Spain, Ireland and UK

These "bonus" countries were slotted into our busy schedule mainly because of airline ticketing reasons, though it was very good to see my family in the UK. It was a brief opportunity to travel in Westernised countries, where we didn't look any different and had to spend real money. After this, we went to Egypt, but first, the stopovers in the West:

Madrid (January 11th-13th)
by Carrie

After our time in South America, we found Madrid very, very cold and very western. It was a bit of a culture shock, even after relatively affluent Chile, to be in such a beautifully-looked after city, surrounded by such obviously wealthy people. The number of furs (or fake furs) on passers-by was shocking! We also found ourselves in a bit of shock over the Euro, which is worth so much more than the peso, but we managed to enjoy ourselves anyway. Madrid is a gorgeous city, with lovely old buildings and delicate balconies. Even in the winter the Plaza Mayor is a sight, and it was very nice for Carrie at least to have some really decent coffee. The notable expedition of our few days in Spain was our trip out to the Escorial, King Philip's mausoleum/castle complex. It was obvious to us that the place was meant as a summer residence, as the winter temperatures in the expanse of stone were very chilly, but we could still appreciate the place's grandeur. It was fun to see olde maps of South America and reflect that much of Spain's wealth at the time was derived from imperial holdings in the very lands we had recently traversed!


In the extreme cold outside El Escorial, close to Madrid

Dublin (January 14th-18th)

We went to Dublin solely to visit our friends Martha and Tom. We thought Dublin must be a great place to spend a few days but it was frigging freezing when we were there, so we did not spend so much time exploring the streets as we might have done in less inclement weather. (Perhaps a return trip is in order sometime in the future!) We did visit a fantastic museum collection of beautiful old manuscripts called the Chester Beatty Library. We were awed by the detailed, painstaking artwork done by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians of earlier days, and marvelled when, months later at the temple of Philae in Egypt, we overheard a Spanish-speaking guide mention a papyrus displayed there--a connection between three of our cultures! We also took a hike on the hills in nearby Howth and mostly enjoyed the comforts of Martha's home, notably her cooking (delicious as ever) and the conversation of old friends.


University College Dublin

England (January 18th-February 6th)

England was a similarly relaxing time. It was very good to see many of Adrian's relatives and to visit several of his friends as well. We had some logistical stuff to do in arranging for the next legs of our trip but we also managed to fit in some good recreation and relaxation (recovering from all the rigors of our trip, poor us!). It was lovely to eat lots of fruits, homemade bread, vegetables from Mum and Dad Martin's garden, desserts prepared by Adrian's mum, and Tesco humous (we consumed our weight in this in just a few weeks). We fit in a few games of Scrabble with Adrian's mum, took many long brisk walks in the countryside, and did some reading. We also found time to check out the British Museum, where we located the "best" moai, missing from Easter Island and notably well preserved due to its place inside the hallowed halls (we were interested to note that the piece was attributed as a gift of "HM Queen Victoria"--nice of her). The museum also gave us a preview of some of the things we'd be looking for (in vain) in Egypt and sites farther east. We had such a nice time in England that we hardly prepared for the impending trip to Egypt, and we arrived in Cairo quite unprepared for the bustle and excitement.


In the Hop Fields of Kent