Aswan Egypt

Aswan is in the book of “1000 places to see before you die” and it clearly is a place to see. It was even more impressive after days and days of biking through the dry, sandy (not much to see) desert. Arriving in Aswan is a small piece of heaven in a very arid landscape. The Nile is beautiful here and the Feluccas boats are in excess. It was a very good end to our time in Egypt.



We had some time to buy groceries and get our final bags packed for our trip on the 24 hour ferry down Lake Nasser into Sudan. A couple of us decided to go to the world famous “Movenpick” hotel on Elephantine Island for dinner. For $30 us we had probably the most amazing meal I have ever eaten in my life. The only comparison being the Banff Springs Hotel brunch. We had a little boat ride back to the other side and went back to our tents at the Football stadium. Not really a day off as we biked 118km in the morning and had a police escort through the town. But it is interesting how the days that are under 130km feel like short riding days now. We are all getting stronger. Getting to know each other better and generally falling into a routine, that I feel like I could keep doing long after the trip is over. I feel stronger than ever and everyday just so lucky to know where I am and what I am doing.



We had to cross the Aswan Dam to get to the Sudanese Ferry. This is somewhat similar to the Hoover dam except access is extremely limited and generally bikes are NEVER allowed to cross this landmark. Since there are so many of us, they got special permission for us to be able to cross on our bikes. Such a cool experience. Pictures are not allowed so everyone will only remember that crossing in our minds, 70 riders filled up the road across almost the entire dam.