Brrrrr 🥶

Stage 6: Police checkpoint camp to Luxor

More or less awake by 5:30 as it seems I need all of 45 minutes to get up, stumble about in pre-dawn light, check where I am, what am I doing, and what do I really need for the day. Pack up in the dusty hardscrabble of this site, roll up tent and somehow manage to jam everything into bag and even close zipper.

Greg next to me requests a hand in closing up his bag; I do my good turn for the day by showing him how I stand on bag, roll it about like a dead sausage, compressing all within carelessly and generally showing it’s who’s boss ... succeed in getting zipper closed. I’m not the only one to whom Parkinson’s Law has applied.

Gosh, cold this morning; we inhale some porridge and a couple of mugs of good camp coffee ... get going by 07:00 as the sun comes over horizon. A short time of spinning and find that I’m really shivering from the cold; crank it up just to try and warm. It feels really cold ... clearly, I should have worn another layer at least. Take it up more to get mind off the cold and we sail along at a decent pace. By 8:00 the chill has gone and finally about 9:00 the sun is high enough that I can feel some exterior warmth.

The morning light is beautiful - this photo courtesy Rachel:

We make great time and get to the lunch truck shortly after 10:00 ... 30 minutes here, and the wind has robbed me of all the warmth, so we set off again. On the final run-in to Luxor, the vehicles and streets gradually fill ... kids all shouting out hellos and giving big grins. Adults nodding if not outright greeting. Really a nice feeling to be receiving such welcomeness.

Reach the hotel / camp site before noon. Actually we (Grace and I) go right past it without seeing the sort of hidden entrance with bright blue gates. I guess that’s why the Police escort was hooting his horn! Fortunately, stumble in through the back door (dark brown gates), around the corner, so all good.

Camping area looks fine, but being a woose, I opt for a room at USD 20/night. Shower, lunch and a Stella lager follow relatively quickly. Omar swaps over my brake disc rotor in the afternoon and I attend to the general cleaning of drive train, etc. Then get my laundry and various other chores done by late afternoon, leaving tomorrow open to complete chillaxing.

Quiet evening about the fire ...