Big Wheels Keep on Turning

Whoa.  We just returned from a busy few days of travel and awesome experiences from the North to the South to the North again.   While waiting for our train to Aswan, we were stopped and questioned by the Tourist Police.  It turned out we were waiting for a train which is forbidden to foreigners.  I'm not sure why, but after two rounds with underling cops, the officer in charge finally came over and we took care of business with an innocent bystander who could speak French and Arabic.  Frustrated that I was not understanding his message through the triple translation, the top cop barked into his radio until a rather large and friendly guy who spoke English made his way over to explain the situation. Since the time of departure was quickly approaching, I didn't want to go into a long and frustrating line of people trying to buy tickets for a train which I was told had no seats the day before...and told the large jovial man this.  I also told him how much I was willing to pay for tickets, and he kept saying "no problem, no problem". Since I have heard that before, and there is usually a problem, I just waited on the platform and let the situation unfold.  Finally, the Tourist Police sprang into action, escorted us to the back door of the ticket office, secured seats from the Ticket Office Manager directly at a discount, and we were on our way.  The overnight train to Aswan is a classic ride along the Nile River and is full of interesting people,  boxes and boxes of supplies bought in Cairo, colorful conversations and music, and salesmen walking the aisles all through the night barking about their goods.  The conductors come through at odd intervals checking and re-checking the same tickets with not so friendly raps on the head to wake up unprepared passengers.  We awoke on the train to inter-stellar type landscapes of desert rocks, sand, hills, and towns carved into the side of mountains. Mixed into the alien formations were patches of green sectioned gardens, with rough irrigation and palms following the width of the Nile. The Nile is dark and blue as we traveled South, instead of the dark brown color found in Cairo and points North.

Upon arrival in Aswan, we were inundated with relentless offers for taxis and felucca rides on the Nile. The city is small and nice, sitting on the Eastern bank of the river. It provided a much needed and welcome contrast to the chaos of Cairo.  The setting is beautiful along the water, as the opposite side of the river is a rising wall of desert sand.  We walked the length of the city, and then made our way into the neighborhoods and markets well off the tourist path.  The people were friendly and simple, with outgoing, talkative, and engaging children everywhere. We spent time sitting by the Nile just reflecting and journaling.  Martha had hoped to see a crocodile on the trip, and as we were walking, a guy trying to sell us spices pulled a 2 foot long croc out of a 5 gallon bucket and was waving it around by the tail.  Nice freak show.  As the sun set, oranges and reds filled the Nile with feluccas sailing silently up and down the river.  After a restful evening, we made our way back to the train station for the ride back to Cairo.  It was a full day in Aswan and a place to visit again. We all rested well on the train after an active day. 

Morning on the train brought all the familiar smells of people traveling together - food, drink, smoke, B.O., sickness.  The groves of the palms are beautiful as we pass small farms, villages, and minor cities on the route North.  The fresh fruit we bought yesterday hits the spot as we move closer to Cairo. The moon is still visible, out of place in the bright sun and pale blue sky.  Our arrival in Cairo was quick, and we covered the familiar trail to the hostel with ease. We negotiated with the hostel owners for breakfast, and met a Scottish man who is riding his bike around the world.   Kind of a weird little man, we listened to his stories for a while of riding in India, China, Australia, South America, and more places too many to even mention. I asked him if he is famous, but he said "not really".  Oh well.  Around 1 PM we started our journey to the train station for a day trip to Alexandria.  We arrived late for the faster 2 PM train, but decided to try and catch it.  After some customary pushing and shoving, I managed to get to the ticket counter to only discover there are no seats on the train.  I was directed to the next window to obtain tickets for the 3 PM train.  After some extraordinary pushing and shoving there, I just walked away frustrated that I couldn't even get to the window.  It was about 1:58 at this point, and as I walked toward the 2 PM train, a Tourist Police officer started chasing me and yelling something in Arabic.  Since I don't understand Arabic, I just kept walking, corralled the troops with me and stepped onto the train. The train attendant asked us for our tickets to which I held my hands out with nothing in them.  He was then called away to attend to a paying passenger and the train started moving.  We just stood in the luggage compartment and waited until he returned.  He looked puzzled, but made some rough seats for us and we made ourselves comfortable. In the mean time, we spent some time talking to the other guys in the luggage compartment and sharing foreign money and some music on my iriver.   A few minutes later, the conductor came through and collected the usual fare from us for travel and we settled down for a continued reading of Much Ado About Nothing, a book we had picked up in Tunis.  Not too long after that, our friendly attendant came back and asked me for 20 PE (around $4).  I gave it to him and he escorted us to seats in first class.  There we enjoyed the rest of the ride, eating a great meal and being served by attendants with coffee, tea, and soft drinks.  Nice.   Arriving in Alexandria, we took some time to walk the length of the central city from one train station to another.  We didn't have long to see the city, so decided to walk as much as possible and experience life downtown.  We ended up taking the 8 PM train back to Cairo and happily sleeping in beds for the first time in 3 days.

Today we are relaxing and making last minute purchases before our return.  There are some loose ends to tie up and a few packing issues to address before our departure from the hostel at 5 AM tomorrow.