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My flight to South Africa gave me a layover in Cairo, so I figured I might as well stay a few days to break up my two red eye flights. Because I am so very punctual (sarcasm), I booked an airport pickup the night before I left and never got a confirmation email. And getting from Cairo's airport to the city isn't exactly hassle free, so when I arrived I didn't really know what to expect. But luck had it that the driver was waiting with my misspelled name on a sign. We made the 45 minute trip to my hostel in about 20 seat-gripping minutes.
I was immediately reminded of how chaotic Cairo is. I've never seen any place in the world with so much garbage all over the place. I seriously don't think there is a single trash can on the street in the entire city. You can find some of the most aggressive touts in the world here. Headlights are optional no matter how dark it is (some cars literally don't even have headlights), traffic lights are always blinking in random fashion, and I still can't figure them out. The people are so incredibly friendly, as in the rest of the Middle East. Within just a few hours, a casino owner bought me a shisha (Egyptian for hookah) and someone else invited me to their house for dinner (I didn't have enough time to accept, unfortunately). You can't go five minutes walking down the road without getting a "Welcome to Egypt." If you look lost, someone will be pointing you in the right direction within seconds.
Since I had already been to Cairo, I wanted to use my three days in Egypt elsewhere. I considered trips to the Red Sea, Mt. Sinai, Alexandria, and Luxor. In the end -- probably influenced by my amazing trip to the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan two years ago -- I chose to go camping in the Western Desert, which is the easternmost part of the Sahara, near the Libyan border.
It started out with an excruciating five hour bus ride west to a huge oasis with a population of 30,000. I won't say that it was a lie when they said it was an air conditioned bus, but the air conditioning was used very sporadically. And of course the bus was built for Egyptians at least a foot shorter than me.
I grouped up with another American, a Brazilian, an Argentine, and a Korean, and we had lunch at our guide's house. His wife cooked us a traditional Egyptian lunch and his kids never got tired of seeing their pictures on our cameras. Then we boarded a 4x4 and set off into the desert.
Our first stop was the Black Desert. We hiked to the top of a pretty large hill and got incredible 360 degree views. We also had minute of silence up there and it was seriously dead silence. I thought I could almost hear my heart beating. No wind, no horns, no talking, no cars. Literally nothing. I loved it and I love deserts.
Next up was a boring stop at something called Crystal Mountain. This place could appeal to geologists maybe, but it didn't do anything for us. And finally we ended up in the White Desert, named after the limestone rock that gives the desert a unique snow-like appearance.
We set up camp and our guides cooked us an awesome dinner, although we got shorted on the meat. We were also completely surrounded by annoying desert foxes. At one point, I counted eleven of them. They gradually became less fearful of us, until they were within a few feet of us, and twice they made contact wiht me. Our dumb guides ended up feeding them at the end, which explained a lot.
Speaking of the guides, they were awful. They spoke very minimal english and they didn't really know much about the desert. The experience was good, but the guides... well, I guess it's pretty typical of Egypt. Things often don't go the way you expect, and you can't really ask any questions. It just is what it is. Anyway, we camped under the stars that night, which of course were amazing (although not nearly as good as sub-Saharan Africa).
On my last night in Egypt, I watched a soccer match in the hostel (Egyptian cup final, for those who care). We could hear the crowds down on the street below. I would have watched it down there, but I had to leave for the airport. It was a fitting end to my stop in Egypt, and setting the mood for the next month of my trip. I watched the end of the match in the airport and met a bunch of people traveling to the Cup. It was the first time that it truly felt like it was finally here. I haven't been this excited about anything since I left for my round-the-world trip. One dude I met in the airport is a South African native who now lives in Vienna. Anyway, he offered us to stay at his place in Johannesburg, so that's good. By the way, I had no accommodation booked at all in South Africa, much to the bewilderment of everyone else. Things always manage to work out in the end though.
So I'm now in Cape Town and I'm reminded of how awesome this city is. It truly is the best setting for a city I've ever seen, plastered right between the ocean and the famous Table Mountain. World Cup fever is oozing everywhere you look. Flags, horns, chants, and signs can be seen and heard everywhere. I saw a completely beat up car with "Finland to South Africa 2010" spray painted on the sides and wished I was as awesome as whoever owns that.
The South Africans are extremely proud that their country got this opportunity and that they have seemingly pulled it all off in time. They've overcome a lot in the last couple decades, and there is a much deserved general sense of happiness for them. Everyone is just counting down the days now and it's great to be in the midst of what we hope will turn out to be one of the biggest sporting events of all time.
Go USA!
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G-Mom Koz
non-member comment
awesome
I would expect nothing less from your trip thus far. As usual, your comments are fund but I'm glad to be here. Vaya Con Dios