Falling in love with Egypt

It was time to officially explore this ancient country. I met up with a friend, who I knew from social media. Always treat people nice because you never know when they will help you out.

Walking around Cairo was like going through a museum. Egypt was conquered by almost all the ancient empires. You see it in the buildings and people. From the Greeks to the Ottomans, this country has been through many changes of power.

Seeing Cairo’s architecture really pulled my heart strings. This place was so mixed with cultures from Europe, Asia and Africa. It was so different; yet, so familiar. It was as if, I was meeting a part of me, I didn’t know about. Egypt felt like an extension of me. I’m a mixture of European, African and Arab; so, was Egypt. Never been to a country that I felt so spiritually connected to. It was similar to the feeling I had the day before; however, more intense. It was more like love.

Walking around Egypt, you can sense the poverty. However, people were still happy. People had giant smiles on their faces. They were enjoying life with what they had. I wish most kids in the western world, learned to appreciate the little things in life.

Can’t tell you how much I love this place. It gives me warm feelings just looking back at the photos. This is one of the few countries, I’m excited to visit again. Egypt is truly a place that will steal your heart, if you are not careful. I have thought about giving everything up to move here. The smells, the history, the people and the architecture has made this history geek happy. Careful when you come to Egypt, you might be terrorized to fall in love again. I have no regrets.

Thank you so much for reading this post. Much love and safe travels!

January 26, 2019 37

It’s unbelievable, what can happen when you put your mind into something. (Im officially a best selling author)

Hey, everyone!!

We are changing things up a bit this week. We have a new ebook that came out this Friday the 18th of January.

Within a day of setting up the pre-order link on amazon, it went best seller in two categories! It’s such a humbling experience because i remember I had to relearn how to speak english. I forgot how to when i was sent to live with my grandpa in Costa Rica.

It’s crazy how life can change you. In high school, teachers used to say my English was horrible. I was always discouraged by them from actually trying in class.

Now, I have accomplished something most of them wish they could. Truly blessed to be at this position 😁. Thank you for your support! Will drop the link down below.

The ebook is about saving money on hotels, accommodations, food and flights. It will help you get to experience more travel adventures. So one read could save you 100s to 1000s on your next trip. In this book, I have shared tips and tricks, I learned to use over the years. Here is the link 😁 https://amzn.to/2AVsIvf

Once again everyone, thank you. You all helped me become a better writer. I remember when we only had one follower on here. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to see your travel adventures and read them 😊 much love and stay safe!

January 19, 2019 20

Meeting my first Egyptian friend

I woke up with an excited attitude. I was finally in the land of the pharaohs. Was in somewhat disbelief to my situation because this is a place you read in history books. Actually being here was a completely different feeling!

Walking down the staircase taken by Hugo Morel

Took the stairs down because I did not have much trust on the elevator. Calling it an elevator was a stretch. It was more like an open view lift. You can see it in the picture of above. The door is where you would enter into the lift. Looking back on this experience, I was lucky this was my first African country. Other African countries have become more European-like, in terms of everyday functions and infrastructure. You get a true sense of not being in the western world here and I loved it!

Walking down the streets of Cairo taken by Hugo Morel

Stepping outside and you smell the spices from the nearby markets. The chaos and the unfamiliarity, it was hard to not start falling in love with this place. Never had a feeling like this in another country. For some reason, I felt like I belonged. As if, I could live here and be happy. I was starting to see why there are a lot of foreigners living here.

As I was exploring, walked into a little friend. Surpised to see so many street cats. In many other countries, you will see more dogs on the streets. However, cats and donkies are what I saw over here. It’s somewhat interesting because the ancient Egyptians worshipped cats. Another example of experiencing a history book in real life.

My local friend that I wish I could had brought back with me taken by Hugo Morel

As my day of exploring was ending, decided to go back to my hostel. Met a few people from all over the world. Was introduced to a soccer player from Gambia. He was working on his visa to go play in Europe. My new friend was at the hostel for the time of the visa process. Also met a friend from Sudan and another from Colombia. The hostel was actually a place where students that were studying in the local universities called home. It was an interesting experience.

Egyptian Sunset with Cairo tower taken by Hugo Morel

As the sun was setting, decided to take another photo. Same spot in a different angle. This time the Cairo tower was in the background. Currently, the tallest Building in Cairo. Tomorrow was the day, I will meet up with a local human friend. Looking back, who knew that my friend would help me so much on my adventures in this country.

Thank you so much for reading! Much love and safe travels!

January 12, 2019 26

Finally entering Egypt

The ATM wasn’t working and the anxiety was kicking in. I had no idea what to do at this moment. Nothing seemed to go my way. I found another ATM and that too was out of service. Three ATMs and none of them worked. Even with everything looking troublesome, deep down I had a feeling that everything will be alright. As if, someone or something was guiding me. This gut feeling is what I learned to trust throughout my future travels.

A picture of the game frogger brought to you by Google

I had to step outside of the airport to find an ATM on the other side of the street. Learned quickly that crossing the street in Cairo, Egypt is like playing the game frogger. The game frogger is about a frog crossing the highway not trying to get hit by a car. Yes, the roads were like that in Cairo.

Once I got to the ATM, I took out about 100 dollars worth of Egyptian currency. Now, I had to cross the road again and some how, I made it. Gave the head immigration officer 25 dollars worth of the local currency. Also a tip of 5 dollars worth, in case he wanted to act dumb about my passport. He gladly took the money and gave my passport. Double checked it, my awkward photo popped out. After the stamp, I was gone like a deer escaping headlights.

Tahrir Square taken by Hugo Morel

I had to show my negotiation skills to a taxi driver. Got driven to my hostel for about 5 dollars; well, a block away to be more accurate. Which was only about a five minute walk. He left me by the Tahrir Square. This is the same square that the Egyptian revolution and the Arab spring took place. It was pretty cool to be standing in a place where so much recent history took place.

Roof top access taken by Hugo Morel

After about 30 mins of exploring Tahrir Square, finally walked to my hostel. Walking into the building and you can tell you were not in the USA. The elevator and building gave me a London or UK feeling. It wasn’t until after I asked my local friend, I found out that Egypt was a former British colony. Explains why the currency was called the Egyptian pound.

Once at my room, I decided to take a break from exploring. The jet lag was really kicking in. Was about to sleep, when I realized the sun was going down. It was the perfect time to take photos! Left my room, went to the roof and took the picture above. At that moment, I knew I was officially in Egypt. My adventures were just starting! Couldn’t wait what the next day had to offer!

Thank you for stopping by and reading our post! Much love!

January 5, 2019 12