On to the Nile -- Oct 8

We have to be up and going by 5:00 a.m., which is rough, since we had a sleepless night. We are off to the Cairo airport to board our charter plane to Luxor. The Viking folk are all well organized and the plane leaves pretty close to 8:00 a.m. We land in Luxor an hour later. We head straight to the Karnak Temple complex. It is amazing and huge. It's a bit toasty out so between lack of sleep and heat we are starting to weary.




Then we head to the Luxor Library and see a slideshow video, which I could easily have done without. However at least it is a chance to cool off and rest and nod off. Then we are on the bus to get on board the ship. Lunch is the first order of the day. 


I am not super hungry so just nibble at my fish and chips. The chef comes up and asks me if I liked it! We have some time off and I take a nap which is a big help. There is our first on ship briefing giving us the low down. Then we have our safety drill. 

So now we head up to go to the Luxor Temple. We are in the lobby area at 5:30 and everyone is already gone! Kristine, the ship manager comes to our rescue and gets us a cab! We will have a reputation for sure. We are then met by Viking security people and are rejoined with Hanan and Bus A. Everyone seems nonplussed by our strange arrival. 

The Luxor Temple is all lit at night and we would have been so sorry to miss it. Thank you Kristine! Hanan has us moving in and out of the crowds and keeps us plied with info. There is a fancy dinner being set up in one of the courtyards. Steve loves critiquing the set up. 






Back for dinner. We grab tables in the Aquavit Terrace and are pretty much up there by ourselves. We eat with Greg and Mary and our new friends, Molly and Brian, who happen to be from St. Louis! Very enjoyable. We all tell some of our origin stories. Lobster bisque, veal. Time for bed. Been a long day. 


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