Day 18 (October 23, 2011)   Return


Before   


   Very short day within the travel story as we have to wake up early in order of getting the flight scheduled to leave Athens at 8:45. If there are no delays, we will be in Barcelona at 11:00.

After


   We must leave the hotel so early that we cannot even take our breakfast, we will take something in the plane. I think 6:30 is so soon for going to the airport but with all we’ve done in this travel this is just a small thing. So, we follow the plan with no incidences: 40€ for the taxi trip to airport, check in, wait and board on Aegean airlines flight which lands over Barcelona on time. Effectively, we’ve got breakfast in plane.

   We are crazy for watching all the pictures of the amazing places we’ve been in this travel, where everything went so well. We all agree the time spent in Jerusalem give us the will of coming back to visit the places we’ve missed, and not just because of finding Temple of Mount and Mount of Olives’ spots closed, but the rest of the city and the country of Israel. We have the feeling of completed Jordan, but we would come back to enjoy its wonders and its people, although we think that’s not going to happen likely. Somehow, the feeling about Egypt is more confuse. From my personal side, I don’t think I’m going to come back but for the Sinai and its resorts in Red Sea with these prices for an All Inclusive. Maybe the pressure we’ve been living when chased by local vendors makes the difference here, or maybe the feeling I’ve seen all I wanted to see –having in mind the amount of places we missed – helps but, overall, the political situation of this country makes me guess an uncertain future for the tourism in there, I wish I’m wrong here.

   I wouldn’t be fair with Egypt if I don’t talk about the people, out of the ones whom their way of life based on was get from tourist make them develop to don’t accept “no” as a valid answer and tireless chasing to any outsider in their look for some money – including forcing the anger or pity because experience showed they can get a little more that way -, the rest of local people we have treated have showed honest and worried about the lack of visitors and this unknown situation where there are people who don’t “want” to visit their country. Egypt is more than its large collection of archaeological jewels; although we all will agree just a few people would visit this country without them.

   With these thoughts in mind, the points I would change from the original plan now would be:

 - I would add one more day for Jerusalem because one of them should be a working day to be able of visiting Temple Mount. I would avoid Yom Kippur with no doubt as it is not helping to the tourist.

 - If traveling on October or April months, it will be needed to find out in advance the time changes to summer or winter time for every country.

 - I must tell again the needing of spending at least two days in Cairo which is something we already know and should change because of the Athens day. Regarding Cairo visiting, I would pay even more than the entrance fee now for coming into Saladin citadel, but living the moment makes the difference here and, at that moment, we were quite sick of fees.