Home of the Pharaohs

Another New Years in Tignes

2012-01-21T12:31:00.001+02:00

We decided to spend New Year's Eve in Tignes, France again for a week of skiing. We make this decision every year with some consternation -- "Do we really want to go to the same place again? What about all the other ski resorts in Europe?" But I've done a lot of research -- snowfall for the time of year, flight costs, transfer options, hotels, etc -- and it's not like much changes from year to year. Plus, it's a huge ski area to explore and no matter what your scene, there is something to do after the skiing is over.

So, we went to Tignes again with a little concern about Europe's drought earlier in the season. Europe's drought ended a little before we got there, and any concerns of it coming back were addressed while we were there. Reports varied, but it appears Tignes got 1-2 METERS of snow in the 10 days we were there. That means a lot of low visibility days, a lot of days where visibility, high winds, and avalanche risk kept the majority of the mountain closed, a few cherry days where some GREAT deep powder could be found.

Good turns.

We went again with the Telemark Ski Company for some lessons and some off-piste guiding. On our first snow and blue sky day early in the week we went on a (lift assisted) ski tour from Tignes le Lac, out a gate, through some slackcountry, and eventually wrapped around to Val Claret. It was a beautiful run, but I probably needed a few more days of powder experience. I started out ok, made some solid turns, and felt reasonably confident. But as tends to happen in the backcountry, the snow conditions were pretty variable between deep, wet, soft snow to wind scoured slabs. Also, some bad habits you can get away with on piste really bit me in the butt.

Tips over head is not usually a good sign.

Long story short, I took a few tumbles. Then the confidence got rattled around and I fell a lot more. None were immediately dangerous or painful, but they did eat up time, energy, and confidence. Since I have a decent aerobic base and it was a short tour it was fine, but I can see how it could quickly turn into a problem.

Later in the week though, we fought the visibility and manage to get some pockets of good weather and some excellent snow. My skiing improved through the week and I suspect if I had done the ski tour later in the week I probably would have managed a lot better. Good times were had either way.

Low Viz: It's even worse when you're trying to ski.

Dusk in Tignes le Lac.

Istanbul Trip 2011

2011-12-18T11:46:00.004+02:00

This year I spent Thanksgiving, ironically, in Turkey. I was chaperoning a school trip to Istanbul with about 30 students from my school here in Cairo. After arriving at the hotel and getting all of the kids arranged in their rooms, we headed for the tour buses and a whirlwind tour of some of Istanbul's famous sights. The purpose of our trip was to participate in a Junior Model United Nations conference, so this would be our only opportunity for sight seeing.

Hagia Sophia

Our first stop was Hagia Sophia. Originally built as a Christian cathedral around 360 AD, this building was a center of Orthodox Christianity until the mid 1400's when the city was converted to Islam. At that time Hagia Sophia was transformed into a mosque, and it remained so until the building was converted into a museum by the Turkish Government in the 1930's. When the cathedral was converted to a mosque, all of the intricate mosaics depicting scenes form Christianity were covered in clay.

When you stand inside the main hall of this building there is an incredible feeling of contradictions, as well as unity. Today these mosaics have been uncovered and restored resulting in a blending of Islamic and Christian ornamentation in the same house of worship.

Dome above the altar. Notice the Christian Mosaic between the two large discs of Arabic calligraphy

The Blue Mosque

Literally across the street from Hagia Sophia is The Blue Mosque. Technically named The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, this mosque is known for its blue and white tile work inside. It was here that I had one of the most memorable experiences of my life abroad. We entered the courtyard of the mosque just as the call to prayer was starting.

The Blue Mosque taken from the courtyard outside

The perimeter of the courtyard

It was a surreal moment, having just crossed the threshold as the call began. All at once the birds perched along the tops of the courtyard walls took flight. If you click on the link to the call to prayer above you can actually see the birds flying above the Blue Mosque during the call. I felt like I was on the set of a movie; could this really be my own life? Amazing.

From my seat along the perimeter wall I noticed a large group of our students running across the courtyard toward the other chaperones. They huddle around my colleagues for a moment in conversation and then tore across the courtyard again toward the entrance to the mosque. The Muslim students had asked if they could all go inside and pray together. What an incredible moment for them. All of the adults on the trip had to remain outside, being the infidels that we are, leaving this group of 11-14 year olds to pray together inside. I was quite moved by this entire experience.

I know this is blurry, but it captures my students taking off their shoes before entering the mosque.

Once the prayer had concluded the remaining students and chaperones were permitted to enter the mosque. Below you will see how it earned its name:

The hundreds of chains you saw hanging in the two photos above are used to suspend these massive chandeliers.

Finally, below are a few more photos form the trip.

I liked the color of the buildings and the tiled roof in this photo. Notice the old aqueduct in the back ground?

The temperature had been dropping when we arrived. I spotted this motorcycle during one of my walks. I thought this was a resourceful way to keep warm during deliveries:

I loved this fruit stand:

And finally, I had to snap a quick shot of this dog doing his best to uproot an electrical line. Memories of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and the cat chewing on the tree lights sprang to mind and I ran the other way.

Athens in October

2011-11-04T08:40:00.013+02:00

In mid-October I went to Athens, Greece for about a week. I was attending an English teacher's workshop followed by an educational leadership conference. I'll skip the details, but it was a valuable learning experience and I came back to my school with several new ideas and approaches that will improve my practice.

While I was there the public works employees went on strike. Garbage was piled up around the city and the hosts of the conference repeatedly apologized for the mess and the smell. My colleague from Cairo and I had to laugh, because we had commented while walking around the day before that the garbage piles were so neat and organized here compare to Cairo where it is often strewn about the road side and burning in the medians.

Graffiti like this was painted all around the city

Our hotel was centrally located, only a few blocks from the Syntagma Square, and from the roof top restaurant we had a spectacular view of one of Athens' seven hills, Mount Lycabettus and the Arch of Hadrian. I ran up to the top of Mount Lycabettus, which looks more impressive than it really is. The first time I did it my GPS calculated 2 miles from the hotel's front door to the monastery at the top. The second time I ran up I found a more direct route and it was only 1.5 miles. Regardless, it was still a treat to be 1) running in shorts in a city and not feel like I was the equivalent of an adult film star and 2) to be climbing up through green space within 10 minutes from my front door.

View from hotel rooftop at night

A photo of the Acropolis from the monastery atop Mt. Lycabettus

Day Trip to Delphi

The conference organizers arranged a full day trip to Delphi (pronounced DEL- phee). We set out for a 3 hours bus ride from Athens with a guide who has a PhD in linguistics and was the most knowledgeable guide I have ever had. The countryside we drove through reminded me of Tbilisi, Georgia. It was quite raw and rugged terrain, but lush and green at the same time. I did not know that Greece produced cotton. The photo below is of a cotton field with snow-capped mountains in the background.

Our first stop was the museum at Delphi where exhibits showed the artifacts discovered while excavating the Temple to Apollo on this site. During the height of its use Delphi had a market place, a stadium for athletic competitions, the Temple to Apollo, the Oracle at Delphi and an Athenian Treasury.

An frieze depicting Aphrodite, Artemis and Zeus overseeing the Trojan War

A Sphinx that sat atop a pillar before the Oracle at Delphi

Statue of Antinoos, beloved companion of Emperor Hadrian, who had barely reached adulthood when he drowned in the Nile.

A photo of the photo of the excavation that found the statue of Antinoos.

The view outside the museum

Olive groves in the valley below

The Treasury of the Athenians

The Treasury of the Athenians was a store house for donations made by citizens of this city. These donations went to the Temple of Apollo and the upkeep of Delphi, ensuring that any Athenian who came to worship would be moved straight to the front of the line and given preferential treatment.

The photo above is of a wall at the base of the Temple to Apollo that served as a running record of events at Delphi. Think of it as a precursor to the newspaper. The photo below is a close up of one of the stones. You can see how they carved the words to relay the news:

The Stadium at Delphi

The stadium at Delphi hosted the athletic contests of the Pythian religious festival. The Pan-Hellanic Pythian Games were second only to the Olympic Games.

Notice the judges seats in the center of this photo, they are the only ones with seat backs.

The Temple to Apollo

The remains of the Temple to Apollo

I did not realize, until visiting Delphi, that the Oracle was located underground beneath the Temple to Apollo. There was, reportedly, a chasm that would emit vapors that the Oracle would inhale and enter a trance like state and begin uttering unintelligible phrases that the priests would translate into prophecies.

Monastery Visit

After leaving Delphi we made our way back to Athens with a stop at a monastery. The grounds of this monastery were truly beautiful and peaceful. The plants were remarkable. One of the things I noticed in Athens, as well as this monastery, was that herbs were used as decoration as well as for cooking. Huge pots of basil, thyme, oregano and rosemary were planted throughout the city. I noticed the same here.

Basil

Inside the various churches were rows of chairs like those pictured below:

When you look closely you notice that each seat has a hinge in the center which enables the seat to be folded in half and raised like this:

I was unable to find an answer as to why these seats folded and how they would be used. It seems like a clever booster seat to me.

As I was making my way back tot he bus I took a detour along a side path, which led to a smaller church. Behind this church was a natural spring that had been tapped coming out of the rock wall in the hill side and the small gate pictured below. That is an enormous rosemary bush with purple flowers beside it.

Garbage City

2011-10-07T16:02:00.002+02:00

We are smack in the middle of a three day weekend and I took a few hours this afternoon to visit "Garbage City" with a few friends. The city of Cairo is rumored to have an, approximately, 80% recycling rate, which rivals any First World nation. This is all thanks to an ethnic and religious minority known as the Zabbaleen. They can be seen in the early morning hours on the streets of our neighborhood in Ma'adi pulling 2-wheeled carts loaded high with bags of garbage. We've spotted young boys flipping head first into the dumpster in front of our apartment building trying to collect the garbage on the bottom.

The garbage that is collected is then hauled out to a neighborhood, made up primarily of Coptic Christians, known as "Garbage City". Here the people live among the piles of trash, sorting it into sellable or unsellable. Often families will specialize in certain types of trash: plastics, metal, fabric etc. A recycling plant is located within the community and a variety of products, including handmade recycled paper, can be purchased. Their main source of income is the money they receive from selling raw materials back to be reused.

We couldn't get out of the car and walk around, so all of these photos were taken from the backseat.

The second part of our trip today took us to a Coptic Christian holy site located just beyond the gates of Garbage City. Here there are three churches carved into the cliffside. It was interesting to see the Bible verses and images carved into the rock face with both English and Arabic writing.

Here is a mosaic dome from one of the churches:

A carving inside one of the cave churches:

This was the first church we visited. Apparently the cave was discovered in the 1970's and was turned into a church at that time. There were signs in Arabic indicating a "women only" section:

At the top of the road through this area a stairway lead to this sad little playground that overlooked Cairo. The kids asked us our names and where we were from (in Arabic) and one little guy held out his hand and said, "Cash money, cash money" to which my one friend replied, in English, "No. That's not polite." I'm sure the message was received and internalized.

The steps leading to an amphitheater style church carved into the hill side:

Finally, I took this photo because it depicts a Biblical scene with a description in three languages: Hieroglyphics, English and Arabic.

Good Samaritans of Cairo

2011-08-27T15:15:00.003+02:00

This afternoon we set out for a walk down to Road 9, one of the local shopping districts. On the agenda were a haircut, a stop at a jeweler's and a visit to the green grocer. We almost made it.

After agreeing where we would meet up after the haircut, Seth took one step off the curb and onto a shard of glass. I heard the signature pop glass makes when it cracks under pressure and saw him immediately pull up. He took off his sandal and stood on one foot among the garbage. As I pried the glass out of the sole and Seth held his foot of the ground blood began to drip and then flow.

He looked at me and said, "OK, where do we go? Think." Before either of us had time to decide a man came jogging over with a fully stocked first aid kit that he unfurled on the hood of a car next to us. Stunned, we both thanked him and Seth maneuvered to the curb to sit down, while Good Samaritan #1 began pulling out gauze pads, scissors, and tape.

Several other man gathered around as we wrapped the foot securely enough to get us home. One of the men asked if we needed a ride. I looked up and saw that he, himself, had one arm in a sling and a Band-Aid on his forehead. I said, "No, we'll take a cab, thanks. You're hurt too." He assured us that he was OK and that his car was an automatic, so we took him up on his offer and hopped in.

Good Samaritan #2 drove us right back to our apartment, where we got to work cleaning out the wound and bandaging it up again. Seth is resting on the couch, along with Jager, a 3-year old German Shepard that we are dog sitting. After we got the bleeding under control we both commented on the displays of selfless kindess we were on the receiving end of today. In a time of economic dispair, neither of the men would accept any money for their assistance.

Life is good. Pay it forward.

The Gauntlet

2011-08-19T14:56:00.003+02:00

We're fairly used to seeing unusual things during our Friday morning cycling group rides around Cairo, but this morning was a first. One of the 2 loops our group rides regularly takes us through the streets of a village called Mokkatam. There is a market area on the main drag that I have dubbed "The Gauntlet" because you need to have all of your antennae up and ready for anything when you pass through. We've had guys on scooters zoom up along side and pace us for a mile or so, weaving in an out. We've had kids run out, waving their arms and yelling hello, and we've had cars cut us off at intersections. But nothing like today.

This morning, as we approached "The Gauntlet", a man was sitting atop a beautiful horse on the median. We rode by as he was trying to get the horse down on to the road. A few seconds later I heard the unmistakable sound of a horse at full gallop coming up from behind. He tore passed on my right and I thought, "OK, we're showing off...I get it." Then I watched as this man ran his out of control stallion directly into the back of another cyclist 30 feet in front of me. I could not believe what I was seeing. He lined up directly behind the rider and was probably planning to pass him on the right, when a minibus pulled away from the curb closing the gap. The horse plowed right into the back of the cyclist giving him the mother of all pushes and then continued to run right on passed. Unbelievable.

We pulled over to make sure the rider was OK. Miraculously he had not fallen. Just as we continued on with our ride a small group of kids came running out from the side of the road and commenced target practice on my legs with any rock they could find. I've got a nice bruise blooming on the inside of my left knee. I turned and screamed, "NO! Shame!" in Arabic, it was all that came to me at the time. I don't understand why children from some cultures find it fun to throw rocks at innocent passers by. What does this say about their upbringing and what they are taught about respecting and caring for others? Growing up in up-state New York I know we threw a snowball at a car once or twice in the winter, but even that seemed like we were dancing a very fine line and we knew it was wrong. That was a machine. To throw a rock at a person with the intent to harm as a source of entertainment is just crazy to me.

We gave each other a quick look that said, "Let's get the hell out of here." and took off for the end of town. Just as we crossed the last intersection a fruit and vegetable vendor called out, "Welcome to Egypt!" Indeed.

A Mountain Marathon

2011-08-02T08:40:00.012+02:00

I will never be "fast" and, in my opinion, road races are designed for speed. Map out a course of a prescribed distance, run on pavement, maybe with some "hills", and see how quickly you can cross the finish line. For me, this has little appeal or excitement. It's hard for me to get jazzed about pounding pavement through city streets. Now, start me off in the middle of a cow pasture and point me toward a mountain pass on a trail that borders raging streams, skirts a glacier and has volunteers standing at high points asking each runner if he or she is OK to go on before they hand out a plastic poncho for the wind and sleet you are about to turn in to, and I'm your Huckleberry. This was my kind of marathon.

I did not adhere to a strict training regimen in preparation for this race. While Seth had spreadsheets of how many miles he needed to log each day to build for his 78K, I followed a more relaxed (some would say reckless) approach to my training. Battling with some nagging injuries early on, my longest run in preparation for this alpine marathon was 12 miles. Now, I know what your thinking, I'm either a super athlete who can pull out a 26 mile run with over 9,000 ft. of elevation gain with minimal training or an idiot. My race plan, if one can call it that, was to "crawl up the climbs, fall down the descents and walk the flats with pride." In truth, it turned out to be a much better experience than I expected.

The start was in a small village called Bergun (seen in the photo above). It was a 40 minute train ride from Davos, where both of our races would finish. While waiting on the platform I met a woman who had done this race several times in the past, but this was her first time running it since beating Leukemia. We rode the train together and she told me about the course. As I walked through the village to the starting area I heard a voice ask, "Meg?" I turned around to see a friend from my teacher training program at George Mason University. Lisa was in Switzerland with her boyfriend and they were visiting his sister who happened to live in this small mountain town. We looked at each other, dumb struck for a moment and then did the requisite squealing and "Oh my God-ing". She walked with me to the start and, at one point, looked at what I was wearing and asked, "You know that it's cold at the top right?"

The photo on the left above is the left hand turn onto the trail where the elevation began to rise dramatically. You can see in the second photo that everyone has been reduced to a hiking pace. We're all trying our best to keep the cadence high and move with strength. It continued like this, a slow and steady climb to the top of the Ketsch Pass where announcers in a mountain hut called out runner's names and a photographer was hunkered down under a tarp snapping flattering shots of exhausted people like this:

This was the spot where volunteers handed out cups of chicken broth, asked if you were OK to go on (but in German so: Alles gut?) and then promptly handed you a tightly folded plastic poncho. Everyone else seemed to be putting them on so I figured I'd follow suit. Oh man, am I glad I did.

The two photos above were taken just before I stepped over the top of the pass and began the descent into a wind blown sleet storm. You can see that we are up in the clouds at this point. It took me 2 hours and 37 minutes to get here, which was only 16K into my 42K race and we were far from finished with the climbing. The descent was tricky what with the poncho plastic blowing around your legs, slick rocks from the rain, mud and cow patties and the rocky single track making it tough to get around people. I started to hear a low, muffled sound gong, ding, gong, gong and looked up to see a herd of cattle grazzing along side the trail with their monster cow bells serenading us through the muck. I started to laugh out loud, is this cool or what?! I mean seriously, where am I?

The trail eventually flattened out a bit and I began to pick up some speed, running more consistently now. As we curved right around an alpine lake I looked up to see a line of orange ponchos disappearing into the low hanging clouds. I actually said, "Oh. My. God." out loud. I wish I had dug my camera out of my Camelbak to capture that image for you but it was under my poncho and that thing wasn't coming off for the world. Above you can see the very end of the climb and the aid station at the top. From here it was all pretty much down hill. I did manage to turn around and take a photo of the climb from the top looking back at where we had just come from (notice the drop off):

To put it in perspective this second climb peaked at 21K, that is half way through the marathon. It sounds pretty sweet to have the second half all down hill, unless you are my quadriceps that is. I began bounding down the trail, taking it as fast as I dared. I was feeling good aside form an occasional calf cramp that threatened to become more than a fleeting twinge but never materialized into a full blown cramp.

With around 15K to go my "relaxed approach" to training for this race promptly reared up and bit me in the ass. My muscles, who had been thoroughly prepared to run 12 miles had performed admirably and even exceeded their preparation and, with 15K to go, said "Aaaaaaand, we're done." At which point my tendons were charged with the task of stabilizing my knees that my muscles no longer could. Now tendons, they're right nasty little buggers and quite adept at performing feats of strength in short bursts. But ask them to shoulder the burden over the last 9 miles and I can tell you, they will give you more than just 1 piece of their minds. My IT bands both gave me the finger and began twisting their sharp little knife points into the sides of my knees. I know this pain, and I know what it means. So I relent and I walk down the hills. It is a strange thing when your body would rather run up hill than down, but that is how I made it through the last 9 miles. Fortunately we were able to play on some glorious single track that was relatively flat and I was able to maintain a consistent jog.

The day before the race I received an e-mail from my friend Becky in which she gave me some sage advice for how to approach the run: "Enjoy the views, regardless of how you get there and enjoy what you are capable of doing." Good advice for life. I wrote this on the back of my race number and said it out loud to myself several times along this spectacular course. I was, yet again, reminded how lucky I am to keep waking up everyday.

My First 50 Miler

2011-08-01T17:40:00.000+02:00

Meg & I just got back from the Swiss Alpine Marathon and there are so many ways I could title this, and yet this seems to be the most appropriate. One would think "last" or "only" 50 miler would be better terms to use, and even then plenty of people would think I was crazy. And yet.. I chose "first." We'll see if that is an appropriate choice later.

The Quick Summary

We spent a 4 day weekend traveling to/from the Alps to run a 78K for me and a 42K (Marathon) for Meg. The course was great, the temperatures were perfect, we got some cold rain on the top of a 8500 ft mountain pass, but overall it was beautiful. It was a fantastic trip and we both had a GREAT time! Both of our legs are very sore now and my left foot is injured. X-rays appear to be negative but walking is very painful.

The Swiss Alpine Marathon

In April, we went skiing and one of our instructors put the idea of this race into my head. A 78K in Alps would be pretty epic. And there are shorter options so Meg can run too or in case training doesn't work out as much as I'd like in Egypt. Meg has repeatedly expressed interest in seeing/hiking the Alps in the summertime rather than only ski them in the winter. I don't understand this desire, but I'll cater to her whims from time to time. :) The race is a quick flight from Cairo and in the same timezone, so we won't have to deal with jet lag and break the bank too much. So an idea was born.

Getting There

It was not quite as easy to get to this race as it initially seemed. Switzerland is a pretty small country with a great train system. How hard could it be to get to the start of this race? Well....

Our plan was to fly into Geneva and take the train to Davos Platz. This would be a 5.5 hour train ride, but it was significantly less expensive than flying to Zucich directly, and a similar priced ticket with a layover meant the same amount of travel time. We discovered later that the race included free train passes from the airports, that was a big win! So after leaving the house at 7:15am on Thursday, we arrived at our hotel in Davos at 9:00pm. It was raining, it was cold (mid-50s), and we were smiling.

Friday was spent wandering around Davos, going to packet pickup, getting some coffee, lunch, and generally enjoying the town and a quiet vacation day. A street festival was taking place a few blocks from our hotel and we watched as kids climbed crates, had a bratwurst, and soaked in the show. We went to bed early to get ready for a big day.

Saturday. Race Day

The K78 started at 7am which seemed very reasonable for a race like this. At the same start times were the C42 (marathon in the valley) and the K30. There were several thousand people at the race start, more than I'd ever seen at the start of any ultra-race before. Clearly, most of them were not in the K78, but who's who? Race numbers were color coded, but it's hard to tell from inside the crowd. With so many people, the organizers were smart to start us out on several miles of roads. After a while the run through town turned into running through the Alps. Especially for the first half of the day, this meant a lot of single lane roads through farm areas, some dirt roads, some fire roads, and the occasional patch of single track. For the most part, unless it went up, it was wide enough to fit a car through which was probably for the best with the crowds. When it ticked uphill, the single track was beautiful, and I was moving slow enough to enjoy it.

However, 20K into this race, my left foot started acting up. I've been fighting off a bit of a pain at the end of my 5th metatarsal for a little while, probably since the Highlands 40 miler about a month ago. Nothing major, but it was there at the start of the race. By 20K in, there was no question this guy was going to be an issue today. Running was starting to be painful. There was an option to bail at the 30K mark. I was still mostly running (except for the uphills), so within 3 hrs I had finished 19 miles and decided to keep going.

A little after the 40K marker we found a bag drop where I changed the sweat soaked arm armers, shirt and shoes for dry options prior to hitting the mountains. Shortly after that, the K78 course joined the K42 course. Meg's race took off at 11:30 so she got a 15 minute head start as I passed through at 11:45. The run goes about 10K of rollers and gradual uphills. It's hard to say exactly when, but the "gradual" up started going steep up and everyone (at least around me) was walking as the trail goes up 1700m over 5km. By the time we got to the Ketch hut at about 8500 ft, it was in the 40s and raining. Thankfully, the organizers were handing out ponchos or I probably would have been hypothermic.

After walking most of the 15km uphill, I was anxious to run some to get the legs moving down the slopes into this alpine valley and get those splits down to make the cut off times. However, the left foot wasn't cooperating and while I did run quite a bit, it was with a healthy dose of Ibuprofen and guts to make it happen. After a few kilometers of that, the trail turns up again and gains nearly 600 feet in about a mile. (Average about 15-20% grade.) Wow that was hard.

Going down the backside of it, was slippery and cautious but not too bad. I found a guy from Davos running his second marathon (K42 participant) and we ran together down hill for a few miles. Once we got into the valley, the rain stopped and the temperatures were pleasant again and I stopped to take the poncho off while he ran on. I power-walked most of the remaining 15K home with a 12-15 minute pace and managed to come in at 11:54. I'm certain if my foot wasn't so injured I could have trimmed an hour or more off it, but sub-12 ain't too shabby all considered. Meg finished about an hour infront of me, finishing her marathon in 6:36 and was waiting at the finish line for me with a big smile on her face.

Post-Race

After the race, Meg & I walked up the hill to our hotel room. Well, Meg shuffled and I hobbled. We grabbed a shower, ate some dinner in town, then passed out. At 6am the alarm went off so that we could finish packing to get back on the trains. We were in Geneva by 1:30 for our checkin, but the plane got delayed for 6 hours. Our 7pm arrival in Cairo turned into 4am, but everything made it in once piece. X-rays show the foot seems to be in intact and I will follow up with more medical care.

Overall it was a great time, even with the foot issues, and I hate to say it, but I would consider doing a 50 miler again on the right course and without pre-existing injuries.

A Day Trip to Alexandria

2011-07-17T07:43:00.004+02:00

Yesterday morning we set out for a day trip to Alexandria, Egypt. Our journey began on the subway to the main train terminal downtown, which was under construction. We had to ask someone to point out which train was headed to Alex and then a second someone to direct us to the right train car. The ride was easy and comfortable in the air conditioned 1st class cabin. We met a man sitting across the aisle from us who was home from the U.S. on summer break from his PhD program at a small Georgian college. A cart came through the cabin several times during the 2.5 hour ride selling tea, coffee and snacks.

Roman Amphitheater

When we pulled in to Misr Station in Alexandria we headed straight for the Roman Amphitheater. It's quite literally across the street.

Roman Amphitheater

These ruins were discovered when the foundation was being laid for apartment buildings scheduled to be built on this site. It lies right in the center of busy intersections, tall buildings and communication towers. Having been here before, Seth walked me straight in to the center of the curved seating where a small, flat, round stone marks the floor. I was chatting away and as I stepped onto the stone I suddenly heard my voice echoing and amplified off the stone seats. It sent chills down my arms. I can't express what an incredible feeling it is to stand in a place like that and wonder what transpired here 1500 years ago or more. Who stood here and spoke? Who sat in these rows and listened or argued? What must it have been like to dig down and unearth this?

Seat numbers?

Look closely and you can make out carvings on the facing piece of these bench seats. Is that a "true trail arrow" on the second row up?

The Corniche

From the Amphitheater we began our walk to the Corniche, the main drag along the Mediterranean Sea. We walked everywhere this day, wanting to take our time and just experience the city slowly. We came upon a coffee shop and ducked inside to investigate buying some beans to take home with us, as our local coffee vendor has been out of coffee the last 2 times I have stopped in to buy (tough business model, no?) We struck up a conversation with a couple sitting at the bar who told us this was the best coffee shop in all of Alexandria. What luck! We seem to have a knack for finding the "very best" things in Egypt (See previous post about the "Best soldiers on Earth"). In truth the cappuccinos were great and we got the man's card. He is a travel agent and tour guide in Alexandria with a good sense of humor.

Before reaching the Corniche we took a quick detour to Cap d'Or, rumored to be the oldest bar in Alexandria. It is a tiny place and at 1:30 pm we were the only patrons, but the beer was cold and the dance music playing on the bar tender's cell phone was like stepping back in time...ehem.

Crowded public beaches lined the waterfront on the Corniche

We wound our way along the coast, slowly making out way toward Fort Qaitbey. The sandy strip along the seas was crowded with swimmers and young Egyptians posing dramatically for photos of themselves. Snack vendors were everywhere and, in an effort to hold us over for a late lunch, we bought two big pretzels from a cart for 2 LE (about $0.25 each). We were both a little surprised to bite in to the hard, dry cracker, thinking it would have been soft and doughy from the look of it. Gradually the flavorless swallows began to get stuck half way down our throats and we gave up, tossing them in to a trash bin.

Cotton candy boys wanted their picture taken

Coffee shops and ice cream stands lined the Corniche. We dodged a few cars and minibuses for a cone of sherbet to wash down our crackers and kept on toward the peninsula of land where Qaitbey looks out over the Sea.

Row boats available for rent

Swimmers hanging off a boat

View of Fort Qaitbey across the marina

Near the entrance to the fort we walked passed the ship yard, where yachts are still built completely out of wood, by hand.

Fort Qaitbey

You may be familiar with the Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, that used to stand in Alexandria's harbor before an earthquake in 1303 brought it crumbling into the sea. The Fort was built by Sultan Qaitbey in 1480 on the spot where the lighthouse had stood. The builders incorporated some of the stone and granite form the lighthouse into the walls of the fortress.

Basement tunnel in Qaitbey

Fisherman were perched on the rocks behind the fortress

A police guard offered to snap this photo

Working our way up the stairs to each successive level of the fort, we enjoyed the breezes coming in from the Mediterranean. It was a hot day to be sure. The view from the top was spectacular.

Hall way on the third floor

View of Alexandria's coast from the top of Qaitbey

Some of the red granite in this photo may be from the original lighthouse

Iron railing along the top walls of Qaitbey

Anfushi District

From the fort we walked back along the coast toward Anfushi, the working class district. This is a poorer area of town, and has a more authentic flavor than some of the tourist driven beach front we had walked along earlier in the day. At one time considered the Turkish neighborhood of Alexandria, these streets were lined with fruit & vegetable vendors as well as fresh fish stalls and meat markets.

Rabbits. This is not a pet store.

Again, not a pet store.

Heavy carts were along many city streets selling prickly pears, grapes and mangoes.

We stopped for our early dinner at Abu Ashraf Restaurant in this neighborhood. When we walked in off the street we were first told to pick out our fish from the catch of the day displayed on ice. Then we took a seat and waited for it to be prepared, it would be a surprise since we couldn't communicate very well in Arabic. A waiter came and we asked for a bottle of water and some tomato and cucumber salad. A few moments later our table was covered with plates: beet salad, chickpeas, hummus, babaganouj, pita bread, rice and tomato and cucumber salad. A while later the fish came, split open and stuffed with onions, tomatoes and green peppers, it was a feast. We cleaned the fish off its bones and savored every bite with fresh lime. All the while having a conversation of smiles and waves with two little girls at the table next to us.

From dinner we walked back to the train station and settled in to our seats for the ride home to Cairo. As we rode past corn and rice fields the sunset turned the sky purple. Donkeys pulled carts along the canals and people sat under trees along the water as the day came to an end.

We are lucky. Life is good.

The Citadel & Al-Azhar Park

2011-07-08T18:03:00.006+02:00

The Citadel

Last weekend we joined some new arrivals to Cairo for a trip the the Citadel followed by dinner in Al-Azhar Park. This is a favorite stop for visitors to Cairo, but a place that we had not yet made the time to visit.

A view of the Mosque of Mohammed Ali Pasha

The Citadel was home to Egypt's rulers for 700 years. Housed within the walls of The Citadel are 3 mosques, several old palaces that are now used as museums and a couple of terraces with views overlooking the city. Construction began on The Citadel complex in 1176 and many different groups have controlled it since then. The most impressive structure within the walls is the mosque to Mohammed Ali Pasha, who rules Egypt in the 1800s. Made of alabaster, the mosque took 18 years to build.

Inside the courtyard of the mosque we noticed the thick layers of dust and city grime. Scaffolding had been erected, but at the time we were there no one was doing any work on it. We both commented on how this place did not seem to be kept up or taken care of to the level that you would expect for such a famous and important religious cite.

The alabaster inside the mosque was striking:

As were the enormous chandeliers suspended from the domed ceiling:

The next photo is a bit dark, but it captures a moment that happened repeatedly throughout the day. Young Egyptians, from 6 year olds like these to university students, continued to approach us and want to take our photos and speak with us in English or Arabic.

I did not encounter this, certainly not to this extent, prior to the revolution. It was nice to sit and talk with these young people (as best as we could manage in broken Arabic and English).

Sandalwood ceiling that was brought in from India:

The National Military Museum

After spending time in the mosque we walked over the the National Military Museum where we saw this statue:

Yes, that is actually a statue in honor of Egyptian soldiers who are, apparently, "the best soldiers on Earth".

But wait, what's this? Could it be?

Yes, this is "The best soldier on Earth"!

This commemorates the Decoration of the Pharonic Fly, which was given to the soldier who "relentlessly pursued his enemy" (much like the way the flies here in Egypt will not give up!)

Did Washington cross the Nile as well as the Delaware?

Ok, this next may be tough to make out, but that is an actual G.I. Joe action figure in the paratrooper display case:

And finally, while I realize this is juvenile, I couldn't resist documenting the catapult exhibit:

Al Azhar Park

Now on to the truly beautiful part of our day. Al Azhar Park is Cairo's answer to Central Park. A short drive from The Citadel, this park was built on land that once held mountains of centuries worth of garbage. It is an oasis in the city and we found many Egyptians out on this beautiful day enjoying the park.

The large tan building is the restaurant where we ate dinner.

A view of the city from the park.

The park had several fountains and a stream that ran through it.

Another mosque as seen from the park

A typical Cairo view of roof tops littered with satellite dishes

Highlands Sky 40 Miler

2011-07-01T20:21:00.000+02:00

A couple weekends ago I ran the longest race/course I've ever participated in. The Highlands Sky 40 Miler runs up some mountains, runs 8 miles along a road on a ridgeline, continues through the Dolly Sods, into a ski resort and finally back on a road for a couple miles to get you back to the starting line. It was a beautifully challenging course that took over 9 hours to complete.

40 miles seems like a long ways. "How do you eat a whale? One bite at a time." So I guess in this case, it's one mile at a time. There were 8 aid stations along the run. One early section was 8.1 miles long (and had the longest climb) but the rest of them were about 4 miles apart. I thought that seemed a little excessive, but as the day wore on, 45-60 minutes between aide stations became a very nice thing.

Who thinks this looks like a good idea?

Early morning start (6am)

The run went over 5,400 ft of elevation gain, most of which was in the first 10 miles. The weather was about as good as you could ask for -- reasonable temperatures, overcast, and a light drizzle for a few miles in the morning. The trail was rough though. Between ankle turners for large portions of the course, and several sections where the ankle-turners were covered in 3-6 inches of water so you couldn't see them, simply running was challenging. But, as many ultra-distance runners will say, sometimes the hardest races are the ones that are completely runable. In this case, the technically challenging course forced me to a walk in many places and probably made the race much more do-able. Still 9:15 is a long time to be moving. Running at the end required a huge amount of effort just to run 11 minute miles. (Compared to the sub-8's I was easily running at the start, that was quite the change.)

Meg got an early morning run in (where it poured rain) and drove over to see me at the aide station around mile 19. That really helped the spirits as she helped with the logistics of finding my drop-bag to change shoes. Changing shoes to run along the 8 miles of fire road was great. My shoes had been unavoidably soaked early on and 3+ hours of running with squishy feet was wearing on me. Dry shoes made me feel like a new person. However, as soon as we finished the road miles, they dumped us almost immediately into a stream crossing and fixed that. As I shuffled the last few miles, we crossed a road where the organizers warned traffic "Caution: Runners in Roadway." I thought that was pretty generous since I wouldn't describe my shuffling as "running".

Aide Station 4. I swear you can see aide station 5 from here, but at least I have dry shoes on.

As I shuffled/ran/walked the last few miles, there was a sizeable hill before getting into the finish area. I think everyone started running as soon as they could see the spectators, but apparently the spectators could see us much earlier. They saw most everyone switch from walk-to-run mode.

We had a chance to catch up with some friends, Kir & Tom, who has blogged about it and has a lot more photos than I do.

Overall, it was a great run, a great day, and exactly what I was looking for in a vacation. Despite a little sunburn, Meg seemed to have a good day as well.

Corbin Cabin Camping

2011-06-28T13:10:00.009+02:00

Corbin Cabin

In the wee hours of the morning on June 4th we hopped a plane to the U.S. for our first R&R since moving to Cairo. We had big plans. After a year and a half of desert and dry heat we were cabin bound! The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintains a group of cabins in the Mid Atlantic region and we had reserved Corbin Cabin, named after George Corbin who built it and raised his family in the woods of what is now Shenandoah National park.

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A stream ran along side the cabin, actually I believe it is technically a river, where we drew our water for cooking, drinking and bathing. We were looking forward to green trees, trail running and creek crossings. We found all of that, and a whole lot more. We arrived to a cabin that appeared not to have been used in over a year complete with cobwebs & spiders on every window, a swarm of bees living under the eaves of the roof and a rattle snake that had taken up residence in the chimney. We checked the log books to see when the cabin had last been occupied and were surprised to find that a family had left that very morning! What's more, entry after entry in the log book gushed about how fabulous their stay had been. I began to feel inept as a camper.

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Attic sleeping loft

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Main living area (with flash on)

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Main living area with flash off--in the middle of the day

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Kitchen

We are outdoorsy folks, and I'm not just saying that because we shop at Backcountry.com and wear North Face outer wear. Our honeymoon was 10 days of back country camping in Glacier National Park and our home leave between Georgia and Egypt included a 5 week cross country trip during which we camped in a tiny 2 person backpacking tent at National and State Parks along our route. We have some trail cred, just sayin'.

One of the most interesting things about this cabin, however, is that it was once a families home. The Corbin family has quite a bit of history in the area and Seth came across a binder of old photos and newspaper articles from the time when Skyline Drive was being constructed as well as a book of stories about the mountain people who once populated this forest. It was truly interesting to be living inside of this history for one week.

Another cool thing about the cabin was the number of brightly colored butterflies who hung around just off the front porch. When we would come back from a run or hike and put our sneakers out on a large rock to dry a few of these butterflies would inevitable use them for a perch.

This little guy is nearly camouflaged on my sneaker

Due to the dimness of the cabin's interior and the extremely high temperatures we spent most of our time outside, suing the cabin mostly for a place to cook, store our gear and eat away from (most of the) bugs. We spent the first night in the bunk room, but after that we snoozed in our hammocks suspended between the trees along side the river.

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Bunk room

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Sleeping hammocks

Zipped in to these hammocks was the most comfortable place to be. Swinging under tree canopy with the breeze moving above and below we were cool and comfortable. The last night we were there a thunder and lightning storm past of the Blue Ridge Mountains and we were treated to a spectacular display in the night sky all while remaining dry thanks to the canopy and a favorable wind. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.

Unfortunately, while statuesque, the deer were way to used to humans

Old Rag Mountain

On our second full day at the cabin we decided to hike a well known mountain in the area that neither of us had ever climbed before. As Seth was training for a 40 mile trail race in West Virginia he decided to run the 10 mile loop to Old Rag, while I drove on ahead and met him in the parking area. It was a scorcher. The temperature ended up being just north of 100 F that day. After arriving at the parking lot soaked with sweat (he literally rang out his socks and shirt) Seth refilled the bladder in his pack and we set out for a 9 mile circuit hike, which the park literature predicted would take us a bit longer than 6 hours.

We scoffed at the trail description of "strenuous hike" and "boulder scramble" as we made great time up the trail. That is, until we were within 1,000 ft. of the summit. The boulders began with large slabs that we could easily hop up on and across, but quickly became narrow passages between huge rocks that we had to hoist ourselves up out of and down in to. Following a series of blue arrows across an otherwise confusing jumble of boulders we picked our way slowly across several false summits only to realize that we were not there yet.

From atop one of the "false summits" D'Oh!

The heat continued and we began to conserve our water. We passed several groups who had also under estimated this climb and the heat with empty water bottles in hand and we realized that we were at least in better shape than some. We made it to the top and didn't stop for a photo. It was too hot and we were too tired. The trail began to descend and immediately became cooler and easier. We made it back to the car in 4 hours.

Luray Caverns

The next was forcast to be more of the same high temps. Seth had one of his usual strokes of genius and suggested we head for the much cooler underground world of Luray Caverns. Of course, this would mean a hot and sweaty hike out from the cabin to the car with a whopping 1,000ft. elevation gain over 1.5 miles, but it was worth it. Luray Caverns is one of the natural wonders that we have lived near for year and would probably never make the trip out to see unless, that is, we were living in a bee/snake/mouse infested cabin in the woods on a 100 F day.

Underground lake

Wishing well-the water is greenish blue from the copper in the pennies

All in all it was a truly memorable trip. We decided to cut it short by a few days and return to Arlington for showers, air conditioning and window screens. In the future I think we will save our cabin camping for the months when night time brings frost.

Henny Penny Visits Egypt

2011-05-14T11:44:00.004+02:00

The alarm went off at 4:00 AM today so that Seth could get an early start for a 21 mile run in the Wadi in preparation for his 78K at the end of July. He did a smashing job, and I'm sure he'll post something about the run in the near future. I'm writing to share what happened within 45 minutes of our arriving back home.

Just as we were about to sit down and devour our breakfast a series of loud banging noises began to ring out from the bathroom at the end of our hall. We had noticed stacks of cement bags on the curb in front of our building on our way in and assumed the racket was part of the construction project. As we were about to take our first bite a particularly loud crack, followed by the sound of scattering debris, made me pause. I had closed the bathroom door earlier because of the noise. I walked back to check on things after Seth joked that "They sound like they're breaking in to our house."

They were.

Greeeeeeaaaaaat. Seth looked up at me from the couch as if to say, "I don't think I can move, can you deal with this?" I went upstairs to the apartment above where the construction was taking place. The workers followed me downstairs and brought a crew of guys to mix up some concrete and patch the ceiling. Seth rallied and helped oversee the job. We no longer have a hole in our ceiling and the poached eggs on toast were delicious.

As we say in Egypt, "Kollo Kwayess" [Everything's fine]

There is a Goat....

2011-05-07T10:39:00.002+02:00

... in the back of this microbus. And yet....

Egypt is the land
Originally uploaded by SethTri

The Departure Has Been Lifted!

2011-04-29T20:28:00.000+02:00

That about sums it up. On 28 April, Meg got the word that the departure had been lifted. She got booked on the first available flight (2 May) and should be returning home on 3 May. It's about stinkin' time!

I know she'd rather be on the plane already, but I'm kinda glad she isn't. While the house hasn't reverted to full on bachelor-pad mode, it.. ah.. requires some work. Thankfully I have a 3 day weekend to take care of that! Needless to say though, we're all pretty glad to hear the news and the confirmed departure has lifted all our spirits.

If you're in DC: get your visits and phone calls in. Your short term lease is up. The repo-man is coming and I'm taking her back.

Sunrise Easter Service at the Arlington National Cemetery

2011-04-25T02:40:00.004+02:00

Years ago when I was living in the DC area I read about the annual sunrise service held on Easter at the Arlington National Cemetery Amphitheater. I went alone and discovered a little known gem this city has to offer. This year I found myself in the area for Easter again. At 5:30 this morning I headed back to the Cemetery in the pre-dawn hours for a quiet spiritual morning.

Leaving my car in the parking garage I joined the flow of people moving toward the visitor's center in silence. We boarded the shuttle buses and wound our way along the network of roads heading toward the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the amphitheater behind it. We filed into our seats, marble benches on gradually sloping tiers, and listened to the Navy Choir and Army Band warming up as the sun climbed higher in the east behind the amphitheater.

The music was beautiful, both man made and Nature's work. Between readings and performances the birds swooped from one tree to the next filling the mild morning air with their own songs. The final piece the choir performed was the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. We were left on our feet with goose bumps as the choir and chaplains filed off stage.

I took the slow walk back toward the visitor's center through the cemetery. Spring time in Washington is lovely.

After returning home I joined some friends for a paddleboat ride around the Tidal Basin. The weather was gorgeous.

Egypt and Italy.. a Pile of Catchup!

2011-04-23T15:55:00.000+02:00

It's been so long since I last wrote something here, where do I even begin?

Let's start with Egypt:

Egypt seems to be calming down, but it's not the old Egypt and still has its moments of instability. Strikes right now are keeping people from taking the trains to Luxor and there was a protest outside of the U.S. Embassy on Thursday (though it was only a couple dozen people). Overall, living life here is fine. I'm able to get about and do the things I want to do, including running on a regular basis. However, because the security services are still significantly degraded we are required to travel in pairs. Also, the Embassy remains under an ordered departure, so Meg is left in Virginia. We are always hopeful it will be lifted shortly, but the government is a bureaucracy and the situation in Egypt is fluid.

Monday is Sham El Nessim - Egypt's Spring Festival that apparently has been celebrated for over 4,000 years. So between the school spring break, Easter weekend, and the Sham El Nessim, there are very few expats around this weekend. But a couple of runners are still around and the weather has been AWESOME (65ºF Low - 82ºF High) so we're still enjoying some nice runs in the desert.

With the ordered departure still in place, Meg is in the U.S. while I'm here in Egypt. I think we are now over 90 days. Also, I haven't had a break from work or Cairo since this whole thing started. I've been getting weekends off for about the last month, but going to Luxor or the Sinai are still not advised. So it was a great relief to get a week off from April 2-10. Meg & I used it as a chance to get to see each other and get away from our respective jobs.

So, we ventured off for a week in Gressoney, Italy. This involved flying into Milan (see previous post) then a 90 minute transfer to the small town of Gressoney La Trinite. Europe has not received a lot of snow this winter (unlike the United States) but there was still enough left for us to enjoy some turns. I did a little off piste skiing with some more new found friends at the Telemark Ski Company. The off piste was reasonably decent, but it was incredible to feel the snow conditions change as temperatures, sun exposure and slope aspect mixed to create extremely different snow conditions as you moved around the mountain.

Four Great Things in Italy!

At one point we were not far from this photo coming down a slope and the bowl about 100m away from us (separated by a rock band) let loose in an avalanche! Since we were on the same angle only with more people on it, we hustled off and found a safer slope. Late in the afternoon on our last day, we were doing laps on a certain section of nice, relatively untracked snow. There was a bit of a traverse to get back to the lift. Between our second and third lap, a slide covered our traverse. The slide probably would not have buried you, but it would have knocked you off your feet. As we looked farther, we saw the slide may have pushed you over a cliff into a creek bed. Clearly the warm conditions through the week were making things dangerous so we got back on the piste and decided having a drink was a smarter/better way to spend the afternoon.

Lots of sun and fun was had. After a week though, we had to leave: Meg to the United States, me back to Egypt. When I got back to Egypt, I found it was actually cooler in Egypt than it was in Milan. What's up with that?

Day One in Milan

2011-04-11T01:58:00.002+02:00

I arrived in at the Milan airport with a full day to burn before Seth would arrive from Cairo. After stashing my large backpack in airport baggage storage I headed for the train station and purchased a round trip ticket on the express train into the center of Milan. Before leaving for Italy I had done a bit of research on recommended sights and places of interest as well as printed out a map of the Milan subway system.

The express train was excellent. It was clean and quick, taking just 28 minutes to arrive in the center of town. When I left the station I opted not to go directly on the subway, but to walk along the streets for a bit. I was headed to the Duomo, a massive cathedral that one would think easily spotted from nearby streets.

The subway map print out ended up being my most valuable tool as I had not purchased a city map. I knew the Duomo had a subway stop on the red line and as I walked along the streets I spotted an entrance to a red line station. From there I began walking from station to station gradually sensing my way toward the cathedral. I wandered off course once or twice (“Woops, that’s a green line station. I must have been meant to take the left bend in the road back there.”) and was about to accept the fact that I might not find this monstrosity of a church even though it was surely just around the bend when I spotted a tall spire between two buildings. I was hot on the trail!

There are two main attractions at the Duomo: the interior and the roof. You can access the roof of this cathedral via a narrow twisting staircase of stone, or an elevator. I opted for the manual approach. Once on the roof you are surrounded by buttresses, intricately carved spires and stone railings. There are stone staircases built in to the roof, not as an afterthought for they show signs of weathering and wear that indicate many years of use and exposure. Aside from the view I was most impressed by the incredible detail and attention paid to the carvings in every out of the way corner, railing, banister or windowsill on this roof. Based on the level of detail put in to the roof, you can imagine what the interior of the church was like.

After leaving the church I headed to a sidewalk café for lunch. I was drawn in to one by an animated server who was doing a fantastic job pulling in people off the street and making conversation. I watched as he essentially started a casual conversation with passersby and then pulled out a chair and invited them to sit, placed a menu in their hands and excused himself, apologizing for the fact that he had to go inside to get his order pad. He was a master. These people may have just finished lunch somewhere else but he was so smooth they were about to eat again. I decided to give him my business as well. It turns out he is Brazilian, but has lived in several different countries, including the U.S. He speaks 5 languages and will be leaving Italy in 3 months to return to Brazil and open his own restaurant with the money he has saved while working around the world.

While waiting for my sandwich to arrive I thought I’d order a coffee. I looked over the menu quickly and found an entire page devoted to coffees. When he asked what I would like I ordered a latte.

“Latte?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Just milk?” he clarified.
“Yes, just milk.” I confirmed, thinking he meant only milk with my espresso.
“Would you like it hot?” he asked. This seemed like an odd question.
“Uh, yes. Hot please.”

A few moments later I was brought a small glass of hot milk. Mental note: “latte” is Italian for milk. If you want an espresso with steamed milk you need to order a “café latte” or a “latte machiatto”. Gotcha. I drank my milk like a good little American.

Cherry Blossoms and a Visit

2011-03-28T02:51:00.002+02:00

This past weekend my mom and grandma came to visit and we managed to find a few places that they have not seen in the DC area yet. On Friday we went to the Pentagon Memorial for the September 11, 2001 attacks. It is prettier in the summer when the plants are alive, but it was still moving.

Saturday morning we woke up early to head down to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms before the crowds, and the parking, became insane. Unfortunately this coincided with a cold front and at 8:45 in the morning we were walking through the trees bundled up and warding off mild frostbite.

After 30 minutes or so we had to duck gram into a festival tent that wasn't open yet so she could work on feeling her fingers again while I made a dash for the car. Even with the chilly temps the flowers were beautiful as always.

We headed in to the city for a quick breakfast and then went to the American History Museum, which has been renovated since the last time I was in the area. It was so much fun to watch my gram as she walked through the exhibits and listen to her personal stories as they connected with what we saw.

Sunday was a low key day of brunch in Shirlington before taking them back to the airport. Thank you for making the trip down for a nice visit guys.

Run Fail.

2011-02-24T16:47:00.000+02:00

So there I was, about to go out for a much needed run in the desert to help cleanse my head and I get a phone call from work. The phone call pretty much says everyone living in Maadi is being told to take the early ride home, stay home, and stay put. Dangit, what to do. At first we think about ignoring it, because if we had received the phone call 15 minutes later we would have already been in the desert.

But then about 5 minutes later a follow up phone call: a police officer may have shot and killed someone in Maadi. Hrm.. that probably isn't going to play out well. So we bailed and went home. A quick hunt on google turns this up. It's impressive how fast news gets around here. I'm not quite sure when the video was taken, but comments have only been going for an hour. Twitter is all over it and it's already on Ahram (an Egyptian paper). The other scary thing is a buddy & I had just gone running through this very circle yesterday morning around 6:30am.

When I went by CAC to meet up with some runners there were tons of people out painting the sidewalks. They even had a big pile of brooms and looked like they were organizing to clean up the neighborhood. Did they already know about this and not care? If they don't know about it, what will happen? Maybe it'll be nothing. Maybe it'll be something. Who knows.

Ugh. I was really looking forward to going for a run today.

Settling Into a New Cairo Norm

2011-02-24T15:00:00.001+02:00

Egypt has taken a back seat to many other protests and governmental crises throughout North Africa and the Middle East. In particular the limited news coming out of Tripoli makes me extremely glad that we were in Egypt for this whole thing. I think we all decided to evacuate because we were concerned that the tragedies that are unfolding in Tripoli could have happened here if President Mubarak decided to hold on to power harder. But families were able to evac via plane in relative smoothness. (Getting 2300 people out on a dozen or so chartered jets in 36 hours will never be smooth, but I think Meg will agree it was reasonable.)

Tripoli has a much smaller population of Americans to evacuate, but the number of foreigners there (Egyptians have a HUGE expat population that are fleeing), the limited resources that were already there and are now further complicated have made it harder to get out. (The first efforts to get people onto commercial flights didn't work.) Now, toss in weather and the people staged and ready to get onto a ferry to cross the Mediterranean are told they can't leave because of the 5m swells. All this while the violence continues to escalate. I'm not entirely sure how bad the news in Egypt sounded to the external world, but from my external location in Egypt it sounds like Tripoli is already in a significantly worse condition with a dictator who is borderline (?) insane.

3 weeks ago I would have had a hard time saying it, but we should all count our blessings that we were in Egypt and not someplace else while these historical events unfolded in North Africa.

Here in Egypt, we are settling into what I'm calling the "New Cairo Norm". (Telemark lovers will catch the reference. :) ) Things are not stable here, but they are calmer. There were reports on NPR yesterday about a fire at a Ministry of Interior building, and there are labor protests that seem to be sporadic and widespread. There are still regular calls for protests in Tahrir square, during the week they remain small, but on the weekends they seem to spike. Generally they are very peaceful and very calm. Maybe they'll be tolerated, maybe the government will eventually get tired of them and say their negative impact on Egyptian tourism needs to end. Time will tell.

The Egyptian economy and its tie to security continues to be a concern for me. Banks are back to work now after about a week of protests. (This is a pretty big issue if people can't get money to pay for food or employees.) The Egyptian stock market has been closed for the last month and won't reopen fearing money laundering of blacklisted foreign ministers. This is probably the truth, but it has the convenient side effect of keeping the exchange rate fixed during this crisis. As soon as it reopens what happens? Since they've cleared a good chunk of the unsettled times and Egypt is now off the front page, maybe they won't see the value plummet as bad, but inflation could still be a problem lurking in the future. Couple in the widespread unrest throughout the region and the worldwide economic crisis that has just started to recover and I wonder how much foreign aid will come into the region. If it does come in, from whom? China? Iran? Ultimately, the real economic impact will not be felt for quite some time.

But personally, we are settling in for the long haul. We are now on a 5 days / week work schedule and hours have returned to a more normal number. This is largely enforced by the restrictive transportation issues -- I'm only allowed to go to/from work via an Embassy van, of which there is only one departure time in the morning and 2 in the evening (an 8 hour day or a 10 ish hour day.) Neighborhood security seems to be reasonable, but our policy is that we're not supposed to be moving after dark. If you consider when I get home from work, that ultimately means I'm either stuck at home or stuck at work other than on days off. Finally, the curfew (midnight - 6am) is keeping the Golds Gym from opening until 7:30am. (Have to wait for employees to get the place ready.)

I've started taking Thursdays off as part of my weekend so I can run with some teachers in the desert. It is also a day I can hit the gym and do a double session. On days when the van permits it, I've started running before I go to work which is a nice change. I'm going to try to make a bigger effort in waking up early and getting on the bike trainer before I go to work. Hopefully as things get more stable, the movement policies will become less restrictive and I'll be able to get some more outdoors time. At the moment, I feel like I got to the gym and outdoors more in my time in Baghdad, but I'm working on fixing that.

One day at a time. Things will get better and I'll be that closer to Meg's eventual return.

Videos from Athens

2011-02-16T15:39:00.003+02:00

The following video was taken of riot police positioned in front of the Egyptian Embassy to Athens. They were preparing for a local transportation workers strike.

This video shows the view as you approach the entrance to the Acropolis grounds:

This is a view of Zeus's Temple from the Acropolis followed by a pan of the surrounding city:

This Amphitheater was just below the Acropolis, I didn't see what it was called:

A view of a city street in Athens as we walked to lunch:

Athens in a Day

2011-02-14T19:32:00.006+02:00

This post is a bit late, but during the evacuation form Cairo our first stop was Athens, Greece. We landed in the Athens airport around 4:30 am and arrived at our hotel downtown around 8:00 am. After 1 hour of quiet time in our rooms and a fabulous hotel breakfast we decided to take advantage of our day in Athens and get out to see some sites.

From our hotel we could walk to the Acropolis. Fortunately the family I was traveling with had been to Athens the previous year for a vacation and were able to remember how to walk to these places. Along the walk we passed by the Egyptian Embassy to Greece as well as a labor strike that was going on that day. Coincidentally the riot police were lined up across the street in front of the Egyptian Embassy. We found it hilarious, in a dark sort of way.

After walking up to and around the Acropolis we headed back into town for a big lunch of Souvlaki, Tzatziki, pita and salad. The mom & SIS (Stand In Spouse) had a beer. Delicious!

"Sorry for the inconvenience, but we're building Egypt."

2011-02-12T15:49:00.006+02:00

I have been following the Twitter feed on the BBC website dedicated to therevolution in Egypt. What I appreciate about this feed is that itbringstogether the opinions and ideas of people from all walks of life. Political leaders, journalists, university students and poor citizens are all posting. Some from other countries, some from inside the crowds in Tahrir Square. this morning I found the following posts, which made me pause:

1030: The BBC's Paul Danahar is observing the clean-up in Tahrir Square: "The infrastructure of the revolution is being quickly dismantled," he says. "The angry young men who led this revolution seemed to have been replaced by their mums who are now cleaning up the mess. This is the first revolution I've covered when the people cleaned up after themselves. Perhaps the mark of a people who spawned one of the world's oldest and greatest civilizations."

1055: There's a sense of humor among those still in Tahrir Square this morning. According to the AP some are wearing placards bearing the slogan: "Sorry for the inconvenience, but we're building Egypt."

As for my personal response, I was overwhelmed with emotion yesterday. A

fter a deflating speech by Mubarak the night before when he said (I think) that he was not going to resign the office of the presidency I felt as though he had just flipped the bird to his entire country, not to mention stamp my travel orders for at least 6 more months in the U.S.

Then, the following morning, the news came that Mubarak had resigned the office of the presidency and turned control over to the military high council. I was brimming with pride in the Egyptian people. I felt the swell of nationalistic pride, even though I am not Egyptian. I wanted an Egyptian flag. I wanted to run around in the Buffalo snow and shout, "Allahu akbar!" I was amazed.

I felt as though I could finally let out the breath I had been holding since January 27th...only to hold the next breath I took. Now we hold our breath as we hope that the players who bubble up will bring wisdom, empathy, selflessness and a long-range vision to the table. We hold our breath to see what will develop this week, this month and in the long days ahead. This is far from over.

Obama’s Remarks on the Resignation of Mubarak

2011-02-12T01:03:00.003+02:00

I have chosen to copy the text of President Obama's remarks this afternoon into our blog because I know that we will print and bind this blog into a book at the end of our tour, as we did with Georgia. As I listened to these remarks this afternoon I thought that the president captured the significance of this revolution and I wanted to record it for our memory.

Good afternoon, everybody. There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.

By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change. But this is not the end of Egypt's transition. It's a beginning. I'm sure there will be difficult days ahead, and many questions remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers, and do so peacefully, constructively, and in the spirit of unity that has defined these last few weeks. For Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.

The military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the state, and will now have to ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people. That means protecting the rights of Egypt's citizens, lifting the emergency law, revising the constitution and other laws to make this change irreversible, and laying out a clear path to elections that are fair and free. Above all, this transition must bring all of Egypt's voices to the table. For the spirit of peaceful protest and perseverance that the Egyptian people have shown can serve as a powerful wind at the back of this change.

The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary -- and asked for -- to pursue a credible transition to a democracy. I'm also confident that the same ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that the young people of Egypt have shown in recent days can be harnessed to create new opportunity -- jobs and businesses that allow the extraordinary potential of this generation to take flight. And I know that a democratic Egypt can advance its role of responsible leadership not only in the region but around the world.

Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history for over 6,000 years. But over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights.

We saw mothers and fathers carrying their children on their shoulders to show them what true freedom might look like.

We saw a young Egyptian say, "For the first time in my life, I really count. My voice is heard. Even though I'm only one person, this is the way real democracy works."

We saw protesters chant "Selmiyya, selmiyya" -- "We are peaceful" -- again and again.

We saw a military that would not fire bullets at the people they were sworn to protect.

And we saw doctors and nurses rushing into the streets to care for those who were wounded, volunteers checking protesters to ensure that they were unarmed.

We saw people of faith praying together and chanting – "Muslims, Christians, We are one." And though we know that the strains between faiths still divide too many in this world and no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we need not be defined by our differences. We can be defined by the common humanity that we share.

And above all, we saw a new generation emerge -- a generation that uses their own creativity and talent and technology to call for a government that represented their hopes and not their fears; a government that is responsive to their boundless aspirations. One Egyptian put it simply: Most people have discovered in the last few days…that they are worth something, and this cannot be taken away from them anymore, ever.

This is the power of human dignity, and it can never be denied. Egyptians have inspired us, and they've done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence. For in Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence -- not terrorism, not mindless killing -- but nonviolence, moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more.

And while the sights and sounds that we heard were entirely Egyptian, we can't help but hear the echoes of history -- echoes from Germans tearing down a wall, Indonesian students taking to the streets, Gandhi leading his people down the path of justice.

As Martin Luther King said in celebrating the birth of a new nation in Ghana while trying to perfect his own, "There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom." Those were the cries that came from Tahrir Square, and the entire world has taken note.

Today belongs to the people of Egypt, and the American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo and across Egypt because of who we are as a people and the kind of world that we want our children to grow up in.

The word Tahrir means liberation. It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. And forevermore it will remind us of the Egyptian people -- of what they did, of the things that they stood for, and how they changed their country, and in doing so changed the world.

Thank you.

"This is what freedom sounds like"

2011-02-11T18:33:00.008+02:00

"In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country.

May God help everybody."

-Vice President Omar Suleiman

Protestors pray among the tanks

Do I stay or do I go now?

2011-02-04T13:37:00.004+02:00

On January 30th we made the difficult decision for me to leave Cairo. It was difficult for several reasons:

We both know that the decision to move to an authorized, and now ordered, departure status is a complicated and expensive one for the government. But the decision to lift this status and allow those who left to return is even more complicated and delicate, therefore taking longer. We wont be allowed back until the government is sure they can provide for our safety, including food, water and other basic life essentials. They can't afford to evacuate us again.
Cairo is our home. Our life is in Cairo, my husband, our friends, our jobs...our life. I am profoundly grateful for the love and support from all of our friends and family in the U.S. You guys know how much you mean to us and feeling the wagons circle around us is phenomenal. I am so lucky that I have an amazing family and group of friends who have all offered us endless support. Even with all of that, it is still hard to leave our life together.
My school had not closed by the time I made the decision to leave. I know that may seem like a small matter from the clear light of day, but leaving my colleagues and friends behind who were at the mercy of the school was incredibly difficult. At times like this you draw back to your core group. There are a group of us who have become quite close since we all started this school year off together as newbies. Being separated from them and knowing that they were still waiting for school to make a call felt wrong.
Looking out of our apartment window, things didn't seem that bad. I know when I describe the boabs (doormen) and other men in the neighborhood patrolling our street with clubs & crowbars, military tanks rolling in and occasional gun fire at the end of our street you will think I am crazy for saying it "wasn't that bad". I suppose that one's mind compartmentalizes these things and compares them to the events taking place in Tahrir Sq. and ranks them. All I can say is that I felt safe in my apartment. It's tough to leave, knowing the ramifications of that decisions, when you look out your window and see this:

In the end, I left the call to Seth. I trust him completely and I know that he has information I don't have. No matter what other rumors are milling about, when he says "Go." I go. This isn't about what I want. This is about what is the best decision for our team: him and I.

Two days later it turns out we made the right decision as the embassy went to an ordered departure, which means I would have had no choice. By leaving when I did I made the entire trip with my dear friends and their children rather than alone with thousands of strangers. Good call Seth.

You know your protests have made it when....

2011-02-02T20:10:00.000+02:00

... Anderson Cooper, BrianWilliams and most of the top news personalities are reporting live from your location.

The protests appear to have taken a violent turn, which is not a good sign. Meg departed when we went to an Authorized departure, but we are now at an ordered departure. Meg is about to touch down in Washington, DC in a few hours. Her arrival in NY may depend on whether or not the snow allows her plane to take off.

I'm here for the duration. For the moment, my neighborhood is fine. It seems to be much calmer and safer at my apartment building than earlier in the week. Depending on how things unfold, I don't think I'm as worried about looting as we were earlier. Life support issues (food, water, etc) remain a concern for the population, so I'm glad Meg has departed. Work has a lot of systems in place to support that, so it's not that big of a deal for me.

Working hard and little sleep has got me pretty sick. Hopefully things will stabilize a bit this week.

Another Year, Another Set of Protests

2011-01-26T21:34:00.000+02:00

Somehow, 2010 managed to pass without riots or wars in our lives. Well, someone must have been sleeping behind the wheel, because it looks like Murphy is trying to catch up. Its only January and already we have "some of the largest protests Egypt has seen, possibly since 1977. (NYTimes)" Overall, they appear to have been peaceful, just widespread. 60,000 people around a country of 20 million is only 0.3%, but its still quite a few.

Tuesday was a local holiday and had beautiful weather. (I went for a nice run in the desert.) The holiday probably helped people get out and do their thing. Today was a work day, and the police were out in larger force than on Tuesday. Nothing seemed to be going on when I left work, but would-be-protesters would probably be leaving about the same time too, so who knows what happens tonight. We'll see. If they're able to keep momentum going, then the weekend may be interesting, but momentum is hard to keep with stuff like this. People have lives to get back to, and the government starts getting more efficient at breaking things up.

Either way, so far, the protests are all 45 minutes or more of a subway ride away from home. The security forces are definitely out and about more. Meg is perfectly safe at home and work is fine too. Getting to and from work may become more challenging, but keeping your wits about you should keep us all out of trouble. The violence isn't aimed in our direction, so that also brings a reasonable amount of personal security.

Move along now. Nothing to see here.

Global Weirding Strikes Cairo

2011-01-19T06:55:00.002+02:00

It has been raining for at least 30 minutes to an hour almost every day this week. Most days it seems it rains at least once during the day and again at night.

I'm not sure if this is normal for Cairo, but I know this didn't happen last year. In 2010 I think it spat on us a couple of times but only really poured once. These "showers" are more than a spit but also not a downpour. They are just a good soaking. If this happened for months or years, maybe the desert would eventually go away. (riiiiiiiiight)

When this all started, we discovered "mud" was a verb. Cars that hadn't moved were covered in mud. We assume the rain picked up some dirt in the air. But after a week now, the air seems to have a little less dirt in it. (Don't worry. It still has plenty of other particulates. )

Here are a few photos I snapped from my phone this morning as I got on the subway.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Islamic New Year!

2010-12-07T17:41:00.002+02:00

Today is Islamic New Year, which is a free day in the middle of the week. A small group of us decided to take advantage of this day and go sandboarding in the desert. Seth is a bit under the weather and, unfortunately, had to sit this trip out.

We met at 8:00 am, piled into 5 Jeeps and set out on a 2.5 hour drive into the desert. Along the way we made a brief stop at a petrified wood site where our guide explained that, approximately 250 million years ago, Egypt was under water. When the waters receded, about 35 million years ago, the area became a dense forest. These pieces of petrified wood are all that remain.

After this stop the Jeeps brought us to our "camp", which was a tent set up at the base of a line of sand dunes. The kids in the group took off for the top of the dunes straight away, leaving the adults to schlep the boards up for them. This was a quad burnout trek up the side of the dune, for each step you took your foot slid back down 1/2 step.

This reminded many of us of our childhood trips up and down the sledding hill. The walk up is dreaded, but the ride down is worth it. After about an hour of boarding we had a delicious lunch of kabobs, pita, salads and rice under the tent and finished off the afternoon with another hour or so of hiking up and riding down the dunes.

On the drive back in to Cairo I snapped a few quick photos along the drive in an effort to capture "a day in the life" type of scenes:

"Bread Heads" walking down the side of the highway.

Roadside Pyramids

Shanty Town under the overpass

The proverbial "turnip truck"

A Year of Riding in Egypt

2010-11-28T20:48:00.000+02:00

Next week marks a year that we have lived in Egypt. (Meg got here a couple weeks later, but it's close enough for me.) Somewhere in there I got the guts up to meet some folks out to go for a bike ride, and well Cairo hasn't quite looked the same since. It's about time I put some photos up though. Meg now joins us when she's healthy and available, and from all accounts she really enjoys it!

I've seen the asphalt of Cairo up close and personal twice. (Double the number of other times I've crashed.) One of those times I apparently felt the need to have my view confirmed by Meg. We went down together. One that I'm sure I'll never hear the end of, though I'm hoping she heals up soon and gets back on the saddle!

There are two routes with a few minor variations:
- Clockwise or Counterclockwise (or anti-clockwise for those of us with a British accent.)
- Up the hills or avoid the hills
- Long way around the American University in Cairo (AUC) or the short way around (10K less).

That's about it. Really the max ride is about 100K and the variations make up maybe 10-20K difference. Oh well.

There are still some very strong riders which makes me push myself most Friday mornings. Usually the company and the effort are enough to keep me from noticing that I've done this before. Plus most times we get a cup of coffee afterwards and enjoy the always-sunny weather in Cairo.

Overall, I'm very surprised that Cairo has reasonably decent road riding available. The mountain biking is VERY good too, but with 20 million people I'm amazed that road riding is reasonably safe and pleasant here.

Going up a hill, give me 5 more pedal strokes, cameraman!

Not me, but a shot from the "long way around AUC".

Istanbul for a Weekend

2010-11-13T18:35:00.000+02:00

I'm long over due for a post, but its been one of those months! At one point, I was on 4 continents in a single week! Istanbul (Asia and Europe sides) - Cairo (Africa) - Washington, DC.

In the middle of October, I took a quick trip to Istanbul, Turkey to catch up with a bunch of friends and run a 15 km race. I have heard a lot of people say that Istanbul is great, but I've always been more of a 'do-er' than a 'see-er', so I didn't generally believe that I would enjoy it as much. I was wrong. Istanbul is a very fun city to go to. It feels very European with the narrow streets and construction, but the Islamic influence is also pervasive and makes a very interesting contrast. Also, some of the old Christian Cathedrals have been "converted" to Islamic Mosques. But the original frescoes are frequently still there.

The 15k went well (68:30 ain't too shabby for someone who really hasn't trained for it) and I had a really great time catching up with some good friends. I'm not much of a shopper, but the colors and detail work almost make shopping a trip to a museum. Very interesting stuff!

This is an ancient cistern:

An old Cathedral (still Christian)

A huge palace grounds / park:

Spice Market:

The blue mosque:

Biking Away Depression

2010-10-08T14:04:00.007+02:00

This morning I set out for the usual ride with the cycling club and was quickly asked if I was up for a different ride than our normal route. Most of the guys out this morning were much faster than I and the 2 guys I could hang with were interested in changing it up a bit. I said I was game as long as we stuck together.

We headed downtown along the Corniche, the main road paralleling the Nile. We rode past an ancient Roman aqueduct that is still standing among the buildings downtown (so cool) and through some crazy traffic circles when we came upon a large group of cyclists gathered on a side street. As it happens a local cycling club (The Cairo Cycling Club, not to be confused with our group: The Cairo Cyclists) was putting on a charity ride to bring awareness to depression as a part of World Mental Health Day (who knew?)

This was hilarious and cool at the same time. There were probably 100 people, men and women, gathered for the event. We stopped to ask about it and the organizers asked us to participate. They signed us up as a team and gave us free T-shirts (we tried to pay for them but they would have none of that). We drew quite a bit of attention between our bikes and specialized gear such as helmets and other crazy accessories (clear signs that we were foreigners). We were interviewed by 2 local news stations (I wonder if any of my students will notice me, yikes.)

A pick up truck pulled up with a pile of 50 or so bikes in the bed. We assumed these were being loaned for the event as people just walked up and helped themselves. The bikes were cracking us up. Many had the seats, handle bars and frame wrapped in either plastic wrap or cardboard. These were bikes people owned. It turns out this is a common practice as people don't want to scuff, dirty or otherwise sully the condition of their bikes by riding them.

After an hour or so of standing around and asking if people could take their photos with us we got antsy and decided to head off to complete our regularly scheduled ride. I'm not sure if the charity ride ever officially got under way, but if it is anything like the Breast Cancer Awareness run taking place next weekend it was a short spin around the block. The Breast Cancer run is 1.5K.

Quite a spontaneous adventure. Here's to venturing off the beaten path!

A sandstorm in September is like Christmas in July

2010-10-01T05:55:00.004+02:00

We had a sandstorm last night! In Egypt March is typically the month of the "Khamseen", Arabic for the number 50 due to the nearly 50 days of winds and sandstorms the city experiences. It is extremely unusual to have a sandstorm this time of year. We had an unusually hot, dry, oven-like day and people said, in hindsight, that is an indicator of a sandstorm coming. Personally, I failed to detect the subtle difference between today's "hot and dry" and any other day, but apparently the long-timers could pick up on it.

I went for a trail run in the wadi after school with a group and on our drive back into town we noticed how hazy the air was but we just chalked it up to a bad pollution day. I got home, showered, and then headed out to pick up a friend on foot and walk to dinner with her. It was unreal. The level of dust and grit in the air was huge, the trails of light cast by car headlights illuminating all the sand and dust were eerie. And the WIND! By the time I walked the 4 minutes to my friend's apartment I felt like my shower had been a waste of time. Grit was plastered to my face and clothes, my contacts were caked and traffic was a mess. Apparently the storm was coming from the north. One of the other women we were meeting for dinner had a friend who was driving to Alexandria for the weekend and he called to tell her that traffic was stopped on the road because they couldn't drive (just like we would stop because of a blizzard in Buffalo or Michigan).

We walked out of the restaurant 2 hours later to slightly cooler temps and clean-er air.

Who thought this was a good idea.

2010-09-18T20:23:00.000+03:00

I'm doing a little traveling for the next couple weeks, and I brought the bike with me. I scouted a course out on Google Maps and came up with the below "plan". The plan included a coffee shop (a must for any good bike ride), though it was starting to look like rain was coming when I got there, so I just grabbed a juice to go.

Continuing on, it seemed like my rolling hill ride was going to be great. Just cruising around on well paved country roads in clean air. What a great day.

Then as I approached mile 44 of my 55 mile ride, I saw something like this:

Only it wasn't quite like this. The hill went the other way. Since I was already on a smaller hill and wasn't moving very fast I had plenty of time to stare at it and fully comprehend what it meant. I really tried to figure out how it might POSSIBLY mean a 14% decline. (That is, am I seeing this photo on the right? No, I was not.)

A very unexpected 14% grade for 0.75 miles. Ow.

Maybe I'll do it again. Who knows.. my brain isn't that bright anyway.

For those who care, the Garmin stats are here for your enjoyment.

My Baby

2010-09-10T07:28:00.002+03:00

It seems as though all of our friends who have a blog are blogging about their babies or their efforts to make a baby these days. They're proud of their babies who are sitting up or rolling over. They're proud of their baby's first day of school. They're proud of their baby's first college football game or Labor Day cookout. In an effort to make sure that I keep up and continue to belong to this evolving and remarkable group of friends I felt compelled to blog about my baby.

My baby is so stinkin' cute I can't stand it. Look at that face. Not only is he adorable but he can do his own laundry and pay for my drinks! Now without being too boastful I would be remiss if I did not point out that, while your baby is sitting up in a Bumbo chair without any help, my baby is riding his bike on the highway in Cairo, Egypt on the first full day of Eid after Ramadan. Imagine a highway in the States on the day after Thanksgiving and the Superbowl just let out. Just sayin'.

Henry L. Johnson, How Do I Hate Thee...

2010-08-20T06:03:00.000+02:00

It seems sad that I have such strong feelings about a man I've never met. I mean, at first I felt sad for the guy, and then I was a little irritated but at least patient. But recently? Well, I'm starting to despise the man and cursing his children is not far away.

Who is this man? I don't know either. But Henry L. Johnson is a name my household hears of fairly regularly. At the worst times of day and night. It would be one thing if we were in the United States and the phone calls arrived at a reasonable hour, but 7 hours ahead, they now arrive at 2 or 3am.

What's the deal? Well, apparently there are a number of credit agencies trying to get in touch with Mr. Henry L. Johnson. And by credit agencies, I mean computers calling old numbers of his. Apparently at some point in his life, he put our phone number down on a piece of paper. So now, we get the pleasure of receiving his phone calls. Each phone call usually has a way to inform them that this is not his number, and when we do reach a person, they are almost always very apologetic. It's not their fault.

It's his.

It's been a year of this. For a while I thought we had escaped it since we hadn't received a phone call in a few months. But we got another one the other day, which probably means more will follow it. They're like ants you know. Ants looking for sugar.

Maybe I should kick off my own search for him, so that I may find some peace and sanity.

Naming Children

2010-08-14T13:37:00.000+02:00

On Tuesday I took a cab home from work. Nothing special there, just another day driving down the Corniche. About 10 minutes into the ride though, the driver got a phone call. All of a sudden his face lit up and he was clearly elated about something. Through his broken English and my poor Arabic, he gets across that his wife just gave birth to his first son. (His first 2 children were girls and he's been hoping for a son.) Now that he has a son, the baby factory is done. Khalas! I told him congratulations then he asks me, what he should name his new son.

Excuse me? (There is no way I'm picking the name for this guy's kid.)

But he insists! I tell him it's an important decision and he should choose. The cab driver pushes back and insists that I choose the name because he's so happy he can't think straight. I suggested his name, (no way), maybe his father's name? (No way, same problem.) How about mom's father's name. (That's absurd.) So he rattles off a few Egyptian names and I picked one at semi-random. (Ibrahim. Why not?) He likes it and rolls with it!

A few minutes later apparently his father-in-law calls and he informs him of his choice of names. It sounds like the Father-in-law wants to know where he got the name from, because he turns and asks me what my name is. Apparently it goes well because he keeps insisting on Ibrahim. A few minutes after that, his wife calls (mind you, she just finished a c-section) and he informs her of the son's name and where it came from. After all this, he looks at me and says, "That it! She agreed to it! Ibrahim it is!"

I said congrats, paid him a healthy tip and got dropped off a little farther from home than I would have liked to help him get on his way to his wife. How cool is that? I named some guys kid!
......
or did I?
....
So I told this story to a co-worker the next day and he tells me that a few guys we had in from the U.S. last week had a similar experience just last week. Hrm.. ok, I'm getting suspicious, but maybe people time childbirth for Ramadan? I did find it a little odd that when I offered to get another cab so he could go to the hospital he was ok with taking me all the way home.

So the next night, I got into another cab and wouldn't you know it, this taxi driver just had twins while we were driving down the road! Amazing!

Nice try buddy, but here's the normal fare.

On the first day of school my principal gave to me...

2010-08-05T20:35:00.002+03:00

A brand new MacBook Pro!

Yes, I too was shocked and amazed. The first week of orientation has come to a close and I continue to be impressed by the school administration as well as my fellow incoming teachers. We have sat through many informational sessions from a crash course in introductory Arabic to an overview of the curriculum development and evaluation process. Time and again I have noticed the little things that have been done to make us feel welcome and well informed. Returning teachers have volunteered to be our "buddies" and touch base with us regularly. Dinners have been arranged and paid for and every effort has been made to ensure that we have access to what we need in order to be effective in the classroom. The energy level on campus is ramping up as we get ready for the returning teachers and full staff orientation next week.

I am finding the task of setting up my room to be a bit daunting. This is the first time in 8 years working in education that I have had my own classroom. I look at my space and think, "8 years from now I will know exactly where to put that [insert classroom item here: book shelf, couch, table, filing cabinet etc]. For now I am focusing on what I am good at: purging junk, straightening shelves, cleaning surfaces and organizing materials. I am having a similar internal debate over posters and bulletin boards. I want them to have a purpose, not just cover the walls to look pretty, but am finding that a blank wall or bulletin board brings up the same anxiety that a blank journal book does: "What ever goes in/on it has got to be fantastic." I have no less than 3 blank journal books in my office that have been given to me as gifts over the years and I love them. They hold unlimited potential for captivating narratives or travel logs. While the journals stare blankly out from my shelves, it is getting close to the time when I need to put something up on my classroom walls, fabulous or not!

If you have any memories from your first days of school at any grade level I'd like to hear them, especially if they involve bulletin boards.

A Long London Layover

2010-08-01T10:54:00.003+03:00

I began the long journey home to Cairo this past Friday evening. After a smooth flight from Dulles to London I found myself with 12 hours to fill before my connection to Egypt. Typically I play it safe as a traveler and prefer to stick close to the airport, not taking any unnecessary risks that could result in missing connections. But I had never been to London before and wanted to take the opportunity to explore the city and see some history. I also wanted to scope it out as a potential future posting for us.

After dropping my carry-on bag with an airport service for 8 GPB I bought a day pass for the Undeground and city map to plan my afternoon. The professor I had for my last class this summer is from the UK and she had given me some recommendations of things to see and do. Based on her suggestions Hyde Park was first on my list. After 9 hours of sitting I was game for beating a path around a wide open green space.

I was not disappointed. As I walked along the paths, being passed by cyclists and joggers, I made a mental note to pack my running gear in my carry-on the next time I have a layover like this. My first stop was this statue of Achilles, which was commissioned by King George IV to honor British soldiers.

From there I walked on and discovered this "tree house". Not in the sense that we typically use the term but the tree had grown over in such a way that close to 15 children were playing inside of its branches:

I continued along the path to The Princess Diana Memorial Walk around Serpentine Lake

These deck chairs were set up in rows along both sides of the lake. There were several park workers scattered among them in bright yellow vests. When you sat back to relax and watch the rowers on the lake the park workers would make their way over to you to collect the 50 pence per 30 minute fee for using the chairs. Not surprisingly many chairs remained empty while the public park benches were usually full.

On my way across the park to the other entrance I spotted this group of roller skiers. The instructor is sitting on the fence in the left of the frame. It appeared to be a group of beginners as they were taking turns drifting across the path and running out into the grass. It's never to early to get ready for ski season!

The opposite entrance to Hyde Park lies near the Marble Arch. This archway was the original entrance to Buckingham Palace in 1828 but was moved to this site when an extension was built on to the palace leaving insufficient space for the arch.

From Hyde Park I made my way over to Buckingham palace in time to see the changing of the guards. Frankly, I found it unimpressive (the changing of the guards, not the palace). It's got nothing on Arlington Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown. Nevertheless crowds were packed along the fence and scattered all over the fountain across the square. I didn't have time to take a tour but I'd be interested to see the inside of the palace on day.

The statue and fountain above are details from an enormous fountain in the square across from the palace that was a gift to Britain from The Netherlands.

The final stop on my whirlwind tour was Westminster Cathedral, the oldest Catholic Church in Britain. I felt uncomfortable taking photos inside as there were people worshiping but I wish I could have shown you the detailed chapels around the perimeter of the main sanctuary as well as the vaulted, domed ceilings black with soot from centuries of candle light. It is truly awesome to be inside these ancient structures and imagine what has taken place within these walls. Choir practice began as I was leaving making it feel as if I was walking back in time.

While sitting in the church I thought it might be a good idea to check my boarding pass to make sure that my departure time was still 10pm as my itinerary said. Someone must have been sending me a message because the departure time had in fact changed to 6pm. It was a good thing I hadn't started my intended walk further east toward Westminster Abbey. Instead I hopped on the "Tube" at Victoria Station and made my way back to the airport with a little time to spare. I would like to return to London some day, when I do I will make a point to see: The Globe Theater, Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London, and 221B Baker street. If you have any other recommendations drop me a line and I will add them to my list.

The Luckiest Man Alive

2010-06-27T20:59:00.000+03:00

This past week, a pair of friends from the US showed up to visit in Cairo. Jason and Kristina were the first (and only) people who visited us in Georgia. They stopped by this week en route to South Africa to see the World Cup. We watched a lot of soccer, but they also did quite a bit of sight seeing around town.

On Thursday night, we went out to a friends house for dinner. At the end, we walked a few blocks, got a cab and drove home. After getting dropped off, we all immediately went to bed. The next morning, we were supposed to go to the Khan, but we quickly realized Jason couldn't find his wallet. We ransacked the house, but nothing. So we went over to the place we were at dinner with and checked that place out. Nothing. Crap. It's probably in the taxi.

So, while Jason went to cancel the credit cards, Kristina and I went to get some coffee. Jason realized he didn't know the address in South Africa to send the replacement cards to, so wound up just sitting around waiting for us to get back.

When we got back, we got the biggest surprise. EVER. The taxi driver found his wallet, tracked us down and delivered it.

The taxi driver picked us up a few blocks away from our start, and dropped us off a few blocks from home. He did not know where to find us.
There are LOTS of Americans where I live. I do not stand out that much on my own. Finding me required some inquisition.
He didn't know the neighborhood. It's not uncommon when going from one part of town to another, to have to tell a taxi where to go. We had to share show him how to get my house.
Timing: if he had arrived an hour earlier, we would have been downtown looking at the other place. A half hour later, he would have delivered useless hunks of plastic because they would have been cancelled. If we hadn't gone to coffee, he would have cancelled the cards even earlier.
It is quite likely his holy day where he should be spending time with his family. But despite that he went out hunting around an unfamiliar part of town to find us.
Honesty: There's no lost & found center, no dispatch for taxis here. This guy had access to 2 credit cards and a drivers license. He could have been scot free. But he decided to put in some serious effort and delivered Jason's credit cards.

Without this fortuitous piece of karma and good will from a stranger, Jason would have been surfing for at least the next several weeks in South Africa with no access to his cash and leaning heavily on Kristina. Nevermind the hassle of card cancellation and chaos of trying to match up delivery of a card with multiple stops throughout South Africa.

Luck, I spell you J-A-S-O-N.

Permission v. Forgiveness

2010-06-23T08:46:00.001+03:00

A smart man once said, "Its easier to ask forgiveness than permission." He was probably talking about relations with his wife, but his statement applies to many situations, particularly in Egypt.

This morning I set out with two visiting friends and a cycling friend to go to the Olympic Stadium for a track workout. Meg had been an official at a track meet last month where we discovered this track. It's a reasonably well maintained all-season track, with all the expected markings on it. Perfect for running my (http://trackytuesday.blogspot.com) workout.

I tried to do this last week, but despite the fact that the gate was open, I made the mistake of asking someone when it opened. (They said 10am, which doesn't meet my needs.) I turned around and did my workout in the desert.

Today, we drove up and walked in with the plan of, "act like you're supposed to be here and no one will stop you." It totally worked. There was a womens track team just starting their "practice" but we ran anyway. A couple times I thought their coach was going to say something to us, but he was just getting ready to talk to his athletes. On the way out, there was a security guard, but there's no problem leaving.

I'm not sure we'll be able to do this indefinitely. Sooner or later someone might get up the guts to confront us. But for now: forgiveness: 1. Permission: 0.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Running to work is an option!

2010-06-12T12:02:00.000+03:00

The last few months I've been thinking that it's probably possible to run to work. My first run in Cairo was with another new guy and I ran about 60 minutes out and back down the Corniche. At the time, it appeared the landmarks I saw were about half-way to work, and I wondered what would happen if I just committed to running the whole way. Well this morning I finally got off my butt and found out.

Before I describe the run, let me be clear: There is no way I'm going to be able to run to work every day.

Simple logistics are a pain in the butt. I have to make sure I've already deposited clothes the day before, so at most I'm looking at every other day. Realistically, every other day is pretty aggressive.
I can't run to work on the weekends because the gym/showers don't open until 10am. (Wish I had known that today when I arrived at 9am.) Later would work, but temps start rising pretty fast.
Pollution: Running down the Corniche certainly exposes me to more pollution than my normal running routes. While I thought it was tolerable this morning, I wonder what 2.5 years of running to work would do to me. Anything permanent? (Does anyone actually have references to answer this question?)

But despite the negatives, there were lots of positives in this run:

The corniche runs right along the nile and it's one of the greener parts of town. The trees provide quite a bit of shade and there always seems to be something flowering. It's generally a pleasant view (for city running). On some days when the smog isn't so bad, I should be able to see the Pyramids along the way.
1 hour 10 minutes from my front door to the target stopping point is awesome. It's an 8 mile run so it's a good distance for a regular run. As I ramp up towards the Athens Marathon, I could potentially make it an out-and-back run without too much trouble.
Pollution issues will certainly be lighter earlier in the mornings if I aim to arrive at the showers closer to 6:30/7am.
I got some looks as I went by, but if you're just sitting on the corner, even average Americans will turn their heads and watch you go by. I'm not sure what this would be like for Meg though. Its one thing for a man to be doing this, but a girl in running apparel would probably get a lot more attention closer to downtown. Some kids at a university cheered for me as I went by.

I think I might be up for this run once a week. It's a good route, and I'd be willing to do it a lot more. I just need to figure out how to handle the clothing logistics to do it more.

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Life in the desert

2010-05-30T11:15:00.001+03:00

The other morning I decided I'd be a little late to work and try to squeeze a run in the Wadi first. Sunrise is at 6am these days but it has been very light out at 5:30am. I got a little later start than I would have liked (had to convince myself to get out of bed) but I was running by 5:45 am.

Totally worth it. The dawn was cool and it was very interesting to see that sunrise takes about 2 minutes from just peaking out, to total sun.

Meg and I have commented many times about how the entry ticket we get shows all sorts of wildlife but we've never seen any indication of life in the rocky landscape. Well, this morning I saw a desert fox run across my path and up a ridge line before ducking out of sight. VERY COOL and it really made my day.

We'll see if I can make this a regular event.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Al-Azhar Mosque

2010-05-11T15:56:00.002+03:00

A friend and I made a trip down to the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar this morning to buy gifts for our upcoming trips back to the U.S. and visited the Al-Azhar Mosque afterward. The mosque was built in two years beginning in 971 AD and is one of the oldest mosques in Cairo. Its sheikh is considered the highest theological authority for Egyptian Muslims. In 988 AD a university grew in connection with this mosque and became the world's second oldest educational institution.

The academic focus of Al-Azhar has remained much the same for over a millenium: its students study the Qur'an and Islamic law in detail, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the lunar phases of the moon. Most of this learning is done by listening in a circle at the feet of a sheikh and rote memorization. Al-Azhar is considered by most Sunni Muslims to be the most prestigious school of Islamic law, and its scholars are seen as the highest scholars in the Muslim world.

The entrance to the mosque is through the 15th-century Barber's Gate, where students traditionally had their heads shaved. The photo above was taken just inside this gate. Once through the gate you turn in your shoes (be sure to wear socks) and women must cover their hair with a scarf. You then proceed into a great courtyard, which dates from the 10th century and is overlooked by three minarets. These tall needle-like towers are where the call to prayer is sung from. The courtyard's white facade is accented by rosettes and keel-arched panels.

Students studying at the university live within this mosque in the latticework-screened residential quarters. These are not open to visitors, but we were fortunate to meet a teacher from the school who showed us the prayer hall, which is carpeted and supported by alabaster pillars (photos below).

Notice the individual prayer spaces marked in the carpet pattern. Each points toward Mecca.

My friend and I had a guide take us up the spiral stone stair case of one of the minarets for a spectacular view of Cairo. From the top we could see the alabaster mosque of Mohammed Ali which lies within the walls of the Citadel (first photo below).

Skiing in Cervinia, Italy

2010-05-02T18:03:00.003+03:00

In April we reunited with our friends from the Telemark Ski Co. for a week of spring skiing in the shadow of the Matterhorn. As has been the case for each trip we have taken with this company the group of skiers we meet on these trips are an absolute blast to be with and we remain friends after the trip has ended.

The village of Cervinia (pronounced: Chervinia) is down in the valley with a winding road climbing up to our small hotel on the mountain side. The road was just long enough and steep enough to keep us from walking down into town each night for a beer. This was for the best as ski instruction had everyone up bright and early for breakfast in order to be on the slopes for the first lift of the day.

Meg did not take lessons on this trip as she was working on her online course work for half of each day and simply skiing for fun the other half. Seth did take lessons and his skiing showed it. He improved significantly from earlier this year and had a great time jumping off piste and playing in the crusty powder.

It was snowing like Christmas morning when we arrived in Cervinia, big, fat, fluffy flakes. Unfortunately it did not snow again while we were there. The lack of fresh snow coupled with balmy spring temperatures meant that the snow melted a bit each day and then froze over night covering the off piste with a layer of crust that would break through to softer snow underneath. The gang made the best of it and had a great time none the less.

We learned that there was to be a Telemark Ski Festival during the week we were in Cervinia. The festival consisted of a "race" in which strangers, many of whom are dressed in classic ski attire, were partnered up together and had to navigate a slalom course followed by clearing a low snow wall and finally ducking under a wooden arch and ringing a cow bell the size 0f your head. During the race competitors were required to duck off the course periodically for a drink of wine, champagne, Gienepy or any other alcoholic beverage of your choice. Needless to say everyone in our group asked, "Where do I sign up?"

Meg was partnered up with a local known as "The Flying Pineapple" because of his blonde dreadlocks and his speed on skis.

Fortunately for Meg he had a flask of "magic potion" in his pack that he offered at every stop. After the race everyone gathered at a slope side restaurant for endless wine, pasta, meats and cheeses and an awards ceremony. We were serenaded by a local band throughout the festivities.

We came away from this trip with one thing on our mind: "Spring skiing rocks!" and we will very likely be back next year for another go.

Cairo to Ain Sukhna via Bicycle

2010-05-01T20:15:00.002+03:00

IMG_1917
Originally uploaded by SethTri

I've been riding with the Cairo Cycling Club on a pretty regular basis. There are several riders who are very strong and can drop me like a bag of rocks if I don't pay close attention. Even when I am, I'm frequently on the red line a lot more than I'd like to admit.

The normal Friday ride is usually a loop that is somewhere around 70-100km long. It generally takes me out for 2.5-3.5 hours depending on route and whether or not someone has a flat in the group I'm riding with.

On April 30, 14 of us rode from Cairo towards Ein Sukhna on the Red Sea coast. It's about 140km from start to finish with a few reasonably decent hills on it. The road was nice and smooth and the weather was just about perfect with temps in the low-70s and overcast skies keeping the sun at bay.

Eventually the pace broke the field into a couple groups and I stuck with the leaders. Teamwork was great and we managed to do a good job sharing the work and drafting off of each other in a good pace line of 5 riders. Four hours, 140km, 2200 ft later we pulled into the resort town of Ein Sukhna after averaging 22.5 mph.

We saw a bunch of mountain bikers out there for a ride and got quite a bit of attention from the locals. Meg drove down with another rider's wife and took some shots of us. After a quick shower and a nice lunch with a bunch of other riders, we spent the rest of the day at the beach. We were planning on spending the night there, but unfortunately we couldn't get a room. So, with an hour or so left before sunset, we headed home to Cairo.

it was a great ride, a fast ride and finding options like this just barely over an hour from home was great.

Spring Blooms in Maadi

2010-04-02T15:32:00.002+02:00

Spring has arrived in Egypt and our suburb, Maadi, is in full bloom. Seth and I have commented more than once on how surprised we are to see so much color around. We had not imagined our time in Egypt would include such rich spring time beauty but the gardeners are out early in the mornings and every hose seems to be gushing before the midday sun reaches its peak. I took these photos during a 45 minute walk around our neighborhood. Feast your eyes on what spring brings to Egypt.

This last photo is not as "spring-like" but I came across this tree in the middle of a road that was being dug up and under construction and it caught my eye.

Dropped in Cairo

2010-03-12T13:10:00.002+02:00

This morning, I got up at 6am to go riding with the Cairo Cyclists. This was the second time I had decided to go out for a ride with them. Last week it was just me and one other guy. Apparently there was a large group doing a 2 day ride from Taba to Sharm el Sheik, so most people didn't show up. Last weekend it was about 35 miles over 2 hours on a reasonably paced ride -- I was able to hold a conversation the entire time and despite a mild head wind the entire ride, it was nice and pleasant. (Yes, a head wind in BOTH directions.) The roads we took are some of the more major roads in the area -- 4 lanes in each direction -- but riding at 7am on a Friday means no one is on them and there is plenty of room. It was a nice way to get back into the saddle after a long hiatus.

Today was different.

Very different.

When I showed up today, there were a dozen guys at the meetup point a couple were in full kits. I normally ride in my GW kits because they're some of the best riding gear I have, but the impression I give off is that I must be serious about my riding. So I was fairly impressed to see there were a couple guys who at least used to be serious about their riding.

That's because they still are serious about their riding.

Today we took the same route out of town and the pace was initially fairly chatty as we warmed up and kind of got acquainted with each other. At the first turn off we stopped and regrouped and maybe half the group had been gapped by some distance despite the chatty nature of the ride so far. So we continued on but the chattiness started to dissipate and a pace line started forming up. I really enjoyed this a lot. It's been at least 3 years since I've ridden in a pace line with people that knew what they were doing, and while there were a few surges in the pace line as some stronger riders hit the front, it was fairly smooth and was nice to be able to sit in, ride at a tempo, take a 60 second pull on the front then peel off and return to the wind break. As we were about 1-2km away from the police check point, the pace suddenly surged hard right after my pull and I was spat out the back, but I figured there was some sort of charge for a line up front before the regroup.

Nope.

As we waited for the rest to catch up, there was a discussion about whether or not they would go farther. Some guys decided to turn around, but a large group decided that they would ride out to "the Heineken sign" and turn around there. It would make for a 45km ride out -- 20km farther than where we were already. Getting dropped already had me a little concerned but more worrisome was whether or not my butt would be able to survive that long. Other than a 1/2 IM I did this summer as a total goof, I haven't ridden that far in at least 2 years, maybe 3. I haven't been in the saddle at all since August other than last Friday and I was a little tender. But I decided to go anyway. Gotta get that butt harder somehow, right?

I should not have been worried about my butt.

As we pulled out of the check point, it was quite clear this was not amateur hour anymore. We dropped right into a paceline and it was fun. I put in some solid efforts and for the most part was able to hang just fine. But I started to get concerned by some surges that I was going to have an issue on the way home, so I decided I was going to turn around at the next option. Turns out that was 5 km away, and it was the turn around point we were headed for.

I was right to be concerned.

After regrouping at the turnaround, the slight uphill turns into a slight downhill. We started flying down the hill. And it wasn't just because we were going downhill. Even with the hill, it felt like we were charging pretty hard. I saw my computer hit 37 mph despite a mild headwind.

Hrm.. that's a little alarming. We still have 40 km to go.

Then I heard someone say something about the sprint line is the top of the next hill. I looked up and saw the top of a slight grade about 2km off in the distance. "Ok," I thought, "I'll just sit in and when they sprint for the top I'll just let them go. It's still a ways off though, so no worries."

Then I saw 2 guys starting to charge past me on the left. Seriously? A 2 km long sprint?

Yes, a 2km long sprint. Most of the field chased on. I tried but couldn't close the gap. Dropped. Seriously dropped.

I watched them pull away from me and before I knew it, they were an impossible distance ahead of me. If they didn't stop long enough at the check point, I was going to call Meg there and tell her I was a long ways out on my own. Either be patient or come out and pick me up. But they waited, for everyone and I wasn't the last guy. So maybe they had had their fun and I'd be able to hang out for the last 10 miles.

Nope. The fun wasn't over yet. Within 5 km it was just me and one other guy chasing back on again.

After a total of 94 km (56 miles), 3.5 hours, and a little kiss of sun on my arms and face the hammerfest was over. It was a very fun first half, and once I get myself into some better form, it'll be a great group to ride with. But damn. It's going to be a rough ride to get there. Of all the things I knew I could do in Cairo, I had no idea hammerfest cycling would be an option. Whodathunkit?

Global Weirding Hits Egypt

2010-02-27T09:26:00.003+02:00

In Digital Journal, Andrew Moran writes:

In Egypt, a strong hail storm has killed at least four people and injured approximately 50. The storm has caused extreme chaos on the streets of Egypt's capital. Friday, a hail storm in Cairo, Egypt has killed at least four people and more than 50 others. Severe weather conditions have caused chaos in the capital’s streets, while traffic accidents have increased and panic among citizens. Cairo’s storms saw slippery roads and lightning consistently striking the streets. In the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria, there have been reports of waves as high as two-story buildings. The General Authority for Red Sea Ports announced that a European luxury cruise ship smashed into a pier in the small town of Sharm el-Sheikh in the morning, which killed three sailors and injuring four tourists. Meteorologists are expecting the weather to continue into the weekend.

Our Personal Experience:

Thursday morning we were walking to the gym when I felt a drop on my head. "It's raining! Either that, or a bird just shat on my head," I said. "I'm sure it's a bird," Seth offered helpfully. Then he felt a drop. Nope, it was rain. This was only the beginning. Later that day the wind kicked up and the dark clouds rolled in. Marble-sized hail began to batter the windows and trees. I wouldn't say it was "raining" so much as "mudding." All the accumulated dust and grit on every leaf was washed down onto the roads and cars, covering them in sticky mud. From the apartment window the lightning lit up the wild scene outside, accented by occasional cracks of thunder. I was oblivious to the havoc the storm was wreaking with the city.

By 7:00 pm I hadn't heard from Seth yet to say he was on his way home, which is unusual. I picked up the phone to call him but there was no dial tone. Cell phones weren't working either. Clue #1. Thirty minutes later Seth got a text message through saying that he was on the subway platform waiting for a train. A half an hour after that he called to say he was stuck on a train that had lost power with some passengers choosing to abandon the train and walk. He stayed on and the train began to move again, slowly. Then it stopped again and this time he joined the crowd leaving for the streets. Once off the tracks and on the road he realized it was going to be one long 7 mile walk home on flooded roads as traffic was at a stand still and all cabs were full. Ugh.

The poor guy schlept himself along in soggy dress shoes for the next 2 hours. When he finally got close enough that the cars could get through I drove to meet him and bring him home.

*sigh* Rough night, but it was much worse form some others. Happily home safely.

Olympics Overseas

2010-02-26T09:01:00.001+02:00

We're out here watching the olympics on AFN because normally we don't watch enough TV to justify the costs of satellite TV. Normally AFN does a reasonably decent job, we can see quite a few sports events that would be shown in the US, but sometimes you have to get up at odd hours because they're shown live.

The Olympic coverage however has been, well, frustrating. We get home, have some dinner, then turn on the TV to see if we can find some olympics. Every day... that's right, EVERY DAY for the last week or more has been curling. Not skeleton, not ski jumping, not even something as exciting as cross country skiing. It's CURLING.

The photo would have you think curling is a high paced sport that is amazing to watch. There are certainly a lot of tactics involved which makes it a little interesting to watch, but as one commentator called it, "a high speed sport that fans will flock to", it is not.

It has been on EVERY NIGHT at 8pm for 3 hours, LIVE. I watched the women's curling team lose against China, and I actually cheered because I assumed it meant the end of curling on TV. So the next day I sat down to see what we could get today. You know what I got. NOTHING. NOTHING! No Olympics at all! I could have watched 24 or maybe watched some CNN. SERIOUSLY AFN?!??

So, it's 8am on Friday morning (my weekend) and I'm finally able to see some highlights. Maybe I'll skip the rest of the work week and just watch Olympics on TV.

It's hot and it's only February...

2010-02-20T18:01:00.002+02:00

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Originally uploaded by MTB Egypt

Today I went for a run in the Wadi. It's a nice enough place to run with lots of options for me to explore. This morning I hit the road a little after 9am and was running by 9:30am. During my hour run, I bumped into a cross country track race that was about to start. I guess the American School, CAC, was hosting an invitational and schools from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha were all present. The course was going to be 5k over 2 loops and seemed to be reasonably hilly but a fun course. Races were starting at 10 and would continue until almost noon.

I was done running by 10:30am at which point temps had already hit about 80F. My core temp was already getting quite warm, almost uncomfortably so, and I had drained my water bottle during the run. (Last time I ran this, the water bottle was only half way gone when I completed.)

It's 80F degrees out and it's mid-February. What the heck am I going to do when temps start pushing 100F? Guess I'm going to become more and more of a morning person whether I like it or not.

Diving the Red Sea in Dahab, Egypt

2010-02-17T16:57:00.005+02:00

Over Valentine's Day weekend we successfully completed our Open Water Diver certification after a whirlwind week of class work, pool work and open water diving. For a variety of reasons this class was compressed into 5 days of class and pool time and culminated in a trip to Dahab, Egypt on the Red Sea for the 4 open water dives required to achieve certification. It was a difficult week for classmates with full-time jobs or school commitments but we made it.

We caravaned to Dahab with 3 other cars across long stretches of open desert. We drove under the Suez Canal and saw wild camels and oil drilling platforms along the way. After 6 dusty hours in the car we arrived at the Hotel Daniela.

The rooms were comfortable and the food delicious. We were greeted with small glasses of mango juice as we checked in and ducked in to our room for a short rest before our first open water dive. Seth and I both had headaches (likely from a combination of dehydration and de-stressing from the busy week) and laid down for a short nap. Upon waking Seth felt even worse but managed to rally with the help of a few Tylenol and sips of Coke.

We drove to the Canyon dive site and began the process of suiting up and assembling our gear. Then came the moment of truth, going underwater in the open ocean for the first time. If you have not experienced this it is difficult to describe. The gorgeous, vibrant colors we have all seen in underwater photographs were all there...but they were moving and alive. During each dive we did we had a set of skills we needed to complete as an assessment after which we would take a short tour of the reef and surrounding area. I often found myself wanting to linger over a small patch of plants or coral and watch the fish swim in and around them. I saw two fish chasing one an others' tales in a circle and clown fish darting into the protection of their anemone. There were many lion fish as well as blue spotted rays, gray Morey eel, Napoleon fish and cornet fish.

Our instructor was excellent, thorough and clear, breaking each dive down for us before entering the water. He made diving seem easy and we had a wonderful time for it. Our final dive was at a site called the Islands, referring to 2 islands of coral reef that you descend to and swim around. This was a spectacular ending to an incredible trip. The variety and complexity of life that we explored on this dive was thrilling.

On Valentine's Day we awoke to a quiet sunrise before piling into the car for our return trip to Cairo.

The weather in Dahab had been warm as it is significantly further south on the Sinai Peninsula and we were expecting to return to Cairo as we had left it, in the cool 60s. It looks like Mother Nature got one over on us as the evening temp upon our return was in the mid-80s. Could the warm weather be returning already?

Egypt Tromps Algeria in African Cup Football, and the Party Comes to Us

2010-01-29T08:36:00.002+02:00

In the wake of violent riots following their previous meeting, Egypt's football team headed to Angola yesterday for a rematch against bitter rival Algeria in the African Cup of Nations semi-finals. Security messages were issued by the embassy warning all to stay away from downtown areas where spectators had gathered to watch the match in an effort to avoid potential violence following the expected 12:00 midnight finish.

As it turns out a trip downtown would have been a waste of cab fare, the Egyptian football fans brought the celebration to us, literally. At 12:50 am we awoke to the sounds of a raging party outside our bedroom window. Horns blared, drums were beating and voices sang. As I drew back the curtain and blinked away the haze of sleep I expected to see a house party at our neighbor's home. Instead I saw the Egyptian version of the Rose Bowl Parade making it's way down our little street. People were piled on top of trucks waving the Egyptian flag and singing at the top of their lungs. Traffic was crawling as processions merged from all directions.

I crawled back in bed and muttered, "Egypt won."

A few moments later police sirens could be heard in the distance. "I wonder if they are breaking up the celebration or participating in it?"

On to the finals!

Skiing in Switzerland

2010-01-26T22:03:00.002+02:00

For better or worse, we have returned from a 10 day trip to Switzerland.

After a 3.5 hour flight and a 3 hour train ride, we arrived in Fiesch, Switzerland to meet up with the Telemark Ski Company for a week of skiing lessons. After a quick night in Fiesch, we woke up to 4 inches of fresh powder. We hustled onto the gondola, tossed our bags into the hotel we'd call home for the rest of the week in Fiescheralp then hit the slopes. Little did we know, it would be the only fresh powder we'd see all week.

Despite the lack of fresh powder throughout the week, our instructors did a great job of teaching as well as finding untouched powder stashes throughout the mountain. After classes ended on Thursday, we had another day and a half of skiing with students from the class, then Meg and I continued on our own for two more days.

We also took a ride up to the top of Eggishorn to check out the longest glacier in the Alps, the Aletsch Glacier. I took the below photo of Meg on top of the Eggishorn with the Matterhorn in the background.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip where we met some great folks with lots of similar interests. We discovered several other skiers were also serious runners and that an instructor, Graham, was quite the runner himself. Besides a great trip where I was able to continue to get better at telemark skiing, we found a bunch of contacts for potential summer running options.

'cause, you know, I needed another reason to get on a plane and travel to distant points on the planet to do some adventure. :)

A Feluccaing We Went

2010-01-07T09:08:00.006+02:00

This week marks the third 3-day weekend in a row as Coptic Christmas is celebrated. As a kick-off to the long weekend, and a celebration of a friend's birthday, a group of us met up at the docks along the Nile in downtown Cairo for a relaxing felucca ride.

A felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat that was once used as the main mode of transportation along the Nile and other bodies of water in the region. Today they are popular among tourists and are still used for transportation between cities in Upper Egypt.

We filed down the dock and across a gang plank onto a boat. Walking along the narrow side and around the stern we hopped across onto a second boat that would be our ride for the evening. As we stepped down into the boat and each took a seat on the U-shaped bench I was reminded of squeezing into a limousine on prom night when you would cram as many people in as possible.

As we shoved off the dock the sail was raised and the food was spread out on the table. We snacked on hummus and pita, tabbouleh and falafel, shawarma and birthday cake. Wine was uncorked and we sat back in the breeze to unwind. The evening was cool and most were wearing a light jacket. After some discussion we agreed that "felucca" could be used as both a noun and a verb as in "to felucca" after all, you can sail, canoe and kayak right?

My first impression was the noticeable quiet of the river. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon and the city was pulsing with light and traffic. Tail lights lit up the bridge spanning the Nile like an airport runway and yet...the predominant sounds were waves lapping the hull of our boat and conversations among friends. When I stopped to listen I could make out the distant sounds of traffic and city noise but, in a city of 18 million people, the fact that I had to try to hear it was remarkable.

We had asked for a 2 hour ride and we began to realize that we were tracing one large circle on this portion of the river as we could not pass under the bridge, possibly due to the height of the mast or some other restriction I didn't find out for sure. Regardless of the repeated views the evening was relaxing and lovely and the conversation was fantastic. But, as mom always said, be sure to go to the bathroom before you leave the house (dock).

On another note, our taxi was involved in a small accident on the ride home as one too many cars thought they could squeeze into the traffic circle at the same time. One buckled door later we all slid out onto the sidewalk and paid our cabbie as he argued with the other driver. Fortunately we were a short walk from home.

Christmas in Cairo - The Great Pyramid at Giza

2009-12-27T07:19:00.004+02:00

At 12:00 noon on Christmas Day 2009 Seth and I were picked up by a driver I had arranged to take us out to Giza for a tour of the pyramids. This was our first sight seeing adventure in Egypt and made for a memorable first Christmas in Cairo.

Friday was a good day to take this trip as the traffic was light and the drive was easy due to much of the population being in Mosque for Friday prayers. The trip to Giza took about 25 minutes from our apartment. As I looked out the window driving through the town of Giza the pyramids would peek out through the spaces in the buildings and the anticipation of what we were about to see was building.

We picked up our guide, Nabil, just outside the entrance. He led us up to the ticket window and took care of buying the tickets. As we passed through the gates he warned us that many people would try to approach us to sell things and we should just say, "No," and keep moving.

We made our first stop directly across from the Great Pyramid, the last remaining of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. Built as a tomb for King Cheops around 2570 BC it is the largest pyramid in Egypt originally standing 146m tall. It is comprised of 2.3 million limestone blocks each weighing about 2.5 tons. The blocks were carved in Aswan and carried down river on boats to Giza. Before the constructions of the Eiffel Tower as the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair, the Great Pyramid was the tallest building on the planet and had held that title for almost 4,500 years! Can you imagine what tourists in the 1800s must have thought standing at its base?

How did they do it? First of all, we learned that it is a misconception that the pyramids were built by a slave labor force. In fact, its construction is more accurately thought of as one of the first economic stimulus packages! During the annual flood season the Nile covered farmer's fields and they were unable to work. The available labor force was employed to work on building the King's tomb, which took 23 years to complete. These same flood waters made it easier to transport building stone to the site.

About that stone...remember those 2.5 ton blocks? Take a look at how perfectly each block fits together remembering that no mortar was used to cement them.

The blocks were carved by burrowing holes into the limestone and stuffing those holes with cedar logs. The logs were then soaked with water and as the wood expanded it would cause a crack to form in the limestone enabling blocks to be removed. Evidence of these holes can still be seen today in small depressions that are literally all over the ground around the pyramids.

Once the blocks were removed they were transported to Giza and workers there began to smooth and grind the surface using sand and pieced of rock until a perfect edge was formed. Now, look back up at the photo of the crack and you can appreciate the precise work was done with these methods!

Below is a photo of Seth & I as we prepare to enter the Great Pyramid. You can see the large blocks that look like huge steps on the exterior. The surface of the pyramid was originally covered in limestone (this is back in 2570 BC) for a smooth, flat finish. It wasn't until the 1500s that the Ottoman Empire invaded and looted the limestone off the pyramid to use in constructing buildings. The fact that the limestone exterior survived until only 500 years ago and was only then removed by people speaks to the consistent, dry climate of the region. Perfect for preservation.

Unfortunately no cameras are allowed inside the pyramid so I will do my best to describe it to you. You enter through a modern entrance carved out in the side a few steps up off the ground and begin walking through a tunnel with lighting along the wall. It is similar to any cave you may have taken a tour through. After about 50 ft. you come to a fork in the tunnel leading to another passage off to the left that descends. This is blocked off. It leads to the first attempt at constructing the King's burial chamber. Originally planned to be underground below the pyramid until water from the Nile began to seep in during construction and the decision was made to seal it off and construct the chamber above ground in order to avoid rotting the mummy.

Now you begin to climb up a passage way with a low ceiling. You have to walk crouched over and hold on to the hand rail as you walk up the smooth ramp because it is a narrow two-way passage with people coming back down at you as you hug the side. After 40 meters of walking like this you come out into what is called the Great Gallery. This is a deceiving name. The size you imagine when you hear "Great Gallery" is all vertical. you are still in a narrow room with a slanted pathway leading up but you no longer have to walk crouched over. Far from it! The ceiling of this chamber is 8.5 meters (about 28 ft.) tall. At the end of this passage you crouch down one more time to duck under a slab of granite and enter the King's burial chamber.

Inside it is dark and hot. At first glance the chamber is a bit anticlimactic. As Seth commented upon entering, "All this work to build this pyramid all for a room smaller than our master bedroom." But then you sit down and lean against one of the 400 ton red granite slabs and think about where you are. How amazing that you are touching the same stone that builders and royal attendants touched during the funeral of King Cheops. Look to your right and there is the sarcophagus, a 4-sided granite box with no top that once held the King's coffin and mummy. You think about the 9 huge granite slabs suspended above you, holding the enormous weight of the rest of the pyramid away. I'll admit, I felt the mild panic of claustrophobia at first.

We learned that the ancient Egyptians used the pyramid shape for the tombs of their most important people because they believed that, by placing the bodies closer to the sky, their passage to the afterlife would be made easier. Egyptians also believed that we lived 3 lives, the first here on earth was relatively short, the second life could last thousands of years and was spent preparing for paradise, the third and final life was spent in heaven. Knowing this it makes sense that tombs would be made of granite and that people would be buried with preserved food and offerings to sustain them for the second life.

Speaking of passage to the afterlife, the above photo is of an excavation sight where a boat was uncovered in 1954. The boat, made out of cedar, is called "Solar Boat" as carvings along its surface indicate that it was to be used by the King as transportation toward the sun for the afterlife. Similar boats were subsequently found near his queen's tomb and the other pyramids as well.

The tomb of the head architect of the pyramid is located a small distance to the west. His tomb is below ground and the below photo shows the hieroglyphic inscription above the door. Our guide explained that it reads like an ancient resume explaining his accomplishments in life. Inside we saw wall carvings that were colored in oranges, reds and blues. These colors were made by grinding stones like agate and turquoise and mixing the powdered rock with egg whites to make a paint that is still here over 4,000 years later!

In the architect's tomb there is a statue of him shown in the photo below. Notice his hands on his thighs. Our guide explained that the position of his hands is important. His right hand is open with the palm facing down while his left hand is clenched in a fist. As the right hand is dominant for most people, this position indicates that the architect's dominant trait was fairness and kindness while his left hand shows that he can use force when necessary.

The three main pyramids at Giza can be thought of as father, son and grandson. The Great pyramid was the tomb for King Cheops, the second pyramid was the tomb for his son, King Chephren and the third was the tomb for his grandson Mycerinus. You can see that the limestone exterior that covered the blocks is still intact at the top of the second pyramid:

At first glance the second pyramid seems taller than the Great Pyramid. This optical illusion is no mistake. King Chephren wanted his pyramid to be bigger than his father's but couldn't very well get away with this as it would be a great disrespect. Instead he built a pyramid 10 meters shorter and place it on a hill! Clever little bugger.

The Sphinx is located to the west of the second pyramid and faces directly east. The face of the Sphinx is thought to be a copy of the face of King Chephren. We learned that this is the largest of the over 100 sphinxes in Egypt (and you though this was the only one!) The Sphinx is a symbolic protector of Egypt and faces east because, historically, most of the invaders came from the east.

In the above photo you can make out the Sphinx's tail wrapping around his right rear leg.

We also got suckered into a 5 minute camel ride and took the obligatory tourist photo in front of the pyramids on a camel. We learned a novice lesson the hard way and next time we'll speak up and say, "No thanks." before we get steam rolled in to paying a large tip for this silly stuff. All the same...Merry Christmas from Egypt!

The Underground Sterno Trade

2009-12-21T17:09:00.002+02:00

A friend called me up today and offered to take me along with her as she ran some errands and I could do some of my own. She has been a great help since I arrived last week and I took her up on her offer. One of the items on her list was finding a can of Sterno for her family's annual Christmas tradition of fondue. After having looked high and low for the past week she was still unsuccessful. As we sat thinking of other possible stores we could try she commented,

"They must have it in this country. I'm sure hotels use it for their buffets."

"Well, then lets go to a hotel and ask them where they get it. We may even be able to buy some from them.", I said.

We walked to the nearest hotel, A Sofitel along the Nile river in Cairo. After attempting to describe Sterno to the front desk clerk, a waiter and then a chef we were getting no where. They were going to send us to another block of shops behind the hotel when the bellhop, who had been over hearing the entire thing, came up to us and said,

"Please, madame, may I draw and you tell me if I am correct?"

He then proceeded to draw and chaffing dish with feet and a round can below it and asked,

"You remove the lid and start the fire?"

"YES!", I said with a smile, "This guy knows what we're talking about."

He explained to the clerk and chef in Arabic and the recognition spread across their faces. Yes, they know what this is. How many do we need? Two. Two? Yes, two. It is only possible to buy in a case of 72 in town. Would we wait a moment? We may be able to arrange to purchase 2 cans from the hotel. Sure, we'll wait.

A few moments later the bellhop called us back over to explain that the hotel manager said it was not possible to sell this to us but that he has a friend who works in the kitchen and he has asked his friend to try to bring him 2 cans only and we will wait and see.

We have a seat in the lobby feelingly slightly uncomfortable because now we are waiting to see if we can make an unauthorized Sterno purchase from the bellhop of this swanky hotel on the down-low.

A few moments later he motions for us to come over and hands my friend a white plastic bag with 2 cans inside.

"Thank you so much," she says, "How much do I owe you?"

"I leave this up to you madame. It is big secret."

And with that she handed him the money and we walked casually out the front doors of the hotel, past the security guards and the metal detectors with none the wiser that we were carrying 2 hotly traded cans of Sterno.

Wadi Degla Trail Run

2009-12-21T07:59:00.002+02:00

On Saturday morning we went for our first trail run in Cairo, and by "trail" I mean dry river bed through a shallow canyon. We were introduced to a man named Sonny through one of Seth's co-workers. Sonny is an avid runner and he's fast. Rumor has it he has a tough time finding people who can keep up with him. This is just the type of challenge Seth was looking for and boy did he get a "run for his money."

Sonny picked us up at 7:00 am and we drove the 15 minutes out to the Wadi Degla Protected Area. Wadi Degla lies in the northern part of the Eastern Desert and runs east to west for 30K to drain into the Nile Valley. This protected area, which encompasses 60km2, was created in 1999. 50-60 million years ago Egypt was covered by the Mediterranean Sea. At the same time tectonic movement raised the seabed and created the Moqattam Hills. When the sea receded northwards it exposed this area and its marine sediments. Extended periods of rain eroded and exposed limestone and formed Wadi Degla. Waterfalls cut into the wadi at different levels and cut deep rock pools below them. Today winter rains refill these pools. It is a popular place for hiking, mountain biking, bird watching and dog walking.

We set out from the cars as the sun was rising through the valley and headed east for an out and back run. Sonny and Seth quickly pulled away as we wound along the river bed. The path is marked by kilometer markings like this one,

although they did not appear to be evenly spaced. Although we began the run near 7:30 am it was warm in the sun and the breeze coming through the valley was welcome. As we turned back to head west toward Cairo and the cars the brown haze of pollution was noticable hanging low on the horizon.

As we approached the gate and finished our run we met up with a woman who was out walking two dogs. Sonny introduced us and we talked about mountain biking in the area. The path we ran along the valley floor is only the beginning of a network of trails through this protected area. Once our gear arrives we can explore on bikes and get a better sense of the trail options available. It was great to get connected with another runner so early on who can show us the best places to go. We've learned of several marathons and half marathons in the area as well as a 100K run that takes place in November. There are multi-day cycling trips between different regions of Egypt as well. It is exciting to know there are so many opportunities for getting outside and exploring this area.

Together Again

2009-12-16T10:36:00.003+02:00

We woke up to our first morning together in Cairo after a pretty darn good nights sleep. Seth had warned me that the sound of traffic continues late into the night so I had my ear plugs on hand but didn't need them after all, it wasn't too bad. We slept in a bit as Seth had let work know that he would be coming in a little late today. After breakfast together I walked with him to the subway so I could begin to get a feel for the neighborhood. The subway station is about 1.5 blocks away from the apartment, not bad at all. Already at 7:45 am the streets were busy with people and traffic (very different from Tbilisi). This is a view from our small balcony:

Dust. Lots of it. There is a film on almost every surface in our apartment and Seth has dusted already since being here. This morning I opened the glass door leading to the small balcony and saw a puff of dust blow inside when I did. That said the air is noticeably easier to breathe out here in Ma'adi (our suburb) than it is downtown. It was actually a little tough to breathe on the drive home from the airport last night until we got out this way. I noticed sand on the side of the highway during the drive. Speaking of the "side of the highway" there were guys hitchhiking and just plain walking along the side of the ring road (imagine the Beltway in DC with 8 lanes of traffic in each direction and a small shoulder).

The apartment building we are in reminds me of Melrose Place with all the hallways opening out to a courtyard in the center and palm trees all around. There is a basketball hoop set up in the center and a bunch of little kids bikes (covered in dust...not from lack of use) in a bike rack downstairs. The guards at the gate called me "Miss Meg" when I came back from the subway walk this morning. These are some photos of our temporary apartment. We are currently living in the building that has only Americans in it. Our moving day is December 28th into our permanent building which is about a 15 minute walk from here. Seth & I will take a walk on Friday to check it out from the outside and scope out the neighborhood.

I commented to Seth this morning that I am having some of the same feelings that I had when we first moved to Georgia...unsettled and a little uneasy. Not in a negative way, more in the "my antennae are up and are taking in everything because it is all new" kind of way. I like feeling this way, it is exciting, kind of like I'm on my "first date" with Cairo. I told Seth that what makes this different from the way I felt on my first days in Georgia is that, having that experience under my belt, I know that I'm going to love it here and that 6 months from now all this that feels so strange and new, will be completely normal. We are so lucky that we get to have these experiences!

I am going to spend the morning doing laundry, putting clothes away, cleaning (dusting) a bit and wrapping some Christmas gifts. Later this afternoon I will call a woman (spouse of one of Seth's co-workers) who will take me around a bit to see what's what.

One week in the city.

2009-12-10T21:55:00.004+02:00

As of right now, (as I'm typing) I am hitting exactly one week of being in Cairo. In some ways it has met my expectations and in other ways it has exceeded them. Let's see if I can summarize this:

Met: Pollution is high. Though to be fair, my lungs haven't complained yet. On a clear day, you can see the pyramids on the drive to work. So far, that's happened once.
Exceeded: I thought this place was going to be very dead and not much green. Not true. There is plenty of vegetation around and the parks are fairly nice. (Will get a photo up later.) That's not to say there isn't a lot of brown and sand, but the palm trees and other vegetation does help quite a bit.
Exceeded: Convienence of living in Ma'adi. Right now, though I'm living in temporary housing, the Golds Gym is in the building next door. I've been able to go to the gym nearly every day since I got here. PLUS, the gym is just like any other Gold's in the U.S. It's a very nice facility and was cheaper than a U.S. membership.
Met: Traffic. It's bad. 7 miles to work takes about 30 minutes in the morning and anywhere from 40-70 minutes on the way home. I've taken the shuttle and gotten a ride home from a co-worker and it seems to be consistent. It's also a little haphazard to say the least. The tactics are the same as in Georgia, but the volume is much higher. Parking near work is pretty pricey though, so I'm not sure how much I'll drive myself. Cabs are available, many have meters but apparently you need to tell the cabbie how to get to where you want to go. (How? I don't know where I'm going!)
Met / Exceeded: The commissary. It's huge, and apparently a little subsidized. Looking around the local grocery stores, most things are about the same price on the economy as they are in the commissary. Considering everything in the commissary is imported that really surprised me. It's like walking into a Giant in the U.S. (Or any other large grocery store.) It's a 15 minute drive from home, so who knows what we'll do for shopping wise.
The metro is only 1 Egyptian Pound ( < $0.20) per ride, takes 40 minutes consistently, and doesn't have a predefined departure time like the shuttle. No AC though, so we'll see about the summer time. I haven't done this yet, but probably will tomorrow.
Last Friday (first day of the weekend), I was walking around the neighborhood and saw a girl running by herself in running tights and a t-shirt. It sounds like she may get plenty of attention by doing that, but 2 things came from it:

1) She's comfortable enough to do it anyway, so it must be worth it.
2) If you're going to do it, Ma'adi is the place to do it. Downtown, women will get a lot more harassment.

Overall, this tour should allow for many creature comforts while having it's own unique set of stresses. Moving into our permanent housing (December 28) will help and getting our household effects will really help. There are allegedly cycling clubs and other groups that I would love to get into. But with only 2 bags of clothes I flew in with, I'm a little cornered.

So far so good. Life is good.

The Month of October is Over...

2009-11-04T01:20:00.004+02:00

Finally.

This past month has been a pretty long month for me. So long in fact that it took me nearly 2 weeks to get the nerve up to write this blog post. The last month has been a little rough when it comes to athletics. This is what my weekends were like:

- 27 Sept: 50km run in West Virginia. (The Big Schloss, 7:14)
- 4 Oct: 1/2 Ironman Duathalon (Run 5K - Bike 56 mi - Run 13.1 mi). (5:40, won my age group)
- 11 Oct: 5K fun run
- 18 Oct: OFF (ran a little bit to get ready for....)
- 26 Oct: Marine Corp Marathon (3:56)

Somehow I managed to get through all that with just some pain in my piriformis (hip) leading up to MCM. During the marathon, my knees and hip started really bothering me around mile 15 in the marathon and the 8:00 miles I was doing at the start turned into 10 minute miles towards the end as I struggled to the finish. After crossing the line, my legs, knees and left hip were KILLING me. I was a little worried the damage might be more than just requiring rest, but a week later I seem to be ok.

I went for a short run yesterday in my Vibrams 5 Fingers While my calf is a little tight after running in them, the run felt pretty good. Overall, the month of October had a high risk of injury and I'm very glad that I was able to enjoy all the running.

Don't Pull Socks From Your Dog's Butt

2009-10-16T01:23:00.003+02:00

This is Dano.

This is Dano's butt.

This is the story about how the subject line was appropriate in an email I sent today.

We're house sitting for 2 friends the last couple weeks while they're scuba diving. Dano & Pepper are their two dogs that we're taking care of. Pepper tends to be a Houdini wanna be and Dano is a vacuum cleaner. Dano has eaten whole socks and various other inappropriate items in his past, and is getting old and cranky. (Can't blame him, he's 15. That's like 105 in people years.)

The first sign of a problem was that Dano didn't eat breakfast. Normally he hoovers it so fast that he has a special bowl that has obstructions to slow him down. So not eating at all is a bad sign. Then he kind of shook all day and didn't eat dinner. Then he cried all night until I laid next to him. So we called the hospital and got some medication. When things didn't get much better, he was admitted. Eventually they found in addition to his malnutrition (due to not eating/drinking for a day), he seemed to have something in his stomach.

When we first found him, we thought it might be that he ate 2 ant traps and the plastic was stuck in his stomach causing lacerations. The vet found what appeared to be a big pile of gas in his stomach and that seemed to confirm a laceration had taken place. Then it moved towards his colon. We don't know what is yet, but I think I'm missing a sock or two and that would also make a lot of sense.

This is where the vet said what I find very funny: Don't pull the sock out of your dog's butt. (It could cause internal lacerations if you do that.) Meg apparently gave the vet a funny look where she continued: "If it doesn't come out all the way, maybe cut it off if you don't want it swinging around."

I'm sorry Becky, Farrokh and Dano, but as much as I like you that's too funny not to share.

My Left Side is Trying to Kill Me

2009-09-28T14:24:00.002+02:00

After completing a 50k on Saturday in about 7.25 hours, Meg & I went home to putz around the house and generally have a quiet afternoon and evening. My left hand had other plans apparently.

I was working on the bike for a bit and for some reason, my left hand thought it would be a good idea to mess around with the chain WHILE the fixed gear was spun up. The bike was upside down and the wheel was moving fairly fast. I should point out that this bike does not have a free hub, so as long as the chain is on the rings, if the wheel is moving, the cranks will always be moving. So, you can see, when my pinkie finger went suicidal and jumped into the ring, it dragged the rest of my left hand in with it.

The wheel stopped spinning after 3 fingers were in the ring and only then because the chain FINALLY jumped off the track.

We raced to the emergency room and while waiting for the local anesthesia to kick in, Meg & I discovered that my left side really is trying to kill me, and has been working at it for a long time. All of my scars from surgeries and accidents are on my left side.

I always get my shots on the left arm, so maybe it's had enough and wants to secede from the nation of Seth.

For those that are worried though, I'm fine. 8 Stitches in the pinkie and maybe a little nerve damage at the end is all i have wrong. Its hard to type though, so this will be the end of the drama I will post, for now.

Until the next time my left side tries to kill me.....

Longs Peak, CO

2009-09-10T01:49:00.003+02:00

We came, we saw, we gave it the old college try and then we turned back.

Longs Peak is the tallest mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park at 14, 259 ft and is summited by thousands of climbers each year. My hat's off to them. While only 144 ft. taller than Pike's Peak, Longs is a very different climb.

In order to be off the mountain before the afternoon thunder and lightening storms roll in it is recommended that you begin the hike to the boulder field at the base of the "real" climbing around 4 am. Seth and I decided to hike 1.5 miles up the Longs Peak trail the day before and set up camp in the Goblin's Forest back country camp sight (foreboding name isn't it?) We were in bed by 8 pm with the alarm set for a 2 am wake up call. This is our campsite:

We ate a breakfast of Pop-Tarts and tea by headlamp and set out for a long day. We occasionally passed and were passed by fellow hikers in the dark. Temps were in the high 30s and we were bundled up. Not much conversation was happening other than a warning of a big step up or a toxic breaking of wind (we had black beans and rice for dinner the night before...never again). We stopped only a couple times on our trek to the boulder field to catch our breath, eat a snack or turn off our head lamps and look up at the incredible display of stars. It was so clear and dark that we could make out Orion's bow.

We were making good time and agreed that we didn't want to navigate the boulder field while it was still dark so we decided to tuck in until sunrise when we reached the field. As the first rays of sun brought outlines of rock formations to life we realized that we were more than halfway through the boulder field! Here is a view of the boulder field at sunrise looking back from the Keyhole (we'll get to that in a second) I felt like I was on the surface of the moon:

We did end up finding a rock wall and hunkering down for a few moments to eat and warm up. We had on every stitch of clothing we brought on the trek. that sun could not come up fast enough. Don't we look like this was fun?

Those faces became a bit more serious once we made it through the Keyhole and onto a very different side of the mountain. From our rock enclosure this is the view looking up to the Keyhole:

Our goal was to pick our way up the boulders and go through the notch you can see in the dark rock in the back ground. We made it through and with 40 mph winds blasting through that notch this was the view of the other side:

The second photo is looking to the left once we stepped through the Keyhole. It is a section of the climb called the Ledges. You can make out the red and yellow "target" painted on the rock. This was the trail we were to follow as we picked our way along the rock ledge. Here we are standing on the Ledges:

Seth's first comment when we came to this part of the climb was "Hello exposure!" and he wasn't kidding. Stepping through the Keyhole was like entering a different world between the wind and the steep drop off. I sat down, looked at my knees (anywhere but down!) and composed myself. While I was putting on my game face 3 other guys came through the Keyhole. The first popped his head through and said, "Sweet!" The second, "Oh man! Check it out." the third, "Holy crap." and proceeded to slump down on the rock next to me and hug his knees to his chest. I'm fairly sure he would have also rocked back and forth in a self soothing motion if it didn't pose the risk of pitching himself off a 3,000 ft. cliff. I looked at him and said, "Take you're time. I'm in no hurry here. Let's just breathe."

We got up and began picking our way along the Ledges. Truth be told it wasn't that bad...except for this one part which was pretty sketchy. It involved an overhanging rock and another rock that jutted out over the drop off. Seth lead the way and was a wonderful leader. He talked me through every move and reassured me that we could go back anytime. We had come so far that I didn't want to throw in the towel just yet and I managed to copy the move another guy did and get past it.

Again, the ledges weren't that bad...except for this other "one part" that came up. It was a 10 ft. slab of smooooooooth rock that you had to wedge your foot into and scramble up. Seth made it to the top, turned back to me and said, "Ok babe, this one is kind of sketchy. I think you can do it but you don't have to." I made a few attempts but couldn't find a good foot hold. then I started thinking, "We are going to have to do all of this BACKWARDS on the way home. I don't know about this." I looked up at Seth and he mouthed to me, "I wouldn't mind going back."

Done. Let's get off this crazy mountain.

Here is the turn back point with Seth on his way down backwards (like I said, he was fantastic):

The view looking back through the Keyhole on our return:

When he got back down, I'm not gonna lie to you, we hugged. Then we began picking our way back along the Ledges and it was slow going. We made the right choice for us that day but I am impressed by how many people don't turn back. Once down in the boulder field we stopped for another snack and were attacked by a band of marmots.

Perhaps attacked is too strong of a word but these little buggers were clearly used to people and human food. We set a Ziploc bag with Cliff bars inside and heard it being dragged off the rock behind us only to turn around and see this guy running off with our lunch!

On our way back down we decided to take a detour and see Chasm Lake. It was a short side trail that lead to a snow fed lake sitting below longs peak. In the photo below I'm looking out at the lake and you can see Longs Peak right in front of me.

Overall we had a great day of 12 plus hours of hiking with some sketchy moments and opportunities to push beyond personal comfort zones. In the end we went back to camp together. Still married. Still alive. Still having fun.

Pike's Peak

2009-08-30T19:44:00.002+02:00

Donuts on Pike's Peak
Originally uploaded by SethTri

After spending a day in Boulder, we had a few days before we were supposed to head over to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). So, we went down to Colorado Springs and knocked off Pike's Peak (14,115 ft). It was Meg's first time hiking up to 14,000+ ft. Pike's Peak is a very popular, fairly easy fourteener, so it was a good confidence booster before we hit up the more challenging Long's Peak later this week.

We already had plans to meet up with our buddy Stephen at 5pm in Boulder on Saturday, so we started our ascent of Pike's Peak at 6am. The plan was summit by 12:30, pick up the 12:40 train down so we can hit the road by 2:30 and be up in Boulder by 4:30pm. The plan worked, but the timeframe required pushing the pace a bit. It wasn't terribly fast, but it was definitely higher than a comfortable pace.

The weather was very good until the very end. The last 5-10 minutes we had a few flurries and a little cloud-to-cloud lightning but generally sunny skies through the hike. Meg got her donut at the top.

I should add the previous afternoon, we hiked a bit in the Garden of the God's. It's a beautiful place, and I played around with the camera on different settings. You can see all of our photos from there, here.

Random Locations, Random Photos

2009-08-30T19:32:00.002+02:00

Devil's Tower
Originally uploaded by SethTri

So some of this is out of order, but I wanted to get some photos up.

After Badlands National Park, we went to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Apparently the tower was made when magma was pushed up into a cavity of rock and cooled. The surrounding rock was eventually eroded leaving the harder basalt to remain. It was the first National Monument and has a lot of history with Native Americans throughout the region. We managed to run most of the trails in the area during the one night we were there and pulled out.

After Devil's Tower we went down to Nebraska and checked off a bunch of other parks. Agate Fossil Beds was a little dull, but we were surprised that Scott's Bluff was interesting. It was a major crossroads during the Oregon Trail and pony express years. One hundred years later you can still see the imprints of where the wagons went through.

Boulder, CO

2009-08-28T15:38:00.008+02:00

On Thursday afternoon we pulled into Boulder, CO to begin the extended Colorado portion of our cross country adventure. We also used this day to take care of errands and pick up supplies...namely new running shoes.

As we drove through town on our way to check in at the Boulder International Hostel where we crashed for the night we were both scanning the local businesses for a running store. Being in the Mecca of trail running, mountain biking and outdoor activity we knew one couldn't be far away.

At Boulder Running Company we monopolized the time of a very knowledgeable salesman as we tried on 4-5 different pairs of trail running shoes each. Seth was also in the market for a new road shoe so he took extra time. After test driving a plethora of pairs we made our picks (Seth really wasted the poor guy's time because he ended up buying the same shoes he always wears in a newer model.)

We then took our new kicks out for a trail test with the Boulder Trail Running Club. Seth was a great co-pilot on the drive to Boulder and was feverishly searching on his iPhone for all sorts of cool stuff for us to do in Boulder. He found this trail running club that has Happy Hour runs on Thursdays. We joined the group for a 45 minute run on local trails followed by dinner and $2 beers at a local Nepali restaurant called Sherpa's. We met great folks and ate delicious food.

Years ago when I was in grad school at AU I attended a workshop out here with the Colorado School Mediation Project and had been recommended to try the Boulder-Dushanbe Teahouse. After dinner Seth and I walked to the teahouse for dessert and tea.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan is Boulder's sister city. To celebrate the establishment the sister city ties more than 40 artisans in several cities of Tajikistan created the decorative elements of the Teahouse from 1987 -1990, including its hand-carved and hand-painted ceiling, tables, stools, columns, and exterior ceramic panels. The entire teahouse was constructed in Dushanbe, then disassembled, crated and shipped to Boulder where it was reassembled. We sat outside last night along a gurgling stream and sipped vanilla nut rooibos herbal tea and tangerine ginger bread. Seth, not being much for tea,
had a glass of wine instead.

On our walk back to the Hostel we passed what can only be described as an impromptu bicycle rave at the band shell of a town park. 30-50 bicyclists had gathered after dark with glow sticks stuck in their spokes and jammed to 70's style tunes. Seth even spotted a couple unicycles.

Boulder is the quintessential college town and we stayed right in the heart of it. Coffee shops and tattoo parlors abound in this haven for people watching. We were passed on the road by an old BMW convertible packed with 19 year-old guys whose license plate read "OOHYEAH". The windows of our hostel room faced Sigma Pi's fraternity house. I had forgotten what a party night Thursdays were in college.

I must admit that we are reveling in the excellent coffee this morning, after weeks of the signature gas station blend, as we prepare to head south to The Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak, which we will climb tomorrow. I, for one, am snickering at the young students sipping their morning lattes over a calculus text book. It is good to be done with that...wait a second...

They weren't kidding when they named this park

2009-08-26T16:31:00.000+02:00

Badlands National Park. We pulled into Badlands National Park (BNP) on a day when temps were pushing for 100F. The next morning we would find out that they set a record for never dropping below 80F at night. Couple that heat with a high wind and it felt like a constant hairdryer. 3 days here?Really? Maybe we'll leave this place tomorrow morning. (We wound up staying for 2 days.)

Despite the weather (not uncommon for this time of year) the scenery was quite impressive. Rivers and rain have eroded the landscape to the way it is today. The wall of sedimentary rock is very soft and it has fared better than the lower lands simply by luck of being farther away from historic rivers. There are many "badlands" in the United States (TRNP, Death Valley to name a few).

We were surprised to find all the trails to be in one part of the park and most were very short. Most National Parks have large regulations about staying on trails, even for the backcountry hikers. Not the BNP. It is one of the last parks to allow visitors free reign to hike/climb wherever they want to. Land navigation is certainly a challenge and there are no water sources in the park, but for those who want freedom of movement and adventure BNP has it.

Badlands continues to be a huge source of fossils and many are found by visitors. The "Big Pig Dig" started by a visitor spotting one bone sticking out of the landscape. They reported it to the Park Service as they are supposed to and the palentologists expected it to take 5-7 days to extract the bone for study. Fifteen years and over 10,000 bones later the "Big Pig Dig" will keep scientists busy for another decade identifying all the fossils.

It's an interesting place and I thought it was beautiful on it's own rights, even though we did find it at it's most inhospitable.

Wizz bang tour of southwest SD

2009-08-25T18:05:00.002+02:00

After our fun time in TRNP we drove due south and punched out 3 National Park Service sites in 24 hours. Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave and Wind Cave sites were all interesting in their own rights.

As soon as we left TRNP we went back to the flat plains of North Dakota. It was interesting to watch the landscape change as we transitioned to the hillier and relatively more forested South Dakota.

We went to Mount Rushmore and learned that Jefferson was supposed to be on the far left but the granite had a crack that couldn't be designed around so the artist had to move him to the right of Washington.

We (I) made a wrong turn out of the park. While the drive through Custer State park was pretty the detour probably cost us a tour of Jewel Cave NP. In addition, I think the South Dakota Dept of Natural Resources is running a racket by charging cars for driving through the park as they leave. (18 bucks for driving on a road I didn't even know was in a park!!)

We spent the night at Hot Springs which turned out to be a really nice little town with a few nice restaurants in town. The Long Horse Ultra marathon was finishing up in town. We ran the last few miles and I confirmed I was glad I didn't sign up for it. (Most is apparently on asphalt or gravel roads. No thanks. )

Sunday morning we took a tour of Wind Cave which is the 4th longest cave system in the world. It is the most complex cave system by cramming in 132 miles of cave in one square mile. It also holds 95% of the world's boxwork. (Boxwork is made of the same stuff as stalagtites just formed in a different manner. Stalagtites are formed by deposits of drips, boxwork is formed when the deposits fill cracks in rock then the rock is eroded away. )

Neat stuff. Still having a good time on the trip.

-- Post From My iPhone on our way to the Badlands of South Dakota.

Buffalo = Bison

2009-08-25T17:47:00.006+02:00

After leaving the exciting town of Fargo, we headed across the prairies of North Dakota towards Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). Along the way we stopped at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Point where we learned about how native Americans from the region used their resources of flint to trade with other tribes throughout the entire west.

Teddy Roosevelt National Park is the location of North Dakota’s bad lands. While beautiful on its own right, the sudden contrast with the rest of the environment makes it that much more interesting. We drove through miles and miles of rolling hills of wheat and sunflowers then all of a sudden this spectacular landscape explodes before you.

After pulling in and setting up camp, we were told that a bison was down at the other end of the campground.

No kidding. He was that close. Buffalo (AKA bison) used to roam the prairies in the herds of millions, but they were driven very close to extinction in the 19th century. We managed to see a herd of about 20 or so, but with all the fences put up throughout the country, the days of the roaming buffalo herds are long gone.

On Friday morning, we talked to a ranger to confirm that trail running in the park was not that risky. As long as we gave the bison a wide berth and kept an eye out for rattlesnakes we would probably be ok. After parting ways with Meg, I saw some wild horses and a bunch of prairie dogs. It was great to enjoy this awesome landscape away from the crowds of tourists and the roads.

On our own in the wild

2009-08-22T01:26:00.000+02:00

On Monday we bade farewell to the folks and started heading West on our own. Our first stop was Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. I haven't been there since I was 10 and even then it was only from the shore. We made a few wrong turns then flew down the highway going way too fast to make the 1pm boat cruise. It was worth it. A beautiful sunny day made for some nice shots. If we had more time we would probably rent kayaks and spend a day paddling the shoreline. If you were up for a long hike/unsupported run the 40 mile trail along the coast would be nice too.

After a few hours on the boat we hit the road for Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. We didn't make it in 1 shot but leaving Pictured Rocks at 4 gave us 3-4 hours down the road.

When we arrived at Voyageurs NP on Tuesday we were a litte dissapointed. We knew going into it that Voyageurs is one of the least visited NP's out there and that it was a huge water park and a boat would be helpful in getting around. What we didn't expect was the scarcity of resources available locally. We walked into the NP visitors center and found 2 "rangers" on their first day alone. The reading material we already had was more useful. When asked how far one can reasonably expect to paddle in an hour one asked the other "how fast do you row? 4? 6 miles per hour?" To which the older gentleman said "I dunno I only row downstream. "

We drove down the road to Ash River State Park to rent kayaks for the trip. The entire town had 2 small kayaks that certainly weren't going to handle packs for a backcountry trip. Even fewer people here had any idea how long it would take to paddle a canoe out to a site. So we got a trail run in and crashed at a small state campground.

Thursday we went out in a canoe for a few hours and found the park to be very nice. It only took us 1.5 hours to paddle from Ash River to Kabetogama lake and another hour would have easily landed us a camp site. But with thunderstorms forecasted and not knowing how long it would take us, we turned around and hit the road around noon.

On our way to our planned stopping point in Fargo, ND Meg discovered this gem of a country store.

Here we discovered we were only a short distance to the headwaters of the Mississippi, so we pulled over and took a shot.

We stopped for the night in Fargo, ND. We were quite dissappointed to find out that Fargo is quite a busy town and not the quiet little backwoods town as portrayed in the movies. It's so big that it would have required some research to figure out where the statue they raised for the DVD release of the movie was located.

Moving Westward

2009-08-19T22:33:00.000+03:00

On tuesday after a great time with friends we pulled out of Maine and drove about 8 hours to Rochester to have dinner with Meg's mom and crashed at Sarah and Colin's house. We had a nice time but left early in the morning to have breakfast with Meg's grandparents. We got a track workout at Meg's old high school (it has been significanty ugraded since Adam ran track on it). Finally after a quick shower we pulled out of Rochester to head towards Michigan.

We made it through Canada without incident. (Good, because we didn't exactly tell the rental company that the car was going to leave the country.) My folks left for Paradise on Wednesday so we pulled off in beautiful *cough* Flint, MI for dinner and some sleep. We hit the road fairly early and made it to Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the mid afternoon of Thursday.

We checked out the second tallest falls east of the Mississippi and had a good time catching up with the fam. On Saturday, Meg & I got up early for a race. I did the 25k while Meg's knee held her back to the 10k. The first 10 miles were pretty and over rolling hills but the last 10k had tons of stairs and it was very obvious that I went out way too fast. Still, it was a nice day on a nice course.

On Sunday we checked out the shipwreck museum and had a good time reading about the hundreds of wrecks on Lake Superior.

-- Post From My iPhone

Maine Mosquito Madness

2009-08-11T23:56:00.000+03:00

After a slight delay in NYC, we eventually pulled into Cape Elizabeth, Maine at 11:30 pm. It was hard to tell then, but we woke up the next morning across the street from the "beach." The beaches in this part of Maine appear to be some form of shale and the rock forms slabs that go all the way to the water. It's beautiful, but not exactly friendly to sand castles.

Saturday was spent walking around the shoreline and the state parks. Eric and I lost our respective wives and spent over an hour looking for them only to discover they had gone home earlier. I got a 40 minute bike ride in while hunting for a farmers market that apparently closed 3 years ago. After returning with some veggies, Meg & I got a 40 minute jog in. (Her knee is still bothering her from an overuse problem, it appears. )

Sunday we went to downtown Portland where we caught up with my friend Derek who I did Ironman Lake Placid with. He now has a 1 year old and lives in Kansas City so it was nice to spend some time with him and Kelley catching up. We will try to stop by his neck of the woods on the return trip.

Monday, I got a very humbling 10 mile run in. For the first time on that much asphalt in nearly 2 years it went ok, but I'm a long way from my old form.

We had been saving our stereotypical Maine lobster meal for Monday night. With 11 people and only 1 pot we would have to eat in shifts -- no problem we said. Since lobsters are pretty messy and the ring burner had to be outdoors we decided to eat outside on a nice evening. Batch one of the lobsters were done at 7:45. As soon as we started eating the crustaceans the mosquitoes started swarming and eating us. I've seen dome nasty mosquitoes in Michigan while camping but this was the worst I've ever seen. Round one scarfed their lobsters down as fast as possible. While round two were boiling we moved the table away from the burner -- mosquitoes are allegedly attracted to propane. That provided some limited relief but those eating in round two had to inhale their lobsters or risk bring carried away from the table. It was kind of comical, but also dissappointing that we couldn't savor the lobster a bit more.

Tuesday morning arrived far too quickly and we said good bye to our good friends and hosts Jen and Eric along with everyone else. We'll hopefully see many of them again in September at the Big Schloss.

-- Posted From My iPhone on I-90 in upstate New York headed towards Rochester.

The Road Trip Begins

2009-08-07T23:43:00.000+03:00

We managed to hit the road today by 11 to start our road trip to Maine. We got through Phily without too much trouble, but hitting the George Washington Bridge in NYC @ 5pm may not have been the best idea. Either way, the adventure has begun and we're moving.

-- Posted From My iPhone while moving 0.5 mph in line for the GW bridge.

2009-07-31T06:58:00.002+03:00

So today is my last day. It had to come. The internet has to go. So the next time you see me online, I'm hopefully in your timezone. (Unless you're following me from anywhere other than Eastern standard time, in which case, I'm still not in your timezone, but maybe a little closer.)

See you soon maybe?

Where does a Brit in Tbilisi go from here to get to India?

2009-07-23T05:43:00.003+03:00

The Telegraph is running a diary about a cyclist on a 6,000 mile ride. He's currently in Georgia which is how I found out about him with my Google News update.

This guy is riding from the UK to India and was originally planning on doing so through Iran. With the recent change in the political situation, he's decided that may not be the best idea. So, he's in Georgia now.

Presumably that implies his original plan was to go Turkey/Iran through the narrow border they have.

But where is he going now?

View The Bicycle Diaries in a larger map

If you avoid Iran by traveling through Georgia/Azerbaijan... from there you either:

Take the boat across the caspian into Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan

or Ride your bike from Azerbaijan north into Russian to go around the Caspian into Kazakhstan. (Sounds like an easy ride, what do you think?)

But my real question is: where do you go from there to get to India?

If he stuck with Iran, you could arguably hit the Indian Ocean shores and avoid Baluchistan and hope you make it through southern Pakistan before getting into India.

But now that he's avoiding Iran and almost certainly going through the north, he's either riding THROUGH AF/PK. (Yeah, that's a good idea) or approaching India from the Himalayans. (Either through China or Kashmir)

This might be worth following just to see how he gets out of this one.

Life at 16,512 ft is apparently very white

2009-07-15T20:02:00.004+03:00

Who would have thought that you could save yourself a lot of time, effort, pain and money by just borrowing some mountaineering gear and taking a photo in front of a white sheet? Such is what my experience of life at 16,500+ feet was like. I'm not sure if it was the hardest thing I've ever done -- Ironman Lake Placid holds a special place in my heart for that -- but it's DEFINITELY the hardest thing I've never trained for. Also, while Ironman was a long 10 hours and 40 minutes, this was a long, very hard 4 days.

Sunday started with a 6:30 am meeting to get in the cars and head up. We pulled into Stepansminda (formerly known as the town of Kazbegi) by 11, got a cup of tea then drove up to the Holy Trinity Church to start our climb. (Some folks start at the bottom and hike up to the church, but that's an extra 1-1.5 hours of wear & tear we didn't feel necessary.)

So, we kick off at about 11:40 at 2400m. We hike up through some alpine meadows and have an interesting time crossing a run off stream into a camping area used by many along the ways. (3145m, About 4 hours to get here.) That was already a pretty solid hike, but no kids, we're not done yet. We start heading up the moraine of a glacier, walk up onto an icy slope and once we're up on the glacier, start trekking across it. The hike across the glacier was work, but not that bad despite the light drizzle we had for an hour or so. But after 7 hours of hauling a 45 lb pack up 1300m (4200 ft!), the last 100m up a ridgeline to the old meterological station was pure misery. It has been a long time since I've had to set goals 10 ft ahead of me. Ow that hurt.

Monday morning arrived and we all woke up with the worse hangovers we've ever had. Air at 3800m (12,400 ft) is in short supply and it makes for some unpleasant sleeping. But, you shove some food and fluids into you and eventually you feel better and we went for a hike up to a small chapel at 4100m. Apparently one of our guides had a friend who was married in this chapel. After having our fun on the steep snow where we didn't really cover much on the safety side of things, we returned to the meterological station to rest up and get ready for an early morning wake up.

At 2:30am Tuesday morning (technically) we wake up to grab some food before our long day. At this point I should point out to you that the short walk to the toilet still winds me. I tried to shove 2 packets of oatmeal into me, but 1.5 was about as much as I could muster. Armed with some clif bars and 3 bottles of Powerbar Endurance (my favorite version of Gatorade) we headed out. After an hour of hard hiking in the dark over snow and rock fields, we took a break. I did some math and realized that assuming we weren't going to refill bottles, I had a budget of about 1/4 of a liter per hour for our trip. Don't worry I wouldn't have time to actually drink that much.

We moved and we moved fast. As the sun came up we found ourselves along a rock wall with a bunch of watermelon sized rocks on the ground. We skirted them as much as we could, but as we walked by I knew we should have had helmets on. We continued pass a crevasse field and up to a high plateau in a snow field at about 4200m. Some teams apparently only go this far and set up a high camp here. But we continue on up the snow fields.

At about 4500m, Ron decided that he wasn't keeping the pace and that he would be better off on a second rope team. I disagreed with him at the time, but in hindsight seeing what I went through, it was the right call. So we pushed on. Now it's 3 guys who smoke a pack a day apiece dragging me up this hill. (How is that even POSSIBLE?) Somehow I'm the guy who's dragging in the rear, but we catch up to this other rope team of about 10. They're moving a lot slower than us (they left 90 minutes earlier than us) and the weather has started to deteriorate. Visibility was about 50 ft or so and their rope team appeared to be floundering around -- either due to the guide not knowing where to go, or the team not moving very well.

We eventually pass them and Levan found the line to the top without too much apparent difficulty. (There is no way even with the best maps I could have found this. Good job, Levan.) The last 100m of elevation to go though are steep snow. We're roped up, and the snow was fairly deep so stopping a fall is probably possible, but it's a tough up hill battle. After 20 minutes of battling our way up the slope we find ourselves on the top of Mt. Kazbek with nothing but a scene of cloud surrounding us. 6 hours and 30 minutes. A VERY fast ascent. Most estimates are for 7-9 hours from the meterological station unless you're an experienced climber from the region.

Now we have to go down that slope that was sketchy to get up. I'll save the details, but IMO it could have been handled much safer than we did. If it was ice instead of snow (which is pretty common) this would have been a very different story. After we got off the steep snow ramp and back to the more open slopes, we continue to move quickly. By this point, my lack of calories, probably mixing with some altitude issues, have me at my limit and I'm literally being pulled off the mountain. They're not dragging me on purpose per se, but we're roped in and I'm struggling to keep up. The more the pace continued above my tempo, the more I got pulled off balance.

As we continued through the crevasse field and the bowling alley of rocks it was even more important that I keep up. I recognized this and pushed as hard as I could and we did clear the field fairly smoothly. As we cleared the field and walked up onto the moraine again, we caught up to the other rope team we passed earlier. At this point we were able to unrope and proceed at our own pace. It took 30 minutes for Vidar and our two guides to get back to the meterological station. I took over an hour. Total time up and down: 11.5 hours.

After arriving back at our "room", I pushed a bottle of Endurox into me. (Read: liquid calories) Solid foods hadn't appealed to me in over 12 hours and they certainly didn't now. I took a nap and when I woke up felt a little better. I managed to force down some Mac & Cheese, then read for a while before going back to bed for the night.

Wednesday morning, around 7 am we woke up to start heading home. It had rained for several hours the night before and the weather was still looking bad on the summit. Any teams planning on an attempt today would have to wait. I still couldn't hold down any solid foods so some more Endurox and down the hill we go at 8:20am.

It took us 3.5 hours to go from the campsite, across the glacier to the meterological station. It took us 1 hour to descend. After a short break at the campsite, we found that the rains from the night before had made our creek into a raging torrent and we could no longer find a path across. Our guide managed to get across, rigged a rope and we all got across. However everyone got wet up to their knees in doing so. Crossing the river took us an hour. But then it was an easy hour and a half down the mountain to the church. 12:00 on Wednesday we were at the church headed home.

That's the details on the trip. I'll try to add some more entries on the personalities side a bit later. Overall it was an awesome trip. Beautiful scenery and I really got a chance to appreciate how quickly the mountains are changing. The massive glaciers are dwarfed by the size of the mountain. However the glaciers carve huge trenches through the mountains and these trenches lead to more and more erosion. Even though these forces are acting on a geologic time scale it was very easy to feel that it was happening very fast and right now.

Absolutely worth it. Extremely challenging. But absolutely worth it.

Getting up close and personal with the Russians soon.

2009-07-11T19:15:00.004+03:00

Tomorrow I start my hike towards the top of Mt. Kazbek. The original plan was to hike to a alpine camp, then day 2 to the old meterological station, then a series of acclimatization day + 2 summit attempts. However, we had to move our dates at the last minute and got tagged into a group of 3 Norweigans. While not exactly the plan, I'm ok with it.

We had a meeting with the guide and 2 of the 3 Norweigans this afternoon. On the side of "can I keep up" it seems a little positive: the 2 guys who showed were 40+ and one guy had a solid beer gut going on. At the end of the meeting we chatted a bit and found out the highest these guys had been was around 3300m. (10,800 ft.)

So when the guide recommended we push straight for the meterlogical station (3680m, 12,100 ft) I was a little surprised that these Norwegians were all about it. Starting from the Gergeti Chapel (2400m), that's a 1280m (4200 ft) 7-9 hour first day with full packs. Granted without the campsite we can dump a few pounds of tent, and it's one less day we'll be on the mountain so that's a little lighter on the weight too. Plus we continue to have bouts of heavy rain -- not enough to rain out a whole day, but enough to make your trip really miserable. (Rain just started pounding the house right now. Its raining so hard it cut the satellite TV feed, but it'll probably be over in 45 minutes.) So, not tenting may help avoid the misery of climbing to 12000 ft in wet boots and gear. But still... that's a long hard first day.

Well, the pack is set and it comes in at 43 lbs, which ain't too shabby considering all the gear required for glacier travel. I'm personally prepared for the potential of a bivy if we're not making time goals or if someone gets a case of AMS, but I'm not sure how much these other guys are.

Total team: 3 guides, 3 Norweigans, 2 Americans. That's 2 rope teams for summit bids which should increase odds of success if we make it through day 1. Plus it means we can split the group in half if part of the team needs to retreat off the mountain.

Personally, I think for the experience of some of these guys that the first day is too aggressive. However, being 10-20 years their junior it seems odd to be the one holding them back. So I agreed to the plan. We shall see.

Sometimes its the little things...

2009-07-11T15:21:00.002+03:00

Ok, so this may get a little personal but whatever.

So I'm planning a trip to the top of a mountain and I'm out of Imodium. While I'm not planning on having any problems, the top of a mountain is a really bad place to have a problem like that, so bringing some is a really good idea. The commissary doesn't carry it though, so I'm off to find some on the local economy.

First complication: American brands don't exist here, so you're going to have to find the Russian equivalent. Easiest way to do to this is to find what the drug really is: (Loperamide).

Second: the big grocery store doesn't carry drugs, so I have to go to the pharmacy where even "Over the counter" drugs, require asking the pharmacist. Problem is, they don't speak english and I don't speak Russian or Georgian. So you write Loperamide on a piece of paper and hope for the best.

The first pharmacy I walked into didn't carry it, but the second one did. 1.80 GEL for a box of 10. That's about about $1.05 and 25% of the price of even the generic stuff in the U.S.

I thought for sure the lady was going to give me A pill. Nope, it's a whole box.

So it seems like a little thing, but it's kind of an adventure that ends with a "Really? It's that cheap?"

Busy Busy Busy

2009-06-23T19:50:00.004+03:00

Meg has had a rough ride since she left Georgia. (Treats her right for leaving me!)

First she got on the plane and had a puking baby across the aisle from her for the entire ride.

When she got home (tired and super jet lagged) she also found that the parents had already taught the kid how to share. I'll save you the details, but she didn't get to bed until 3am on Sunday night/monday morning. Couple hours of sleep and she's at school, finding out the hard way that they really are going to cram a full semester of grad school into 5 weeks.

Meg said she has 2 papers due this week and reading to prep for the papers. They're cramming 45 hours of class into 8 solid days. Paper, paper, exam, move on to the next one. Saying she's a little booked sounds like it's a bit of an understatement.

So for all those trying to get a hold of her. She loves ya and she would love to talk to you, but please understand she is REALLY swamped. Even I have more time on my hands (and I'm busy packing up a house, trying to get a climb to 16,500 ft and wrapping things up at work).

So, even though it appears that she is in the US, please understand why she may act/sound like she is still in a warzone overseas in that phone calls are hard to schedule. To some extent, she is in a warzone. It's called GMU FastTrain.

Wish her luck. She's reading text messages and skimming emails. Just please understand if she doesn't respond for about 5 weeks. (When its all over and I can come home.)

She left me.

2009-06-16T19:43:00.003+03:00

It's been 1 year, 3 months, 3 days and about 18 hours of marriage and well... she left me. That's right, my wife is on a plane and left me.

On a sunny afternoon the day before St. Patricks' day Meg married me and now she's left me for another man. She's on the plane. She's gone. And she's not coming back to the Republic of Georgia again.

Not only has she left me, she's left me for another man. Some guy named George, I guess.

On the brightside, in about 2 months, I won't be in Georgia either. Hopefully by then, she'll have kicked this expensive guy George Mason to the curb.

---- (Is it funny yet?) -----

Yes, Meg left me today, but it was a pre-planned move. She's off to grad school at GMU on Monday (No break. I tell ya, she's a tough lady). She'll suffer through 8-5 M-F plus homework, plus exams for about 5 weeks, then I'll get home about the same time she's done. It's safest this way. If I left with her, well either she'd go insane, or she'd kill me, because we all know I'd be pestering her to go out and do something fun when she's supposed to be "working".

Looking for trails, finding bears

2009-06-14T09:29:00.001+03:00

So the title may be misleading, deal with it. Had to share this with some folks out there.

I found this while looking for trails for our upcoming road trip this summer. Worth a grin.

Security Services in Georgia

2009-06-13T20:54:00.002+03:00

In case you were worried about our personal security let me put your concerns to rest. The Embassy supplied a mobile patrol to check our homes, but they don't come anywhere close to protecting us like the guy we just saw.

Imagine this: Meg & I are coming from from a nice dinner downtown and make the right turn in our alley when we have to slow down because there is a guy waving his arms like a man possessed.

He's about 80 years old, has coke bottle glasses on, a wife beater and sweat pants on and he doesn't look mentally sane due to the flying hands. Wait, what's in his hands? NUNCHUCKS! Seriously. Nunchucks.

There are a lot of things that are just a little weird here, but this will keep us laughing for quite a while.