Hello from Ashwan, Egypt

July 13
We visited an Ice Hockey Rink today in Regina. Marilyn and Dave's 3 year old grandson Brady was at hockey summer school and learning how to play ice hockey! It was amazing to see such a little guy ice skating but even more surprising to see him skating along pushing his hockey stick along the ice - they teach them young out here.

July 14
The rain set in today so unfortunately the Ceremony by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was cancelled, so that will be on the agenda for our next visit to Regina. We packed up in readiness for our flight to Toronto the following day and headed out to celebrate my birthday. We booked a hire car over the internet to be picked up at Toronto Airport for 10 days - it was much cheaper and more convenient than doing it at the airport when we arrived.

July 15
Today was cold and raining as we headed to the airport - only 11 degrees! I'm just happy that we travelled to Saskatchewan in the summer!! It was amazing to meet up with Marilyn after all the years that have elapsed and find that we're still the great friends that we were when we were both 18 . Marilyn has always had a wish to visit Australia, so I think we've now planted the seed. Whaddya reckon Dave?

We headed out of Toronto International Airport straight to Niagara Falls where we spent our honeymoon almost 38 years ago. The Falls are still wonderful but the city area has grown immensly with many more people visiting and Hotels in every direction - I guess it's called progress. We were happy to head out on the New York State Highway 90 eastbound for Greenville, NY. Rochester was a convenient stopover on our way to my Auntie Bertha and Uncle Bob. Auntie Bertha is my Dad's sister - I'm not allowed to mention her age - but I can say she is older than me!

It was great to arrive at their home and get that wonderful home style welcome - Auntie Bertha's home baked bread, choclolate chip cookies and Irish soda bread. It was funny having 2 Berthas in the house - seemed everyone was talking to me at once. Uncle Bob is a retired Aviation and Space Writer so he has been working at keeping abreast of technology. He's adept on the computer and now has Skype set up so we can all keep in touch more easily and the best part - for free. Pat enjoyed being outside on the ride on mower - they have 4 acres of land so he was kept busy in the garden.

We toured around the Catskill Mountains area and visited many of the resorts - the holiday playground for New Yorkers wanting to get out of the City and hit the mountains. East Durham is Little Ireland settled by many Irish families so its pretty easy to feel at home here. We met the neighbours and guess what - they're all Irish! I took photographs of 11 of my late Uncle Tom's paintings as my brother Patrick is going to get a photographic collection of his paintings together, which will be wonderful to have.

We spent 5 wonderful days with Auntie Bertha and Uncle Bob and look forward to returning again sometime down the track - there'll be that lawn to mow again.

We crossed over the 1,000 islands in the St Lawrence Seaway and headed north west from the Canadian border towards Barrie, Ontario where we met up with Dawn - once again Dawn and I worked together back in 1971 and 72. We worked for a company called TRW and made components for car radios - we made great money in those days as we were on commission, so once we made our quota for the day it was possible to double our salary which we did unashamedly. Perhaps we cost the company too much money, as they have now closed up and moved the operation to Mexico.

Dawn is the world's best correspondent - she has written letters and sent cards all over the years since we left in 1972 - I must say she is much better than I could ever wish to be. We went out for dinner to a Chinese Buffet as Dawn called it - well it was the Mandarin Restaurant and it would have to be the biggest Chinese restaurant we have seen outside of China - the food was magnificent and we certainly gave the night our thumbs up. It's wonderful to be able to catch up with friends - it doesn't matter how long it has been - we just slot back into the old friendships. It was great to catch up with Dawn after all these years and now look forward to keeping in touch on Skype.

After saying goodbye to Dawn we headed over to the little township of Collingwood on the edges of Georgian Bay where we were married in 1971. Another little nostalgic trip down memory lane for us. We visited St Mary's Catholic Church where we were married and drove past our homes where we lived. The next great surprise was a trip over to meet Sam and Joan - our Best Man and Matron of Honour. Well we had a great time chatting with them and hearing about all the changes that have happened in Collingwood over the years. We met up with their son Steven, who is a teacher, married and a Dad himself to two delightful children.

Sam and Joan took us on tour around Collingwood and the surrounding areas. The little ski area called Blue Mountain is unrecognisable - homes, condominions and resorts have popped up everywhere - it is Ontario's equivalent to BC's Whister Mountain. Collingwood Shipyard where Pat worked on the construction of grain ships for the Great Lakes has all gone - development is taking over and yes it is a real boom area. There is a worldwide financial crisis but Canada looks to be in good shape and riding it well. A wonderful barbeque was on the menu for dinner and it was a great experience being back here with Sam and Joan.

The next morning it was over to Southampton on Lake Huron to see Lisa and Rob. I worked with Lisa at TRW in Collingwood and they were also at our Wedding. Actually there were 12 at our Wedding counting us - the alcohol bill was $70 and the dinner was $2.75 per head! My how times have changed!

What a hoot being back together! They have bought a beautiful two story home which is over 100 years old, incorporating 2 stories, a basement and an attic. Lisa has a lovely flair for decorating and their home was very inviting - they've done a great job. Rob has just finished replacing all the windows and I think he said there were over 30 sets.

Rob used to work at the Nuclear Power Station south of Southampton and actually Pat made up heavy water lines for the station back in 1971.

There was a little surprise ahead for me - as Rob rolled his Harley Davidson Touring bike out of his garage and onto the driveway. I guess there was no time like the present, so off I headed with Rob about 10 miles up the highway. What a buzz - what great fun! I had no idea a bike could be so comfortable - we were even able to chat the whole way on his 40 channel UHF and intercom - the helmets had microphones and speakers built in .... hmmm so luxurious. At vacation time Lisa and Rob travel long distances on their bike and thoroughly enjoy this form of travel. I think they even pack lighter than we do. Hopefully Pat won't get any big ideas!

Rob took us out for a drive south along the lake - it is so lovely - but then, this is summer! In the winter the lake freezes and it's a very different story when you have to face freezing winds off the lake and many months of cold weather.

The following morning we headed out of Southampton for Toronto to return the hire car and catch our flight to Frankfurt and then onto Cairo in Egypt. When we landed in Frankfurt everyone on the plane clapped their hands .. we're not really sure why. Our pilot was a female so perhaps it was her inaugural flight.

Pat's 7" laptop is too tiny for me to touch type, so I bought a small USB wired Apple keyboard and it works a treat. Hopefully I'll now be able to keep my Blog more up to date as we travel along.

Pat walked on through airport security with no problems, but apparently there must be some metal in my boots which sets off the alarm, so from now on, it's boots off for me at airport security.

A poor man near us had a fit on the flight to Cairo - everyone who jumped up to help said he was a Doctor, but we're not sure any of them were. He came good after a while and said he had hit his head in a fall a little while ago and continues to have fits. I guess a trip to a Doctor should be on the cards for him.

When we arrived in Cairo we were ushered onto a bus to the terminal, unfortunately an American couple behaved very badly on the bus and were on the verge of a fight with an Egyptian man and his son. These are the types of incidents that can be avoided. We stay low key and are polite to everyone, especially when it is not our country - it's amazing how a "Hello" and a smile works so well. On the plane, I was sitting beside David, a Sudanese, who works for Barclays Bank and he was very interesting to speak with - he had such interesting stories.

Well Cairo on arrival was about 45 degrees hot hot hot! We checked into The Arabesque Hotel for 3 days and set off to explore the city. The population of 22,000,000 must have been out when we were - the hustle, bustle is amazing and the traffic horrendous. We had a great time at the Hotel and the staff (all Muslims) were excellent. They gave us the "best" room on the 7th floor with views over the rooftops to the River Nile. We also ate most meals at the Hotel, where we didn't have to fight crowds. The Egyptian street touts drove us mad, however we enjoyed our sight seeing around this big city.

A visit to the Egyptian Museum is excellent and does take quite a few hours to get around. Tutankharmun's exhibit (19 years old at death) is amazing with his head mask alone weighing 11 klgs of solid gold.

The Pyramids are the sole survivor of the the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and they are of course magnificent. We hired a horse and sulky to get around the large Giza site travelling from one pyramid to another - the site is 12 kilometres in circumference. We also visited Imhotep and Saqqara Pyramids where we actually climbed down inside the pyramid into 2 small chambers. We climbed about 50 metres up the outside of the pyramid then hunched over and climbed 65 metres down a slanted shaft into the tombs. The air was rather dank but worth the experience. All the contents of this pyramid have been relocated - some have been reburied and some have been taken to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The Sphinx was a lot smaller than I had expected it to be - I guess it is overshadowed by the enormity of the Pyramids.

Khan Al-Khalili is the great bazaar which is in the medieval part of the City - here we saw Mosques, walls, gates and Mausoleums. We also ventured over to Old Cairo, which was once known as Babylon, and visited the Coptic Churches including The Church of St George and the Church of St Sergius which encompasses a little home where they claim the Holy Family lived for 3 years after fleeing to Egypt from King Herod. We visited the area where the Hanging Gardens of Babylon once were and also visited the Hanging Church.

Aswan, on the edge of Lake Nasser and further along the Nile was our next destination. Tourists aren't allowed to travel on day trains, so we booked a sleeper train from Giza and headed on the rail line south out of Cairo. HHmmm I was pretty happy to head out of this massive city. An Egyptian offered Pat 1,000 camels for me (must have needed a housekeeper) and I think by the end of day 3 in Cairo Pat would have sold me for 1 camel!

The train and our cabin were very comfortable. We met up with Canadians Cory & Elaine from Hope BC and managed to whittle away the hours in the Club Car. They left the train at Luxor next morning while we went through to Aswan.

The Nubanile Hotel we had selected from the Lonely Planet Guide was only 2 small blocks from the railway station and was excellent. We walked along the Nile River where there are scores of Cruise Ships moored up and booked a 2 night cruise back up to Luxor.

We certainly had a great time in Aswan - we booked a felluca for 2 hours in the afternoon and spent that time gently cruising around the little islands in the Nile at Aswan. Our guides Nasser and Abduhl were wonderful which made it even better. A felluca is an open wooden boat averaging from about 8 to 12 metres in length and carry one big triangular sail - they are not powered and depend upon the wind and the currents to get around. The Nile at Aswan with the fellucas sailing up and down is truly picture book material.

From the felluca we could see St Simeon Monastry, the Aga Khan Villa and mausoleum and the Botanical Gardens island. The sun is hot here with temperatures of between 40 and 50 degrees - I don't think we've ever consumed so much water since we've been here in Egypt - not from the tap but bottled water. There's a need to be careful with fruit and vegetables - all should be peeled.

We hired a horse and buggy and took a trip all around Aswan and into the old city. It's so neat to see the little donkeys working away pulling the carts and their masters in their day's work. Everyone is friendly and love to ask "Where are you from?" When we say "Australia" - they shout together Oi, Oi, Oi - amazing how a little catch phrase takes hold. I bought a much needed hat in the Bazaar - starting price was 130 Egyptian pounds and I managed to get it for 30 Egyptian pounds. There is so much lovely gear to but my little back pack has no extra room so I have to be strong.

The following morning we were picked up and taken on tour to check out the High Dam and the Old Dam. Of course, having worked on dam construction Pat was very interested in the facts and figures. The High Dam was completed and opened in 1964 - it backs up the water in a huge lake called Lake Nasser for over 500 kilometres down over the Sudan border. The crest of the dam is 3.8 kilometres long with a height of 100 metres - the thickness at the base is 1 kilometre wide at the bottom and 40 metres wide at the top. It is also used to generate hydro electricity.

We also took a little boat out to Philiae Island to see a temple which had been relocated to save it from the rising dam waters. It took 7 years to relocate the whole temple with many thousands of men working on the project.

The Nile River is an amazing river and is 6,000 kilometres in length, making it the longest river in the world.











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