• Brico Adventures
Jun – Jul 2017

Hygge from CPH to the Red Sea

A 18-day adventure by Brico Adventures Read more
  • Trip start
    June 30, 2017

    LAX - CPH

    June 30, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Hygge is a Danish word indicating a state of well-being.  It's a way of life in Scandinavian countries, which is why you'll frequently see them topping out among the world's happiest.  We'll be embracing this relaxed lifestyle over the next 17 days, gladly leaving our work emails unread.  Our trip starts in Copenhagen, then several days visiting family in Germany, followed by a week of diving in the Red Sea.

    The Uber ride to the airport was in typical LA style, with the driver cutting into the airport line and being at the receiving end of some angry honks multiple times. But WTH - we made it.

    Let the travelling begin!
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  • København

    July 1, 2017 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    No brico adventure would be complete without the obligatory 1km+ trek to our hotel towing the luggage. Despite some concern about losing a wobbly suitcase wheel, we still proceeded to pull our luggage across the city's cobblestone sidewalks and streets from the train stop to First Hotel 27.

    After freshening up at the hotel, we stopped at a small cafe for espresso and a chocolate croissant. We continued our stroll down a pedestrian street full of food stalls and shops. From one of the squares, we ventured up to the top floor of a shopping center that offered lofty views of Copenhagen.

    Even with less than ideal weather, packed outdoor cafes line the streets, outfitted with blankets and heat lamps to keep patrons warm. These outdoor cafes create a laid back vibe all over town that we wish was more prevalent in the US. We stopped at a waterfront cafe/brewery that had several local beers on tap. We enjoyed watching small boats with picnic tables and passengers enjoying alcoholic beverages of their choice motor by.

    From there, we continued our walk to the Nyhavn canal. What was once an area full of bars and drunken sailors, Nyhavn is now one of the most popular places to visit in the city. Colorful houses and decades old sailboats line the canal, making it very picturesque and charming. It was also very touristy. So we found a restaurant at least 10 mins walk away from the crowds. Afterwards, we called it an early night even at 9 though the clouds had cleared and there was still plenty of daylight to be had.
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  • 18 Hours of Daylight

    July 2, 2017 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    During our first night we were woken by fireworks at midnight. We felt a little out of sorts since it was a few days early and several thousand miles away from where we expected them. We couldn't see them and they didn't last long so we were able to easily fall back asleep. And since Copenhagen is located above 55° north in latitude and we visited just after the summer solstice, there was plenty of time to explore the city even after sleeping in til 9.

    One of the great things about being back in Europe is the quality of breakfast that can be found anywhere you go. Rather than the typical continental breakfast garbage seen in US hotels, we got a spread with fresh bread, homemade jam, an assortment of eggs, fruits, and pastries.

    Copenhagen features several free walking tours which are usually a good introduction to a new city. We were surprised by the amount of Spanish visitors. This confused a fellow tour member who, after overhearing the guide, asked "Is 'hola' hello in Danish?" to which the guide replied "no, that's Spanish." Overheard in CPH... The tour itself was good but not spectacular. We got some history about the rise and fall of the Danish Kingdom, the frequent fires in the city that have destroyed many historic buildings (sometimes more than once), and the queen's chain-smoking habits.

    We stopped for lunch at Street Food Copenhagen, a collection of street food vendors in an old warehouse. We opted for an order of fish 'n chips and a pasta dish. The atmosphere was cozy with communal tables. We found a table on the makeshift second floor, overlooking all of the stalls and crowds below.

    Next up, we headed to the freetown Christiania aka Nemoland. It was formed by a group of hippies in the 1970s, and so far has maintained its autonomy from the rest of the country. They have few rules: have fun... The dirt paths are lined with old shacks and tents, most buildings are covered with counterculture graffiti, and the smell of weed abounds. We grabbed a beer in their "downtown," listened to some music, walked along the waterfront paths, and checked out an art gallery in an abandoned building. Overall a pretty cool vibe quite different from the rest of the city, and well worth the visit.

    Just outside of Nemoland, we climbed to the top of the external spiral staircase at the Church of our Saviour which, at 92 meters, offered pretty cool views of the area, including the Baltic Sea and Sweden in the distance. We didn't spend much time at the top since there was only room for one person and a lengthy queue below.

    No stop to Copenhagen would be complete without a visit to Tivoli Gardens - a 19th century amusement park in the middle of the city. Our tour guide from earlier in the day mentioned that Walt Disney was inspired by Tivoli when creating Disney World. We took a ride on the Demon roller coaster and walked around the park.

    After watching Germany on the way to a Confed Cup win, we were excited to try the New Nordic Cuisine at Restaurant Bror. There are a number of restaurants across the city showcasing sustainable, healthy and fresh food which have made Copenhagen a destination for foodies. We weren't disappointed with our 4 course meal which highlighted local produce and fish. And incredible bread. We finished dinner just before 11, and the sun had just set.
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  • København - Final Day and Final Thoughts

    July 3, 2017 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    The forecast for our last day in Copenhagen called for rain showers. It ended up being the sunniest day we got with the rain only making a quick, albeit heavy, appearance around noon. We had a light breakfast of smørrebrød, a Danish open-faced sandwich on rye bread with a variety of toppings. We chose one with fried fish and 2 with hard boiled eggs and shrimp.

    Afterwards we walked to a nearby waterfront area called Kalvebod Bølge (wave). It's a pedestrian bridge going into the harbor with a modern design and a kayak slide. The dark skies began to roll in so we started walking towards our lunch spot.

    The rain began as we neared our lunch destination. The restaurant was inside Det Kongelig Bibliotek (The Royal Library) which is an impressive glass building with a modern design. The restaurant, Søren K, served small plates focused on the flavor of the fresh Nordic cuisine. Our favorites were fried scallops bathed in lobster bisque and fried brill with an onion puree. It was an excellent way to end our time in Copenhagen.

    The last quick adventure was getting to the airport. We arrived at our hotel to pick up the stored luggage just under 2 hours prior to departure. Although we were initially thinking about catching a taxi, the hotel clerk ensured us that we had plenty of time to catch the train. After a 10 min walk, we were at the train station in line to get a ticket. But for some reason, unlike everywhere else we'd been, the ticket machines did not accept US credit cards or Danish bills (only coins). So it was a 20 minute struggle to try different machines and cards, all whilst having other travelers breathing down our necks. We finally found out that our US debit card worked. The train ride, fortunately, only took 15 mins. After a short disagreement with the automated baggage machine regarding what constitutes overweight luggage (turns out heavy is just a note for handlers), we were back in the hectic terminal of Scandinavia's biggest airport.

    While we enjoyed Copenhagen and think it's worth a stop, you don't need a lot of time to visit all the popular sights. The food was definitely the highlight and it was a refreshing change of pace from LA, with the majority of Danes biking rather than driving, and the city continuing to invest in bike-friendly infrastructure. Copenhagen was modern, accessible, and clean. Interestingly, though, we felt it was a bit chaotic in many of the public spaces (airport, squares, etc.), most likely due to the fair weather and the long daylight hours drawing big crowds. Outside the freetown Christiania, there wasn't much of an "edgy" feel to it in terms of cultural diversity. Though there is definitely something to be said for being the world's happiest country.
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  • Food & Family in Germany

    July 4, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We try to make it to Germany at least every other year to visit Nico's family. Fortunately the weather was quite good in Germany - we had temperatures upwards of 30 C which made for great pool weather. We also enjoyed a walk in the hills around Aidlingen. And of course couldn't get enough of the quality bread and hefeweizen.

    It's always exciting to see extended family too, especially over dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Da Vittorio. We were joined by the Wieland family (now qty 6 with Phil's gf Johanna), Opa and Robin.

    Nico started with an appetizer portion of the Tortellini in Brodo (broth) and Brittany had red beet carpaccio with goat cheese and arugula. For the main course, Nico ordered Orata al Sale (Dorado baked in a salt crust) and Brittany got the popular Taglioni ai Tartufo Nero (homemade pasta lightly tossed with cheese in a parmesan wheel, topped with black truffles). A+, 10/10, 100% for every course! We long for a restaurant of this caliber in the US.

    We spent close to 4 hours enjoying the food and company. Brittany needs to work on her German, but luckily, Nico's cousins were happily speaking English.
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  • Schloß Lichtenstein & Reutlingen

    July 5, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    The following day, we made our way towards Nico's grandma's house in Ruetlingen. We chose to combine this visit with a stop at a nearby castle, Schloß Lichtenstein. This castle sits 250 meters above the valley and has incredible views of the Swabian Alp mountains. We paid 8€ each to take a guided tour of the 1st and 2nd levels.

    The tour was mostly in German with brief highlights in English. An original medieval castle was built in the 1300s and replaced with a hunting castle in the early 1800s, and then replaced again with the current castle in 1840. The final castle was built at the direction of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg who got inspiration from a fairy tale written at the time.

    The castle, which is considered to be a relatively new castle, was built more as a vacation home. The Duke had a collection of armor (including some for himself), a chapel with a 550 year old original painting, and even a drinking room. It was definitely worth a visit.

    The rest of the day was spent visiting with O, Nico's grandma. She made some vegetarian maltauschen with potato salad for lunch - a Swabian specialty. It was a delicious. Brittany will work a little harder at learning German so she can converse with more of Nico's family.
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  • Quad Ride in the Eastern Arabian Desert

    July 7, 2017 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    After a 4 hour flight from Frankfurt, we landed in Hurghada, Egypt, on the Western coast of the Red Sea. There were some cool sights below, including the Adriatic coast, the Greek island Crete, and the Nile river delta. It's pretty amazing to see the landscape change from desolate to lush greens, and shows just why the river was so important to the earliest civilizations.

    The airport is quite large and new, but we were the only plane in sight at arrival. Even with plenty of jet bridges available, we deplaned far from any of them and took a bus to the terminal. Inside was equally quiet. The first stop was to get visas which cost $25 each - when we walked up to the stand, the collector shouted "cash! money!" once we handed him our passports. The remaining part of the airport that we walked through was the same, eerily quiet, but employees were still eager to get everyone out of the building.

    We had booked a desert quad tour to fill the time until we would get picked up for our liveaboard, but even for the quad tour, we were looking at an hour wait. Not having eaten since breakfast, we started to get hungry. We didn't see any options in the arrival terminal, so Nico decided to try our luck for food in the departures terminal. However, he was declined entry because he didn't have a boarding pass for a departing flight (security is pretty tight). Luckily, we had a small portion of a pretzel left to hold us over.

    We finally got on our way for the quad tour after our guide, Ahmed, showed us to our bus. Admittedly, there was a bit of trepidation on whether this was a legit tour because the only branding we saw was on the shirt that he was wearing. Adding to the anxiety, we were told at the airport exit that a police officer would have to ride along with us for safety purposes. However, Ahmed spoke to them and eventually returned to tell us that it wasn't necessary since we wouldn't be going far.

    We were still hungry, so we asked Ahmed if we could stop somewhere to get something quick to eat. He offered to pick up some beans and falafel, a typical quick Egyptian lunch. We stopped at a small shop off a busy street and were brought 4 small pitas: filled with beans in 2, falafel and veggies in 1, and another with potato chips and veggies. The beans pita was chased with pickled veggies which was pretty good. We didn't care much for the potato one, but the falafel pita had a lot of great flavor.

    After quick (unnecessary) instruction on how to ride a quad and picking up (very much necessary) bandanas to cover our faces, we were off riding through the Eastern Arabian desert. Unlike the Sahara, there are more rocks than fine grain sand. We started seeing the Sinai mountain range appearing in the distance which was unexpected but pretty cool given the jagged features and nice backdrop behind the sandy air. It felt serene to cruise through this landscape with no life, just sand, for miles in any direction.

    After 22 km of riding through the desert, and some odd photo poses for the guide (see photos), we arrived at a Bedoin village. Bedoins live a rudimentary lifestyle in the desert. We skipped the camel riding and sheesha smoking since we were limited on time and not particularly interested, but opted for some tea and a quick scramble up one of the nearby hills.

    We cruised back and got dropped off at the airport for our shuttle to take us 200 km South to Port Ghalib, the departure point for our liveaboard. While writing this just after the sun set, on a remote stretch of road, the van just came to a screeching halt due to a pack of camels crossing.

    Note to our eager readers that the next post may be several days out since we don't expect to have WiFi on the boat.
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  • Emperor Elite

    July 7, 2017 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 86 °F

    We arrived in Port Ghalib a little after sundown. The area was quite different than the traditional Muslim villages that we had just driven through. It was obviously geared towards tourists with fancy hotels, restaurants, shops, bars and a number of large ships, many of them dive boats. The Emperor Elite, our home for the next week, looked quite stunning all lit up in the harbor.

    It's the biggest liveaboard we have been on, and welcomes 25 divers plus a crew of around 12. It has 3 floors, each with ample room for sunbathing or relaxing, a large living room and dining room and a huge dive deck. Our dive instructor / tour leader Sonia is Swiss but grew up in Colombia and has now lived in Egypt for 20 years. She can speak English, German, Spanish, Arabic, and who knows what else, fluently.

    We sat down to dinner with 6 others who were first to arrive that evening. A Canadian, Egyptian (who now lives in Bahrain), 2 Germans, a South African and Guatamalen (who both now live in the UAE). It was already shaping up to be a very international bunch.

    After dinner, Sonia showed us to our room and joked that we would need walkie talkies to speak to each other due to the size. We were somehow upgraded to the 'Executive Suite' and it rivals the size of our apartment back in LA. It has its own shower room, which is usually shared with the toilet, a full wardrobe, mood lighting and a TV (not sure anyone would watch TV?). Needless to say, Ming approved of his crib.

    We headed into Port Ghalib to grab a beer. While the waterfront area was nice, it was about as authentic as Playa del Carmen. By the time we returned, the rest of the divers showed up, and 11 different nationalities were represented overall.
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  • Diving 1

    July 8, 2017, Red Sea ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    The modus operandi over the next week was eat, sleep, dive, and repeat. A bell on the main deck indicates that it's time for the dive briefing or that food is ready. To figure out which one it is, just keep it mind that it alternates. So if you last dove and hear the bell, it's time to eat. There are a number of potential origins for the name of the Red Sea: 1) the abundance of red athias, 2) the red-glowing sunsets, or 3) the infrequent red-colored algae that can be found on the surface.

    On the first day, we cruised north along the shore for some easy checkout dives. These dives were relatively shallow at 50ft with nice coral. We saw two smaller turtles that were very cute and swam close, a bluespotted stingray hiding in the sand, a crocodile fish also hiding in the sand, nudibranch, various fish and a fat eel.

    We watched a very pretty sunset over land. Shortly after sunset we had our final dive briefing for the day - a night dive. With 3 night dives under our belt, it still causes Brittany some anxiety but has gotten noticeably better with each dive. There was some additional anxiety about the battery life of the torches we brought from home so we borrowed one as a secondary. Luckily we did because both of our torches went out and we only used the borrowed light. Surprisingly, even with one light, Brittany felt much calmer and didn't start to get spooked until we left the group to return to the boat. It was a successful, although short, dive because we saw a little cuttlefish and a Spanish dancer.

    We ate again, then went to bed shortly after, to do it all over again the next day.
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  • Diving 2

    July 9, 2017 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Day 2 was the start of the real diving. We cruised north 7 hours to the Brothers Islands in the middle of the Red Sea. First up was the smaller of the two, Little Brother. The current was quite strong and required a negative entry, in which one enters the water with a fully deflated BCD and descends rapidly in order to not miss the dive site due to the current. At around 30 ft, the reef provided enough protection from the current. The reef was in great shape but we didn't see any big pelagics on this first dive.

    Brittany skipped dive #2, so Nico buddied up with a 5-pack of dudes. He was thrilled to get the first glimpse of a hammerhead shark, one of the larger species (~12 ft long) with the distinctive face, which congregate in the blue near off-shore reefs. The shark was at least 10 meters away, but circled just below the divers for a little while. Seeing hammerheads was one of the goals of this dive trip.

    The third dive started on a wreck at around 100 ft, a transport vessel called the Aida which sank in the 1940s. The stern sits at 180 ft, outside of recreational dive limits, so we could only check out the middle half. From there, we swam along a beautiful coral wall. A juvenile Napoleon wrasse followed us the entire way, opportunistically looking for prey loosened by the bubbles. The wall was unbelievably colorful and abundant with marine life. There was also a scrawled filefish down below, and numerous cornetfish along the way.

    After the third dive, tuneage was bumping on the top deck and the bar was open for cocktail hour. It's great comradery to enjoy some cold beverages while watching the sunset after an accomplished day of diving. The Thai delegation was leading the party train, and had stocked up on hard stuff at the airport duty free, so we enjoyed chatting with them all night long. Probably a little too long since we didn't get the best sleep that night...
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  • Diving 3

    July 10, 2017, Red Sea ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    After an 11 hour trip through evening and night, we arrived at Deadalus reef. Wake up was at 630 for a 700 dive time. The goal of the dive was to see the hammerhead sharks which congregate around the island. The dive consists of dropping down to 90 ft along the coral wall and then swimming out into the deep blue to wait. Not just a little distance, but far enough so that the reef wall is only barely visible. The ocean floor is several hundred feet deep at this point. And then you wait, patiently scanning all directions for the shadow of a shark. We were unsuccessful on this dive, and after just over 30 mins in the blue, we returned to the wall to gradually shallow up. From afar, the reef wall looks grey and lifeless, but as one approaches, it comes to life as marine life movement and color start to appear.

    The second dive of the day had been a good one the entire trip, and this one didn't disappoint either. Shortly after dropping down to 100 ft, we spotted a hammerhead, and soon several others joined and circled below us. It was surreal to watch the hammerheads for nearly 15 minutes, swimming slowly around us and sometimes playfully turning on their sides. In total, we saw 5 different sharks at once, and everyone was elated upon surfacing.

    The third dive wasn't quite as exciting as the second, but we still spotted a grey reef shark and a hammerhead in the distance. Even when there isn't much to see in the blue, there's still the pretty wall on the ascent.
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  • Longimanus (Oceanic Whitetip) with Pilotfish

    Diving 4

    July 11, 2017, Red Sea ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    The fourth day of diving was back at Daedalus with the same objective: to spot hammerheads. This day didn't prove to be as successful as we had hoped under the water as we only saw one shark from the distance. We mixed it up for the third dive, opting for a dive location on the island's other side known for an anemone garden and a 15 meter long, egg-shaped coral formation. The wall was abundant with colorful coral and small critters. We were bummed to find out that the other diver group, on the same site 20 mins earlier, saw a school of 10+ hammerhead sharks.

    On the surface, between dives, we popped out of our suite as several people were yelling "shark"! An oceanic whitetip (aka longimanus) was swimming near the boat, surrounded by a group of pilot fish. While slightly smaller than the hammerhead, the oceanic is bigger in girth and typically hunts near the surface. It's a species that makes one think twice before hopping in the water, although attacks on humans are still quite rare.

    After the third dive, we piled in the zodiaks (dinghies) to check out the lighthouse. The part of the island above surface isn't more than 100 meters across, but shallow coral reef extends much further so that a long dock is needed for visiting boats. The lighthouse is manned year-round by two Egyptian Navy officers who make a little money on the side by allowing visitors and selling t-shirts. We climbed to the top for some cool views of the reef and moored liveaboards.
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  • Diving 5

    July 12, 2017, Red Sea ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    The fifth dive day got off to an early start since we were due to start the journey back towards the mainland that afternoon. The first dive turned out to be the most memorable of the trip. Shortly after descending into the blue, we noticed that the first group was already photographing below. There were multiple hammerheads circling just below. We happily joined in as it almost got a little too crowded. Two more hammerheads joined the party, and we got within 2-3 meters of these graceful creatures. A Silky shark, which is another species just slightly smaller than the hammers, also started circling. He had a noticeably different swimming style with much more swift and inquisitive movements rather than the slow circling of hammers. This dive was definitely one of our favorites due to how close we got to the sharks.

    The second dive, in the same spot, was a dud as we spent most of the time staring into the blue with no shark in sight. But that's expected when diving with sharks in their natural environment. Out of the 7 shark dives we did at Daedalus, we had amazing, up-close experiences on 2, saw some sharks at distance on 3, and got nothing on 2.

    Dive 3 was back in the anemone garden. Anemone always makes for spectacular pictures due to the vibrant colors and otherworldly shapes of the polyps.

    After last dive in the afternoon, we took off on our overnight journey towards Elphinstone reef. Everyone had a few drinks together on the top deck and bow as we cruised into the sunset.
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  • Diving 6

    July 13, 2017, Red Sea ⋅ ☀️ 93 °F

    Wake up was at 530 to get an early start on the final day's diving and to return to Port Ghalib. The first dive was called Elphinstone. Sonia told us we were very lucky to catch a calm morning since typically there is a strong current that doesn't allow one to see parts of the reef. We started by going out to the tip of the reef and a little into the blue to see if we could spot sharks. We were unlucky in that aspect and instead zigzagged across the reef. The reef was beautiful and extremely healthy, but also quite crowded. Even with an early wakeup, we were quickly joined by divers from the other moored liveaboards as well as day boats. At one point, multiple divers were surrounding a small turtle for pictures and a couple of them kicked him while passing by; some divers are just hopelessly unaware. One of the divermasters finally took his reg out and released air in front of the turtle so the others wouldn't get a good shot... hopefully leaving the turtle alone.

    After the dive, we cruised over to a bay closer to the port. We were to do two dives in the bay at the request of the captain due to unfavorable winds at the final site. We decided to call it a dive trip after one dive in the bay, and 17 total over 6 days. The visibility was quite bad and we were looking forward to some relaxation on the boat. Even with poor visibility, we were lucky with what we came across on the dive. A huge sea turtle, several lionfish, pipefish, a large porcupinefish, and a protective clown fish that was attempting to keep us away from the anemone.

    At lunch, Sonia presented a cake to celebrate crossing the 100 dive threshold on this trip, for both of us and Mike the Canadian. It was a fun way to celebrate the big milestone and to get excited for many more (#1000!). We sunbathed on the deck and went for a few dips in the water.

    After the rest of the group completed the third dive, we headed back to port. The majority of the group opted for dinner on the boat. Afterwards, we continued to the Wunderbar for drinks. Sonia told us about her life as a dive guide and the trips she arranges for her friends. As a preference, she spends most of her life on the water, and only visits her apartment in Hurghada once or twice a month. Her vibrant spirit, laid-back style and smile proved that true happiness can come from having less when you're doing what you love.

    The pack of dudes, and Brittany, continued to a bar close to the boat where the Thai group had dinner and were well on their way to a late night with shisha and 'tequila' shots. There was a live performer that was covering mainstream songs making it a lively place. After a few beers and a tequila shot or two, Mike found his way to performing for the crowd - it drew more people on the dance floor and made for some good laughs. We stayed until the bar closed at midnight and proceeded to pack to the best of our abilities for our early departure the next morning.

    Looking back at our diving experience in the Red Sea, we were very happy with the abundance of marine life and we're thrilled to see big sharks. The life was noticably less diverse than in the Indo-Pacific coral triangle, though, so there were not as many colors of coral or number of reef fish species as in Palau or Indonesia. Still, it was great to see healthy reefs and an attitude of preservation. At $1000 pp for a week, the liveaboard offered great value for the money. The facilities, service and food were quite good. Comparable trips generally cost 2-3x.

    We chatted with many experienced divers on the boat about potential next destinations. The current frontrunners are the Maldives, Philippines and Galapagos. Hopefully we'll see some of the same people on a boat again. Very soon... Because you know us - we're never still for too long.
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  • City of the Dead

    To Cairo

    July 14, 2017 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    Today was primarily a travel day. We woke up at 6 after only 5 short hours of sleep from the night before. We said our goodbyes to the other divers over breakfast and then took off on our 3 hour transfer to Hurghada airport. The Red Sea was in view almost the whole drive; other than that, there were multiple unfinished buildings that sporadically dotted the desert landscape.

    While there are lanes on Egyptian roads, they're regarded only as suggestions. Our driver spent a lot of time driving in the left lane, and only cutting over to the right lane to avoid oncoming traffic. Fortunately the van's ceilings were high because he rarely slowed for bumps which would send us up in our seats. Nico's phone once flew out of his hand on one such bump. Needless to say, we didn't get to catch up on sleep on the drive.

    When we arrived at the airport, we said goodbye to our fellow diving friends from Denmark and Germany who were dropped off at the international terminal before we were taken to the other terminal. Our terminal was eerily quiet (it was the same one we arrived in) with only a few airport staff and security lingering around. To our surprise, we were denied entry and told that we needed to go to the other terminal by taxi. When we pointed to a sign that read "Free shuttle bus between terminals" he shook his head no and said "taxi!"

    We proceeded to the lower level where we found a taxi driver who wanted to charge us 20€ to get back to the other terminal. As we were walking away, we haggled a lower price down to $5, but it was still too much for the distance. We would have walked, but there was no easy pedestrian access (perhaps by design - taxi drivers need work) and in the 40C heat, it wouldn't have been pleasant. Once aboard the plane, we fell fast asleep on the short flight to Cairo.

    Our drive to the hotel in Cairo was just as exciting, or possibly more so, than the drive earlier that morning because of the additional traffic and lack of lane compliance. We fit between spaces that didn't seem possible and somehow made it safely to the hotel. It reminded us of the taxi ride in Jakarta and we were happy to have arrived at our cocoon in the chaotic city. We had a great view over the Nile river from our room.

    We ventured a short distance out of the hotel for dinner at a quaint little pasta shop in the 26th of July district. Crossing the street was a fun challenge. We also noticed several youths riding bikes without a front tire. It was an early bedtime for an early tour start to see the pyramids the next day.
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  • Cairo / Giza

    July 15, 2017 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 100 °F

    Warning that this is a very long post. We wanted to include enough historical context to remember how fascinating it was to revisit high school history class experientially.

    We woke up early to grab breakfast, pack up, and check out of the hotel before our pyramids tour. We grabbed a taxi to a nearby hotel where the tour would begin. We happened to be the only ones on the tour so we set off right away to get to the pyramids in time for opening time at 8. Mahmoud, our guide, explained that we would be using a side gate to avoid the crowded main entrance and would get to experience the pyramids alone, at least for a little.

    The pyramids were built to house the body of the Pharaohs and their treasures so that the soul could rejoin the body in the after life. The pyramids at Giza were part of the oldest era. After the tombs were frequently robbed post-mortem, the burial for Pharaohs thereafter was moved underground to the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. The majority of those were also robbed, but some remained undiscovered - more on that later. The Great Pyramid is the only remaining of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. It's still unknown exactly how the Egyptians had the technology to build such structures. If it were to be deconstructed, the stones could form a 2 meter high wall around the perimeter of France - that's absolutely mind-boggling.

    We started with a view of the 3 main pyramids and the Sphinx. The only other people were vendors and camel keepers getting ready for a long, hot day. Even at 8, the temperature was already at 35C. We chose an 'adventure' tour, of course, which would include walking from the Sphinx to the main entrance by the Great Pyramid. It wasn't a great distance, but the heat and flies made it seem long enough.

    Mahmoud insisted that we take a typical tourist shot kissing the Sphinx so Brittany continued with the Egyptian tourist photo ways. We really did have the place to ourselves until other tourists began to trickle in as we neared the main entrance. We were going to go inside the Great Pyramid, but it was already very crowded by the time we reached the main entrance to buy tickets, so we decided to try the smallest pyramid instead.

    Our tour bus took us to the panorama plateau where one could capture the 3 pyramids together. A dusty layer of fog sat low in the sky that made the city behind the pyramids vanish, making it even more surreal. Even with the multiple tourists, taking more touristy photos, it was great way to take in one of our world's greatest wonders.

    The smallest pyramid, fortunately, was a lot less busy and we got the experience of going inside the inner chambers to ourselves. Our guide had taught us how to say thank you in Arabic ('shokran') and it was helpful in politely declining the tacky souvenirs and pushy salesmen that we encountered multiple times.

    Not wanting to participate in camel riding, our tour of the pyramids ended a bit early. As part of the tour, we were to experience Koshary, a typical Egyptian meal. However, Mahmoud felt it was too early at 1030 since it was typically eaten at lunch time (which is at 5, our dinner time) so he offered falafel sandwiches for breakfast (lunch). We weren't yet hungry so we visited a "proper" papyrus shop first.

    In the papyrus shop, we were shown how paper from the plant was made and how durable it is - durable enough to have survived for 1000's of years. They had beautiful artwork on the papyrus that was available for purchase. We chose to get one with the Egyptian calendar and one with Bastet, goddess in the form of a cat.

    Since we were the only ones on the tour and had mentioned interest in going to the Egyptian museum, Mahmoud offered to continue as our guide. We asked to combine it with a visit to one of the city's great mosques and a walk through the historic market (Bazaar). We took him up on his offer since he was very knowledgeable and $50 for a private tour and driver was quite reasonable. Lunch was a bowl of Koshary, and rice pudding for dessert, all for around $1.

    After lunch, we were off to the Egyptian museum. We started off with a discussion about the Rosetta Stone - the real one is located in London, so a replica was displayed at the museum entrance given the historical significance. For the majority of AD history, very little was known about the meaning of the Egyptian artifacts due to a lack of understanding of hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone, found in Luxor, contained the same text in 3 languages, including Greek from the time when Alexander the Great ruled Egypt after the last great Pharaohs. This provided the key to deciphering the meaning of the wonders of ancient Egypt, including their writing and calendar.

    As was mentioned before, most artifacts from their Pharaoh burial sites were stolen over the succeeding millennia. But one site was only partially robbed, and the sarcophagus was completely untouched. In 1920, the tomb of the child Pharaoh Tutankhamun was excavated in what was the greatest archaeological discovery in history. For context, Tutankhamun only ruled for a decade, and was not known as one of the great rulers, but the vast collection is preserved in the museum covering a large part of the second floor. Included in this collection were chairs, chariots, sandals, and games made out of pure gold, precious stones and other exquisite materials. The attention to detail in these artifacts was immaculate, and would be considered high quality even by today's standards. We'd have to keep reminding ourselves that these artifacts are over 3000 years old. The highlights of the collection were the 11 kg golden mask and the multiple sarcophagus shells within which the king laid. It was absolutely unreal to get this much insight into this ancient civilization: their writing, arts, crafts​, calendars, deities, enemies, and everyday life. Even those not into history (Brittany...) are left in awe.

    Next up, fast forward a few millennia to the Islamic history of Egypt. After the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods, Egypt was "islamized" in the 7th century by crusaders from nearby Saudi Arabia. In 18th century, the French invaded Egypt. The Independence movement was led by Muhammed Ali, who later ruled the country. A great mosque was built in his honor, on the hill overlooking all of Cairo, in an area known as the city of the dead where the extremely poor live atop buried Muslims' tombs; acting as caretakers of the deceased. Our guide Mahmoud is Muslim and was willing to teach us about the history and principles (known as the 5 pillars) of Islam. The mosque itself was quite beautiful, with a large courtyard area, two tall minarets (towers), and a vast interior under the domes decorated with various scriptures from the Qur'an. It also contains the tomb of Muhammed Ali himself. It was quite interesting to learn more about this religion firsthand.

    Our last stop was the market, aka Bazaar, located within the old city walls. We visited another mosque, much older and built in a different architectural style, and walked through the narrow streets and alleys where almost anything could be bought. At this point, after having spent several hours outside in 105 deg F weather, we were happy to settle for some cold waters and get picked up by the van.

    We picked up our luggage, got a ride to our hotel by the airport, and then jumped in the pool just before sunset to wash off the filth and sweat accumulated throughout the day. It was a jam-packed 10 hours of touring around the city, but well worth it for the amazing history.
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  • Return Flight and Reflections

    July 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    The return journey started with its own unique set of challenges. We were initially booked on Qatar Airways, but then had to rebook when all flights between Qatar and several Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, were suspended due to political reasons. We rebooked on British Airways. Then, 3 days before our return flight, we found out that there are some changes in the baggage policies, similar to those of the US for Middle Eastern countries. As a result, we had to leave our powerpack and reusable batteries in Cairo; not even checked baggage was an acceptable location. Frustrating since we had no head notice, but understandable if that's deemed necessary for security reasons.

    Also, the 20 hour journey gave us plenty of catch up on blog posts! Unfortunately hygge is hard to maintain when returning to LAX, given the massive delays and congestion. But alas, it was great being on the road for 17 days!

    Reflections:

    The Egyptian history is some of the richest in the world, and much of it is incredibly well preserved despite being more than 2500 years old. Still, Westerners were few and far between, likely due to the perception of instability since the 2011 revolution. Don't get this wrong, we don't want the place to be overrun with Western tourists, but it's unfortunate for a country dependent on tourism to leave airports deserted and craftsmen without demand for their products. Especially with the immense history of people that are likely all our ancestors. We plan to return to Egypt to see the Valley of the Kings in Luxor in the future.

    Many people asked us about safety concerns before leaving for this trip, but never once were we worried while in Egypt. All public spaces and hotels had security and metal detectors, and there was a noticeable police presence on the roads. Accidents or attacks can happen anywhere, but we're not going to let that stop us from traveling (within reason).

    The Red Sea diving is quite good and very affordable. We'd recommend it for someone interested in a liveaboard trip somewhere new, and to combine it with some fascinating history.

    What's next? That's still in the works, but there's one (inhabited) continent we haven't checked out yet.
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    Trip end
    July 17, 2017