how to get to sudan

when not flying, the only way from eygpt to sudan is a 36-hour ferry ride from aswan. the ferry leaves once a week on mondays (this information alone was hard to come by). we made it to aswan on sunday only to find that the tickets were sold out - in fact, more than sold out...the 200 black market tickets were gone as well.
we went to the port the next day anyway to try our luck. the problem was 50 other africans were there trying their luck as well. eventually we found out that at 2pm a man would come with a few extra tickets. we joined the others in the plus 40 degree temperature to wait. miraculously, we found a spot in the shade. this spot became less miraculous when we realized everyone was going to the bathroom a meter or so away...
as the hours crept on, we disappointingly watched our shade disappear. it was not all bad though, the sudanese and eygptians around us were fun and helpful - sometimes laughing with the canadians, sometimes laughing at the canadians, and almost no one speaking english except for "canada dry". there is a unity that builds in a common goal (the ferry tickets) and in baking under the sun together.
chaos broke out when the ticket man arrived. i watched the bags, and was proud to be canadian as i watched matt mix it up with the mob fighting for tickets. it got only a little scary when tempers flared (in languages we didn't understand) after the 10 or so extra tickets were gone.
alas, the tickets went to other (perhaps more worthy) recipients. even matt's flirting with the guards 2 hours after the fact couldn't get us on that ferry. we were exhausted, chap-lipped, and hungry.

so, how do you get into sudan? you don't. you take the first train back to cairo and fly over it for 300 bucks.

(i snuck the photo while matt was "getting all type A" with the mob...he's in there if you look closely.)

reflections on eygpt

very nice people, but it's hard to distinguish those who are trying to make a buck off the white guys (can you blame them?) and those who are genuine. 'baksheesh' is a word you hear often (it means 'tip').

cairo is crazy! ...just a massive city. 8 lane roads are crossed by walking wherever, whenever. the key is to walk without hesitation...drivers here see the fear in your eyes and cut you off.

islam is such a presence. it's inescapable. it's hard and sad to see women dressed in a total black outfit with just a slit for their eyes (an extreme form of muslim dress). along with islam is the strong sense of "the law". matt and i both coincidentally read galatians in which paul lays out abraham's lineage and history (and in turn the history of christians, jews, and muslims). paul was writing to these galatians who were slipping back into "the law's" mode of thinking...and it's certainly easy enough for us to do the same. it is very powerful to see that lived to the extreme here in eygpt. interestingly, we feel quite safe in this muslim country. in many ways, "the law" seems less messy than christianity...less messy and less free.

...and the smells (indescribable)...and the music (so stereotypical)...and the language (written right to left)...all so very different. we're blessed to have been able to experience it.

canada dry, never die!

this is a statement that, for some reason, eypgtians love saying when they find out you are from canada. we found out today that, "it is eygptian joke". they also love asking if you are from vancouver.

we thought we'd answer a few questions:

brian and erin: we brought 1.5 t-shirts each...and yes, we have definitely gotten the kushari gas!

dave: it's true...not ALL our clothes are 'quick-dry'...but we wish they were.

kara: lars bought a top-of-the-line 'quick dry' towel while matt bought a bottom-of-the- line...we found that neither actually dry you off (but they do dry quickly).

blair: no, matt did not get his pants professionally tucked in...he's just that talented.

abby: matt says "camel".

tio theo: so far we have enough to eat, but we're not counting on it as we head south!

lucas and brody: uncle 'larsh' misses you too!

johnny fukes: T.I.A.

russel: mogadishu might be lovely, but we won't be visiting it...


...thanks for reading! remember to check out the "interactive map extraordinaire" on the top right!

pyramids of giza

Even though there are many tourists (and many camels for the tourists to ride...including us), the pyramids still live up to the hype.

last night's cultural dining experience

matt loves riding camels

it's one of his new favorite things. he is always begging to ride them...through cario, by the pyramids, through the nile, across the desert... i tell him, "matt, we should walk some places...". but no, always with the camels.

lars loves snorkeling.....and flexing

it's one of his new favorite things. this photo is taken by lars himself in an egyptian national park called ras mohammed, on the red sea.

sunrise on mt. sinai (the gasp)

we left our hostel in dahab at around 11:30pm and arrived at mt. sinai at about 1:30am. the purpose of our trip? like 2 or 3 hundred others that night, we wanted to watch the sun rouse from its slumber behind the mountainous horizon. to do that, we needed to wind our way up the long switchbacks and steep stairs carved into the rock (apparently by a monk). the last half hour of the hike - tired, hungry and sapped of energy - was pretty tough. i had to keep reminding myself of the reward at the top. by 4am we had made it to the peak (elevation = 2285m) and plunked ourselves down in prime sunrise viewing territory. it was cold at the top and we only brought 1 sleeping bag for the both of us, so we spooned up under the bag and caught a bit of shut-eye. in 1 hour the sky turned from brilliant to brilliant (the stars at 4am and the orange horizon at 5am). unsure of the exact time of sunrise, we huddled up to keep warm. then, at about 5:50am it came....the gasp of the masses. we didn't see the sun first poke its orange/red head up from behind the mountains, but we knew it had....something special had happened and the people gasped in amazement. it truly was a beautiful spectacle.
the sunrise is such a great reminder of ALL things new. thank God for every new day!

trickery

the water in dahab is beautiful....but it's also deceiving. above the surface a vast expanse of greyblue water chops in the wind and sparkles in the sun....it's very simple. not even a metre below the surface, however, there is a different world....a world of colours and textures that don't exist in the land of air breathers. last week we did our best to tread the line between the two worlds. with a small plastic tube pointing skyward keeping us human, we strapped on our fish costumes to see if we could trick them into thinking we were just a bunch of new guys passing by on our commute to work. somehow i think it worked. with a tinge of suspicion in their eyes, they went about their work and play. they treated us like two of their own (friend or foe? a jellyfish stung me in the face! so what....everyone else seemed to enjoy our company), giving us a glimpse of the everyday happenings of the world below the surface.
both worlds are full of beauty beyond our workmanship. both are full of mysteries beyond our understanding. we are all God's creatures, and together we sing with the psalmist "o lord, how many are thy works! in wisdom thou hast made them all..." (psalm 104)

ps. photo of us lazing - bedouin style - by the sea. penguin village, dahab, egypt. on most days we could see the massive desert hills of saudi arabia on the horizon behind us.

interactive map extraordinaire

hello all.
we are loving dahab so far.....it is a little piece of paradise really. we're staying at a place called penguin village (incidentally we have not seen any penguins at our camp). we are very much looking forward to heading to ras mohamed national park tomorrow morning (the southern most tip of the sinai peninsula).
anyway, the purpose of this post is really to draw your attention to the interactive map set up by our good friend joseph. please check it out (a link on the top right of the page)....it's really fun and we're going to try to keep it as updated at possible.
also, thank you all for leaving comments......we love hearing from you all. we'll try to write a blog answering some of your questions soon.
keepin' it real in 2007,
lars and matt.

at the egyptian museum

our hostel in cairo

"eygptian hospitality"

we have heard these words many times in cairo, and have discovered that there are two kinds:
1st) someone gives you a coke ('free of charge') and then expects you to buy perfume
2nd) someone chases you down a subway tunnel to give you the ticket you forgot

while the prior is more prevalent, we prefer the latter.

kushari

our first taste of egyptian cuisine. identifiable: rice and noodles. unidentifiable: everything else. it looks like a mash up of whatever was found on the banks of the nile, but it tastes delightful. how to describe it? made with a tomato base, it is spicy but not overwhelming (a 3 at salah thai...haha). i think the different textures is what made it so special. the rice and noodles are soft, but there are crunchy bits mixed in too (think cornflakes). this culinary experience was enjoyed on a small, yet happening, side street in old cairo (straight out of aladdin). locals played cards and dominos and chatted about their days. we just watched and laughed and enjoyed our break from the bussle and comotion of downtown cairo.
have some kushari....welcome to egypt.

if it's not 'quick-dry', we don't want it

matt and i have adopted an all 'quick-dry' wardrobe for this trip on advice from brian and erin rowan. if you are not familiar with this subculture, it's essentially any clothing that 'wicks away' moisture. Pretty much anything that is unnatural or made without cotton is 'quick-dry'. it's working great so far!

Here we are the night before we leave (yesterday). As you can see, emotions are running high.

3 more sleeps

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,
this is crazy. lars and i leave for cairo, egypt in a couple of days (sunday, may 6). i think that i can speak for us both and say that we have a certain nervous excitement about us. we are trying to leave all of our expectations behind because we're entering a land where we can expect the unexpected.........that much is a sure bet.
we anticipate a most excellent adventure, and decided that creating this blog was the best way to keep you all (everyone choosing to read this) informed of our whereabouts and happenings along the way.
hope you enjoy.
"be excellent to each other" - rufus (b and t's excellent adventure)
lots of love,
matt (for lars too).

ps. for those who don't already know, we're starting in cairo, egypt and working our way slowly down to cape town, south africa (may 6 - august 19)