Last Day of the Cruise

December 21st
We were packed up and ready for our last tour of the cruise - to the temples of Karnak and Luxor and we were not disappointed. One could imagine the grandeur of the procession from one temple down the sphinx-lined promenade to the other temple. Now only two churches stand in the way of restoring the parade route - and Evangelical Presbyterian Church and a large Coptic Cathedral. We enjoyed our last day with the friends we had made on the four day cruise and we said many goodbyes before leaving the ship and moving on to the West Bank of Luxor to the Desert Paradise Lodge in Gourna, a small village across the river from the city of Luxor.
We were amazed at the place - an oasis of calm and beauty in the desert. We had 2 spacious rooms with modern bathroom and kitchenette that opened on to a beautiful garden area and small swimming pool. The Egyptian meals were fresh and delicious and our hosts gracious and helpful. We highly recommend this place!
Farida, the owner's "right hand" even went with us by boat to the East Bank of Luxor to the local souk to find the shop where we could buy particularly beautiful wall hangings like those that graced the walls of the lodge. The local artist has retired, but this shop had a good supply of various sizes and colors. After the ritual negotiations (that netted us an extra rug to seal the deal) we settled on a small woven scene of a village on the Theban hills - much like the view we saw from our hot air balloon the next morning.

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