Aswan High Dam in Egypt

On August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Egypt1 Comment

At the end our Nile River cruise from Luxor to Aswan, we visited the High Dam. Most of us have heard about the Aswan dam, but there are really two dams, an older dam and the newer one, which is referred to as the High Dam. It was built to end the flooding that used to occur on a regular basis along the Nile River and has truly helped the agriculture business in Egypt. In addition to controlling the water, it is also a source of a lot of the power needed in the regions, so power lines are abundant across the surrounding desert landscape. One interesting side effect of the dam was that it has trapped all of the crocodiles for which the Nile is famous south of the dam, so you won’t see any crocodiles between Luxor and Aswan.

The Aswan High Dam is interesting from a historical perspective, but actually visiting the dam is, quite frankly, not particularly fascinating. There are tours that you can take south of the dam, but we didn’t do any during our visit to Egypt. We spent about 30 minutes walking around the dam in the simmering heat of Aswan, which was the hottest location that we experienced during our time in Egypt. If you go to Aswan, it is probably worthwhile to see the dam, but it certainly isn’t worth going out of your way to visit, at least in our opinion.

Going to Extremes

On April 7, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Travel Tips3 Comments

There are so many beautiful places throughout the world, but it isn’t always easy to reach them. Some of these locations are easily accessible, but others require an effort to reach. Whether it is hiking up a mountain, taking a canoe into the jungle, or just visiting a remote location, the scenery that you see can be quite rewarding. We have been fortunate to see a variety of different scenery throughout the years and look forward to seeing more in the future.

There are so many different types of scenery in various parts of the world due to the various climates and geological forces that exist. From rainforests, arctic tundra, tropical islands, vast deserts, and dramatic canyons, each has its own charm as well as its own challenge to seeing their natural beauty. Sometimes you can find these amazing scenes near where you live today and other require traveling to a far off country. Regardless of where we travel, we always look for opportunities to find one of those places that can’t be found anywhere else.

Hikers Heading Up an Exposed Rock Face in Utah

Even though we’ve gone to some extreme locations, we are not ones who take incredible risks to see these beautiful places. You don’t need to climb up the side of a mountain with ropes, cross a desert on a camel, or bobsled through the arctic to see the scenery that the world has to offer. We certainly don’t go to those types of extremes. Even the time of year can change the way that a place looks, so seeing it in different seasons can also effect your perception of it as well. How far are you willing to go to find the places that aren’t like anything that you’ve ever seen before?

View of the Quilotoa Caldera and Lagoon in Ecuador

Beautiful Scenery from a Mountain Peak in Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam

Multiple Obelisks at the Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt

On June 21, 2019June 21, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Egypt5 Comments

Obelisks can be found throughout the world, many of them originally coming from Egypt. Almost always, you will find them as a single obelisk that stands out on its own. The obelisks at Karnak Temple in Luxor is an example of having multiple obelisks at the same site. There are two remaining obelisks of the four that originally existed at the site. We took many different photographs of the obelisks during our time touring the temple and the pair of obelisks provides some interesting symmetry in the pictures that we took. There were also time when they could be seen framed between different columns and doors, which was probably the intention of the ancient Egyptians when the obelisks were erected.