fast past

I can’t say I have traveled “extensively” but I have visited quite a number of places with many more destinations yet to explore. My trip to Egypt was my first time moving about with a tour group; what an eye opener it was in terms of tourism as a business. And touring provided me with pointers to keep in mind for future consideration as it had its pros and cons.

From a creative stance, we did not have the opportunity to really move amongst the people, to delve into the flavor of the country and savor daily life from the perspective of a native Egyptian. So taking pictures as the bus moved fast past day-to-day scenes became a sport of sorts among those of us who wanted to capture the world that in many instances was right next to the remains of ancient structures. After awhile, I became quite good at assessing where the glare was or what part of the window was streak free so the pictures would need either little or no adjustments once I downloaded them. I discovered that my camera seemed to freeze what’s in front of it as soon I pressed the button; seeing something ahead of me, lining up the shot then going for it revealed some duds but oh was I rewarded with lots of gems.

Introducing some of the people on the other side of the glass…

Getting candid pictures of people when I was off the bus required a sharp eye as a moment to get the shot was all I had and if a little time presented itself required the patience of a saint...

Though I was not able to roam about for hours to capture life among the people, touring exposed me to so much of the country, more than I would have seen had I been on my own. I found out that all those morning walks in DC were not for naught as I lost count of how many times we climbed onto and off the bus to spend an hour or so walking around a site under the sun. And speaking of Ra, touring challenged me to keep pace with a hectic schedule in heat that raised my body temperature to an extreme that forced me to remain on the bus the first afternoon as I attempted to cool it back to some degree of normalcy. Couple all this with jet lag, other feelings of body discomfort…it was grueling at the beginning but I persevered. In a few days, I had adapted to my surroundings and was not only walking like (okay, had to say it!) but feeling quite Egyptian.

When I stepped from the plane back onto home land, my feet tingled. A stronger more empowered goddess stood sure, solid on ground, wondering about and very ready for what's next so as always I suggest that you...

keep your peepers open!®

gift of nature

In my blog on 9/19, I mentioned transforming photographs by manipulating variables. For some reason, I thought I would do that with some of my pictures from Egypt, however I found that making changes to what I shot does none of them justice, especially the ones of plants and vegetation which usually serves up a great palette for me to work with. Of the thousands of images I captured, I only found myself framing greenery of interest on rare occasions. I have to say that my favorites were found in Alexandria near the water.

I was lucky on that windy visit to the Montaza Gardens. It was maybe 30 minutes before sunset, I wanted to get some pictures of the lush surroundings before the light fell into the horizon. While in wait for the Mediterranean breeze to still itself so the leaves would too be still, I glanced down to behold one flawless shell resting at my feet. A rush passed through me; a thing I had hoped to find but felt was not to be had was secretly waiting for me as I patiently waited for nature to pause and pose.  As I picked up the gift, sand poured from its small opening, sprinkled gingerly over my foot. I stood in the twilight holding a tiny piece of nature far from shores where I had happily collected others like it during vacations past and felt a joyous connection to something that I still cannot convey in words.  

This morning, I read the following lines…

“Once the sun rises, it doesn't go backward but instead follows its path in one direction. It may appear to stand still for a moment in time, or to move more slowly at some point or another, but really it is steadily moving forward on its path. We are the same way, and once we have moved through something we can never really go back…in truth we are always taking the next important step forward on our path.” - DailyOM

I immediately recalled how enamored I was with the rising and setting Egyptian sun, how still it always seemed while all the time in motion. I felt the wind of the garden smelled the sea, remembered those moments inside temples buried within a mountain of stone. As my hand traced figures carved on the walls, I seemed to be swept back to a time when had these ancient burial grounds not survived there was no means to immortalize them on film. Each time I experienced one of these momentary transports, I felt a shift within and now understand that I was being moved forward on my journey with each glimpse of things that had been created long before my life as I know it began. In that September blog, I predicted that some sort of transformation would take place in me when I visited Egypt. There are more changes to come so...
 

keep your peepers open!®

nile life

Many moons ago, I let go of the car my grandmother gave my sister and me and purchased a sweet little Honda that rarely needed servicing; waiting for it to be finished on one of those occasions was serendipitous. A casual conversation with another customer not only solidified my desire to visit Egypt, a wish that began to brew when I was in grammar school and turned to the picture of the Sphinx in my history book, but enhanced it…there would be no way I would ever go there without taking a cruise on the Nile. The woman recounting her holiday made it sound so exhilarating!

The evening we boarded the boat (after traveling via train from Washington, DC, to grab a cab in NYC that took us to catch our flight from JFK to Cairo followed by several hours of sitting in the airport before we were herded onto the repaired as we watched aircraft to Luxor), I was not so stable walking the wobbling green plank over the Nile. That conquered without me falling into the drink, I was miffed as we made our way through several other boats before we stepped onto ours (boats are docked side-by-side, very new to me). We stayed docked in Luxor for a couple of days as we toured by day; we finally set sail at night.

My friends and I headed up to the top deck, slouched down on the welcoming recliners, and floated along not a care in the world as exhilarated fatigue seeped into the white cushions beneath our bodies. The just right air wrapped itself around me like a comforting comforter, coaxing my tired eyes to flutter and close. I could have easily slipped into a sound sleep up there the moon above, it was just that tranquil. However, I wondered why we were sailing at night. It seemed like a waste to be missing life along the banks of the Nile and when someone commented that most cruises moved from point to point at night, I was beyond disappointed. This could just not be….and thank goodness it was not.

Pictured in the order they were taken:

 

 

keep your peepers open!®