘sky’ bending over the world. She is portrayed with her feet on the ground, her torso bent to be the sky, and then her arms extending down back to the earth. We will see other examples of the sky lady – particularly in the Valley of the Kings! She is quite beautiful.

One of the prime locations is the central courtyard – huge with giagantic pillars on three sides creating a space for the worshipers to wait for the priests to bring out the golden statue of the God from the inner santurary. There is also a 18’ high statue of the Falcon God wearing the double crown of Egypt that is a focal point for folks to stand infront of and have a photo taken! Who can resist that option!

We are given about 20 minutes of free time to wander on our own – and I go back into the storeroom area – I love how the entrance is hidden to the far side of the santuary and then runs all the way behind it. So reminds of Catholic Churches I’ve been in where hidden behind the main altar is a series of smaller chapels.

I’m again impressed by the quality difference between the High Relief and the Low Relief carvings. Apparently Temples are carved, but Tombs are painted. Low Relief is more common and easier to create – High Relief is saved for the most ‘important’ images, and more commonly found in Lower Egypt. It’s the High Relief Carvings that look so alive to me, although even Low Relief ones carry more movement than the paintings, despite the coloring.

We re-group, and head back to our bus and our ship. As predicted – it has moved – and is now about 5 ships out from the shoreline. We count carefully – get on board – and as predicted – the ship sets sail for the locks. We definitely need to be there on time.

This gives us ample time to enjoy the scenery on the sides of the river (mostly green with the very occasional building), breakfast (yum), and then lunch (yum).

From my comfy seat on the Sundeck I can admire the scenery, chat with fellow Odyssey guests, meet some of the other folks traveling on our ship – and of course we compare notes on our different tours.

I’m very happy with Odyssey – Hassien has taken great care of us – and while the ships aren’t the newest on the river – I think they are quite lovely and the service is wonderful. I’m comfortable – what more can one ask?

I also contemplate the advantage of including the section on Lake Nasser. Because we started at Abu Simbel and then floated down to a series of oher smaller Nubian Temples – our visits seemed intimate and private. We rarely saw other folks, and got to spend as much time as we wanted in the temples. There were no glass panes to prevent us getting close to the carvings, few vendors trying to sell us random books/scarves/alabastor whatevers – and it felt like a private adventure.

Now that we are within spitting range of Luxor – for many tourists the end of the line – we are seeing the impact of so many people keen to have their chance to see the Temples. It’s a very very different feeling.

As we get close to Esna – we run into the predictable waiting line for our turn at the lock. So we join several other ships that have ‘parked’ by heading bow first into the shore of the Nile on the Eastern side – away from the town of Esna and upstream of the two sets of locks that provide passage over the first Cataract. Keeping the engine running, keeps the ship stationary – but we now become a target for vendors. They row out on boats and yell at folks on the sun deck to buy their wares.

Our group ignores them, but we have on board a large group of Japanese tourists who are completely intrigued.

The vendors hold up table cloths – shouting prices. If a buyer seems interested – the action intensifies. The men on the boats 40’ or more below us toss up table cloths in plastic bags – and the tourists put their money in the bag to toss it back! I think that generally there are two table cloths in each bag – the expectation being that one will be ‘bought’ and the other – with the money inside – will be tossed back to the vendor.

I must say – I’m not a fan of this kind of shopping – but the Japanese seem to love it – and a lot of table cloths end up being purchased!

Eventually – the ship’s ‘lock’ time comes – and we back off the shore. The vendors are disappointed to lose so many buyers – but thank goodness another ship arrives and they get distracted.

We head into the locks.

The first lock is really just a bottle neck. It’s the original lock, and it took an hour per ship. Now – it’s not in use – but because of the Catarat – every ship must be pulled thru manually before getting to the proper locks just a bit downstream. This makes us again a target for vendors – although they are not allowed too close to the lock itself. I did watch with great interest when one boat pulled infront of our ship. There was a man with his son inside, and the man put out his prayer rug, the son use the oars to orient the bow of the boat towards Mecca – and the man began to pray.

Hmm.

We are fairly quickly into the lake between the two locks (new and old). The new lock is actually a double lock – with room for 3 or 4 ‘floating hotels’ on each side. It takes about 20 minutes to close the doors hehind our ship, open the doors infront of the first ship in line – and allow the water to spill out – lowering the ships 8’ to the new level of the Nile. We then move out of the locks, and if there are ships going up stream, they motor in and the process is reversed.

So old timing – 1 per hour. New timing 6 per 20 minutes or 18 per hour. It’s probably still a bottle neck – but at least it’s not an insane bottleneck!

Next stop – Luxor.

First a word about the word Catarat. The white build up in eyes losing vision reminded the Egyptian Priets of the bubbling white water of the Nile when it hits the granite rocks in the Catarats. Hence the term – Catarats in the eyes! Hassien is just a fountain of information.

As soon as we tie up at Luxor – and the number of ‘floating hotels’ goes up drastically – we immediately re-group in the lobby – exit the ship – and head for a bus. We are going to be touring Luxor and then going to the Luxor Museum.

The program has planned for a total of 2 hours for both visits, but I think we go a bit slower. In any rate – there is plenty of time to both get a guided tour of the Luxor Temple, and to have private time to do a tiny bit of exploring on our own.

The Temple completely lives up to it’s hype. It’s amazing. Not nearly as huge as Karnak of course – it was built for a Queen not a King – but lovely. The carvings are glorious, the heights of the columns incredible, and the courtyards both inspiring and daunting. My ownly complaint – and it’s predictable – is the crowding. And I’m reminded again why I’m so glad we did Lake Nasser’s Nubian Temples first. I spend more time saying sorry and getting out of the way of other people than I do enjoying the beauty of the carvings.

The avenue of the Sphinxs is stunning – just the fact that the Egyptian government could commit and execute such a project, with a lot of help by foreign interests including USAid – is special. over a mile long, over 1000 platforms for Sphinxs – wow. Unfortunately they haven’t found most of the Sphinxs – but the planners carefully put the best ones into the best positions for Photos.

This avenue was used twice a year, when the statue of the God Orisis in the Karnak Temple went to visit his wife – Isis – in her temple at Luxor. There was a huge parade there – carrying the statue of the God. And then 10 days later – an equaly huge parade brought the God Orisis back to his own temple.

Next stop – the Luxor Museum. Hassien tells us that this is his favorite museum – to his mind better than the GEM – and I have to agree it is right up there.

His highlight are the two mummies on view, carefully displayed in very dark rooms and in glass ‘cases’ – to keep them intact. He is also intrigued by the pieces of painted tiles found under the collasping wall at the Temple of Karnak.

After the death of the Pharoah Aton – who tried to convert the Egyptians to mono-thesism – the next Pharoahs with the help of the priests who lost their jobs because of his actions tried to erase his memory. They buried these Tiles under the wall at Karnak. But when the wall was destroyed by accident in the mid 1800’s – the tiles were found and it was a gigantic jig-saw puzzle to put them back. The result is displayed along a huge long wall in the Luxor Museum. The result is – as so many things are here in Egypt – quite stunning.

But now it’s time to return to our ship – just walking distance from the Luxor Museum – dinner – and for Victor and I – Bed!

Tomorrow is another LONG day!

Signing off – the Soup Lady.

Oh the People you’ll meet..


Funny how you randomly meet people, eh? You are sitting quietly – doing nothing much, and then for some reason someone says something – and you end up in a conversation.

I just spent several hours talking about this, that and the other with Tommy – but as usual – I’m ahead of myself. Let’s start at the very beginning.

I’ve just finished spending a week on the lovely island of St. Croix. Many years ago now I lucked into buying a small condo here, which meet my every objective – it was comfortable, not up too many stairs, and it has a simply magnificent view – nothing between me and the ocean but 40’ of sand and 2 palm trees. It’s heaven. But it also got hit by Hurricane Maria – and I felt obligated to go down and check it out personally. To find out what the island is like now – read my earlier blog. But this blog starts upon leaving the island.

Getting to and from the island, which normally at this time of the year is simple, has become a bit of a challenge. While the airport on St. Croix is open, and mostly in good shape, the airports that feed into the island are in worse shape, and that has complicated matters. Plus the recovery process has actually increased the number of folks arriving and departing from the island – there’s a large (over 2000 passenger) cruise ship docked semi-permanently in Fredericksted, there are the countless FEMA, Corp of Engineers, Red Cross and related personal who have come to aid in the recovery – and there are the folks that have simply decided that living without electricity for 6 weeks is enough – and they want off the island.

All this means that flights are packed, and the airline folks are working with limited technology – power is still on and off, and WIFI that is more hopeful then in fact!

But despite the challenges – I arrived at the airport in good time this afternoon, processed thru check-in, the long wait for border patrol, and finally sat down in the waiting area for my flight to finally board. I ate a decent dinner from the cute snack bar (great Jamaican Patties), and boarded the flight. I’d even settled into my seat and said hi to my seat mates. But then nothing happened. No announcements, no nothing. So we all waited, and waited. Suddenly the pilot is addressing us – explaining that a bird hit the plane during the landing – and the plane has to be checked out before it can take off. Nothing major – it will be just a moment.

A few minutes later he’s back – this time explaining that the bird made a direct hit on the nose cone – which is where all the radar is located, and the equipment need to check the plane isn’t on the island. In fact, it’s not even in Miami. It’s in New York, and they must fly it down. And without this specialized equipment to check that the radar is ok – the plane can not fly. We must de-board and wait for further information.

What follows is pretty much what one would expect of about 200 folks with plans and places to go who suddenly discover that their plans are going to have to change – and change fast.

We all de-board, and cluster around the poor gate agents. The three lovely local ladies are fielding questions – to which they effectively have no answers. Should we leave the airport and wait till tomorrow? Will we be rebooked on the plane tomorrow? Will American find places for us to spend the night if we can’t get off the island?

Quick answers – finding places to stay on the island isn’t going to happen. Too many of the hotels are closed – there’s no options. The pilot gets on the microphone and says – the best option is for American to find us another plane and get us off the island. Otherwise, we are stuck here overnight – the part to check the nose cone can’t make it to the island until tomorrow – at best. However, once in Miami – we’ll be able to figure out what to do with you. But I’m done here – it’s in the hands of the airport folks. With that, he leaves. And we are left sitting in the rather basic waiting area of the St. Croix airport, with no idea what is going to happen.

Exactly Where does our now ‘disappeared’ pilot think American is planning on finding a plane?

I’m no fool – I’m on the phone to American – please rebook me – I won’t make my flight to Louisville, KY tonight – make reservations for the first flight out of Miami tomorrow morning please.

Meanwhile, some people start to leave – but then the airport manager grabs the microphone to announce – STOP – don’t leave. American has found a plane in San Juan and it’s on it’s way here. You’ll board at 8:00 PM – and spend the night in Miami. There are hotels there – and American will put you up.

Ok – now we at least know what is going on – so we must sit and wait for the new plane to get here. Thank goodness I already have my flight arranged for tomorrow. I just don’t trust American (or any airline for that matter) to make those arrangements in a timely fashion. Nah – they will wait, and I’ll be stuck with lousy options.

While I’m waiting for the replacement jet to arrive, I call the hotel I’d organized for tonight – only to find out that I’d actually organized it for Monday night. Well, that’s a relief. Guess I knew something would go wrong… (nah – it was a lucky oops – that’s all).

All this organized, there is nothing to do but sit and wait. So I sit. Behind me are two guys talking about the shuttle from their cruise ship. I’m intrigued – and turn to chat.

Tommy – the young man closest to me – is a Stand Up Comedian. (No seriously – check him out at TommyDrake.com – he’s famous!) He works the cruise ship circuit for Carnival – 3 days on one boat, then 2 days on another boat, a few days off – and repeat. His friend runs the Guest Services function – and at first our conversation revolves around issues related to Guest Services.

Some of the issues are exactly the same as what I face – guests who have an issue, say insects or a broken DVD player, and simply don’t tell you. Or worse – only tell you via the guest book – or an on-line review. What gives – let me know what your issue is, and I’ll fix it. Why would it be a good idea to keep this stuff a secret? But then our conversation gets interesting. Like my guests – their guests are on holiday – and sometimes, that’s an invitation to behave badly. Traveling in multi-generation groups is particularly challenging – as we all know, and apparently getting on a cruise ship (or staying in a condo) doesn’t solve them!

On to happier topics, the guys go on to explain how the cruise system works – their boat is based out of San Juan, and they were on the most Southernly part of their trip when the hurricanes ran roughshod over the islands. This caused the ship to divert – landing most of the guests in Miami rather than San Juan. Naturally – some guests were really upset over this unexpected change of plans. Then they took several trips out of ports in Florida before FEMA hired the boat to provide housing for their staff in St. Croix. So now they are semi-permanently docked in Fredericksted, and providing ‘hotel’ rooms for FEMA, Red Cross, Corp of Engineers, etc. They are also providing entertainment – Hence the Comedian. There are over 500 Comedians who work for Carnival – rotating around ships so that the shows stay fresh for the guests.

And there’s a morgue on ship. With 2000 guests, 1000 crew – it’s a small city, and in a small city people die. And statistically because of the age issue (more cruisers are more older), deaths are more likely. Apparently, the per diem on a cruise ship competes with the per diem in a fancy full care facility – and it looks and smells a lot nicer! So there are folks who literally live on board ship. Maybe changing ships occasionally – or visiting family for a week or so – but effectively they are spending their retirement in a full care, luxury environment, with wait staff that know their names, porters who cater for their every needs – and nightly entertainment. Sounds like it might get a bit boring, but I can totally see why this solution would be super appealing.

Several topic shifts later, and we’re talking about being a Stand-up Comedian. Turns out that Tommy was the opening act for some major performers – including Cher. And he’s met Beth Middler among others. Must be an interesting life, eh? He tells me about after hour parties – for Cher they included bowling and going to the movies – but of course you don’t just go to the movies – you rent the entire theatre. I ask about private jets – but Tommy tells me that actually most of their travel – for the 3 years he was with Cher – were by bus. Very very fancy buses with lots of tiny bedrooms for the staff, but buses just the same.

We continue to chat – he talks about how he has to generate new material frequently – and can never be too overtly political today. Best topics are things we can all appreciate – like the issue of families divided along political lines. Some jokes have long lives, other jokes (like ones about the Hurricanes) were ‘old’ within a few weeks. Interesting, and not even close to anything I’ve ever talked about with anyone else. We chat about his ‘blog’, originally started long before the word ‘blog’ came along – it’s really his on-line journal. You can check out here: http://www.tommydrake.com/blog

Our time together has simply flown by – and the gate agents suddenly announce that our airplane as arrived from San Juan and boarding will begin immediately.

I say a fond goodbye to my fellow travellers – it’s been a fascinating 3 hours – but now it’s time to head on to Miami.

Frankly – I can’t wait!

Signing off to head on another adventure – The Soup Lady

Founder’s Lodge in the Shamwari Game Reserve


A frequent question on the ‘net’ is which Game Reserve near Port Elizabeth is the best – and while I can’t vouch for any of the others, I can tell you that the Shamwari Reserve was amazing.

But I’m ahead of my tail – which is not an unusual position.

We start the day in the absolute lap of luxury that is the Conrad Pezula. For the first time in our trip – I’d rather not leave. In fact – I’m even thinking of buying real estate. It’s only the discomfort of the South African reality that keeps me from chatting up a real estate agent. I just can’t get my head around the constant locked access points, focus on security, and the fences. There is a very obvious lack of respect and even comfort between colours and classes that just makes my skin itch. But that’s the topic of another blog.

Today we must drive to Founder’s Lodge in the Shamwari Game Reserve, and we’ve done the GPS thing to find out how long it will take to drive to Port Elizabeth and counted backwards. We must leave by 9:00 to make it there in time for lunch and the afternoon game drive.

Breakfast turns out to be more of an adventure than I’d planned on. I wanted to eat on our balcony – sitting in the sun and enjoying the stunning view. To do that – I must make coffee. And there’s a single serve coffee machine in the room. Perfect. Until I try to figure out how it works.

I’m old, but not stupid – and the thing stumps me. It just won’t turn on. Yes, I checked that it was plugged in, and yes I checked that the plug was on. No action. So I call the front desk. They tell me there’s a switch on the machine, hidden in the back. I try that – nope. It isn’t going to turn on. And worse – out of the 4 coffee packets they have given me – I’ve used up two. One in the first attempt – a second in the next attempt.

They will send someone. Who within seconds is there – with another machine. He checks our machine, agrees that it is not turning on, and plugs in the newer machine. It turns on – (green light on the front), and we thank him.

Try 3. I put in the coffee thingy – put the mug under the spout, and push the green light. The machine gurgles and burps and starts producing coffee. And doesn’t Stop! I fill my mug, and I’m on the 2nd mug when I turn the machine off and give up. I’m calling the office – again.

Seconds later another young man appears at our door – who shows us that to stop the machine from producing coffee you must push the button on the front when the light turns red… It offers you options you see – the first time it turns red, that’s a single espresso. The 2nd time – espresso Double, and the third time – Americano!

Problem – in learning how to use the machine – I’ve used up all the little single serve coffee things they have given us. So another trip from the front desk to give us a few more pouches of coffee.

I’m sure there is someone at the Conrad Pezula who is giving up on making any money on our stay! We have definitely kept their staff occupied.

Breakfast done (whew) – we call the front desk (yet again) for luggage pickup, Victor hikes up to the office while I continue to drink my lovely coffee enjoying my fabulous view and try to work up the courage to actually leave. But I have no choice – the bellman with the golf cart arrives, takes our luggage out to the cart and offers me a drive up the hill. We absolutely must leave.

When I come back to South Africa – perhaps in another life time – this is the place I want to stay!

We drive down the Head, and head East along the N2. This is a ‘major’ road that winds along all the Garden Route – but in this section it is just one lane in each direction, with large shoulders they use to create space for cars to pass on the right. Remember – drive on the left! At the sides of the road at first are what I’d call middle class housing, but it quickly becomes either township or informal settlements with the corresponding piles of garbage. Question to self – why is everything so clean except the areas near the townships and informal settlements?

Eventually even that bit of housing disappears and we are driving thru fields of grain, some irrigated, some not. There are also herds of cows and sheep to see, and the occasional horse farm. It’s not the most exciting driving – although the view of Plettenberg Bay is stunning. These are some of the finest beaches in South Africa, but we are on a mission – we must get to Port Elizabeth.

The road is often actually 3 lanes – achieved not by widening the road, but by changing the location of the paint. So imagine two lanes with large shoulders. To get three lanes – you get rid of the shoulders on each side – and either make the no passing line on the far right of the 2nd lane (we have two lanes heading east), or to the far left of the 2nd lane (we have one very narrow lane heading east – they have two lanes heading west). It’s actually pretty neat, although my husband thinks they should make the passing lanes appear only on the uphill sections – he can’t pass the heavy trucks on the down hill portions, they gain too much speed.

Speaking of speed – the limit here is 120 km/hr. And no one goes 120, except us and the occasional truck. So we are pretty consistently the passed, not the passer.

After about 2 hours of this, we decide to enter into the GPS the actual address of our destination – and discover to our alarm that it isn’t in Port Elizabeth – it’s an hour NORTH! Oh, no. We’d calculated our trip based on getting to the reserve in time for lunch – and now we are definitely going to be an hour off.

Mad checking of paper work later – we realize that lunch doesn’t even start till 2:00 PM – and the game drive is at 3:30. We should just make it – but there’s no time to waddle. Not like we’ve been going slowly – but we try to pick up the pace a bit.

The outskirts of Port Elizabeth appear – first informal settlements, then townships, then middle class housing and finally the city itself. It’s a huge port – I count over a dozen giant container ships at anchor in the bay – and I would imagine there are some actually in the port, but it’s not visible from the N2. Which has become a 4 lane highway at this point – and the roadway switches from concrete to asphalt. My husband says that the driving is easier on asphalt – I don’t know or care – I just want this road trip to end.

As we steam pass a gas station – I say – there’s a gas station – but my husband is focused – we are getting to the reserve on time.

Suddenly I see an Elephant on my left! Wow – it’s an Elephant!. We are driving past the Addo National Elephant Park – and the next stop will be the Shamwari Reserve. I’m getting excited.

Meanwhile the N2 is down to 1 lane in each direction again, and the side roads are not all paved. We’ve left Port Elizabeth (and what passes as civilization) far behind.

It is at this moment that my husband checks the gas gauge. We are at 1/4 tank – and we need to find a gas station. I keep my eyes peeled – but we are far from anything that even looks like a town. Hopefully there will be a gas station near the lodge.

The instructions say – take the unpaved road at Sidbery and follow the signs. We do as told, and find our selves facing a formidable wrought iron gate. Oh dear – what did we do wrong? We stop to try to figure things out when a guard appears to ask us – where are you heading? We tell him Founder’s Lodge – and he’s immediately reassuring. You are fine, you are right, this is the right place. You have arrived!

Whew.

It turns out that the Founder’s Lodge is inside the reserve, and we’ve arrived at a back door. The gate is there to keep the animals in – and given the number of Elephants, Rinos, Lions, etc that we will see – I totally get it.

Our welcome at the Lodge is lovely – Susie, the manager, greets us with cold towels and a drink of our choice, and quickly ushers us into lunch. We ask about gas – and are assured that they will get a spare tank with 10 gallons or so for us tomorrow. Meanwhile, they will park the car – we need to go into lunch.

There are only 6 rooms in the lodge, a total of 12 guests. We are divided into two groups, each with our own Ranger who will take care of our every need from dawn to bed time. One group are 3 couples who came together from the Cape Town area, our group is composed of two couples from Port Elizabeth, and us.

Our Ranger is Freddie – and he’s a charmer. He joins us at lunch to explain that the game drive will start at 3:30 – right outside the front door of the lodge, and we should dress warmly – we won’t be back till after sunset. He also asks what drinks we’d prefer for ‘Sundowners’ – I opt for water. I’m just not that big a party kinda gal!

Our quick tour of the Lodge is, as the welcome made us expect, impressive. Our room has a wall of glass facing out onto the private reserve of the Founder – independent of but adjacent to the Shamwari Reserve. Using the concept of an infinity pool, the garden appears to continue smoothly to the watering hole for the animals of the Reserve about 150 meters away. But actually there’s a wall with electric fencing separating us from the animals – at least the animals who would be daunted by a wall. Fortunately, there are no predators in our private reserve – so while the baboons and monkeys might be an issue – the larger vegetarians are happy to stay on their side of the fence.

Onto our quick tour of the Lodge (it’s lovely), and then onto our ‘Safari’ vehicles to start our first game drive.

These are very upscale vehicles indeed. Modified Toyota Land Cruisers – there three rows of two leather seats, so each person has an unimpeded view to the side and because the seats are raised one above the other, to the front as well. There is room for a driver and a spotter – but Freddie will be serving as both for us.

Turns out that all vehicles in the park are exactly the same design, color and style. That makes it very easy to spot any unauthorized vehicles – and Freddie starts our tour by telling us that the Shamwari Reserve has had no poaching incidents in the past 15 years. They have 24/7 anti-poaching teams – and they are armed and serious. You do not touch our animals. Kruger Park, on the other hand has had over 300 incidents this year – and while the numbers are down from 2016, any Rino poaching is bad. Folks involved with the animals are working hard to educate people on the absolute uselessness of killing Rino’s for their horns – they are made of exactly the same material as our fingernails – but folks seems to love to ignore the truth. It’s sad.

He also warns us to keep our hands inside the vehicle – the shape of the vehicle is known to the animals and they won’t bother us, but if you break the shape by sticking an arm out – you will alarm the animals. He also warns us to not make loud noises – or to call to the animals. They will in fact turn away if we do that – so we’ll get the opposite of what we’d like as far as pictures go.

And we head off. For our first drive, Freddie decides to head North – into the wilder, less traveled part of the Park. There are tracks carved thru the bush that keep the vehicles off the slow growing vegetation, yet allow access to almost all parts of the huge park. The rules for the drivers are simple – stay out of sight of other vehicles, but stay in contact by radio in case someone spots something exciting. And stay on the cleared tracks. There are parts of the park where you can drive off road, but generally that’s done either to go around a wash-out, to allow another vehicle to pass, or to get closer to a Cat. All other game is to be observed from the already tracked ‘trails’ in order to avoid disturbing them – or killing vegetation.

As we drive along, I’m impressed by the beauty of the place – despite knowing that there is a fence all around us – the place feels wild and free, and a lot greener than I remember either the parks in Kenya or Botswana. There are fairly large trees growing in the sections where the Bushman’s River winds thru the park, and the open ‘grass lands’ seem to go on forever. And game abounds. Zebras with colts, Springbok’s, Kudu, etc are everywhere to be seen. Freddie spots an Elephant across a valley from us, and heads in that direction. He’s a solitary Bull – and he is huge. Mildly chomping away at the tops of Acacia Trees, he ambles along, at times ahead of us, at times in back. He takes a quick right and heads up a steep hill – and Freddie tries to follow on the trail. Suddenly the Elephant is in front of us – right in the road. We can’t pass him, and he’s headed straight into the sun. Lousy photos – cool view! Finally Freddie takes a chance and at a widening in the trail, drives carefully behind the Elephant to put us ahead of him with the sun at our back. We take lots of very good photos – and then the radio bursts into life – they have spotted a Cheetah. So we leave our elephant to head in that direction.

The Cheetah is just sitting on the ground behind a bush – casually watching us watching him. So beautiful, and so peaceful. We also spotted a sleeping lion – there is little as boring of course. Well satisfied with our game drive, we stop at the top of a look out for a much needed ‘pee’ break and Sundowners. What an amazing landscape.

There are about 10 Lodges in the Shamwari Game reserve, most much larger than ours – and we have driven past several. I think ours is just perfect – but it’s nice to know there are options if we want to return.

I’m thinking that what really matters is the quality of your guide and his (her) ability to position the vehicle so that picture taking opportunities are the best. That often means knowing not only where the animals are – but to guess where they will be going – and keeping track of where the sun is since we can’t shoot into it. And since you are supposed to stay on the tracks – being on the right track at the right position at the right moment is an art!

Back at the Lodge, the vehicle circles around to the Boma – a raised area with a fire lit to welcome us home. The staff is lined up to greet us – and hand us warm drinks.

Sigh – I’ve gone to heaven and it’s in South Africa.

Signing off to ready myself for ”The Founder’s Dinner” – The Soup Lady

Knysna is perfect! (What a relief!)


We wake in Mossel Bay to a perfect day. Cool and crisp, the sun is shining, the sky is blue – and the ocean is blue. And completely empty of whales.

This is getting a bit tough to take. Where are those whales? Folks who live and work around this area are constantly talking about seeing the whales – so the lack of whale is getting me a bit down. But I shall soldier on – the ocean has plenty of fish, and whales. Some are bound to turn up, Right?

We opt for the grocery store breakfast – bread and a bit of coffee. I’m not willing to pay $20 each for a buffet breakfast of more food than I could possibly eat. Makes no sense to me.

After our quick, and not very satisfying breakfast, we head over to the Dias Museum. It’s right next to the hotel – and houses something very special. A touch over 500 years ago, Bartolomeu Dias and 32 crew members sailed a Caravel from Lisbon to Africa on a voyage of discovery. 6 months after leaving Europe, while searching for fresh water, he made land literally 100 feet from where I slept last night. 500 years later, it was decided to build an exact replica of his ship, and sail it with a crew of 17 from Lisbon to Mossel Bay. After the 3 month voyage, the ship was towed by hand power up from the beach and into the museum. Once safely inside, the rear wall of the museum was constructed.

On the outside, the boat is an exact copy, right to the steering mechanism (no wheel – they used a rod tiller). And by today’s standards – it is small. In fact it is so small that it is hard to imagine 17 people working and sleeping and eating on board – let alone the original crew of 33! Inside some modifications had to be made – partly to make her sea-worthy by today’s standards – and partly to make her livable by today’s standards! They added a kitchen, 3 toilets, and bunk bed! The original crew slept on the decks, cooked on the decks, and well – I guess – did you know what on the decks. The cargo hold was filled with ballast to keep the boat steady in the water.

Definitely worth seeing! I was so impressed by the tiny size, and extremely durable construction. Naturally, when they made land, they did it in period clothing – so they have samples of that in the museum as well.

The rest of the Dias Museum complex is kinda silly – a shell museum, the original watering hole, and the Post Tree. Apparently, again 500 years ago, someone hung a message on the tree, and another captain from another boat months later retrieved the message. Hence the name, and the proper post box underneath for visitors to continue the tradition.

Have been there – seen the Museum, we motor on past beaches, houses, townships and informal settlements (their name for clusters of corrugated metal shacks that house folks not really ‘legal’ in South Africa. Our next stop is Knysna (don’t pronounce the K), and we are even going to stay 2 nights.

I’m really looking forward to this – my poor body isn’t built for one night stands – I need to get used to a bed before I can get a good night’s rest.

The drive into Knysna is actually ok – the town had a huge fire in June, so we were a bit worried – but apparently the damage was done to areas around the town, not the actually town. We stop into a hotel to ask directions – and are told that the Conrad Pezula is on the Eastern Headland.

Means nothing to me of course – but I follow the directions and find my self leaving Knysna and heading along the Knysna Lagoon towards the ocean. It turns out that Knysna occupies the far side of a lagoon – part of which is deep enough for proper boats, and the entrance to the lagoon is protected by two Headlands – East and West. These huge out-croppings of rock kept the harbour safe – but they are perilously close to each other. And directly facing South. The British navy named it one of the 3 most dangerous harbours in the world.

And justifiably it turns out. The waves outside the harbour mouth are huge – and if you attempt to enter as the tide is going in – you will be rushed in like no tomorrow. And if you are fool enough to try to bring in a sail boat when the tide is going out. Well – you aren’t going to make it.

In the days before motor – this must have be a entrance to challenge the brave and foolish. Even with the help of a motor – it’s not easy to navigate – you must still time your run in with the tides and waves.

Needless to say – all this nature makes for a spectacular setting for the Conrad Pezula. It’s perched high up on the Head – and the views to both the South and North are stunning. The hotel isn’t slum housing either. We drive up to the huge Portico entrance and are greeted by 3 bellman. One to take the luggage, One to take the car away (the only option is valet parking), and one to escort us in to registration. We are welcomed, offered our choice of refreshments – and assigned our room.

To get to our room, we must ride in a golf cart down and around to our 4-plex – 2 suites up, 2 suites down. Our suite is on the upper right, and features an entrance hall, a bar set-up with coffee machine, tea, etc, and then our room itself with it’s fireplace, sofa, bed and glass window wall open to the stunning view. And then of course there’s the bathroom – walk in glass shower, a toilet room, a double soaking tub, and two sinks. It’s a wow. I’m particularly impressed with the walk in closet (oh, I do like a walk in closet) – all wood, all black, and the doors are barn door style opening. Very very nice.

We love our lunch overlooking the pool, and opt to spend the afternoon relaxing in our room. We have dinner reservations at JJ’s Grill back in Knysna, so eventually we have to climb back up to the main lodge (we could have called for a golf cart – but that seemed overkill – it was only one stair case). Dinner is interesting – with a menu that features things like Ostrich, Kudu, and Crocodile. Victor opts for the Crocodile – looks a bit like chicken – I enjoy a nicely cooked T-Bone steak. The trim is different from what we do in Canada – more fat is left on during the cooking – resulting in a richer mouth feel, if also producing a lot of ‘steak’ you can’t eat.

Back to our palace with a view for bed – but first – can you please lite the fireplace? Of course – we’ll be right there. And they do! It’s lovely going to bed to a roaring fire. We will sleep well.

Signing off for yet another day – The Soup Lady

4 Wineries in one day is too much of a good thing..


It’s not that I object to visiting Wineries – I’ve been to dozens. It’s just doing 4 in one day really wipes you out. Even if you only sip small amounts of the wine – and carefully spit as much as possible, the mental effort is telling.

So I was a bit concerned that today we were doing 4 wineries – and that we had to get from the lovely Tuscan Villa Guest House in Fishhoek to the first winery in Stellenbosch by 10:00 AM. But we gave it our best. Things went great at the start – we drove past the beach towns on the Indian Ocean side of False Bay, and up to the major road that cuts Eastward along the water. Everything would have been fine – except that the major highway was closed to Eastward traffic. No worries – we’ll just follow the detour.

Except the detour takes us right though the center of the Khayelitsha Township.

Ok – I’m not worried. We just won’t stop.

Of course that’s easier said then done. Folks treat the road running thru the township as a walking path – so they cross anywhere they like, and cars have to stop or run over them. But because we’re travelling slowly – I get a chance to see what early morning at the edges of the Township look like, and it’s interesting. The dozens and dozens of guys who run the grills are setting up for the day. They drag 1/2 steel drums that sit on wooden legs out to the side of the road and fill them with either charcoal or wood. Then a grate sits on top and they grill their meat – from the looks I got – it’s mostly chicken, with some other cuts. And it honestly smells wonderful. I’m curious as to the prices – or for that matter – why they do this. We decide that it’s hot and stuffy inside the tiny houses – and cooking out on the street makes cooking a social adventure – plus keeps the house cooler. And if you can manage to sell some – even better.

The key point here is that the number of folks doing this is staggering. I spotted probably several hundred in just our short drive on just that one road. And I’m guessing there are hundreds more doing the same on all the other roads thru the township.

I also learned a new term – there are townships – legal areas for folks to live, provided with what we might think of as the minimum infrastructure needed – roads, basic sewer, running water (although it might be a single faucet for several homes to share), and electricity. Again – several homes might be sharing a single electric ‘box’, mainly because one ‘plot’ might be shared by 4 different family homes. But still – infrastructure exists. Then there are the informal homelands. These are not provided with any infrastructure by the government – no water, no sewer, no electricity, no garbage removal. At best, there might be port-a-potties. The problem – they are as ‘permanent’ as the townships. Luckily, we are driving thru a legal township, so there is infrastructure including stop signs and cross walks.

We eventually clear the township without any problems (it huge, remember), other then getting a bit hungry, and continue to head North East. Our goal is the wine making area of Stellenbosch.

There are literally dozens and dozens of wineries in this single area, by one account over 150 of them – and the hill sides are covered with grape vines, both bush type and trellised. Squeezed among the vines are the manor houses and wine making facilities. The ones called Estates use only the grapes grown in their own vineyards to make their wines. The other wineries will buy grapes from smaller producers, refining them on site to make their wine.

The 4 wineries we visit are Beyerskloof, Kanu, Mulderbosch, and Overgaauw. The first was probably the best of the bunch – not only was the wine great, but we could easily get it shipped to our address in the states. Winner! Kanu was utterly forgettable – not great wine, not a wonderful manor house – absolutely nothing to recommend it. We hit Mulderbosch in time for lunch – and ordered a pizza for me and a charcuterie plate for Victor – they served us enough food for 4 people, we couldn’t finish even half of either portion. This has been an ongoing issue here in South Africa – frequently the portions are completely unexpected – and we end up with way too much leftovers. The wine tasting itself was ok – but not great. Last, and probably the nicest in terms of personal service was Overgaauw. The gal that gave us the tasting was the sister of the current owner – who is the fourth generation of his family to run the winery. Her wedding pictures were featured in several places around the tasting room. We absolutely loved both the wines and the history of the winery. And we actually walked out with a bottle of their port. Oh, was it yummy.

Wine tastings done, we drive on to our hotel in Stellenbosch. And what a charming village it is. Part University Town, part tourist Mecca for wine tasting, it’s lively, open, and easy to wander. Our hotel, the Olde Werf (Old farm yard) was a recent complete renovation – the entrance way was an older manor house, but once past that you are in a completely modern facility – including heavy glass panels in the floors allowing light to filter down from the sky lights to all the walk ways. The Glassed in Elevator shaft is also a statement piece, as is the area around the infinity style swimming pool. In our room, the bathroom is part of the bedroom – so much so that one wall of the glassed in shower forms a part of the wall of the bedroom. Not great for privacy while showering, but we’re all friends.

Huge floor to ceiling double sided mirrors formed dividing walls between the sink and the bed area. With a floor to ceiling curtain pulled to one side, but available to close off the bathroom.

If I’ve done a bad job of describing the room – it’s because it’s rather hard to describe – but very ‘designer’. The bad news – the walls are incredibly thin. We can hear the folks on either side of us, not distinctly, but clear enough to be annoying. Hopefully they will quiet down after dinner.

It was suggested by the gal at Overgaauw that for dinner we try the ‘Wine House’ – which turns out to be spelled Wijnhaus. It offers wines by the sample size (for about 50 cents a glass), by the glass (for maybe $5), and by the bottle (for around $20). Wine here in SA is inexpensive, readily available, and delicious. It is also abundant. Folks start drinking wine at noon – and we are not sure when (or if) they ever stop. For dinner we order what we think are reasonable options, but both main courses turn out to be huge. Victor’s Chicken Schnitzel consists of two huge pieces – and my 4 Lamp chops are ample for me – Victor is on his own to finish – and he can’t. But it was delicious.

We meander down the busy street – filled with cafes bustling with students enjoying the warm evening, and head back to our hotel. Once there, we say hi to the doorman, parking valet, and security guard – all standing at the front door. We also greet the two night clerks at the front desk before climbing the stairs to our room. I also spot at least one other employee at the bar serving late night drinks and coffee. Staff levels in SA are very high by North American Standards – which is a good thing I guess – given the level of unemployment.

The best news – our neighbours are also exhausted – so all is quiet.

Signing off in hopes of a good nights rest – The Soup Lady

Wine, Whales and Penguins – All on the way to the Cape of Good Hope


Our journey continues with a lovely breakfast at the Cape Heritage Inn (oh, I do love this place), fond good-bye’s from our hosts, and our first attempt at driving on the Left in South Africa.

Unlike St. Croix, which is also drives on the Left, but with normal US cars – these cars have been built for drive on the Left. That means that the driver’s seat is on the right, and the controls for simple things like windshield washers and turn signals are reversed. Victor struggles manfully with the controls – while I attempt to navigate us out of Cape Town.

Our first destination is a Winery called Groot Constantia. It’s the home of Grand Constance – world famous for being Napoleon’s wine of choice while he was on St. Helena. Naturally – we have to try some. It’s quite yummy, and the personalized tour of the wine making facility, while not new news, is still very interesting. Our wine tasting paired the wines with chocolates that had been custom made to match – yummy.

All of this takes quite a bit of time – so we decide to eat lunch at the Vineyard, and we share a traditional African meal, Bobotie. It’s a ground meat pie, topped with a fried egg, and served with yellow rice that’s been flavoured with raisins. It is huge and delicious – and very filling. We relax (perhaps a bit longer than we should), and eventually head out ever Southward.

Our next stop is Boulder Beach near Simon’s Town. It’s home to over 2,000 Penguins – who have been living, fishing, mating and having babies in this rock strewn bit of South Africa since 1982 when 2 breeding pairs first arrived. The Penguins are everywhere – they live in depressions under the African shrubs that dot the hillside, and they splash around in the waters of the Indian Ocean that lap the shore. Because of all the huge rocks, the waters here are just rough enough to bring in the fish, but not so rough as to make it hard for the Penguins to get in and out. It’s a perfect place – and they clearly love it.

Part of South African’s National Park System – there’s a fee to enter, but it’s clean, well kept, and well – full of Penguins. It was great.

We take lots of pictures – my favourite shows a tiny baby staring directly into my camera from under his mother’s protective wing, and then head on South.

Every Southward we go – past adorable towns, beautiful beaches, and African Scrubland. We arrive at the entrance to the “Cape of Good Hope National Park”, and pay our $13.50 Canadian each to go in. A bit steep – but clearly this is a place for tourists – and South Africa knows a tourist trap when they see one. If you went to Cape Town – wouldn’t you go to the Cape of Good Hope?

The well maintained road winds along the top of the ridge – with the Light House at the tippy top of the final peak – Cape Point – clearly visible in front of us. When we arrive at the base we realize there are two options for going up to the Light House – climb a zillion steps, or take the tram. We decide to do neither – Victor has plans for later today, and wants to see and get gone. So we turn around, and head to the lower road that runs along the shore. Here we end up at the actual Cape of Good Hope – and reward ourselves with a bit of a walk, a bit of a stare into the ocean – and a photograph! The waves that roll in are unhindered in their journey North from Antarctica and are huge. They crash onto the rocks at our feet – then fall back into the ocean for another try. It’s beautiful. We spot Ostriches that have made this scrubland their homes – and they are apparently raising a family based on the number of what I think are Ostrich chicks at their feet. We also spot Baboons who have decided that the tourists here are easy pickings. They aren’t the least bit concerned about us – unless we happen to have some food. They climb on cars – try to get into car windows, even test the door handles. Wily beasts…

We now head back towards Noordhoek, where there is a Food Market on Thursday evenings. The idea – grab food from a stall, and enjoy sunset! Sounds good – so we head North. We pass folks doing a bit of whale watching in the Indian Ocean (I can see the spouting of the whale as we drive past) and somewhat surprisingly – a shanty town.

Housing in this part of the Cape has been quite a bit better -so the sudden appearance of the shanties is a bit of a surprise. It’s the one and only we’ve seen since we left Cape Town. In general this part of South Africa is less barricaded and blocked in – which feels better to our western sensitives.

And after a few wrong turns, and some GPS confusion, finally find ourselves at the Market. This is a hugely popular local event – the food is reasonable, and the view spectacular tonight – not a cloud in the sky.

We check out the offerings – there are about 2 dozen stalls, set up with cooking facilities and serving Pork Belly, Fish and Chips, Pork Steaks, Greek Food, Vegetarian options, BBQ Pork Belly Sandwiches, even Tuna Steak. So many choices, and all priced at around $8. I opt for the Pork Belly with cooked yams, Victor gets the BBQ Pork Belly Sandwich, and then goes back for the Tuna Steak. He also gets a bottle of white wine, and we relax on a picnic table to watch the sun set into the Atlantic Ocean. Peaceful and so lovely.

After dinner, We carefully drive on to our lodging for tonight. We’re staying at the highly rated Tuscan Villa Guest House in Fishhoek, and it’s worth it’s rating. Our double sized room features another of these huge bathrooms – with a large shower and huge freestanding tub. We’re warned yet again about the water crisis – and asked not to use the tub. Well – we weren’t planning on it – so you are ok. Our charming hostess explains that the fines for ‘over use’ of water are extremely high, and she’s being forced to use the shower at her son’s place to avoid having the guest house deemed an over consumer. That kind of thing is really hard to control too. We promise to be careful, and she wishes us good night.

We remove the fresh lavender stalks that have been carefully laid on our towels, our pillows, and the bath mat, and settle down for the night.

Tomorrow we are heading North to the wine tasting district of Stellenbosch.

Signing off out of total exhaustion – The Soup Lady

Bumped into no man’s land – Bound to happen if you travel a lot.


Oh Bummer – I got bumped on the way home from St. Croix.

Planes never ever leave on time from tiny islands. There are just so many things that can go wrong – and so little back-up. So color me amazed when my flight from St. Croix (the first of 2 legs heading back to Montreal) left full – and on time. It was a pleasure to watch.

I’m flying American – and the plane from Miami arrived, the folks deplaned (with us watching), and seconds later they opened the gates for us to load. No cleaning needed – or else it was done so fast – who noticed. I should have been alarmed – but nope – not a whisper in my gut that things were going to go badly.

The flight was lovely – nice ladies sitting next to me – not inclined to chat, but I occupied my self with ipad games and a good book. No worries. The Captain announces that we’re arriving in Miami – 15 minutes early – and he hopes we enjoyed our flight from St. Thomas. Ok – not a huge error – and still no worries. We land – and that’s when things went badly.

The plane rolls to a stop – no terminal in sight. Where are we? And why are we sitting on a runway. Is that normal? Is everything ok? Turns out that Terminal D in Miami has had a bomb scare – they have vacated a huge section of the Terminal building, and – as googled by my seat mates – the authorities are investigating. So we wait. Then the engines start, we roll around to the other side of the terminal. And we wait. And then the engines start again – and this time the pilot announces that after 1.5 HOURS of sitting on the runway – we’re clear to dis-embarck.

The guy behind is yelling F**K into his cell phone – I’m guessing that whoever is on the other end of the line has the phone way far from their ear.

But I’m sure that I’m ok. The flight to Montreal leaves from Terminal D – surely if they have held everything for an hour and a half – that flight got held too.

Nope.

Probably the only flight that left on time had to be mine. I’m stranded in Miami. Now what. Lunch was delicious, but it was hours ago – and I know no-one to call in Miami. Fortunately – I do have a cell phone. So I call American – they rebook me for the first flight out in the morning. Hey – good news – no charge! Bad news – not their problem that my flight sat on the runway – so hotel is my problem.

I’m too old, and too grouchy to put up with sleeping at the airport – so it’s Hot Wire to the rescue. I’ll have them on speed dial – and a pleasant young man tries to figure out what option will work best for me. $60 for 2 stars, but I’ll have to call for the shuttle, $75 for 3 stars – no shuttle, or $100 for 4 stars – with shuttle.

Oh – this is easy – I’m going 4 stars.

If you’ve never used hotwire you may not know how this works. You don’t know the name of the hotel until after you’ve paid – and at that point it’s too late to back out. But you do have a fair idea of what other people think (in this case – 80% loved it), so I figure – for a few hours – who really cares. So I book.

The hotel is called the ‘Pullman’ (nope – I never heard of it before either) – and the young man gives me the phone number to call the hotel for directions to their shuttle. I make the call – and they direct me outside. Just stand and wait – white van will come by.

And it does. Leather seats, free chilled bottles of water – oh, this is nice. Turns out – until 4 days ago – the ‘Pullman’ was a Sofitel – but it’s under new management – and it’s amazingly beautiful.

They offer me a choice of one bed or two – since I’m completely alone – One is fine,

So they check me in, sympathize with my luggage-less state – and give me a tooth brush, a room key – and directions upstairs.

The main lobby is huge – huge, huge, huge! There’s a loung/bar area the size of Sugar Beach Resort – tons of very seriously upscale sofas and chairs, a glorious pool (and me with no bathing suit) – and the rack rate on my room is $1,500. A night. Seriously. The bathroom features granite counters, grohe faucets, a lovely shower, and tiled floors. The bed is a king (I barely muss up 1/4 of it) – and has a wonderful pillow top mattress. The lights are upscale elegant – and I have a marvelous view East to Miami.

Really nice hotel! Very very nice hotel.

Next morning – I’m up early, re-packed – and back at the airport. Clearly not everyone knows about Hotwire – there are ‘sleeping’ bodies all over the airport! Guess mine wasn’t the only connection that just didn’t work. The only restaurants open are Coffee Shops and the Island Grill – I should have gone with the coffee shop. It’s not like I don’t know better. Oh well – what’s a day without food among friends?

I try to chat up the TSA folks to see if they know more than I do – but they all basically say that they just came on shift – and don’t work late afternoons. They were watching on TV, and know even less than I do about the security issue. I did discover that only part of D Terminal was closed down – which explains why my Montreal flight left without me. But alls well that ends well – and I’m on my way again.

I opted for the earlier flight – even though it makes a stop in Philly. Clearly haven’t been watching Amazing Race lately – you never opt to change planes. But I did – and of course the 2nd plane is delayed – and I end up arriving later than had I just hung in Miami and grabbed the non-stop.

What else could go wrong, you ask? Hey – they even lost my luggage.

But all’s well that ends well – I’m in Montreal, my luggage eventually arrived as well – and while seriously tired – I’m finally home.

Signing off to catch some much needed shut-eye – The Soup Lady.

On the road again…


Travel is one way to discover who you are when you are not at home!

This time the Intrepid Traveller and I are doing a city tour. For those who have faithfully followed our adventures around the world – you will know that this is a tad unusual. Generally we are more ‘country’ centric – rather than ‘city’ centric. But I can easily explain the difference.

Reason for city tour #1 – we’re getting older. I hate to admit it – but it’s much harder to visit a country than a city. More short stays are hard on old backs and tired knees.

Reason for city tour #2 – we really, really wanted to see one city in particular – St. Petersburg. I know tons of people who’ve been there – and I’ve never heard one of them say – we stayed too long in St. Petersburg. So we figure – 2 weeks is just about a minimum for a city that large, that unique, that different! We shall see of course.

Reason for city tour #3 – I will never be the only driver of a rental car again. Never. I’m a bus, metro, train kinda gal – renting cars with the expense and responsibility involved – nope. So moving between cities is going to be public transit – and in this case – plane!

So – our city tour is centered on 4 cities.

City #1 – Roissey en France. Yes – lowly little Roissey – hard by the Charles De Gaul Airport, and primarily known for it’s zillions of cheap bedrooms for tourists in transit – it’s our first stop. Ok – it’s really a transit city for us too – but we’re taking a full day to explore it before we move on.

City #2 – Berlin. Ah – the sausages – the pretzels – the beer. Well – since the Intrepid Traveller doesn’t ‘do’ beer – perhaps we’ll have to work around that highlight. And of course the Berlin Wall. Our real reason for including Berlin this time – it was on the Intrepid Traveller’s Hit List – and who am I to not want to fulfill her wishes?

City #3 – St. Petersburg. The point of the trip – the highlight, the raison d’etre. 2 weeks here to savor the sights, visit the museums, and go to the Theatre.

City #4 – Brussels. Why Brussels – well, we needed a city that Air Transact flew from non-stop in order to get the Intrepid Traveller back to Montreal. And we needed a city worth visiting, and we really didn’t want Paris. Option – Brussels. Besides – I hear Napoleon might be massing his troups to the south – who am I to avoid good battle?

So that’s the plan – let’s see how it all plays out.

Signing out to fly to Roissey en France (aka Charles De Gaul Airport) – The Soup Lady and the Intrepid Traveller.

Quick – What’s the most important Key to Planning a Budget Trip?


Doing the Research, Baby!

One can argue that Research is the answer to almost anything – but somehow people seem to forget research when they travel. Instead – too many people I know tend to choose one of two travel options – The unplanned, loosy goosy option – or the turn over everything over to someone else choice.

The later is the most expensive of course. If you love travel on the cheap and if someone else is doing the planning – unless it’s your BFF – they are going to be making some money somehow. Even cruises – which are seriously an economical choice – have to break-even at the end of the day. So somewhere, somehow – someone is making money off your desire not to plan!

How does the loosy goosy option work. Well – if you are flexible, willing to pay extra when the nicest inexpenive options are long gone – well – clearly – that’s the best. You have the most opportunities for making new friends who will put you up, and you can fall into fab happenings – things you wouldn’t know about if you had to be here or there on this or that date. But Loosy goosy can work against you when you are talking Opera Tickets – or getting into crowded museums or events. Sometimes they just plain sell out – and by making plans ahead – you can assure that you get to go.

In my wanderings – I’ve met lots of people that fit into these two groups – more of the former than the later given my penchant for cheap travel, but you get the idea. Most interesting I think was the doctor we bumped into in Buran, South Korea. His idea of travel – stay cheap, walk the city – and only work when you run out of funds.

Problem – I happen to love doing the planning – and I hate not knowing where I’m sleeping at night. Drives me nuts. Plus – I hate dragging my suitcase – tiny as it is – around all the time – so spending several nights in the same city is not just a preference – it’s almost a necessity.

So – how does research fit into this.People are always asking me how do I plan for 4 to 5 week trips on a serious budget. First off – it actually helps to have a budget. Yes – I have to make some hard choices – but at least I know where the choices are going to have to happen.

5 star hotels and restaurants – definitely out! As are 3 star and probably 1 star. Nope – I’m going to be looking out for hostels/BnB’s that have been for well reviewed by at least 50 reviewers. Only a few reviewers? I’m sorry – I”m suspecious that these represent friends and family. Not highly rated – I’m going to be checking out those negative comments. Great place but noisy – not going to work for me. A real party place – nope, not my kinda locations. Great place but a poor location – far from the city maybe – again – that’s a no. I’m fussy – I want it all – and I want it cheap.

So – Housing – my go to options are Hostelworld.com and Booking.com. I’ve checked out VRBO.com and Homeaway.com – but generally they seem to offer options for larger groups, and we are just 2. They also tend to be more expensive per night for the places with better reviews. Way the cookie crumbles, I’m guessing. Air BnB is sometimes of interest – but when you read my criteria – you’ll understand why it often doesn’t work out for me.

But it’s easier to explain my hot list of budget housing ‘must-haves’ then to just mention websites.

So – What are my must haves when budget travelling?

1. Location. I care a lot about how far you are from public transport. And while buses are great – if there’s a metro – I want to be able to use it without needing hiking boots! Another perfect location – down town of course. I adore being right in the heart of the action, but in a hostel that reviewers describe as quiet. My cup of hot cream tea!

2. Bathrooms. My preference is to have my own bathroom en-suite. And yes – you can get those in hostels. But you are going to have to look – and sometimes look very very hard. But I’ve spent my last night in a dorm – and while I’ll bend on the bathroom – the reviewers had better be talking about multiple bathrooms. There are pigs out there who think nothing of trashing a shared toilet – and compelely fog out on why I don’t want to share their mess!

3. Kitchen. I’ll trade off an en-suite bathroom for a kitchen if I absolutely must. It’s that important. You can’t budget travel pleasantly without a kitchen. I’ve had people tell me that I’m overly fussy here – that you can easily smuggle food into your room if you don’t feel like eating out that night. But the key here is ‘smuggle’. I don’t want to have to sneak around. I want to be able to sit at a table, open my bottle of wine, and relax with a view, a nice assortment of cheese – and maybe some sausage. You need a kitchen – and a shared place to eat to achieve that! Trust me there.

4. People. The Intrepid Traveller and I love meeting people – local people. other travelers – it doesn’t matter. So having a common area where you can easily rub shoulders with other people feeds our desire to chat. And sometimes – it turns out splendidly. We’ve picked up fellow travelers from all over the world – sometimes just for a night or two, sometimes for longer. So on our must have list – common space!

And how to I find these kinds of places? At reasonable prices? I start early! As soon as I know my travel dates – I start looking for where I’m going to be sleeping. My preference – have all these reservations in hand at least 2 months prior to the trip.

Yes – I hear you – cuts down on flexibility. But I’ve rarely picked wrong! For example – turns out that the 2 weeks we’re in St. Petersburg is their White Night’s festival. And nope, I didn’t know!

But – hey – take advanage to what comes your way I say.

Next blog – More advantages of planning ahead – including the joys of finding amazing Theatre options – but meanwhile I need to sign off.

Do the research takes time – lots of time! The Soup Lady