Day 45- Alexandria to Cairo, Egypt

I saw the sunrise this morning around 6:15 with little land in sight. Our SAS trip met in classroom 8 at 8:30 to prepare to debark as soon as we were cleared. There are 23 students on the trip and a family. Professor Stamper, his two sons Grant and Matt, and his wife are traveling with us. His wife is actually leaving tonight to go back to Virginia because their dog got hit by a car and has brain damage. She is very sad and Rick is very sad to see her go. He said he is already counting down the days till he sees her again and she hasn’t even left yet.

 

We jumped on the bus right away to get a head start before the Cairo/Luxor trip that has 4 buses full of students left. The trip to Cairo from Alexandria takes about three hours. We won’t get to experience any of Alexandria which is a bummer. Since there are so few of us, we each got our own row of seats on the bus. I think everyone napped the whole way to Cairo and missed the “beautiful” desert scenery on the way to Giza. Once in Giza, which is about 45 minutes outside Cairo, we stopped at a hotel called Meridien Pyramids for lunch. All SAS trips going to Cairo and elsewhere were having lunch at this hotel so we took over the whole ballroom upstairs. There was a buffet lunch which was mostly identifiable, thanks to some handy labels. Unfortunately there are many things we were advised not to eat because of the poor tap water quality. So salad and many of the vegetables were off limits unless we want to bring the TD on this early in the trip. Back on the bus we headed straight to the pyramids which could be seen from the hotel. I could not get over the fact that you might just be driving down the road to the store or to work and see the pyramids just chillin out the window. Totally blew my mind.

 

So we went over to the pyramids and went to a place where you can take pictures of all three pyramids at the same time. They call it the panorama and it’s a little plateau a ways off from the pyramids. This is where we had our first camel ride. JJ and I paid 50 egyptian pounds each to ride double on a camel named Banana. From the plateau a young boy led our camel train down to the pyramids which took about 20 minutes. At the end of our little trip he took our picture (you can’t really see me because JJ thought it would be smart to sit in front of me…he is over six feet tall)  and of course asked for a tip. In Egypt everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) requires a tip. Photo ops, directions, toilets, anything you can think of will require you to pay at least ten pounds. Luckily most people will accept various currencies so it’s handy to have a supply of 1 USD bills for such situations.

 

The pyramids are gigantic, we all know this, but there is no accurate description for how tiny I felt next to the massive structures. The bottom layer is taller than me by at least a foot and there are possibly 300,000 stones in each pyramid. It took 20 years to build just one and was totally built by hand. They are absolutely magnificent and I am still struggling to warp my head around the fact that I was there and I touched something that is thousands or years old. Interesting fact: Obama visited the pyramids a couple weeks before us and is the first president of any country to go inside the pyramid. However, he did not ride a camel. What would people say if the President of a country was seen participating in tourist activities. Would anyone take him less seriously for riding a camel? Ask any man who has ridden a camel and he will tell you it is quite an accomplishment.

 

After visiting the pyramids we strolled by the Sphinx and speculated which animal it most closely resembles. It has the head of a human and the disproportional body of a cat (?). Once we rescued Dan from a camel man and reclaimed his 300 pounds we were back on the bus driving through Cairo, past the Nile, and to Conrad Hotel to check in for the night. We took showers to get rid of the pyramid dust on us and had dinner at the hotel. The dinner conversation was pleasant as I sat next to the Global Studies professor, Alex Nalbach, and his partner Marc Vincent. The figs for dessert were some of the best figs I have ever had in my life.

 

Our small group returned to Giza at sunset to see the Sound and Light show at the pyramids and Sphinx. Between the lasers, colorful lights, booming music, and animation I learned some interesting Egypt facts. For example, it took 100,000 people to build the pyramids, the granite comes from Aswan, and the pyramids belong to Cheops (and two other guys I can’t remember). I saw a shooting star over Cheops’ pyramid which was a perfect ending to an outstanding day.

 

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I walked like an Egyptian today but resisted the temptation to buy a “traditional” head cover like many other people. I felt way too cheesy wearing it, like it was part of a Halloween costume.

 

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We have a 5 am wakeup call tomorrow.

 

Day 44- At Sea, Pre-Port Egypt

Since I didn’t get to celebrate my brother Andrew’s birthday yesterday, it was super exciting to celebrate Andrew Buckner’s birthday here on the ship. Andrew turns 20 tomorrow but we will be scattered all over Egypt so we are celebrating tonight. His mom ordered him not one, but two cakes for the occasion! Tonight we had the chocolate ice cream cake and we will have the other after we return from Egypt. I made Andrew a card with a dragon on it because he is quite fond of dragons. He was really excited about it and everyone wrote a nice little message for him.

 

The biggest event of the day for Andrew was his long awaited haircut. Sam made him an appointment for this afternoon and I tagged along with the camera to document this transformation. Andrew once upon a time had shoulder length green hair and three piercings in his ears. He allowed Sam to direct the stylist to fix him up nice. Luckily Andrew was all smiles during the process but I’m sure he was freaking out on the inside. There was quite a pile of hair on the floor at the end but now he has a real boy haircut! The lady even showed him how to style it using product! Everyone ohhed and awed when he emerged from the spa on the seventh deck. I don’t even recognize him right now because he looks so different.

 

After the festivities of Andrew’s birthday we went to pre-port for Egypt and learned all about our first stop in Africa. It was interesting but not as much as most pre-ports because I am going on an SAS trip the whole time so I don’t need to know as many details.

 

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Andrew looks fantastic and was so brave to trust some girls telling him how to fix his hair.

 

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I ate too much ice cream cake.

 

Day 43- At Sea

Today was back to class again. It was a nice sunny day so most of the free time between classes and evening activities was spent outside on the seventh deck. Most importantly, today is Andrew’s 15^th birthday! I had a short phone conversation with him after he got out of drivers education for the day. Someone is growing up way too fast. I asked him if he wanted anything cool from Egypt for his birthday and he said nothing in particular, just good pictures. He did mention that he saw a nuclear power plant in either Cookeville or Crossville, Tennessee. That worries me.

 

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I am really glad we have two days between ports this time around because all those sleepless nights are starting to catch up with me!

 

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I didn’t get to celebrate Andrew’s birthday with him for the first time in a LONG time. Hope it was fantastic anyway!

 

Day 42- Varna, Bulgaria

I woke up this morning nervous but totally psyched for heading towards the bridge. I had breakfast with Jon, Rocky, and Ryder at Ryder’s request. Rocky (Ryder’s dad) talked me through the bungee jumping, convincing me it would be fun and not scary. I left with Shane, Erik, and Erica and made it to the bridge by 11 am. There was already a small group gathered but the bungee guys were not there yet. We waited about half an hour before we were hungry again so we decided to walk to find some food. Our destination, unfortunately, was the Golden Arches since that’s what we could see from the bridge. It took us way too long to walk there and we got a little lost. I thought I ordered chicken strips but I got chicken wings. Any may I say they were the best darn wings I’ve ever had! It was interesting eating American good in a foreign country. There are no free refills, free water, of free condiments. At least the restrooms here were free, most places aren’t.

 

By the time we made it back to the bridge there were about 30 people in line. We waited, and waited, and waited for three hours and there was still a crowd in front of me. In the end it got to be 4 pm, time to go back to the ship, and there were fifteen people still in front of me. I just sucked it up and decided I wouldn’t be jumping off any bridges today. I exchanged my Lev for USD instead and went back to the ship to say goodbye to Bulgaria.

 

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I had the courage to almost jump off a bridge. And I am convinced that I will one day! Also, banana and whiskey ice cream is a weird but good combination.

 

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I am still kicking myself for not going yesterday with Whitney and for leaving for lunch today. Oh well, as Shawn said, “Your mother will be happy.”

 

Day 41- Varna, Bulgaria

I was woken up by a storm at 5 am and even when I went to breakfast it was still raining. I went back to sleep and after lunch Rudy and I headed to the Varna mall to look for some shirts to wear in Africa. Dan, Calvin, Lauren, and Julie came to the mall with us to see a movie. Rudy and I had some trouble finding clothes because the styles here are so different and very strange. Eventually, we found some suitable clothes and relaxed with an iced coffee before going back to the ship to meet Whitney to go bungee jumping.

 

The walk to the bridge is about 45 minutes and we arrived around 5:45 pm. Several SAS kids were leaving saying that the group was closing up for the evening. We went on (one of the longest bridges I’ve ever seen) thinking we would make reservations for the next morning. There was a small crowd still there so we asked if we could squeeze in tonight. They said yes so Whitney signed her life over to them right away. I wasn’t completely convinced so I waited to see what all this was about. I saw two girls chicken out before one girl just climbed onto the railing and swan dove over the edge. She must have done that before because she looked like she was having a great time. Two guys went just as easily and said it was very fun. I still wasn’t ready so I let Whitney go. We counted down from three and she jumped over the edge. At the bottom, as she hung upside down swinging, she yelled, “That was awesome!” Once she was hoisted back on the bridge, the guys started packing up so I just passed because I could come back tomorrow morning. On the way home all Whitney could say was, “I can’t believe I just did that.” Between watching Whitney and hearing Athena’s stories from the day before, I talked myself into going in the morning.

 

After dinner a group of us headed to the bowling alley. We found Galaxy Bowling which is on the main strip in town above a gay bar called Alexander. Sam, Shane, Spencer, and I were on a team against Anna, Meredith, Erik, and Andrew. Most of us were horrible at bowling so after one game we went upstairs to play some pool. Sam and I played against Anna and Meredith and won two games. On the way home we snacked on popcorn from a street vendor. We made it back by midnight to prepare for our big day tomorrow!

 

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I convinced myself to do something totally dangerous and crazy.

 

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I had the second worst score in bowling tonight…what else is new though?

 

Day 40- Varna, Bulgaria

 

 

Today a small group of us decided to visit the various tourist sites around Varna. Our first stop was intended to be the aquarium. We followed the map closely but couldn’t find it anywhere. Rumor was it was like Petsmart so we kept walking to find the dolphinarium. Once again, we wandered for a long time and couldn’t find it at all. After a quick photo shoot and a run in with a crazy Bulgarian lady we decided to settle on the beach for the afternoon. I got to swim in the Black Sea which wasn’t as clean as I would have hoped, but still fun. As the sun started to set we walked back to the ship, stopping to peek in on the pro volleyball tournament going on nearby. I spent the evening at a bar on the beach with various SAS kids. Athena, Jon and I had a liter each of Tabour for only 3.50 Lev! There was tequila to celebrate Jess' birthday....again. We had to teach Craig the proper way to take a tequila shot, salt and lime included. We made sand angels and did cartwheels on the beach. When the creepy Australian started asking some girls inappropriate questions we figured it was time to head home.

 

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We were really spontaneous today and I liked it.

 

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If I don’t make it home it’s because a crazy Bulgarian lady cursed us because we didn’t have any money to give her.

 

Day 39- Varna, Bulgaria

So my streak of sunrises ended this morning when I didn’t hear the alarm. I woke up 30 minutes late and caught the tail end of the sky changing colors. It wasn’t a total disappointment but still a failure. We arrived outside the port of Varna, Bulgaria around noon yesterday but we just had to hang out till tonight around 7 pm. We got to use the tenders in the morning to get on land and explore the city. After breakfast Rudy, Andrew, Erik, Julie, Dan O., Shane, and I walked to the center of town, taking in the new and unique culture of Bulgaria. None of us know much about the country and this is the first time SAS has ever gone here.

 

We had lunch at Makalali Club on the beach. Julie and I shared a Marco Polo pizza and margaritas. Who knew that Varna was a resort town? It seems to be pretty popular for European tourists and has a nice beach. After lunch I went on the “Wonders of Bulgaria” trip with SAS. Our first stip was Aladzha Monastery. The monastery is a collection of limestone caves from the 13^th century. The monks who lived in the monastery were part of the Doctrine of Holy Light order. They values silence and stillness which is why they chose this isolated location for their monastery. We climbed around in the caves for a while then jumped back on the bus to head to Golden Sands, a major resort location. Golden Sans is a beach with several popular hotels, restaurants, bars, discos, and beach activities. We ran into a man advertising a restaurant who had never met and American before. I’m not sure if he was joking or not but he said he had only seen Americans on TV. He was so excited to meet us; it was like a little kid meeting his hero. After exploring Golden Sands and scoping out some evening activities, the tour took us to the Stone Forest. The Stone Forest was formed almost 50 million years ago when the area was actually an ocean. The pillars that make up the Stone Forest are made of clay and limestone that formed underwater like stalagmites/tites. There are many mythical stories connected to these pillars; about positive energy, luck etc. Upon returning to port after our tour, I shoveled down an appetizer at a local restaurant before jumping on another bus for an FDP for my education class.

 

Jenny took us to the Medical University of Varna to meet undergraduate students our age for a reception they students planned by themselves. We were warmly welcomed by about 30 students. They took us on a tour of their school where we visited the cadaver lab, the library, and a classroom. This university is a program that students attend right out of high school. So for 6 years, 18 to 24, they study medicine and then take a test to be a certified doctor in the EU. To be specialized in any area they spend time training under a doctor. It’s strange to think that people so close to my age are almost doctors. Outside, in the courtyard, we were served snacks and drinks while some professors played guitar and accordion and sang. After being entertained with their original music, the dj put on some traditional Bulgarian songs. One student asked if anyone would like to learn a traditional dance. I threw Jon’s hand in the air so he was pulled up to the front.  He dragged me up there with him and we joined hands with the Bulgarian students. The dance is sort of a conga line with stepping, grape-vining, and skipping. It was fairly easy to catch on and soon enough almost every SAS and Bulgarian student was dancing. I had an amazing time getting to know the students and exchanged some emails. Hopefully we will all keep in touch.

 

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Meeting people my age and talking to them like I talk to my friends from home was an amazing experience here in Bulgaria. I really wish SAS would organize opportunities like this to meet our peers in each country. Some people even made plans for swimming tomorrow with the students. I think being with people our age gives us a different perspective. Especially if we aren’t into meeting strangers, this field trip is a safe way to meet locals.

 

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I got cranky because I didn’t get dinner and I had been away from the boat for more than 12 hours today. I need a shower.