During our travels, we haven't traveled enough to Africa. In fact, we only did one "For 91 Days" on the continent, in Ghana. So we're always excited when our journeys take us back to Africa. After a great night of sleep at the Sofitel Hotel near the Athens airport, we only had to wake up, walk across the road, and check into our flight. Luxor here we come!
This was our first time flying out of the Extra-Schengen zone, allowing us to see a totally new side of the Athens airport. It was pretty smooth; they even had automated passport checks for EU passport holders. Shortly after, we were sitting in an A320, operated by our favorite European Airline (Aegean), which would be taking on us on this two-hour trip, covering a distance of about 1200 km.
Soon we were over the Aegean Sea, flying past all the little islands and day-dreaming about a future vacation in the Cyclades. The blue of the sea is so dark, it's just absolutely stunning. As they were serving lunch, we spotted the Egyptian coast out of the window. We could make out some new resorts they were building, but nothing else was around them. And shortly afterwards, we were able to admire the Western Desert of Egypt.
Sand, hills and more sand as far you can see. Yep, it's a desert! But without warning, things suddenly turned green... which could only mean that we had reached the Nile. This was our first time witnessing this majestic green belt, which confers a wide strip of life to the arid desert. Seen from above, it becomes obvious why the vast majority of Egyptians (95%) live in an area which makes up just 5% of the country.
This was probably one of the most exciting shifts of landscapes we've ever witnessed during an airplane landing.
Stay tuned for our adventures in Luxor, where we would be spending a week. We split our time between the city's West and East Banks, exploring temples, soaking in the history, visiting museums and just enjoying life on the Nile.
But for now, let us hop into a taxi... wait, first: let us haggle over the price of a taxi (our initial taste of something that's a big part of visiting Luxor). And now we'll hop in, and head off to the Sofitel Winter Palace. Normally, this type of hotel is way over our budget, but we're partially here to celebrate a big birthday for Jürgen, so are splurging on a couple of luxurious nights. More to come!
From our Travel Blog.