Next Stop - Cairo

Hey everyone,

Thanks for checking in!

This morning we were up early because of our jet leg. We both had a bit of trouble sleeping last night as our bodies thought maybe it was time to wake up in the middle of the night after a short nap :) We walked around Athens and got a great omlette at a little cafe outside. It's so nice to just sit and relax and enjoy the scenery. We had a little walk around the city and then it was back to the hostel to pack up and hit the airport.

The trip to the airport on the bus was easy but a bit of an adventure as one of the men on the bus had just been pick-pocketed as he got on the bus. That was a reminder to us that we have to be extra careful with our stuff.

Then we had an easy flight from Athens to Cairo, only about 1.5 hours total. The airplane food definitely wasn't great, but luckily we had eaten beforehand. At the airport we were met by someone from our hostel and then taken on one of the wildest rides of our life. We knew we were in for adventure when we got in the backseat, looked around and there were no seatbelts! The driving in Cairo is insane, there are cars and buses everywhere, people are constantly honking. Our driver used his horn more in the first 5 mins than we ever have. It is hard to tell how many lanes of traffic there are and there doesn't seem to be any lights.

We made it to our hostel safe and sound and it seems great. The staff are really friendly. On their advice we headed to old Cairo to the bazaar. The architecture in Cairo is beautiful, big towers, mosques and very middle eastern, like out of a movie. The market was full of action, as practically the only two white people there we drew a lot of attention at the bazaar. People were trying to sell us stuff everywhere. We got a chance to practice our haggling, it's definitely expected in this place and a result we were able to get some great stuff. Everything here is very expensive, our approx. 10 or 15 minute cab ride is equivilant to $1 total...crazy!

The culture, scenery and atmosphere here are so different, it's really unlike anything we've ever seen. People like that we're from Canada and always refer to 'Canada Dry' when we say where we're from. It's clear that a lot of people are living in poverty and recognize the money that tourists have. That being said people are very friendly and always wanting to help (hoping for a nice tip of course!).

Can't wait for tomorrow, we're headed to the pyramids first thing!!!