One of the best ways to escape the hustle and bustle of Cairo is to enjoy a ride on a felucca on the Nile River. These sailboats have been used for transportation for hundreds of years in the region and are still quite popular today, although mainly for tourists. There are plenty of other tour boats that you can take, but if you want a truly relaxing experience, then a felucca is the best choice. It takes skill to navigate the river using these unique sails, especially since they are at the mercy of the wind.
Feluccas on the NileOur CaptainLooking Up at the SailsMotorized Tour BoatFeluccas at Sunset
One of the most popular times to sail on a felucca is at sunset, both because of the beautiful scenery as well as the winds are usually stronger as the sun goes down. It is also one of the busiest times on the river as the dinner cruise ships join all of the other tour boats. Getting out on the river is also an excellent way to beat the heat of Cairo. We do not always do the touristy things, but sailing on a felucca is something that is worth taking a couple of hours of your time in Cairo to do.
Cairo Tower from the RiverView from the FeluccaLots of Boats on the RiverAnother Felucca Heading Our WayRelaxing View
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of those down-to-earth cities where the people work hard, play hard, and always have a kind word to say. They take pride in their sports teams and their city, even during times when the economy wasn’t as strong. Fortunately, things are on the rise at the moment and jobs are plentiful and the city is experiencing a revival. As one of our cab drivers told us, depending upon what you do, you can come to Pittsburgh now and probably find not one job, but three. As friendly and welcoming as the people were that we met, we are definitely happy to see things improving for them.
The Strip in Downtown PittsburghTrain Going Through DowntownPittsburgh ArchitectureHeinz Ketchup Factory
One thing that you notice immediately when you visit Pittsburgh is that it is an unpretentious city. Most buildings are unassuming and have the feel of the turn of the century, with the exception of one glass skyscraper which is shaped like a castle and looks very out of place compared to the rest of the city. The streets are very walkable and there are a variety of wonderful restaurants, especially in the Strip, which is on Penn Street in downtown Pittsburgh.
One of the Many BridgesPoint State ParkCastle SkyscraperBuildings in Downtown Pittsburgh
With the three rivers converging in Pittsburgh, the Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny Rivers, yellow bridges can be found at almost every turn. It is certainly worth walking to Point State Park and taking a stroll along the river for a relaxing afternoon and enjoying the views of the iconic baseball stadium that sits across from it. With rolling hills all around the city, going up to Mount Washington will provide you with wonderful views of the downtown area as well as the park. Another sight not to be missed is the famous Heinz building with its ketchup bottle proudly pouring the condiment for all of the city to see.
Football StadiumYellow BridgesStrolling in Point State Park
We only had a short time to spend in Pittsburgh, but we expect to be back again to enjoy even more of the city’s hospitality. It was definitely warm and welcoming with a very casual and relaxed feeling. The city is a melting pot of a variety of central European cultures from Polish, German, Italian, and more, which makes it a very unique cultural city as well as culinary city to visit.
When visiting Yasuni National Park in the Amazon, one of the tours will take you out to see the parrots and parakeets licking the clay on a cliff along the banks of the Napo River in Ecuador. The tours are organized by the Napo Wildlife Center, whose property is where the licks are located, and the best time to visit is just after dawn in the morning. Activity at the clay lick is even more abundant on mornings when it isn’t raining, so we were fortunate to have a clear day during our visit since it is called a rainforest for obvious reasons.
Colorful ParrotsHundreds of Parrots at the Clay LickFlying In and Flying Out
The night before our tour, our nature guide offered us the choice of sleeping in an extra thirty minutes and having breakfast on the boat or getting up at 4:30 am to eat before departing on the tour. Since we had be up so early every morning, we gladly chose to stay in bed for any extra time that he would offer us and the chef of the lodge prepared a variety of food for us to eat on the boat. Despite being in the jungle, it was surprisingly cool on the water as we made our way to the first of two clay licks that we were to visit that day.
The parrots, parakeets, and macaws visit to the clay lick almost daily because the minerals in the clay counteract the toxins that are in the berries and fruit that they eat in the jungle. Without the clay licks, the birds wouldn’t survive the toxicity that builds up in their small bodies. The birds certainly seem to fully enjoy their time at the clay lick as they chirped and squawked incessantly as they hopped around and flew in and out of the group. There were so many birds that it was hard to distinguish one from another at times. We sat there on our boat for almost an hour as we ate our breakfast and watched the birds eating and playing.
Birds Flying Towards Us
Afterwards, we went to the second clay lick where we had to hike our way into the jungle to get a spot in an observation deck. There was the possibility of a variety of animals from birds to mammals coming to the location, so our group sat there quietly waiting for anything to appear. At one point, we saw a couple of parrots come to the clay lick, but that was all that we saw. After seeing so many birds at the previous clay lick, sitting quietly for three hours to see two birds was a little anticlimactic.
Birds Huddled Together
We saw so many different birds and animals during our time in the Amazon, but watching the feeding frenzy at the clay lick was certainly a highlight of our time in the rainforest. It is hard to believe the way that animals learn to adapt to their environment, eating things that are toxic to their systems and then finding ways to counteract what is poisoning their systems. If only there was a clay lick for humans who have gone out at night and had too much to drink, wouldn’t that be nice 🙂 .
