Arriving in Luxor

Ryan and I arrived in Luxor, Egypt about 8:30pm Monday night. The sun had gone down but the temperature was still over 85 degrees. Despite my initial concerns, I found myself surprisingly comfortable in it---it was warm but not humid, thus completely manageable. At the airport they made us go through a "health screening" because of the Swine Flu. We were herded into two lines and had our temperature taken with the thermometers that go in your ear. The first time they told me that they needed to do mine again and I almost had a heart attack. What happens to you if you have a fever in Egypt?!?!? I'm not sick, but will they make me turn around? I didn't need to panic though because the second time was fine and they let me pass through. Going through customs was very confusing and a little frustrating. The forms asked for things like the address and phone number of where you are staying--which of course, we didn't know. Ryan and I are traveling with an Italian touring group and while Ryan speaks pretty good Italian, we're usually completely outside of the group and left to figure things out on our own--the airport was no exception.

When we finally walk out of the airport, a man approaches us and tells us he's our guide. I thought it was fishy, how does he know that he's supposed to take us? Then Ryan laughs and tell me to look at ourselves---and seriously, we don't just stand out, we are screamingly obvious. All our guide knew he was taking care of two Americans and there is no doubt in the world, that we are American. We stand apart from the locals and the other tourists. Forget blending--I can really see why we are such magnets. Of course, in true tourist form--we need a picture in front of the airport!


What is really cool about us being with the Italian touring group is that because we are the only American's, we have our own private guide for everything. Instead of getting on a bus along with everyone else, we get to ride in a 4 door sedan. Our guide takes us everywhere we want to go and we can stay as long as we like. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty much the best thing ever. It's also making me feel a little like royalty and I'm afraid it's spoiling me for future travels. This trip is definitely nothing like last time, my bags are actually carried for me everywhere I go!!!

Last night basically consisted of getting on the ship, having dinner, and relaxing. Ryan and I smuggled wine in our bags to save money and we enjoyed a bottle while sitting on a swing on top of the ship. We then took a 1:00am swim in the pool before finally heading for bed.

Right now it's 5:00 Tuesday evening and we're in an internet cafe, Ryan is patiently waiting while I check my bank account, write Courtney, check on work, and finally write this--- so I'll keep the details of today's adventure for another time.

PS: EGYPT IS HOT!