Author Archives: Tiim & Kathy

We had two days of birding scheduled with Bogotá Birding and Colombia Wildlife Tours. At 5:30 in the morning we were picked up by our guide Juliana and our very capable driver.

DAY ONE – October 3

Our day began at a local cafe in the town of La Calera. We had a local pastry called arepa. It is a made with cornmeal filled with a local soft cheese. It was fun to watch the cook make them.

Chingaza National Park is our destination this morning. It is located to the east of Bogotá.

It was difficult to photograph the amazing birds that we saw. So I am posting photos from the Merlin App.

We walked through an area of the mountains called the Paramour. It is similar to the tundra. It contains low growing plants that are able to collect the water and keep the soil moist. Juliana has an interest in flora and ecology and we enjoyed all the information she shared with us.

After lunch we went to the Conservatorio de Colibries. It is a private nature sight with hummingbird feeders and plants to attract the birds. We loved the hummingbirds!

DAY TWO – October 4

We are picked up at 5:00 am. Our destination today is Chicaque Nature Reserve. This is a very large private reserve south of Bogotá. This is in the Andes Mountains at a lower elevation than the day before. We walk about 3 kilometers downhill into the valley.

We saw or heard an amazing amount of birds. They were at time difficult to see. The walk was an adventure in itself. we were amidst the clouds most of the way. Here a couple of our favorite birds.

At the bottom of the valley is a restaurant where we ate lunch. We ate outside and were able to see many birds as we ate. An entire flock of mixed species flew in and we saw many tanagers, warblers and even a pair of toucans.

We did not climb back out of the valley. We took a classic Land Rover ride up the mountain on the steep path up. It was an experience!

The previous post had an incorrect link to Sew Powerful. The correct link is:

http://sewpowerful.org

Kathy

I traveled to Zambia in 2016 to learn about a project that I had sewn purses for. The project was located in a slum area of Lusaka called Njombe. I have been volunteering with them the last eight years. This month I am participating in a fundraiser. The information is below and I would love your support!

I will also share some photos of my 2016 trip below.

Click the link below to donate:

http://sewpowerful.org

Sew Powerful is run by all volunteers so any money donated goes directly to covering the cost of filling the purses and paying the local women who sew the reusable sanitary products. The girls typically will miss five days of school each month during their periods, because they have no access to sanitary pads. This causes them to fall behind and have difficulty passing their seventh grade exam which is needed to go to secondary school. Many of the girls then marry early and continue in poverty.

Thank you for ready my blog today and learning about this amazing project.

Kathy

Egypt Highlights from Tim

ONE – Our guide, Mohammad Ali – It is from the mind of Mohammad that I have been able to understand the deep historical events that have defined this land. He uses data, visuals and very personal experiences to allow my mind and heart to imagine and experience this beautiful land and its people.

TWO – The Egyptian People – Smiles that are sincere, warm, quick, engaging, and welcoming. The sweet beauty of youth to the rugged and weathered beauty of the elders, it’s the smiles that hug my heart.

THREE – The history – The wonder and mystery of traveling through time. To expand my image of the big story of mankind. To understand better the thinking of the powerful leaders as written in the walls of temples and monuments.

Jordan Highlights from Kathy

ONE – Our guide Mahmoud Twaissi. He brought the historical sites to life. I love a good archaeological site and having him tell us what these stones once were and the many layers of civilization was great. His love for his hometown of Petra and his intimate knowledge being raised in a Bedouin family gave us insights we couldn’t get on our own.

Two – Petra! Seeing Petra has been on my bucket list for years and it did not disappoint!

THREE – The food – I loved the salads that served as appetizers. That could be my entire meal. Yum!

This is the last day of our trip. We take the short flight from Aswan to Cairo. We then head to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. In 2021 the 22 royal mummies were moved in a large parade from the Egyptian Museum to this newer museum. There are 18 kings and four queens. We were not able to photograph them, but it was amazing to see these great pharaohs and their coffins. Imagine seeing the mummy of Ramses II and his queen, Nefertari!

The rest of the museum took us through the different eras of Egyptian civilization. From prehistoric to the different dynasties to the Christian time and then the Muslim times.

We took a walk in the afternoon to the Cairo Tower.

Tomorrow our pick up time is 2:00 am! Goodby Egypt. Our trip was amazing!

Boat Trip

We wake up early for a birding motor boat trip on the Nile. Our guide is Mohammad Arabi aka “The Birdman of Aswan”. We saw many types of herons, egrets and ducks. After cruising the river for awhile we docked on Kitchener’s Island to have a tour of a beautiful botanical garden.

Philae Temple

We have another boat trip this morning to an island to visit our last temple of the trip. This temple is honoring the goddess Isis. She is the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Egyptian gods associated with the Pharoahs.

This temple was built in the Greek and Roman times. There is even a Kiosk to Emperor Trajan.

A policeman offered to take some photos of us and we gave him a tip. I am sure they are not paid much and this is a way for them to make more money.

We hop into the boat again to travel to a Nubian restaurant for lunch.

In our free time we visited the Nubian Museum. The Nubians live in what is now southern Egypt and Northern Sudan.

We ended the day with a nice farewell dinner at the Cararact Hotel.

(Since we are stuck in Frankfurt, Germany because of a flight cancelation, I can catch up on the blog posts.)

Our hotel in Aswan is the historic Old Cataract Hotel. Many heads of state and famous people have stayed here. It is famous for being the site where Agatha Christie wrote “Death on the Nile”. We took a tour of the hotel and saw the Agatha Christie Room and the William Churchill room.

Tim and I took a tour of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Coptic Church is thought to have begun when the apostle, Mark, brought Christianity to Egypt. It was beautiful. They also are quite proud of the fact that the Holy Family fled to Egypt.

Later in the afternoon we went to explore the Aswan Spice Market.

We said goodbye to the crew on the dahabeya. Their service was incredible and the food delicious. It was a lovely way to see the Nile countryside.

It is about a three hour drive from Aswan to Abu Simbel. Along the way we stop at the Aswan High Dam. When the dam was constructed under President Nasser Avery large lake was formed. An entire village of Nubian people was covered by the water destroying their way of life along the Nile. They were resettled in the desert. Several of Egypt’s antiquities were also threatened, including Abu Simbel. Under the direction of UNESCO the huge temples were moved to higher ground.

This evening we enjoy the light and sound show at the temples of Abu Simbel.

Views from our hotel had beautiful views of Lake Nasser.

We start early the next morning to explore Abu Simbel without the heat and the hoards of tourists. It is magical. The images inside the temple chronicles a battle Ramses had with Syria. It was quite dramatic and ended in one of the first peace treaties of the time.

Scenes from Nefertari’s Temple.

We have another very interesting visit to a village along the Nile. The village of Daraw is the home of a weekly camel market. We got to experience the auctioning of the camels to the highest bidder. The camels are exported from Sudan. There are three reasons people want to buy camels. 1. For the meat, 2. To help carry loads on the agricultural land and 3. Tourism.

After observing the camel auction we walked through the market area of the village.

We ended the afternoon watching the older Agatha Christie movie, “Death on the Nile” which was filmed at the Old Cararact Hotel in Aswan. Tomorrow we leave our boat at Aswan and check into that hotel!