Arrived in Egypt

We moved over to the downtown Cairo tour hotel today. Cairo traffic earned its reputation. It seems that the horn is required equipment on a vehicle driving here. Lane lines are suggestions that are taken somewhat lightly. It took 90 minutes to go the 13 miles from the airport to the hotel. We took Uber, it was around $8 for the ride. Our driver was a flight attendant that had recently been laid off when his airline went under. He had been hired by Egypt Air, but was waiting for his training class to start before he could fly. His English was excellent.

The hotel is right on the river, and we have a room with a balcony on the 17th floor that faces southwest. So we can see the river and the pyramids.

It was 69° F today, so very pleasant. Many of the locals have jackets on. A few had winter jackets. We had a nice walk along the river after meeting our guide. Crossing the street can be a challenge, as pedestrian crosswalks are not so common. There were enough locals crossing that we could see how it’s done and follow them.

The tour officially starts tomorrow morning.