-by Denise Burcksen

I just returned from my own bucket-list trip to Egypt, and it felt terrific to enjoy international hospitality once again!  Although the jet lag from flying back really kicked my a*#, so I guess I’m rusty:)

Here’s a recap of my trip in terms of what you can expect when traveling internationally these days.

The most important take-away?

NO CROWDS!

As you can see in the picture above, there I am at the Giza pyramids WITH NO PEOPLE in the background.  This is a site that normally gets tens of thousands of international visitors every single day.  

My traveling companions and I were fully vaccinated, and I recommend traveling internationally only if you are too.

Read on for specifics from my trip-

PRE-FLIGHT

• Travel Insurance is an absolute MUST these days!   I made sure I had a policy that covered Covid and even quarantine costs, as a precaution. 
• I flew Turkish Airlines, and they require a negative PCR Covid test taken a max of 72 hours before flight departure.    
• So everyone that you are flying with also has to test and provide a negative Covid PCR test to get on the flight. 
• Egypt entry requirement is the same criteria, so one PCR test could take care of both requirements.  Just depends on your timing, but most countries are allowing 72 to 96 hours for a test result to be valid so it’s not difficult to satisfy this requirement.
• I took a drive-through, never-get-out-of-my car rapid result PCR test at Same Day Testing the day before my flight–a nurse swabbed me through my car window- and got the email results within 16 hours.  I printed out 2 copies and was all set to go.
• Dulles airport was literally empty, no lines anywhere and stores were open.  
• Turkish Air checked my hardcopy Covid test result at check-in and also two more times before boarding.  
• It’s 10 hours nonstop from DC to Istanbul and you have to wear a mask for the entire flight, except when eating or drinking.  Flight crew was very vigilant about mask wearing, reminding passengers to put their their masks up above their nose.   Yes, it’s a pain -in theory.  You get used to it.
• Business Class busier than Economy, as I’ve experienced before on international flights.  Flight was probably 30-40 % full so lots of space but I expect this will change drastically as countries open up and restrictions lift.

I’ve said this before and will say it again–airports and planes have never been cleaner!

In summary, you need a negative PCR test, hardcopy of your test, masks and patience.  That’s it.

ARRIVAL

• I had to connect through Istanbul to continue on to Cairo, and the new Istanbul airport is fantastic.  Everything was open and it was bustling.  
• Upon arrival, your temperature is checked via infra-red technology and you don’t even know it has happened. 
• Arrival in Egypt was incredible smooth, they asked to see my Covid test result at passport control, and that was it. Our handler did our visas upon arrival and was super convenient.
• We had a private car (van) and driver, and the van was spotlessly clean, with hand sanitizers, tissues and bottled water.  There was a plastic barrier between the driver and the back rows.  Our driver was properly masked.  It was the same car and driver we would have for the next 4 days so you stay in a travel bubble.
• We did not have to wear masks in our own vehicle  if we didn’t  want to-and since I was traveling with another advisor and a mutual friend and we were all fully vaccinated, we chose to not wear masks while traveling together in our little travel bubble.

TOURING / SIGHTSEEING

So what is it like to sightsee and tour these days? 

• We had a private guide in Cairo for just our group of 3, she was a fantastic Egyptologist named Azza, pictured here on the right.   Azza was PCR-tested by Abercrombie & Kent, the tour operator I used for this custom trip, before she met us for the first time.  All guides are PCR-tested before meeting clients!
• Our guide Azza ALWAYS wore a mask, inside and outside. 
• Our driver was PCR-tested by A&K before he met us at the airport for the first time, and he remained with us for the entire time.
• Masks are not required to be worn outside, but we chose to wear them through the Khan el Khalili Bazaar pictured here. 
• NO CROWDS!    This is the largest bazaar in the Middle East, and the usual throngs of people are missing.  It was the same all over Egypt.  This is the biggest benefit to traveling this year.  I have picture after picture of myself at some of the most iconic sites on this planet, like the Great Pyramid at Giza, and there are NO people in the background.  This is simply unheard of.  
• Locals may or may not wear masks, as well as the other tourists we encountered (Russians and South Americans). Another reason why I recommend being fully vaccinated before you take on this type of travel.
• The highlights of the King Tut collection (the sold gold coffin, the solid gold death mask, throne, etc) are still in the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo, but will be moving to the new, billion dollar Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) when it opens, now most likely in 2022.  It was a real treat to see Tut’s collection without people bumping into me. 
• There was hardly anyone out in The Valley of the Kings down in Luxor, where all the pharoah tombs are.  You feel like Indiana Jones here.  I was literally the only person in the tomb of King Tut!  Well, me and the security guard who wanted to take pictures of me with Tut’s mummy.  
• NO LINES ANYWHERE.  I was inside the Great Pyramid at Giza with no one.   
• Security guards out at the tombs will take you to areas that usually are off-limits, and they will show you more and explain more becuase they  have the time and there are not a gazillion people jostling for positions. 

BOTTOM LINE:

You can have a very unique and maybe never-to-be-repeated travel experience this year IF you are willing to deal with a couple of small (at least to me) compromises such as testing and some mask wearing. 

Onsite Hotel & Ship Experience

We were met by friendly smiles and hospitality everywhere we stayed.  People are so happy to see and welcome tourists again, it’s very noticeable.  It was great to experience!

• Four Seasons First Residence was our home for the first 4 nights.  High security including bomb-sweeping every car and entering through a metal detector every day.  Staff always properly masked.  Sanitary kits including masks, gloves and sanitizer provided in your room.  Rooms spotlessly clean.   Housekeeping twice daily.  The cigar bar was closed due to Covid, but all restaurants open.  Outdoor pool open.  There was a large open air restaurant  around the pool, and that’s where we ate and drank all the time.  Here, we were introduced to an Egyptian white wine, Jardin du Nile, that became our go-to drink the entire trip.  Not just because of the crisp taste, but also because of the 400% tax that Egypt puts on imported alcohol, whoa!!
• We sailed 4 nights on the Nile on A&K’s own ship, the Sanctuary Sun Boat IV.  40 state rooms but operating at max 50% capacity.  So only 40 passengers allowed onboard and we had 34 people on our sailing.  ALL CREW PCR TESTED before a sailing.  ALL GUIDES PCR-TESTED before being allowed onboard.   Hand sanitizer everywhere and required when you come back onboard after sightseeing.  Personal hygiene kits (masks, gloves, personal sanitizer) provided in every room.  Buffets at breakfast and lunch but food spread is behind very high plexiglass shields.  The gloved staff puts the food on your plate and brings to your table.  A la carte dinners.  Masks required while walking round inside onboard but not on outside decks.  The small tiled pool on the top deck was open (and fab!).  A doctor travels onboard in a stateroom that has been turned into a medical suite.  The doctor’s services- should you need them- are free of charge, as is any medication he prescribes (and that is carried on board). 
• Sanctuary ship crew was terrific and could not do enough for you.  So happy to see tourists again!   Food and drink were excellent, but alcohol prices were ridiculously high. 
• We ended our stay in Egypt at the famous Mena House Hotel, overlooking the pyramids at Giza (picture above).  This hotel has seen better days and is trading on its killer location and reputation.   I will say, it’s green grounds and gardens are beautiful  and the large sparkling pool was a real treat after seeing all that beige of the desert!

TESTING

• I had to test to get on my first flight on Turkish Air, and that test also sufficed for my entry to Egypt requirement.  MUST BE A PCR TEST!
• The US government is currently requiring all travelers above the age of 2, regardless of  vaccination status, to provide proof of a negative PCR or rapid result antigen test  (the cheaper test)  to return to the US.  You can show proof with either a hardcopy lab result OR electronic on your phone. 
• I arranged for a doctor to come to the Mena House Hotel  and he nasal-swabbed the three of us right in the lobby in between our spa appointments!  Took 5 minutes, we paid on the spot.  I received our scanned results via Whats App and they dropped off hardcopies of our test results at the hotel front desk 24 hours before our flight home.  Easy and convenient and no-stress.  

For any traveling clients, I can arrange to have your Covid test done onsite wherever you are.  

 FYI- the airlines check your test result before you board your flight to the US, but once I landed at Dulles, NO ONE asked to see a test result.

If this inspires you to start planning something for later this year or 2022, we are here for you.  

Questions?  Feel free to contact me anytime, I love to talk travel!

There’s nothing like the anticipation of a trip to look forward to:)

-DENISE

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The lodge has 8 “bandas” or cottages named after various mountain gorillas.  It has a gorgeous green view of the park, and is one of the Top 3 nicest places to stay in the area.   A stay here includes all meals and drinks (even alcohol) and laundry. The main lodge has a welcoming sitting area with fireplace and dining room, and internet is available in the main lodge.

The bandas have outdoor porches and have every creature comfort you need, including King beds, sitting area, desk are with USB plugs and electrical outlets.  There is a double-sink vanity in the large and airy bathroom, with a dressing area, safe, stone shower and water closet.  We all LOVED the fab-smelling Temple Spa toiletries, including muscle cream and foot balm.

Your wake-up call is a delivery of cappuccino or tea with delicious pound cake, and hot water bottles to tuck you in at night.

The food at Bwindi Lodge was easily the best food we had at any lodge or camp in Uganda.  My avocado and tomato bruschetta was one of the best things I ate the entire trip, as well as buttered tilapia that was  a revelation and nothing like the nondescript bland tilapia we have here at home.  Lunches of chicken wraps with bacon and avocado and thick cut potatoes or chicken and pesto were very tasty.   On our last evening, we had 4-cheese samosas as a starter, and for the main we all choose the local specialty  of “matoki” or cooked, mashed green banana with peanut sauce, and white rice and a tomato-based chicken stew that was really good.  Sharing dinner in the company of our wonderful guide Eric and Omax, one of Bwindi’s park rangers and member of the Uganda Wildlfe Authority, made it our favorite dinner of the trip!

So what is it like to gorilla trek?

Whoever has permits to track that day is welcomed to the Ranger Station by a local women’s group who sing and dance before a  general briefing by the Head Ranger, who goes over the rules.  No flash photography, keep distance from the gorillas and speak softly.  People trek in a group of up to 8 people max, so you will be grouped with other people if you are not your own group of 8.  After the general briefing, you are assigned to your own park ranger and group of 8, and are told which gorilla family you will be tracking that day.  People who have 2 treks in 2 consecutive days will have priority for the easiest trek if it is their second trekking day–fair enough.

You have to be prepared to trek single-file  5 minutes or 4-5 hours to see one of the four habituated families in this section of the park.  It isn’t called the IMPENETRABLE forest for nothing!  There are no paths and your park team will include rangers with machetes who walk out in front and literally machete the dense brush so you can walk through.  I highly recommend hiring a porter, who will carry your daypack (must bring 2 liters of water per person with you plus packed lunch, camera equipment, etc) and help you over and around the hilly brush and vegetation.  I didn’t like having a walking stick and felt it more of a hindrance than a help, but that’s a personal thing.  Tight-fitting neoprene gloves came in very handy when grabbing on to various branches for balance.

An advance team goes out in the very early  morning to see where the gorilla families are located,  and then radios the specific location to your ranger, who will lead your group there.  There is an armed guard at the front of your group, and  also one at the back.  With 3 rangers, porters, guards and the guest group, it’s quite a scene.

Once you arrive at the gorilla family location, you are allowed exactly 60 minutes to observe them.   Only one group of 8 people are allowed to see a family in one day, to limit gorilla exposure to human disease.

On our first day/first trek, we had to drive about 35 minutes away from the ranger station to where the  H family of gorillas was located, and then we set about on foot.  The anticipation was incredible!

It took almost an hour of hiking to get to the Habinyanja family.  When you first spot those black figures in the green bushes, your heart almost jumps out of your chest.  And when one of them fully emerges from the bushes and walks right by you, it truly is quite a thrill.  You don’t know whether to snap away or just stand there and take it all in.

Unlike very loud-calling chimpanzees, these mountain gorillas are very mild-mannered and quiet….only once the silverback grunt his displeasure (at an armed guard standing too close to the gorillas, which included a baby) or made low noises that our ranger told us was just the silverback communicating with his members to see if all was ok.  The noise you hear all around you is branches bending and breaking as these magnificent herbivores go about finding their ideal breakfast.

The members were a bit scattered in different areas, but we settled into a small area to watch a group of about 8 gorillas…..the silverback was lying on the ground  napping, having his fill of breakfast already.   He was being groomed by a very young gorilla, an orphan whose mother was killed and who now stays right next to the silverback all the time.   But the real attention-getter was a small two-year old, who was full of energy and very playful while all the adults around him, including mom, were in food comas and napping, or still munching away.  This little guy was so curious, he came right up to one of my client’s (who was at his level, sitting on the ground  taking pictures) and started POKING her camera lens with his finger.  Our ranger told my client to stand up, which made this toddler back off (remember, they do not want the gorillas that close to humans for a variety of reasons).  This little gorilla then ran around, climbed a branch and beat his chest, tried to wake his mother up, sat next to his mother for a bit and cradled her head with his arm, and then jumped over to another adult who groomed him.   You couldn’t take your eyes off of him.

His behavior was just like a human toddler!  I believe this is why people say gorilla trekking is such an amazing experience, becuase we see ourselves in these primates.

Our second day of trekking was laughable easy—we were going to see the Rushigura or R Family.  We started our hike right from the ranger station, and literally within 8 minutes we came upon at least 12 members of the R  family eating by the river.    But you just never know how long–or short–it will take to reach your family, I  cannot underestimate that you need to be prepared for anything.  We got lucky.   I joked that it didn’t feel right that we hadn’t had to trek through mud and  stinging nettles to be rewarded with the family find.

Once again, we were astounded by the quite serenity of these animals, very busy going about their business foraging and eating breakfast.  A mother emerged from the bushes with a baby on her back, and proceeded to walk right by me…she was so close I had to zoom my camera OUT, while backing up to give her room to pass, all while trying not to fall into the river  behind me.

Some of this gorilla family ate their fill of forest fruit and then were thirsty so had to go take a drink at the stream (swooping their arm into the water and drinking from their hand), and then they  navigated the river rocks (even with a baby on back)  and passed to the other side.  Others stayed on our side of the stream, but at some point they decided to move on.  We watched as several gorillas came out of the bushes and walked right by us….and also under the watchful eye of their silverback.  The silverback acted like a crossing guard–he stood still in the path as all his family members safely passed by, and only then did he take up the rear and follow them into the bushes, to continue on with their daily life on the move.

I highly recommend a second day of trekking (yes, it’s another $600 for another permit but well worth it)  for a couple of reasons….you get to see a different gorilla family, but also because  you will give yourself more time to put the phone and camera down, and just observe.    If you only have that one 60-minute trek, you are juggling all your electronics trying to get the perfect shot, the perfect selfie, the perfect video.  60 minutes goes by pretty fast.  If you have another day,  you become more present, more  in the moment.  You get your shots, and then just relax and watch as nature reveals itself to you.

And Nature is pretty splendid! 

For people who want a more active and visceral wildlife encounter that goes beyond sitting in a safari vehicle, you cannot top this experience.    Yes,  the permits are costly but they are helping to provide the means necessary to ensure that these magnificent creatures survive in their natural habitat to be seen by future generations. 

For more information about gorilla trekking in Uganda OR Rwanda, please contact me at 301-217-0027 or denise@luxurytraveladventures.com

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