Well, It's Been Interesting

SUNDAY -- Getting into Egypt was much easier than getting out.

We were informed on the boat at 3:00 PM that we had a half an hour to pack to get to a chartered flight from Luxor to Cairo.  Intrepid, our Australian tour company, made a decision to get us to the airport.  There were no longer any public trains or planes operating in Egypt.

The scene at the Cairo airport was chaotic and ugly.  The floors were littered with trash, piled high with suitcases, smoke wafting from hundreds of cigarettes from travelers and workers alike.  Men standing on counters and yelling, passing suitcases over people's heads and occasional outbursts of fights.  There were families with children and large, noisy crowds. 

There were no soldiers or police and this was after security which is where I bought my one way ticket to Tel Aviv for only about $400 in cash only and no shekels.  Luckily I was only 11 Egypitian pounds short with my cashed-in Jordanian dinars and pounds.  I bummed the 11 pounds from some Israelis returning to Israel.  I am not sure the ATMs had any money left.  Fortunately I did not have to try.  I heard that the airport had run out of food.  A problem was that people arrived too late in the day to find a hotel since the curfew started at 4:00 in the afternoon.

I was thrilled to find a flight.  I waited from about 8:30 PM until 5:30 AM and arrived in The Promised Land at 7:30 AM Monday fleeing the land of the Pharaohs, Egypt.

Have decided to forgo Petra this year.

Judy

PS:  So happy to be in the land of working toilets and free toilet paper.  In Egypt, it cost a pound to get a square.