Catherine Garner with
the Egyptian Sphinx
Dee Berisha
In an effort to shine a spotlight on the amazing diversity, energy, and the curious nature of Women On Our Own (WOOO), I sent an invitation out to our membership. I asked our members if they would share their recent trips with our SaddleBrooke community. Catherine Garner responded with a wonderful narrative of her recent trip to Egypt. Nothing I write could possibly reflect Catherine’s adventure as well as reading it in her own words.
“I am an alumna of Vanderbilt University, and a sorority sister is head of the Vanderbilt Alumni Travel Program. They offer about 14 package tours per year. The group is always small and the accommodations unique. The trips are planned with a local tour guide and a Vanderbilt professor to offer historical insights. The days are planned, local meals provided, along with extra time for personal touring or (for me) a spa day. The groups are always friendly, and there are always some single women, so traveling as a single is always easy. I have traveled with them many times over the years and cannot say enough about how well they structure unique opportunities.
“The Egypt trip was very special. Our guide was an Egyptologist who was so eager to share all of the history of the dynasties and mythology behind the sites. We started in Cairo at the Four Seasons on the Nile and had a trip in the local sailing boats where the children came along in paddle boards and serenaded us. Visits to the museums, Grand Mosque, and cathedrals were fascinating. Visits to the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza and a camel ride capped off the time in Cairo. We then flew to Aswan in the Nubian Desert to see the Valley of the Kings and the underground tombs with art from 3000 BC! We stayed at the Old Cataract Hotel where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile, stopping at historical sites along the way to Luxor where the grand temples of the pharaohs anchor the city. It was a bit overwhelming at times. We stayed at the old hotel where British royalty were known to winter. The local food was fresh, plentiful, and delicious. Egypt is a desert much like Tucson, with little rain and summer monsoons which often creates flooding.
“There were so many awe-inspiring experiences, I really do not have a favorite. The entire trip was enthralling, the food unique, and the people very friendly. I felt quite safe. What was surprising was to learn that there are no Sunni or Shia sects—the only identities being Muslim or Christian. For every mosque there was usually a church nearby. The Egyptian currency was so devalued that everyone preferred American dollars.”
Catherine Garner