Over...already????

It is hard to believe that the trip we have had in the planning for the past year & a half, has finally come to an end. It still, after all these weeks & adventures, feels somewhat surreal, to have actually visited these places that ever since childhood, have held such exotic fascination for both of us. Would we have changed anything? Overall, we have been very pleased with our itinerary planning. The only change we would make, in hindsight, is to reduce our time in Abu Simbel & have at least one night in Alexandria. We didn't get to the far flung desert oasis of Siwa, but feel we haven't really missed out, having visited a few of the other oases. The guides we booked, mainly through Casual Cairo Detours were excellent & we were also happy with White Desert Tours & Nour El Nil Dahibeyas. It wasn't a cheap trip, but we enjoyed the variety of accommodation & ways with which we travelled. In Jordan we actually travelled with On The Go Tours, which was unusual for us, as I tend to be rather scathing about tour companies. However, this was a small group & we thankfully got on well with the other couple...the delightful Jenny & Mike from London. We were happy with the itinerary & I was happy to leave all the organizing up to someone else!!!! Our guide was more like a friend showing us around her home country instead of a guide with clients. We truly valued that difference. In fact, the surprising treat has been getting to know our guides & through them a glimpse into their real lives in these very real places. The question we have been asked a few times has been...did we have a camel ride? The short answer is "No", but did have a very romantic camel trek into the Sahara 20 years ago in Tunisia, just to see the sunset! At that time we were highly suspicious that we just might be pregnant with our first child. This proved to be a correct assumption. Now, as we finish this first big 'childless' trip since that time, we are so happy to still enjoy each others company just as much as we did back then & look forward VERY much to seeing our grown up children on our return. Thanks for keeping us company on this trip & I hope that we have encouraged...at least some of you....to venture to Egypt & Jordan yourselves sometime! Cheers.