At that hour virtually no one was on the roads and even the airport was almost completely empty. Going through security and immigration were a breeze — and thankfully, no one questioned my cough! With time to spare, we made our way to a snack bar to buy water. Thankfully, our plane was on time so we were able to board at 5:30AM The flight was short, so even with waiting for everyone (not that many people) to board, we were in Cairo less than two hours later.
Disembarking the plane, we figured out in what direction was our next gate. Enroute, we met with the Kemet representative Tamer, who reimbursed us, in US money, for the GEM tour that was unable to be scheduled. Another "to do" checked off the list!
While waiting for our Cairo to London flight, we inquired about upgrading to Business Class and were delighted to learn that it was possible for a very reasonable cost. We also learned reading the NY Times online: "When tourists in Luxor woke up on Monday to find themselves confined to their hotels or cruise ships on the Nile, it seemed that Egypt was taking extreme measures to confront the coronavirus in the ancient town at the heart of its tourism industry." Guess we dodged yet another bullet! |
Looking out the plane's window during take-off, I felt tears well up. Being in Egypt meant so much more than crossing a "bucket list" adventure off my list. The spiritual and energetic connection that I felt and was now leaving was strong. Hopefully stronger than time and space. As we climbed in elevation, moisture droplets ran down the window's exterior, mimicking my sadness to be leaving. As I watched Cairo fade from sight, I set an intention to return one day soon to see what I had missed and revisit some of the very powerful places we had.
London's Heathrow Airport was eerily empty, not unlike LAX when we left for Egypt. Our connection was tight, but we did have time to upgrade again to Business Class at an incredible price. Not unlike the airport, the plane was so sparsely filled that even flying steerage, we could have spread out and had individual rows to ourselves. After everyone was on board, we moved our seat to one with no one on any side of us and began disinfecting. With drinks in hand, we "cheered" for a great adventure and an equally great departure!
I've a vague recollection of finishing the movie "The Goldfinch" that I started on our trip to Egypt and eating dinner, but for the most part I slept. Waking up once or twice briefly, I slept for at least 8 hours. The last time I woke was to the smell of food being served and soon afterwards landed in Los Angeles around 6PM.
LAX was even more devoid of people than when we left from here just 12 days ago. A new World Order has definitely set in. Speeding through immigration and customs, with barely a nod as I held by breath for fear of coughing and being whisked into a backroom for possible quarantine. Once through, we waited for the next Santa Barbara Airbus shuttle to take us closer to home. Not surprisingly, I slept most of the way, as it proved to once again be a sure way not to continually cough. Meanwhile, Gypsy arranged for an Uber to meet us at the drop-off and take us back to her home. Totally rested be now and wide awake, I gathered up things I'd left at the start of our trip and drove home to the Santa Ynez Valley. When I arrived around 11PM it felt so good to be home!