It has been a long, wonderful day and we are now in the Cairo airport at 2:30 in the morning waiting for our 4:30 flight to Amsterdam and then home to the US. My goodness the time has passed so quickly! We slept in this morning until 9am. Which usually for me doesn't feel like a long time but here in Egypt the sun seems to rise so early and the heat descends on the city so you feel like it is the afternoon before 10am. Wawa was up as well and making pancakes in the kitchen. We had a picturesque breakfast on the terrace and made plans for the day.
We hailed a cab and then the metro to downtown. They took us to the American University of Cairo and to the new bookstore. You have to show your ID before you can even enter the building and go through a security scanner. But once you step thorugh the doors you feel like you are back in the states in the AC and clean shop with peaceful music in the background. We shopped around and then Wawa had to study for finals so Kristen took us to the island in the Nile and to a wonderful fair trade shop. She was telling us that there is a whole city of people within the city of Cairo that live in the dump. They sort and recycle the trash in order to make housewares, decor, jewelry, and other trinkets. They take every piece of material and reuse it which is amazing to me.
To find the shop you definitely have to know where you are looking. It is on the second floor of a nondescript building on the island. We had to knock on the door and the shopkeeper opened it for us to reveal a bundle of treasures inside. No one would know passing by. We ended up spending 2 hours and over $200 dollars in gifts for family and friends and a few special items for ourselves: decor for the house, nice linen shirts/skirts/galabayas, jewelry, scarfs, and wooden carvings. It was so nice to shop in peace without having to haggle with the vendors and the AC allowed us to escape the suffocating heat outside. The company was also fair trade so they paid the artists and craftsmen a fair price for their work.
The ability (of Kassandra) to tailor a guided trip to my exact preferences is very valuable to me, as well as the ability (of Kassandra) to provide expert guidance on destinations and travel dates. I also appreciate the ability of the backup staff (Maria Ignacio, Exito Travel) to coordinate all the details to make the travel logistics easy for the customer.
Mark Whalen
1 day ago
Our Costa Rica trip was amazing! Kassandra planned everything and the excursions, hotels, overall organization were outstanding. Everything worked out smoothly, the excursions guides were knowledgeable allowing us to see so much of the fauna and flora of the country. The hotels were great as well, all in fantastic locations and with beautiful views.
Danny
1 day ago
This is our 7th trip Kassandra has planned and she is wonderful to work with. She is responsive, helpful, patient and knowledgeable. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to work together with her. We love Adventure Life!
Aana Rivlin
2 days ago
Love Adventure Life, Mary is very experienced in the cruise department. Their post follow up after booking is great too.
Rita Shiver
2 days ago
Responsiveness and follow through along with staff being very personable.