My eyeballs are drying up like raisins!

Brother Mule

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Our first night to Aswan was on the 14-hour train ride from Cairo.  We lucked out on having our own cabin to spread out and get some sleep.  As soon as we stepped out of the air-conditioned train the dry desert heat hit us!  It felt as if the air was sucking the moisture out of every cell of our bodies.  Our sweat glands didn't have time to keep up.  If there was ever a time we wished we could sweat, this was it!  After about an hour, walking in the midday heat, our eyes felt like sun-dried tomatoes, parched and red.  With bottles of water at hand, we crossed the Nile, leaving the town behind.  As we approached the west bank we could feel the heat radiating from the endless sands.  Here we had our first taste of ancient Egyptian Tombs of the Nobles.  Only some tombs were able to be opened by our bouncy guide, years of vandalism, took its toll, but the paintings and carvings remained strikingly precise.  The other must-see from Aswan is Abu Simbel , a 3 hour bus ride further south along the Nile.  The only way to Abu Simbel is in a police guarded convoy departing everyday at 5am.  (This is supposed to protect the tourists from terrorists.  However, it seemed the 2 guards that came with the 50 busses loaded with tourists were a bit ill-equipped...this convoy seems to be a good way for any terrorist to know where hundreds of tourists would be located at the same time every day, not such a 'safe' method).  South of the High Dam (sooo overrated, not nearly as cool as say, the Hoover Dam), these colossal statues of Ramses and his wife were moved to higher ground to be saved from the rising waters of the Dam.  Both the scale of the ancient temple and the present day relocation of such a mammoth temple were equally impressive.  That day our tour continued to High Dam and Philae Temple, at high noon we were being cooked to the point of literally sweating our brains out!  Luckily enough we could cool down with McDonald's soft serve ice cream (yea, we caved!)  With so much more to see to the north, we said goodbye to our fu'ul (Egyptian refried beans) slingin' friend and $7/night hotel room.