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 response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.