We boarded the bus, ready for adventure. We first visited the Pyramids in Giza. They are every bit as spectacular as you imagine. We were riding in the desert for some time and then BAM - there they are! Huge, Beautiful and Majestic!
(ticket stubs)
Once off the bus, we were once again assaulted by vendors. Following my mom's lead, we just kept our heads down, moved forward and said "no" over and over again. As we toured and viewed the majestic structures, Achmed would tell us some history about them. I wish I took better notes and I didn't write down anything specific about the Pyramids, but guys, they are thousands of years old and I was impressed beyond what I can describe.
(behind is the city in the valley)
( that small opening is where you walked in.)
After going in side one of the Pyramids (not for the claustrophobic) and then riding the camels, we got back on the bus and headed to the Sphinx.
(this was my camel, I called him Bruce. Apparently, Bruce "don't like to be touched". He didn't spit at me, but he growled. The bit I did touch him, the skin is rough. Not soft at all)
(mom's camel - look she's touching the top of the pyramid!)
(a fun adventure)
Guys - this was beautiful! Such an amazing piece of art right out of stone. Surrounding it is all stone too. It was stunning
And then things took a turn. As we were walking to the exit we approached some stone steps. We started down them and next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, landing on my right shoulder and feeling my head bounce on the stone. Literally one second later, I felt something on top of me and my head bounced again, while my entire right side was slammed into the stone again.
I laid stunned for a few seconds trying to assess what the crap happened and how I was hurt, I thought a headache would start any second in addition to my entire body feeling like I'd been beaten.
Sadly, a gentleman on our bus was right behind me when we started down the stairs. He lost his footing and fell forward, first knocking mom to her hands and knees and then me straight down the stairs followed by him falling on top of me. The man is about my husbands size 6'2'' and maybe 200 pounds. Well no wonder I felt like I'd been blindsided. The tour guides and surrounding people were very kind in helping me get up, I could feel some blood and stinging on my right leg so I lifted my pant leg to find a swollen knee with a mild abrasion and then a larger one on my ankle. My sunglasses took the brunt of the side of my head and thankfully they didn't break, instead I was only mildly scratched. Not even as bad as my leg. The worst was the right side of my chest and shoulder where I was already dealing with some rotator cuff issues. It immediately felt like I had some broken ribs. Deep breaths, exhales, coughing, laughing, taking a breath to speak, all hurt very badly. When I was at rest, just sitting, they ached terribly. Someone used some bottled water to clean my scrapes and then bandaged them. I didn't even know that Mom had fallen, she never said a word until days later, but she was at my side making sure I was okay. Once I knew I could be steady on my feet, we boarded the bus and headed to the next stop. Man, I was hurting!
We stopped at the Papyrus Institute were we learned about that ancient art and viewed some spectacularly beautiful pieces. I purchased one and had them add Catmull in hieroglyphics. I love it and glad we had that opportunity.
(there are on the right hand side starting at the top and going down - Catmull
I just need to get it framed)
While there I was introduced to a man on our other bus in the tour group who was a retired doctor. He reviewed what happened and concurred about the broken rib(s). However, it was recommended to NOT seek medical treatment in Egypt, but wait until we got to Israel. And if you know me or remember this post, you know that I am a no narcotic girl. I did have some that my ortho had prescribed before I left for that nagging shoulder injury, but I hadn't taken any. Now and for the rest of the of the trip, I only took one if things were not manageable. Otherwise, it was grit your teeth and get through it. This trip was one that was a once in a lifetime. I never considered going home or skipping any of the tour. I feel blessed that I was able to get through it with minimal adjustments. People were kind in lifting things for me and mom did tons to help me.
We went back to the hotel for the night. In talking with mom about chapter two, she reminded me that we did the buffet the second night at this hotel and then this last night we went to a restaurant in the lobby instead. Guess what?!?! Mom doesn't like cheese either so we split a delicious NO CHEESE pizza! Great travel mates!
Getting to bed on this day was heaven. I was so tired, in pain and needed to just stretch out and sleep! Looking ahead to the next day, we are ready to board the cruise ship for some unforgettable time on the Nile river!
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