Edfu & Luxor

This morning started early as we left for our tour at 5:30 am. We went to The Temple of Horus at Edfu. Our guide met us on the boat before they let us off- that was much nicer! He led us up the steps and into a carriage. We had to squish, but we fit. The poor horse that had to carry 8 of us! We got to the Temple before it opened and waited in line. We went through the Temple and understood a few words that the guide (John) spoke. The hieroglyphics that filled each wall were amazing to me! On the way back out we had to hold onto each other tightly so no one got trampled- I guess it was better to come early. So packed!! Back into the carriage and to the ship.

Then breakfast and nap! We opened our window to let the sound of the water lull us to sleep. During our nap, we were rudely awaken by men bellowing "Hello! Ola!" over and over again. I got up to close the window and saw a few men in a rowboat right under our window by the cruise ship! They were selling their wares to those who would open their windows and buy! Crazy! And clever! The hollering got pretty old pretty fast, as closing the window didn't do much for the sound. We went over to the other cabin and Peter engaged with the rowboat on that side of the ship (his idea of fun, not mine). They threw him up some tablecloths in bags and the negotiations went on and on. Then they threw up a weighted bag for him to put the money in to throw down. Talk about ingenuity! The ship had to go through several canals today (one had just enough room for one ship, another two). We had to stop and wait our turn for long periods. So many cruise ships! So many merchants! We felt some cabin fever today,

especially with the constant yelling for hours and not being able to get away from it. We went up on top of the ship for a bit, but then the merchants could see us and yelled at us relentlessly. "Lady! Lady! Hi lady! Where are you from lady? Look at this lady!" They tossed things up top, and actually pelted an unsuspecting man in the face.

The banks of the Nile are so green and thick with vegetation. It was fun to watch as we passed by.

By sunset we made it to Luxor. Our guide (Ahmed) met us on the boat with a sign this time! We drove to the Temple of Luxor and he took us through it. It was used as a place of worship, a school, a hospital, and had a papyrus factory in it! The papyrus plants were holy to the ancient Egyptians. Amazing statues
-the biggest we've seen yet! And the hieroglyphics were just so cool!

We were going to head to a papyrus factory, but the girls were famished, so we dropped by McDonald's on the way (keeping them happy quickly). Only it wasn't the short stop we planned on. Peter and the guide had gone in and we stayed with the driver in the van. The girls were horsing around and Emma fell between the split seats and bit her tongue really good (blood ensuing). We sat there for an hour without any communication (my phone wouldn't text). When they got back, we just went straight back to the ship. We found out it was so busy because it's their Easter today. It caught Ahmed off guard that we knew "yella bina" and he thinks it's hilarious that Emma yells it with gusto (followed closely by "Let's go!"). He yelled "yella bina" to her as we got on the ship. Cute!

Clara's tummy was really hurting today, poor thing. I thought we had finally solved that, but right before the trip it started acting up again. Poor poor dear! We got the kids down and Peter and I had granola

bars and went to bed (dinner isn't open yet). Another big day!

We received a phone call reminding us about dinner at 9:30 pm that woke us up. I could have strangled someone. But I also realized they're just trying to be helpful.

Theme today: Love One Another

Things we learned:
Emma: I learned to listen to Mom so I don't get hurt (cut tongue).
Clara: I liked going to the Temple of Luxor. It had a lot of statues and I like statues.
Leesie: I learned the papyrus plant was holy to the ancient Egyptians.
Addy: I learned that McDonald's is not fast here!
Kathy: I learned that cruises are not my favorite. Everything is on their timetable, not ours. Getting up before dawn, having dinner so treacherously late, and having people wake us up yelling are not great things in my book (for kids especially). I'm ever so grateful I read about bringing Loperamide Hydrochloride. Heaven send today!
Peter: Doing early tours with kids- not a good idea.

Miracles:
- What a miracle that Emma didn't get more hurt when she fell in the car. She was holding the left side of her face initially and I was thinking the worst.
- It felt like a miracle that the Spirit prompted me to do "appreciations" after Emma's accident. It calmed us all down and helped bring the Spirit.