We've just returned from 4 days in Cairo and Luxor and found the antiquities absolutely mindblowing. Even more mindblowing was the skill and enthusiasm which the locals lavish on the national sport of fleece-the-tourist. We're too embarrassed to give you too much detail on how a charming couple of con-men came close to parting us from quite a large wad of money; suffice it to say that we rumbled them in time, and the only price we had to pay was to endure a tirade of abuse from the lovely man from the British Embassy, and his Egyptologist friend who wanted to extend the traditional hand of Bedouin friendship to us!!! Sadly, almost everyone we met was on the make in some way, and trying to diddle us, or charge us ten times the going rate for their services. Still, it doesn't detract from the wonderful things we've seen and done.

After detaching ourselves from our two friends,(who had checked us in to a hovel which was probably a hotel, run by their friend) we eventually found our way to the Nile Hilton, where we had a fabulous room looking out over the river. We spent two days there, and took in all the sights, including of course the pyramids, which still had a great impact on us despite all the familiarity from photos etc. We then flew down to Luxor, and stayed in another lovely hotel, again right on the river, with the feluccas gliding by under sail as they always have.

We took in all the usual sights, including the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's funeral temple, and the unbelievable temples in Karnak and Luxor; then flew back to Cairo yesterday morning which gave us the fantastic sight of the Nile snaking up through the desert with the beautiful ribbon of lush green vegetation along both its banks. Finally, before taking the bus back to Ismailia, we had what was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip, a couple of hours with a very knowledgable guide in the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. Although we saw the Tutankhamun exhibition in London 30 years ago, it really didn't prepare us for the astonishing sights on show, surely one of the most amazing sights in the world.

So we got back to the boat last night, where we crashed out, absolutely cream crackered after 4 days of non-stop sight-seeing. But we wouldn't have missed it for anything.

So now we're sorting out a few things on the boat, and once we get some decent weather, will head for Turkey, probably via Cyprus.

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