Guide with a gun

A 40 motor coach police escorted convoy left the ship dock at 6:30am – that is 1600 passengers heading towards Cairo in the early morning sunshine.  The driving was described as “no rules” – UFC on the road was more like it.  Coaches jockeying for position, bumper shining, bump to pass and drafting kept us praying to the road gods to keep us safe.  Two and a half hours later we arrived into Cairo, and it turns out it is a holiday here today – great for lack of morning traffic, but terrible once the Egyptians got moving for the holiday, and where do they go on their day off?  First to visit dead relatives at the cemeteries, and then, en mase, go to Giza, and see the pyramids.

Our police escort included an onboard security officer – who carried an automatic weapon “carefully hidden” under his suit jacket.  Our tour guide was less than stellar to say the least, and at each stop our on board officer took a select few of us – that would be those who could walk as fast as him and keep up, to see the appropriate views/tombs/camels and made sure we got to touch the big stones at the base of Cheops pyramid.  Lunch was at a previous palace, and it was buffet for 1600 – impressive and tasty.

We visited the step pyramid at Sakkara, went into a tomb and saw the original carvings and paint on the walls, then went into a small pyramid, followed by a visit to the big 3 at Giza and of course the Sphinx.  Really an overwhelming day of sights, sounds, culture and harassment at its finest.  Thank the gods for room service.

Soundtrack for the day:  Cattle Call