Aswan

Miles: 2.2 Steps: 5361 Flights: 5

Spending time in Cairo left me with such mixed emotions. On one hand we saw the amazing pyramids - the last ancient wonder of the world still standing. It was awesome. But on the other hand we saw such terrible conditions: filth, immense garbage, poverty, people pouring over the garbage every night in the streets, much too young child labor, starving & injured stray cats and dogs everywhere - and the abuse of the horses was almost too much to watch. They were VERY underweight. They had bloody sores where the harnesses rubbed & scabbed over abrasions where they had fallen and injured themselves. They are used to haul tourists around at the pyramids in carriages. The problem is they are made to gallop up these steep cement hills in unbearable heat, and then made to literally slide back down them - all the while being whipped and beat with sticks, some falling and getting injured in the process. We watched their care after the long day (as our hotel was next to where some of the horses were kept). Their reward for a hard days work was to be tied up next to a cement wall in the rocks with little to no food or water. It was heart breaking to watch, and as women in a country where we had probably the same amount of freedom and rights as that horse (maybe less), we were unable to say or do a thing. So … we left the pyramids today with very mixed emotions. I’m glad I saw them - they were amazing. And I suppose it’s good I saw the rest too - very eye opening, but we left with heavy hearts.

We flew to Aswan - that’s at the far south of Egypt, Cairo being at the far North. It is HOT here - not just a little, but a lot. Luckily it’s a dry heat, but dang. It runs 115-120° during the day, and our LOW tonight is 88°!

We are staying in a guesthouse on Elephantine Island - surrounded by the Nile River - only reached by a tiny ferry. The vibe in Aswan is completely different from Cairo, at least the little we saw so far. It’s laid back, quiet, almost peaceful. Once we got there, they immediately took us out on a Felucca - a traditional Egyptian wooden sailing boat - for a sunset two hour trip around the island. It was a beautiful way to end the day, and cooler being on the water. We touched the Nile, and it was surprisingly very cold. Didn’t expect that.

There were little boys on surfboards paddling around. They would catch up to your boat and grab ahold and ride next to you - then sing you a song for money.

I believe I will have mixed emotions on this entire trip through Egypt. 😢Read more