Touring Egypt on the Verge of the Pandemic: Part 1

Note: I started to write this blog in March, shortly after I returned from Egypt, and then life changed. Many (healthy) months later, I finally returned to my writing desk.

Egypt – with its mysterious ancient religion, iconic giant structures, and the longest river in the world – has continuously fascinated people all over the globe.

Map of EgyptEgypt has the longest history of any country, going back to six thousand years B.C. (give or take a thousand), and it’s an exotic melting pot of culture: an Arab Republic on the African continent bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Like many, I  first learned about Egypt in elementary school as the “cradle of civilization” and was mesmerized by the colorful symbolic representation of the people – the hair, the clothes, the poses, the rituals!  I renewed this enchantment in my art history classes at Vassar College. So, when I had the opportunity to join a small group who were going to spend 8 days touring many of the famous places, I jumped on it. I had no idea how fortunate I was to just barely avoid the coronavirus pandemic.
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African Safari: The Animals

Elephant walking at sunset

My two-week African safari in Kenya was such a rich, wide-ranging experience — full of surprises, revelations,  paradoxes, and lots and lots of animals. I doubt that I can capture and express it all in one or two blog posts but I am giving it my best try.
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African Safari: Glamping Across Kenya

As I mentioned in my previous post, our two-week Kenya safari was truly wonderful.  We went to three national parks, each with a different ecosystems, and “glamped”,  staying  in comfy furnished tents or huts at four different upscale camps.

We booked through Go2Africa and chose the 15-hour direct flight from NYC to Nairobi on Kenya Air rather than risk the problems that connections can cause.  Our package included all the air or ground transportation between camps. This was our full itinerary.

Getting ready

We booked many months in advance giving us lots of time to get our immunizations (this is not a trip for anti-vaxxers), do our research, fret, and over-prepare.  There were several points of confusion.
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