Egypt -- A Surprising Bucket-List Trip

In early 2011, we visited our older daughter Cindy in Washington D.C. I remember being at the now-defunct Newseum and watching the breaking news of the Arab Spring erupting in Cairo. What better way to see history in the making than on a massive video screen at a museum celebrating news? At the time, we felt hopeful that this represented an important turning point in Northern Africa and the Middle East. But the level of unrest was also evident. And I remember secretly thinking "Rats! Now I might never get to see the pyramids."

Fast forward to late 2014. We were enjoying dinner and travel-reminiscing with our adventuresome friends Valerie and David. The conversation turned to bucket-list trips, which lead us to "I wonder if Viking has resumed doing river cruises in Egypt yet?" A quick visit to their web site confirmed they were, and the four of us booked a trip to Egypt and Jordan for the fall of 2015.

We can count on Valerie and David to have friends wherever we go, and Cairo was no exception. We arrived a few days early and saw quite a bit of the city with our local guides. We explored fascinating mosques and markets. Ironically, I really fell in love with a bronze and iron sculpture featured at our hotel gift shop. It was a pretty heavy piece to acquire so early in the trip -- especially since we wanted to do carry-on only -- but we made it work.



We joined our tour group and headed to the "suburb" of Giza to see the sphinx and the pyramids. They were indeed awe-inspiring but also a bit disappointing. I have no idea how photographers get the amazing pictures of the sphinx and the pyramids atop shining sand with blue sky in the background. They make it appear that these wonders of the world are in the middle of the desert instead of right at the edge of Giza, shrouded in a smoggy haze, and surrounded by evidence of tourism -- barricades and vendors hawking souvenirs. Our visit and photo opportunities were cut short when our guard got spooked by a group of young men hanging about. (Did I mention we had a lot of security on this trip?) So we checked off this item on our bucket-list and headed for Luxor (a.k.a. Thebes) and our boat.

To our delighted surprise, our trip was an uphill journey (metaphorically) from the pyramids, starting with a stunning bird's eye view of the Valley of the Kings and a glorious sunrise from a hot air balloon. During the next few days, we toured amazing temples and learned that they had been relocated by a team of engineers from around the world before the building of the Azwan Dam and the creation of Lake Nasser. The international community rallied with funding and expertise to ensure the survival of these priceless artifacts from ancient times.

For me, the highlight of the trip -- the icing on the cake that really made this a bucket-list trip -- was the temple at Abu Simbel with the colossal statues of Ramses and his queen. The temple featured amazingly well-preserved carvings and hieroglyphics. We had ample time to explore, and we were able to attend a marvelous sound and light show after dark. This was definitely saving the best for last, and I can't imagine visiting Egypt without seeing it.

Because of the still tenuous security situation in Egypt, this trip tipped the balance toward "tourism" (scenery and monuments) rather than "travel" (exploring on our own and experiencing the local culture). We learned a lot about ancient Egypt, but gained minimal insight into the present day. We were able to snag a few souvenirs from vendors who greeted us whenever we disembarked from our boat or a bus. I acquired a lovely necklace and a clay figure.

And we did have opportunity to visit with the staff on the boat. They were so appreciative of our "courage" in coming to their country and helping them overcome their three-year tourism drought.  A wonderful lady on the boat embroidered shirts with hieroglyphics. Shame on me that I don't remember the meaning of all the symbols on the front (something like "peace" and "light") but I know that the back is a representation of the letters in my name.  

Our final purchase -- from the gift shop on the boat -- was a colorful, glittery picture of an ancient Egyptian couple. The colors blend beautifully with other treasures that adorn our living room.

Our trip concluded on a somber note highlighting the legitimacy of the tight security. On October 31, a terrorist bomb took down a charter plane full of Russian tourists shortly after it took off from Sharm El Sheikh. The cause wasn't known immediately, but fears of terrorism significantly disrupted travel. Fortunately, we were already in Jordan and didn't have any noticeable impact on our trip. A couple we met on the boat had flown to Sharm El Sheikh to scuba dive. They eventually made it home to Boston with their luggage, but it wasn't easy. This event marked the beginning of another tourism hiatus for Egypt. We were very lucky to visit these incredible bucket-list sites during a brief window of opportunity.

A Taste of Greece

I don't remember exactly when we started country counting. At some point, we realized we'd been to quite a few and perhaps we should start keeping track. And we also entered into a competition, of sorts, with our younger daughter Christie. We've visited quite a few more countries than she has, but she always seems to have one or two on her list that we have yet to see.

It started in the summer of 2002, when she went on a People to People trip to Europe with a group of fellow junior high students. It was an amazing trip that started in Athens and ended in London. She'd been to London once before, accompanying me on a business trip when she was 9. She quickly acquired a taste for new experiences, and the People to People trip sealed the deal for her. She's been an eager traveler ever since.

And her trip included Greece, which was on our wish list! And thus started the "competition."  Finally, in 2009, we sailed on an eastern Mediterranean cruise that started in Rome and ended in Athens. At this stage, we were still more tourist than traveler (focused predominantly on the sites and some history, more than the people and the culture). And we hadn't yet discovered the joys of small ships and, even better, small groups on the ground.

We fell completely in love with the blue Med and the bright white and blue of Santorini, despite the incredible heat. We learned that in the future, we should take advantage of not being tied to summer vacation months. The "shoulder season" so valued by retired folks features cooler weather and smaller crowds. (As a side note, I've lost 25+ pounds since that picture was taken.)

Speaking of crowds, we experienced them at their worst in Athens. Our day tour included a visit to the Acropolis. It was so crowded that they periodically closed the gates to prevent people from entering until others had left. In the meantime, we were crushed against the gates and nearly stampeded when they finally reopened. So we did see the Acropolis, an important monument and bucket-list item, but the crowds definitely diminished the pleasure of the experience. I can see why many European cities are discussing options for reducing crowds without damaging tourism too much. Of course, they might find that COVID-19 takes care of their crowd problem for the foreseeable future. 

In the midst of that enormous crowd, we lost track of our tour group. We felt a bit panicky as we raced down the hill to arrive -- hot, sweaty, and breathless -- at our lunchtime meeting place. Fortunately, we squeezed in a few minutes after lunch to visit a lovely gift shop and acquire an iconic vase to commemorate our short visit to Athens.

 




Overall, the trip was enjoyable and memorable. And we learned valuable lessons for future travel: shoulder season, small ships, small groups. And as far as the "competition" with Christie... We're still way ahead on total count, but she keeps adding a few unique destinations. She got to South Korea in 2009. We didn't get there until 2019. She's been to Brazil, and Jim hasn't. She's been to Israel, which was part of the trip we just canceled because of COVID-19. She got to Colombia a few months before we did. And this year, she added Indonesia, Singapore (which I've visited but Jim hasn't), the Philippines, and Kenya. We can thank Christie for adding to are ever-growing bucket list. Game on!

Bucket Lists and Country Counting -- Revisited

I've been scrolling back through my blog, doing some clean-up. I'm rediscovering the fact that I like to write (when I overcome inertia and do it), and although I'm not a rock star, I'm a reasonably competent writer. Which means I need to get back at it after a pretty long hiatus (again).

In my journey through my archives, I discovered an entry from 2016 about my bucket list. Back then, I had a few specific things on my list and a general goal of seeing the world. Today, faced with the reality of COVID-19 and the possibility that future travel will be significantly curtailed, I feel very fortunate that we've been able to really fill our buckets to overflowing in the last four years.

My list from 2013 and how I've done:

• Machu Picchu -- fall of 2016
• Panama Canal -- January 2020
• Great Barrier Reef -- Spring 2017
• Easter Island -- this fall (we hope)

In the past four years, I've been to 28 new countries plus revisiting a few old favorites. (Jim added 1 more -- Poland -- which I had already visited on business years ago.) That brings the total to 85 for me and 79 for Jim.  And that makes us incredibly lucky people!

Friends sometimes ask if we have any place else on our list or if we've seen everyplace worth seeing? We've ticked off most of the major sites people want to visit, but we haven't begun to exhaust the list of possibilities. So assuming it becomes possible to travel again and that we're still physically and financially able to do it, here's my current bucket list (in no particular order):

• Easter Island
• Rwanda and the gorillas
• Uganda
• Caucasus (Georgian, Armenia, Azerbaijan) 
• Japan (I've been there, but only on business)
• South Pacific islands
• Nova Scotia
• Turkey (beyond Istanbul and Ephesus)
• Ethiopia
• Israel
• Ireland (people can't believe we've never been there!)
• Indonesia and Bali
• Southern Spain
• Tuscany and the Italian coast
• Greenland and the northwest passage
• The parts of the Persian Gulf / Arabian peninsula that it is possible to visit
• And of course, I'd like to reach 100 countries

Definitely an aspirational list that continues to grow. As we get older, we need to prioritize the more difficult trips ahead of the easier ones. We need to trek to see the gorillas in Rwanda sooner rather than later. Perhaps relaxing on a ship in the South Pacific should wait a few years. We've also discovered the tremendous pleasure of traveling with friends so that factors into our choices. 

At this point, the future in general and the future of international travel in particular, is very uncertain. But in times of uncertainty, it is still good to have dreams.

Quote of the Day -- from the Inside Scoop

I receive a weekly newsletter from Harriet Lewis, chair of Overseas Adventure Travel, a company that we often use for our adventures.  It's filled with interesting articles about destinations, and it's a great source of travel-related quotes that I often share. This particular quote isn't from anyone well-known, or even known at all, but just another traveler who wrote in...

Do not delay joy, education, and adventure. One must not become a servant of regrets, saying later: I should have, could have, would have, but did not.

YOLO -- You Only Live Once

A friend recently posted a lovely tribute on Facebook to a much-loved aunt who died at an advanced age after living a full life. She fondly remembers that her aunt often told her "Dawn honey, do things and go places while you can - there's plenty of time at the end to sit and remember, give yourself something to remember."

We've tried to live by that advice, even before we retired and definitely since. Jim's health scares have certainly contributed to our "don't wait until it's too late" philosophy of seeing the world. But even before that... 

25+ years ago when Christie was in preschool, the father of one of her teachers died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack. He had retired just a few years before, and her parents were looking forward to seeing the world together. Suddenly her mom was faced with the prospect of seeing the world without him or giving up her dreams of travel. That made an impression.

Closer to home, when my dad was 73, he suffered a grand mal seizure for unknown reasons. It fried enough of his brain cells to permanently alter his capabilities and my parents' lifestyle. Yet another reminder of "don't wait until it's too late."

Just this week-end, we celebrated my brother's birthday with a lovely relaxed meal and conversation. In the course of the conversation, he discovered we have never been to Ireland and was appalled. It is, of course, someplace that we want to see, but his comment made me think about our priorities. We've worked our way through most of a traditional bucket list of places (Great Wall, Stonehenge, Taj Mahal, Paris, London, Rome...), but that only adds to our list of places to see.

For now, we're mostly choosing the more exotic places or the places that require exceedingly long flights (like our upcoming trip to New Zealand and Australia). We have yet to see "the Stans," Namibia, Indonesia, Patagonia, or even Japan, to name just a few. Ireland might just have to wait while we work our way through the more challenging destinations.

YOLO!

Bucket Lists and Country Counting

When the movie "The Bucket List" came out in 2007, I'd never heard the term. I absolutely loved the movie, and the idea of a bucket list struck a chord with me, as it did with so many others.

I didn't spend a lot of thought in constructing my own bucket list, but I quickly discovered that it's all about travel for me. I certainly have goals -- "be more fit at 60 than I was at 50" or "start studying the piano again." And I achieved both of those, by the way. But I didn't aspire to do things like skydive or drive a race car or play a concert at Carnegie Hall. I aspired to see the world.

By the end of 2007 when the movie came out, I'd already traveled quite a bit. Starting in the late 90's, my job often took me around the world. And we did quite a bit of personal travel as well. I'd already seen many of the items that top most people's bucket lists: the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, the Coliseum, Sydney Opera House, and the Grand Canyon. My ultimate goal was "seeing the world," but how to translate that into a bucket list as we turned the calendar to 2008?

As much as I can remember, here's my list from 8 years ago:

• See all 50 states (I was only one short)
• Visit at least one new country every year
• Great Wall of China
• Taj Mahal
• Red Square
• Pyramids
• Machu Picchu
• Great Barrier Reef
• Panama Canal
• Stonehenge
• African safari
• Visit all 7 continents

So far, I'm doing pretty well checking items off my list.

• We've been to Hawaii (my 50th state) twice
• Since the beginning of 2008, I've been to 26 new countries
• Great Wall - 2009
• Red Square -- 2013
• Taj Mahal -- 2013
• Pyramids (and Petra) -- 2015
• Machu Picchu -- scheduled for later this year
• Stonehenge -- 2012
• African safari -- 2014
• Visit all 7 continents -- Antarctica in 2015 was our 7th

A plan to see the Great Barrier Reef last year got derailed by medical issues, so that is still on the list. And I still want to see the Panama Canal, but our forays into more exotic travel (aka developing world) have pushed the Canal further down on my list. That's an adventure we can easily accomplish when we're older and presumably a bit less fit.

Which brings me to country counting. I do have some iconic travel destinations on my list now (Panama Canal, Great Barrier Reef, Easter Island). But mostly, my list is "see the world." And one way to measure that is to count the countries that I have visited. Yes, it gives me bragging rights to say I've been to 58 countries so far. But more importantly, it's a personal indication for me that I'm reaching out and seeking new adventures.

We have a running of list of places we'd like to see and trips we'd like to take. All the travel catalogs we receive in the mail provide temptations and exciting new additions to our list.

But we also give in to serendipity. We've discovered that we enjoy traveling with friends (although we're perfectly happy going solo). So sometimes a destination pops to the top of our list because we mutually choose it with friends. Sometimes we explore a new area of a country we've already checked off. We certainly don't travel just for the sake of counting countries, but when the opportunity arises to visit a new place, why not?  

At the risk of tempting fate, our travel plans this year will take us to 4 new countries, one in Africa and three in South America, plus a repeat visit to our beloved Paris en route to Africa. Stay tuned.