Philae, Egypt: Ancient Ones, Crocodiles and a Swim In The Nile
This is CompassChaos13: A Real Travel Podcast where Compass Plans, Chaos Rules - Connections Happen Memories of Global Adventures
HEATHER (V.O.): I’m Heather, your adventure narrator and warm body for the hosts for this flying circus.
Today, we’re adventuring Egypt, Temple of Philea to be exact, with our girl Rose and Collette Vacations!
COMPASS: It started with a company organized tour of The Temple of Philea.
CHAOS: It almost ended in a travel agent coup of the rest of the company planned itinerary..
HEATHER (V.O.): Before we depart on this adventure, a few safety checks. First: any brand we mention is one we actually use and trust. We get zero monetary gain for these—if that ever changes, we promise total transparency. Second: this flight is for adults only. Expect questionable language, emotional turbulence and not so subtle adult references of many kinds. Finally, there are no warnings when the unexpected happens, because there are no warnings in real life…
HEATHER (V.O.): Now, let’s Meet your dueling hosts: Compass, the one who plans—and Chaos, the one who burns them. Together, they find the magic in the mess.
COMPASS (V.O.): I’m Compass. My plan is to experience the top tourist things. But, as usual, my head-space companion Chaos has other plans and this time she has a following.
CHAOS: Hey Hey Chaos here! I am the patron saint of "we’ll figure it out,". I bring the unexpected, and the reason you want to hear travel tales.. that are actually worth listening to! And this one I promise is worth hearing.
COMPASS (V.O.): Together, we bring the connection.
HEATHER (V.O.): Sit back, relax, and push that follow button……
CHAOS: "So, buckle up buttercups, for this recent tale in Egypt, the home of our Ba and Ka……, because honestly the best stories aren't planned."
Compass: We are back in Egypt and on our Collette Vacations FAM Tour. We have disembarked our Nile Cruise and are now staying at Movenpik Aswan which is on an island in the middle of the Nile across from the city of Aswan. We were rooming with our girl Rose the whole way through, and if you remember from Valley of the Kings, there were a few more fellow Collette employees and then travel agents that book with us.
Chaos: Yeap, and they also got a taste of what is like traveling with us… They had a blast and were ready to assist in an over throw! I love it…
Compass: Poor Kahled, our tour guide for 10 full days on tour…. I know why he was happy to see Heather leave, because of you….
Chaos: Rose & Transport flew in the night before the tour… But flights into Egypt usually arrive at about 3am… so we had an extra full day unsupervised in Cairo!! Goddess ancient and new thank you that was an amazing experience!
Compass: It was questionable… Heather was on a high of pure happiness just to be in Egypt but also ready to fight to her death should any one try to snatch Rose or her. It is not a country that woman traveling solo should take lightly.
Heather: Hi Kin, Heather jumping early here. Back in 2019 the politics that is waging on at this present moment, now fueling issues that have never been truly addressed, was back then.. in a tense peace… At the time I went, I felt perfectly safe even with the questionable stares or scores from the men and some older woman.. And if I had been asked if I would go back again by myself before all this I would have said yes no other thought…. Now, I would have to reach to a few of my permanent friends there for their honesty. Here is what I will say about right now… If you are going on a guided tour it is just as safe as any other. Understand, the majority of the tour companies will NOT put there clients in jeopardy. So if the tour is going, there has been nothing from their boots on the ground agents and vendors that would have them reconsider. It’s just bad business to have people go missing or become another act of terrorism statistic. But you have to be able to make your own decision based on your level of comfort and risk. I know mine… it’s unlike most.
Chaos: EEEHHHmmm…. Can we get back to the story please… So with our bags heading to the hotel, the group was herded onto a bus… the first stop was the UNESCO protected Temple of Philae… Well, the moved Temple of Philae… Thanks to the damming of the Nile at Aswan, the original island was flooded, but the Temple was disassembled block by block over 40,000 to be clear, marked for reconstruction exactly as the original .. they are dismantled and restored on another higher island… just like the Abul Simbel. This was part of a major damming project started in the 1960’s and finished just about or in the 1980’s, a race to save major Cultural, historically significant sites…. Still doesn’t make up for everything that is now lost until the dam breaks and the Nile goes back to its original state.
Compass: it doesn’t sound like right now but We were very excited about this. Chaos could barely control herself, Heather had our face pressed up against the window like a dog waiting for the window to be rolled down, very embarrassing by the way Heather…
Chaos: {laughing] I think Rose told her to stop licking the window…
Compass: That is an exaggeration … she normally tells Heather to either behave or she needs deliverance…
Chaos: Our girl Rose loves asking Jesus for deliverance, strength or to take the wheel…. Keep trying to tell her he wants nothing to do with this shit show.
Compass: Goddess bless her, she keeps trying…. Anyway as we headed to the boats to take us to the Temple of Philae… We crossed over the Aswan Dam.
Chaos: We had been in Egypt for almost a solid 10 days and had not put a toe in the Nile.. Yeah we were on a Nile Cruise and a felucca … but we did put any part of our body in the Nile below the Dam at this point… Why… because in Cairo that water comes with dysentery among other things… Cairo was dirty, and I don’t mean ancient smog, soot and dirt …dirty… I mean cig butts, animal feces and trash dumped along the canals that are burning from below because of spontaneous combustion. We saw a man whip out his shlong, piss in the canal that branches off the Nile, zip back up and continue walking down the road from the seat of our tour bus in Cairo. That was a hard pass….
Compass: But that didn’t stop you from annoying the hell out of poor Kahled about where to swim in the Nile… by the time we disembarked you had almost every person on the bus wanting to swim in the Nile or dip their toes in. There was a coup brewing… it didn't help that you loudly announced that morning that our dipping your toes in the Nile no matter what!
Chaos: Yeah did and yeah we did!! Having no shame can get you amazing things when you wield correctly. No one believed me… so over the dam and through the desert we go to get to the tourists boats to Philae. As you walk up the this long pier there are vendors naturally…
Compass: With their blankets spread out leaving a very narrow walk way for horse of tourist coming and going… Again another shout out to Kahled and Collette Vacations for making sure that the group is one of the first on scene to avoid crowding.
Chaos: Well let's be honest with our Kin here Compass… Collette doesn't always get there first to avoid the crowds, there have been times.. Morocco and Spain pop up here, for getting caught in a few crowds because of the way they had the tour flow.. This could have been because it was just for agents and employees.. which is always more condensed and agent geared because agents can bring in buses full clients…compared to one full bus of 40 diy booking clients… anyone need help on that math or marketing strategy?? If so hit pause and think about it. Till you get it.
Compass: Yes like all fam tours.. companies are going to put their best in front of agents.. why? They have you, our Kin.. if an agent has the best experience, everything perfect they can go back and sell it as they experienced it.. it's not a lie it's true, because that agent did get the best of a condensed tour. So that is what our Kin is going to told the agents experience.
Chaos: well agents need more of ME in their Fam experiences cause nothing ever runs smoothly when on a normal tour.. hell even this one did go smoothly but everyone had got a once in a lifetime experience thanks to me!
Compass: We all got many, but let's focus on this one.. We had about 15 to 20 in our group which was a wonderful mix of couples: mom daughters, wives n hubby, hubby hubby, mom son, bf agents and the Collette Reps us.. our job was not only experience so we could sell, explain it, give hints and advice but also to smooze the agents…
Chaos: (giggles) Yeah Transport told them (no matter who we are working for) if they want us to make friends they have to put at least 6 more zeros in our paycheck every week.. we are not here to make friends we are paid to do a job.. Fam I still only get paid my 40 hour pay.. the fuck I'm going to give more than 8 hours when I'm in another fucking country.. I start at 9 I end at 530… half hour lunch… no matter where our ass is eating or sleeping..
Compass: We made friends with everyone, there was maybe one or two in the group that kept their distance from us… We can be … off putting at times
Chaos: AND that's our problem how? By the end everyone loves us… okay maybe not loved… they weren't put off anymore!
Compass: That is true. We did get a heart felt thank you from everyone on the bus as did Kahled.
Chaos: We gave him hug… not socially acceptable in Egypt.. an unmarried, child bearing age, single woman (we will keep out White American) throwing her arms around married Egyptian (we did not ask him his religion we don't care what you believe as long as it doesn't include erasing cultures and people off the plant) …it made his energy shift from I can't believe I pulled this off to this is awkward.. don't worry Kin we didn't linger.. it was more of a father to daughter hug of I can't believe you surprised us with a new car hug.. lasted secs before the surprise got all the attention.
Compass: Yes you are a master in: shock n awe, awkwardness and annoyance. So on the peir being filtered passed the vendors. Pro Vet Tip: Worth repeating
Chaos: Fucking Listen up cause this is twice now for this Pro Tip
Compass: I got this thank you Chaos.. When in Egypt if you are not comfortable with assertive vendors keep your eyes straight… don't look at what they are selling, don't look at them, don't smile or make any hint that they are there… if you do you will several now trying to get you to stop, haggle and buy. If you get caught in this instance very simple.. make firm eye contact, in a voice that you would tell a child no… say LA in that same voice. LA is the equivalent of done. Not no, because that means we just haven't found an agreed price. So, eye contact, LA and keep walking.. no hands out or palms open… it feels rude and unfriendly
Chaos: your not here to make friends until you are ready to buy or if you want to make friends… then make friends, have fun and always cover your ass. We boarded the boat with no incidents, the group had learned from the Valley of the Kings how to make it through a vendor gauntlet unscathed.
Compass: on the boat it was a beautiful ride on Lake Nassar to get to Philae.. the excitement was audible as Kahled gave the watered down tourist version for the group…
Chaos: (laughs) then looks at Transport to check if we had anything to add. Compass was too busy trying to envision herself being Cleopatra, cruising on her Guided Barge to the Temple to make her sacred offering… Compass had been such a know it all when Kahled would ask questions about Egypt, that he told her in front of everyone she wasn't allowed to play anymore reindeer games!! (Laughs)
Compass: (embarrassed) that wasn't as bad as when I gave someone else an answer when we couldn't play and it was the wrong answer!! It was such an easy question to.. so fucking stupid of me!!
Chaos: Still a trigger I see…
Compass: It is and I am still so sorry.. even though I did answer the next correctly for her.
Chaos: No one cares or even remembers besides you.. tribal things.. she won a bookmark! Kahled spent 25 Egyptian pounds on 25 of them from a street vendor we saw him buy it. wish I could remember where we were.. Pyramids heading back to Cairo.. not sure.. just remember a hot stuffy bus where AC was cool enough.
Compass: Wrong memory.. back to this one… we haven't even got to the best part and your chasing squirrels..
Chaos: Right! My bad.. not a single nut from the Compass gallery, Kahled finished his history of Philae and we docked a few minutes later. Jumping onto solid ground I had Transport start walking.. didn't matter where the group was going, it was a small island, we had our headset on so we could hear we didn't need to be headed to a circle to wait for everyone… up to the top of this short ramp we stopped and looked around… to the right nile bank lines with grass and trees.. in front of us the temple.. to the left… hey what's this over…
Compass: before I could answer or get any input from our surroundings off Chaos had Heather go to the Left… keep in mind here, that we are above the High Dam, in the middle of Lake Nasser where the Nile Crocodiles live, breed and feed. This was in the way back of Heather's mind..
Chaos: it was a thought it was processed and weighed… the experience would be worth the death roll. Off to the left there was a sandy slope that went back down to the bank of the Nile. (Happily) Yes I can at least dip our toes in the Nile..(laughs)
Compass: cause we can .. doesn't mean we should.. I know there is talk out there that some of this is made up… it is not… the actions that we talk about are true, the people, places all real, all true.. made up is the pitch to our voice, mine and Chaos names … even this back and forth banter.. but personal knocks and stories are are real..
Chaos: All in transport head of course is the commentary but we are always there even when the mics not on.. now that Compass got that off here chest.. hey that means my line is working people are talking about us… now if they want to talk to us, well that's easy email us at heather@compasschaos13.com we would love to play with you (kindly or otherwise).. prancing our way down the sand slope, Compass in the background sending flashes of Crocodile Dundee images (specifically the water thermos around the neck and filling it up when a croc comes up and grabs it) running nonstop our head. We knew full well what we were doing.. Kahled had warned us and we said it would be worth it… he thought we were joking or lying like most do. 1st Mistake … Down we went as apparently a crowd of local boat guides was starting to stare and walk over to the edge of the sandy ramp used as pier.. we didn't notice at the moment we saw the Nile… we saw coast clear. In we dipped our toes, took a quick pic to remember and have proof the we fucking dipped our toes in nile croc infested waters… Goddess that was exhilarating
Compass: it was fucking stupid… we had a teen daughter at home with her dad and their family. we had our boyo (hubby now) and more of life to experience it was fucking senseless.
Chaos: I stand by our original instinct and I don't regret it … if we died still wouldn't regret it because regrets are for the living not the dead. Granted would fucking hurt like giving birth to an elephant.. but we would have died in a country I truly believe we lived in many times over, we would have had our 15 minutes of fame, and it would have been one hell of a way to go!
Compass: I could see the Global Headlines: Stupid American Woman dips toes in croc infested waters… one less moron! Darwinism at it's finest Kin… Pro Vet Tip: Perfect example of what not to do, put your life in complete danger just to dip your toes in…
Chaos: She’s right..
Compass: Wait.. what?!
Chaos: should've went head first never just dip your toes in… that's my lesson…
Compass: And that we will get to, but head first safely.. deep water, croc less helps
Chaos: That's what Hubby said!! (Laughs)
Compass: Everything is a joke
Chaos: Until the stick comes out of your ass… yes.. yes it is
Compass: Pound sand Chaos
Chaos: it's fuck off Chaos if you don't mind… has a deeper vibe
Compass: Now that Chaos and Heather have one picture of our toes in the Nile, as I scanned the water for any movement or tiny ripple, bubble.. moving reeds… it was time to slowly back up a few feet
Chaos: Compass had now taken the wheel of Transport… she had us back up 10 feet still facing the water scanning .. never taking our eyes off that water… we heard nothing… full on tunnel vision had set in. Compass was in full flight mode and she had me stay ready for fight.. (laughs) .. cute how she has that much faith that I could wrestle a croc like Steve Fucking Irwin.. not even a chance on best imagination day!! But if it helps her not fear death, at least we will make into Valhalla fighting a croc! Hey I can put that one in my imagination tool box. PRO VET TIP: Sometimes your imagination is your best weapon… no one actually knew or knows what they are doing.. people figured it by imagination or by riding coat tails.. a built up imagination can be a powerful tool box when it comes to finding solutions others can't.. crazy sometimes works.
Compass: There are fine lines between imagination, genius and crazy… the jury has been hung for 46 years on you.
CHAOS: Always go with the unknown option… all of the above and more or none of the above and we will never know.
Heather; ladies there as been more side shows than usual… pull it together or I'm pulling the plug on this episode.. everyone knows we live…
Chaos: or are we AI like Val Kilmer now…
Compass: Your going to start rumors I don't want to answer for…
Chaos: No fun.. you know rumors and bullshit spread quicker than truth. Besides I like hearing rumors about us.. I find them enjoyable.. people that have never meet us, talk to us or even had the titties to reach out to us.. know us… know way peeps know away… maybe our daily life will get even more interesting.. this waiting for adventure really pulls DONEmy nose hair.
Compass: What in the hell kind of statement was that… I don't even know what to make of that.. back to the story.. where were we.. oh yes apologies.. backing up 10 feet we turned and started to walk back up the sandy slope.. Chaos and Heather both thrilled they got their toes dipped.. me thrilled to be above water, we hear not yelling but loud talking… I had Heather look up to right and there was a group of local boaters talking loudly in Arabic and waving their hands all around..
Chaos: Yeah charades… let's see.. not happy but not mad… all waving arms in same direction… still walking up only a bit slower cause now we are staring at the top and there is Rose and Our Security friend…
Compass; Security looks relieved, then cracks a smile and shakes his head… Our girl Rose is almost in tears laughing so hard..
Chaos: Goddess I LOVE BITCH.. few woman I love like sisters… she is one of the few.. we get a few more feet up the ramp and they both point behind us..
Compass: My first thought is a fucking croc and these two have a bet to see if Heather makes or not… so my instinct is run..
Chaos: Mine on other hand is get into Valhalla… but no such luck… Transport turned and we saw a sign… WARNING CROCS with a pictorial of a croc with an open mouth… I wish we got a picture of that … but sadly we did not. That is what the local boaters were yelling about…. Stupid woman tourist!! Ooops…. We missed that sign… the water was shiny…. With the sun dancing off it…. Pretty….
Compass: Dear Goddess… Heather is now laughing with the help of Chaos, walks the rest of the way up the sandy slope to meet Rose and security. When we reach the top Rose tells us we need deliverance and she is no longer leaving our side the rest of the trip… Security tells us it time to catch up with the rest of the group getting ready to begin the tour of the Temple. This palace is amazing, I could almost visualize it in its glory… The priests, the offerings, the color of the hieroglyphs dancing in the firelight… oh to see her in her Glory Days… wish I could remember. I felt it.. I smelled the oil, animal fat and the intense smoke burning to make an eye watering combo… but I couldn't see it!
Chaos: at least if we did… it would never be worse than the image we received at Dachau… (shudders) .. I won’t even wish that on Kim Jung even though it would be karma.
Compass: I don't think we will ever get another image like Dachau.. and honestly that one was enough for many lifetimes for me. Why did you just kill the mood… We had a good flow.. You had to go and put heartbreaking vibes in a story about how to take stage a coup of an planned itinerary…. WHY
Chaos: It wasn’t on purpose. I was only trying to show that we have a can’t be as bad as the time moment…. Let’s see if I can bring the vibe back quick… Picture it (Sophia golden girl nod) An almost 40 year old single veteran travel agent on a controlled agent FAM designated to be the best foot forward and schmoozing the travel agent clientel….in her dream land, she is taken to the very Temple dedicated to her Goddess agomoung Goddess …. There she is drawn to the golden flow of the Nile…. Gliding down the sandy bank as if Nut herself was guiding her by hand, nothing else existed only the edge…. Giving her the confidence to dip her toes in without losing her natural life….. It was a test of trust… Do you truly believe in our Ancient ways…. Are you truly ready to prove that you will die for the Ancient experience……
Compass: Yes…. yes you were and you had Heather convenienced…. NOT ME…. I am not ready to give up this life yet to move on to the next adventure…… too much work to be done here… but out voted and locked down briefly.
Chaos: Yeah we did….. Couldn’t have stopped us even if you had any army…. Now if full disclouser….. At this time we had only been at Collette for just over a year….. And mind you before I ran into Jacqueline (the owners daughter) in the bathroom and gave her an ear full about the BDM (Business Development Managers) selling snake oil to group leaders and the GSM (Group Serivce Managers) were fucking tired of telling the truth and being yelled at only to give them what the BDM had promised… Fucking waste of money… Instead TELL YOUR BDM’s to fucking know their product, ours did… If one of our BDM’s tried to sell snake oil to one of our groups…… Like yes renting a scooter in Africa on a safari tour while staying in the bush if doable and we can accommodate!! ARE FUCKING SERIOUS… this was a Regional Manager to not only a top end Bank client, BUT ONE THAT IS ON POINT WITH CONTRACTS AND WHAT SHE WAS PROMISED… and this fucking jackass consistenly fucked with her ….. And then wondered why she was such a bitch to him and after a while would only hold the tours that she ran by us… why because we were going to be honest with her. There were times she absolutely hated what we said and differently how we said it…. Our Director would call us in after a tiff with Wendy…
Compass: Yes, and it was always the same…. It was not what you said…. That is all correct… it was the way, tone and delivery that you need to work on… In full transparency at the time of the bathroom you had no idea who Jacqueline was…. It wasn’t until Rose told us who she was that we made the connection….
Chaos: Yes well.. It still would not have mattered… cause it didn’t stop me from having Transport say it again two or three years later at the Sales Team Conference in the room full of everyone including the travel insurance reps..calling out their shit also…. We didn’t make that many friends that day….. it’s a work in progress still….. What can I say I keep us consistent.
Compass: Consistency is key… so we have been told… not sure if that was a wise move. Let’s keep consistent with the this memory shall we… Try this again…. Back at the top of the sandy ramp there was Rose and our security friend pointing to the sign behind us… A full on pictorial warning of REAL CROCS don’t screw around you will be an offering to Sobek.
Chaos: Transport and I made a promise to the ancient ones a long time ago, surprised you don’t remember… That if we should ever get to Egypt we will visit our Ancient ones temples, leave offerings and be submerged in the sacred waters of the Nile… Right now, the water was clean, clear and at least I could get the toes in… Now it was time to face the piper after our little stunt…
Compass: Your stunt… Heather’s stunt…. NOT MINE!! I was as always the voice of reason, the voice of logic… the voice of LIFE over DEATH! People are going to think we have a death wish…
Chaos: Not a wish per say…. Just not scared of it… look at it as a new unknow adventure that no one can talk about… Besides every persons life adventures are different what makes us think that deaths adventures are going to be all the same?? I mean honestly.. Religions now can’t agree even though there foundational message are the same just different words and names…..
Compass: Nope not going there….. Bring it back… Heather is going to jump in soon…
Chaos: Can we muzzle her? Mute maybe…. I’ll figure a way.. But for now, fine… As we are being reprimanded from our security friend, in a very loving but very stern way… the guilt trip he was trying for wasn’t working… Rose told him guilty doesn’t work on Transport…. So he went with that was stupid there was a sign how could you not see it…. But thank you for not dying on my watch! While Rose is like… Girl you need deliverance… what the fu.. Is wrong with you…. You could have been eaten… What would I tell Ryan and Alyssa…. Sorry you mom and girlfriend were taken by a Nile Crocodile we still haven’t found the body…
Compass: Asshole Chaos replies… At least she died happy with no regrets in a land that she would have died to see. And she did!
Chaos: What i should have added at the time, thinking back now.. Is well Sobek eat her heart, she wasn’t worthy anyway. Look on the brightside, she can’t come back to haunt you.
Compass: NO!.... That is not comforting to the living… what the hell is the matter with you! You are on a rage today.
Heather: Chaos keep it to yourself… Compass don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to, or at least don’t want the listeners to know the answers to …. One last warning shot over the bow…. Reign it in or we are done for this week and we will try again next week….. Keep your tongue in your mouth Chaos or I will cut if off… Compass don’t laugh, you’re encouraging this today, so you're on my shit list too. Keep fucking around … your both gonna find out real soon who is really in control of this flying circus…
Compass: Stop smirking Chaos can’t you feel that she is serious… Heather is about ready to crack right down the middle… Not sure how well she is holding since even we are blocked from access to that section of her….
CHaos: I am trying to break through…. Bitch is locked up tighter than a virgin at a prison social…
Compass: [giggles] okay that was a good visual.
Chaos: I can’t take full credit for that… I paraphrased from Blanche on the Golden Girls… what can I say we are Golden Girl addicts..
Compass: OMG the squirrels today…. Done being reprimanded and somewhat blessed by the Nile we joined the rest of the group that was now walking into the Temple Complex… Of course there were a few that had lingered behind to see who had caused the commotion at the river bank…. When they saw Heather walking up with Rose and our security friend no one batted an eye… the reaction was .. What did she do now..
Chaos: Agents talk…. We drink, we eat, we sight see… we talk.. We talk in line, we talk over drinks, we talk over food, we talk on the bus, we talk on social…. See where I am going with this… Agents gossip and talk… By the time Kahled had finished his first talk the history of the Temple, who is dedicated to, who would come to give offerings, why it was important…. Normal standard general Egyptology information meant for the masses to digest and understand… Kahled is a highly educated Egyptologist and has our respect, so this discussion wasn’t for us… another reason why he continued to led the group on…. Compass couldn’t add on to his information… [giggles]
Compass: I know poor Kahled.. I did get carried away on this tour at times.. But by this time I had slowed my roll and decided it was better to just do a little self exploration instead… Now that we had caught up and we were being led to the next important area of the Temple site, I saw our security give a quick brief as to what had transpired….
Chaos: He ratted us out!! Our security friend, that we helped in Vally of the Kings and patted us on the back for a job well done…. Is now ratting us out to the parent of the tour…. Snitches have to face Bitches….
Compass: Watching the whole 2 minute brief and then a head turn of Kahled, with a look that read…. What the fuck am I going to do with this one..
Chaos: [singing] how do you solve a problem like Heather…. How do make her see that she is really not for me… how do make her stay.. How do you shut her off…
Compass: [laughs] okay… let’s finish this… I think you need a break.. I wish I could do justice to this Temple and the ancient importance it held from the time of the early Pharaohs till the mid-6th century when the early Christians utilized old temples and converting them into churches for easier conversion of the masses from Paganism to Christianity. Having toured the whole complex with Kahled being our guide and Egyptologist, we had some time relax or explore…
Chaos: THe group had Transport on lock down… she was not allowed to go near the banks of the Nile, she was not allowed to go off exploring by herself and no one was in the mood to move any more than they had to in the hot Egyptian sun… The group was just lounged on the ruins waiting to be called to the boats… I kept Transport pacing… walking up and down the parts of the ruins that we were just hanging out at… there was still so much that we could do here…
Compass: Well she did … she started to dig in the sand with her foot well Heathers foot… along the edge of the stones… checking for any hidden heigrolphys…. Or small treasures yet to be discovered…
Chaos: Egypt is like a sandy treasure hunt…. So much sand but so many treasures hidden in it… it's an adult sandbox! Who can’t have fun in a sand box?! Don’t answer that.. I know you can’t … but this is a different sandbox… We were finally called to board th boats…Transport was advised on the way back to keep her hands in the boat. Which we did… We were then schedule to check into the hotel and have lunch …
Compass: We got back on th bus crossed back over the Aswan Damm and then dropped at another pier where we took another boat over to the hotel Movenpick Aswan, on an island in the middle of Nile… As soon as we landed we were scooted over to lunch at the hotel… it was a buffet lunch with an assortment for everyone. It was loud, it was high energy and everyone had now heard of Heather’s antics….
Chaos: I told them we were going to dip ourselves in the Nile…. And the tour wasn't done yet…
Compass: Chaos used this down time to rally troops to her cause…. A swim in the Nile… she started asking how many people want to actually go to a garden an look at trees and flowers… or would you rather do something that very few tourist actually get to experience …. Probably once in a lifetime will never get another chance to do it opportunity… Chaos had successfully single handedly started an over throw of the tour… in less than one hour… It was a sight to behold…
Chaos: Even agents are over the perfect polished tours… unexpected experience is key. Collette talks about a WOW factor in their tours… it is still controlled and safe…. That is not WOW…. that is CUTE… This was a WOW… At the end of lunch when we had two hours during the hottest point to relax… Before letting us go… Kahled had heard and was annoyed by Transport to go swimming full submersion in the Nile…. With or without the knowledge of local swimming areas…. And with or without the group if needed…. We had already proved we have tits… best to play along and contoll us then to let us go on our own… At some point he made a few calls, got it cleared with headquarters (which is not always easy when your putting some of yoru meal tickets lifes on the line… ) but he did it… and annoucned that we would be cutting the garden tour short and we had a surprise … we should wear bathing suites and bring towels for the second part of the days tour!!!
Compass: Chaos and Heather were estacit… Rose could not contain her… a nap for Rose was out of the question…. Heather had advised Rose that she was going to walk around the hotel property… Rose joined wanting to check it out and also wanting to keep Heather out of trouble…. For the next hour we wondered the property… and just outside a bit… Giving our selves enough time to get back to the room,change and grab what we needed for the next adventure…
Chaos: We jumped on the boats once again … Kahled announced that the first stop was the gardens and the we would have 20 minutes to explores… no one was upset by this… we explored… pretty flowers … big trees.. We did find our new favorite flower there lantana…. But after 15 minutes everyone was ready for the boat….
Compass: On the boat we went again… down the river back towards the damm… on the side where it is very rae to have crocs…. After about 10 minutes we started to pull off to the bank to make a sandy stranding… there was no docks here… only where the Sahara sands meet the watery Nile…. The currents were mild but in certain areas we could see whirlpools..The boat made its way behind a few small built up islands with some boulders spotted here and there…. As we came aournd the corner we saw only locals swimming and oddly a few vendors selling wares on blankets … but not a single other tourist around…. This was not a place that tourists would be seen at so the vendors just seemed so out of place…
Chaos: They got wind, tourists are coming …tourists are coming…[giggles].... But we weren't about aht…. Before the boat could even beach itsself… I had transport up and ready to jump ship…. Our security frined and Kahled were at our side …. Not yet… Now… No… How about now… Wait…. Wait…. Okay Heather go ahead!!
Compass: That was it…. There was no waiting for the others… there was no looking back to see if anyone followed…. We saw two local kids swimming in the water… that is where Heather and CHaos want to be… and that is right where we wnet…
Chaos: Fully clothed… I wasn't about to rock our bikini in a muslim country… Again, we have tits we’re are not intentionally disresepectful…. There was not wading in or testing the waters this time… it was a full on run head first dive into the Nile….. AAHHHHHHHHH full submersion in the sacred waters…. We have been accepted by the Ancient Egyptians and the Goddess…. Sacred we became as well. We now had the blessing and protection of the Ancient ones… we will never turn our back on them we are one of them.
Compass: Kahled had managed to pull off something that very few tour groups or guides will do…. Take a group of agents and co workers to a place that could possible put lives in jeopardy but at minimal risk to make an unexpected somewhat controlled chaotic experience…
Chaos: Something people actually want to talk about and some want to experience…. I am interested to know how many of our Kin has actually swam in the Nile? I don’t mean Denile we do that every day… I mean the actual Nile river in Egypt like we did? We want to hear about it… tells below, send an email, tag us on social don’t care where.. Just want to hear… Anyway, we had an hour of play… we got some of our co-works to swim, not our Rose but she did dip her feet, and a few agents…. But everyone said they will remember this part of the tour for the rest of the life….
Compass: AS the play time was coming to a close we had to get back to the boat and hotel to get ready for dinner… It was already 4pm… we had dinner reservations at 6pm… Kahled was under pressure to deliver and we were under pressure to comply since we got to swim. So without any guff from Heather or CHaos … Kahled shepherded the group back on the boat and directly back to the hotel pier… as everyone jumped off they said thank you to Kahled…. When we got off, well…
Chaos: We gave him a huge hug… throwing our arms around his neck smiling from ear to ear…. Saying thank you thank you thank you….. That was amazing.. We will never forget it…
Compass: it was embarrassing for him and us…. All the agents, co-workers, security friend and the workers looking at as…..
Chaos: So what.. Let them look… a heartfelt hug works better than a huge tip… he got that as well…
Heather: Hello Global Kin, Heather ending it here today. I know this came with a lot of side shows today, not sure why but sometimes, you just have to let them go. Since I let them go long enough to give me a headache, I need to silence them now. This is my favorite time reflection. Here are a few lesson which we hope you take away on top of what you have already taken away yourself…
You can be assertive and respectful.. Those are called boundaries… use them, know them and abided by them. Sometimes it is a simple LA other times it a bit more aggressive. Boundaries are required
Even in a controlled travel environment, there is always opportunities for unexpected experiences. You just have to know what risk you are comfortable with and if it is worth taking? You can always change the itinerary or chose not to participate it.
Travel and life are about calculated risk. Todays lifestyle; markets safe, polished, curated, controlled and perfect travel.... Is that living? Accepting to die for an experience of a lifetime is a calculated risk that each individual must assess and own to its fullest account. It is your life, no one can live it for but people can take it from you.
Trust is the only currency that once taken away can’t be bought back… honesty over zeros are more valuable.
Imagination is a secret weapon in the war of life. It is powerful, raw and can be use to hurt or heal…. The choice is always yours
Remember regrets are for the living…. The dead have no regrets. Take your calculated risk if it is valuable to you… you may never get another chance.
I am going to bring the ladies back to say their farewells…
COMPASS (calm, professional tone) On that note… we hope you enjoyed this episode of CompassChaos13.
Join us every Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern, or 1300 hours for our fellow travelers in time zones unknown. Next stop: We are Back in the Eternal City of Rome— this time, we will be adventuring solo for two days before meeting up with our 1st FAM Tour as AAA Agents, and you can bet we’ll be forging even more unforgettable connections.
CHAOS (excited, playful) This is the start of our obsession with the sovereign adventure spirit and somehow, we still made it out alive. But hey, the chaos? Always memorable.
COMPASS (mock patience) Listeners, help me out here — please engage with us.
CHAOS (interrupting, smirking): Compass please just stop!! That pleading really hasn’t been working so let’s try something else… Keep your shit to yourself. We will go on talking about us because we have plenty of stories going back to 1995 and we have plans on the books for the next two years to make more!! So keep silent, we only need your ears and a finger. Sure you can use the middle one if you want to, go ahead. Then you can take that finger…
COMPASS: CHAOS!!
CHAOS: and put it right on the share as you post this and the finger to social media using the tag @compasschaos13 … Don’t forget the ONE .. THREE at the end kin.. Very important….if you want us to know what your saying. If not, you can just talk ABOUT us not to us…. You love us or hate us, either way your talking baby.. Mauh!
COMPASS (cutting in, mock sigh) Please Stop. The show’s over. Thank the Goddess’s! Though I am starting to have a gripe with them…(sound tired) I’m Compass — bringing the planned direction.
CHAOS (proudly) Becareful calling out the Goddess's. They already tried to test our level of rage and control this week… But if you want I’m game! And I’m Chaos — bringing the unexpected!
CHAOS (in sync) Together, we make global connections.
HEATHER (narrator / flight attendant tone) Welcome back to the present. On behalf of your dueling hosts, Compass and Chaos, thank you for adventuring with CompassChaos13.
Before you stand, please make sure your pants are dry, your eyes are clear, and your snots are wiped — we don’t do refunds for emotional turbulence.
Some of what you heard today may sound unbelievable, but rest assured — it’s all true, and no one on this adventure is innocent.
For photos, travel tips and to read our blogs wander over towww.CompassChaos13.com.
Thank you for connecting with us today. We hope YOUR layover in OUR world brought a little curiosity, a bit of laughter, and a lot of connection.
This is CompassChaos13 — signing off.