In Hawaii: E Komo Mai ~ All Are Welcome

E Komo Mai (eh koh-moh my-ee) – Hawaiian for ‘welcome’ or ‘come in’.

A KoOlina Tradition

The small gathering – an ever-changing mix of visitors and locals, representing a variety of races and religions --  has become a part of Sunday morning traditions at KoOlina on O’ahu’s west coast.  The group gathers on a grassy area between two lagoons; a peaceful area overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean. This weekly worship service has been held for years in this location.

Hawaiian greeting

A small yard sign near the public pathway reads, “E Komo Mai, All Welcome”. Even those of us who are simply passing by pause to listen to a bit of the sermon or one of the hymns being sung. In keeping with this island's Aloha Spirit and E Komo Mai attitude, there’s no pressure to stay or leave; all are made to feel welcome.

E Komo Mai - welcome

Those messages of aloha and welcome were being expressed just down the road some 20 miles away on this same Sunday morning two weekends ago but in a much different setting. Another group made up of various races and religions had gathered at the Honolulu International Airport. The signs they waved were of welcome to this tropical paradise – where close to one-fifth of the state's residents are foreign-born. Theirs was a protest of the then-hours-old Executive Order barring entry to the United States for travelers from seven countries.

KoOlina - O'ahu

Now this post isn’t going to rehash that Executive Order but that juxtapositioning of welcomes did get me thinking about how often we take visas and entry into foriegn countries for granted. This post is about E Komo Mai, as the Hawaiians say, being made to feel welcome.

Welcome – (as a verb) – greet someone arriving in a glad, polite or friendly way.

                                                -- Dictionary Definition

Wadi Rum - Jordan

As a travelers  who’ve  been to any number of countries that require tourist visas we have a healthy respect for the variety of requirements each country has for entry into it, if even for a short visit. Some require nothing more than paying a fee upon arrival, a computer scan of your passport followed by a stamp in it. Some require that you fill out an application on-line, pay for it, and print out a copy for the authorities upon arrival. Others, like India, have a such a complex application process, high fee ($400 per person) and relinquishing our passports to their US representatives for a week or more,  that had our cruise a year ago not required us to have had the visa to board the ship, we’d have simply never gotten off the ship in India.

A smile is the universal welcome.

Max Eastman

However, once we had the visa, we have never been made to feel unwelcome in any country we’ve visited.

 

Our guide in Petra and The Scout

Like most who travel, we find that the every-day people we've encountered are simply normal people living in a different culture and religion than we know. Sometimes we don’t fully understand it, but that is why we’ve gone there in the first place – we want to learn more about them. And in the course of our travels, we’ve given those everyday folks a chance to meet everyday Americans as well. More than once we’ve been told we don’t ‘act like Americans’ – at least how they have believed or thought Americans would act.

A new friend, a business traveler we met in Cairo, Egypt

One reader of a post I wrote about our time in Cairo told us to be careful because ‘they don’t like Americans there'. Well, I suppose that if I were to survey everyone of the more than 20 million people in the city, I’d find some that didn’t like Americans for whatever reason. But I can assure you those that we have met not only welcomed us but thanked us for visiting their country. (When’s the last time you thanked a foreign visitor for coming to your country?)

Greek olive grove

We’ve actually had people ask us “How do you find the Greeks?” when they learn we have a home there. “Find them?” we respond.  “You know. . . do they like Americans?”  Now I have to admit we find those questions absolutely absurd based on our experiences.  We have been made to feel more than welcome from the locals we have met in our villages.

Our village children lead a parade through Kardamyli

We are feeling so welcome, that  as we’ve said in earlier posts, we are seeking resident visas which would allow us more time in that country. I can assure you, this visa process makes those tourist visa applications look like a piece of cake. It is neither easy nor inexpensive but it is definitely humbling.

And probably not unlike what the United States requires of those wanting similar status here.

Welcome Mat at The Stone House on the Hill

If we are not granted a resident visa we will continue going to our Greek life and staying for as long as our tourist visa allows.  However,  I won’t take either the tourist or resident visa for granted anymore.  I’ve seen how quickly, with a single signature, a government can impact the lives of travelers who believe they hold valid visas.

So aloha from Hawaii where our timeshare life is drawing to a close for another year.  Again, the 'e koma mai' spirit makes it difficult to leave but new travel adventures await.  May your travels be safe and may you always find a welcome mat waiting for you.

Linking with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Photo Friday
Travel Inspiration .

Roosters, Religion and Rebellions ~ Let’s Celebrate!

Gong Hei Fat Choy (gung hey fah choy) Wishes for great happiness and prosperity

-- New Year’s wish in Cantonese

This last weekend in Hawaii we ushered in Chinese New Year. Sometimes called the Spring Festival on mainland China or Lunar New Year in other Asian locales, its arrival is as significant to many as is the New Year that arrives each January 1st.

We are fortunate to be in this U.S. island-state in the middle of the Pacific to experience all the hoopla that marked this new year’s arrival. Experiencing the festivals and holidays significant in the religions and cultures of others is one of the big benefits of travel, to our way of thinking. Take the   the three R's of celebrations. . .

First, the Rooster

This is one of the many roosters who live on the island of Kaua'i

Sometimes, as with the Chinese New Year, such experiences can be had right here in the United States.  We’ve experienced Chinese New Year in Hawaii and Las Vegas where hotels, restaurants and shopping centers are decked out in oft-times dazzling decorations and offer special new year deals and delights to customers.

Had we not been in Hawaii though we’d have likely not had as much 'to do' about this new Year of the Rooster as had we been at our Pacific Northwest home. Chinese New Year isn’t a big event in the Seattle suburb where we live.

This is one of the resident roosters at the Courtyard Marriott on Kaua'i

As part of the celebration we've learned the rooster is the 10th animal of 12 on the Chinese Zodiac. And it is this bird’s year to shine!  In addition to 2017, other Rooster years include 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, and 2005. Special events have been taking place in Honolulu’s Chinatown and at locations in dozens of towns and resorts throughout the Hawaiian islands. Performances, fireworks and special events are held to celebrate the New Year. Restaurants prepare special menus.

At this resort decorations ranged from paper streamers and red Chinese lanterns to works of art. One of the most exquisite we’ve seen is this floral rooster centerpiece of the lobby at the Four Seasons O’ahu here at Ko Olina, on the island’s west coast.

Lobby Four Seasons O'ahu at KoOlina

The island’s Red Ginger plant and anthurium are among the many blooms used in this creation.

Year of the Rooster

Then, the Rebellions

A few years ago we found ourselves near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on the 5th of May and we were surprised at how low-keyed the Cinco de Mayo celebrations were as compared to the way it is hyped and celebrated some thousand miles away in Washington State – by Americans.

Salud! A margarita toast to Cinco de Mayo

Maybe we have Corona Beer and the marketing teams for tequila and tortilla chip manufacturers to thank for the hype up north.  Or maybe it is the influence of the Mexican farm laborers who are key to the state’s agriculture industry. . .in any event, the day is celebrated con mucho gusto!

(The 5th of May is the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, a battle which resulted in the unlikely victory of Mexico over France in 1862. Although I doubt if many who celebrate it in the U.S. know much about the date’s significance.)

Oxi Day Celebration in Kardamyli, Greece 2015

The Oxi Day (Oh-hee) Day celebration in Greece on October 28th  commemorates the rejection by Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Mextaxas of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on 28 October 1940, Mussolini wanted the Greek Prime Minister to allow the Italian army free passage to enter and occupy strategic sites in Greece unopposed.

Oxi is the word for “No” in Greek.

Businesses close and school children march in parades, don traditional clothing, perform dances and make speeches in our villages. In the larger cities the military often play a large role in the celebrations.

And Religion

Water Ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand

Sometimes the luck of being in the right place at the right time  has given us the chance to participate in very sacred, subdued celebrations as happened in Thailand last year.  We are still not sure of the significance of the water ritual with which the Buddhist Monks welcomed us to in Bangkok, but it was an unforgettable part of our travel experience in Southeast Asia.

Easter Saturday 2015 village of Agios Nikolaos, Greece

And long time readers know our love of celebrating Easter in the Greek Orthodox style.  This has to top our list of favorite celebrations. Each village and town in Greece puts their own particular twist on the candle-lighting ceremony the Saturday evening before Easter Sunday.  Some burn an effigy of Judas, others send ‘him’ out to sea in a boat and others, like our village, set off fireworks as part of the late-night celebration. We are already looking forward to this year's celebration.

I used celebrations in this post in hopes of illustrating how enriching travel can be. The freedom to travel – whether close to home or far-distant places is something we cherish  Experiencing new cultures, customs, traditions and the celebrations associated with them is something vitally important to us. We  hope these passports continue to be invitations and not barriers to the world’s celebrations.


Now it's your turn: what celebrations have you experienced as a result of your travels?  Have a celebration that takes place in your part of the world that you want to recommend to others? Tell us about them in the comments below or shoot us an email and we’ll add your suggestions to the comments.   Until the next time ~ safe travels to you and yours!

Linking up this week with these other bloggers:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Photo Friday
Travel Inspiration .

Hawaii ~ Building Sandcastles

“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”
― Walt Whitman

Lagoon at KoOlina Resort - O'ahu

As they passed me on the sidewalk yesterday I overheard the little girl clad in a swim suit and sun hat, carrying her plastic bucket and shovel, say to her mother, “Today. . .I am building a sandcastle!”

Her ‘to do’ list was done for her day. She was heading to one of the four lagoons at KoOlina the resort on the west coast of O’ahu where we are living our month-long winter timeshare life. Her list was a bit longer than mine. I had nothing in mind ‘to do’ at all. And yet, we were both looking forward to our day’s activities.

End of the road - Yokohama Beach - O'ahu

Our visits to Hawaii weren’t always like this. Back in our work-a-day world we were lucky to squeeze in a 10-day visit to this Pacific paradise. Once here we’d zip back and forth across the island trying to sample as many restaurants, walk as many beaches and see many tourist attractions as was possible. We’d go home needing a rest from the vacation.

Slope along O'ahu's Wai'anae Mountain range

We’ve reached a point in life where we don’t need to cram as much in as we can to our days – no matter where we are. We've allowed ourselves more time in the places we travel to (an advantage of retirement and its savings) which gives a new feeling to our nomadic lifestyle. Taking a nap, reading a book, watching ocean waves. . .things we’d probably describe as ‘doing nothing’ if someone were to ask, are becoming our norm.

Monk Seal - Kauai

Maybe as we’ve settled into these ‘boomer years’ we’ve recognized that we aren’t going to check off every destination on our travel bucket list nor will we cross off every ‘must do and see’ that we have listed for the destinations that we do visit.  We’ve slowed our pace and decided to strive for the quality instead of the quantity of our travel moments.

We’ve also gotten over the need to fill each day with planned activities. I know many of our friends prefer and are more comfortable traveling with structure – groups with leaders, itineraries and meal plans that are set months in advance.  We just don’t travel that way. Never have. And we are getting more set in our laid-back ‘where the winds blow us’ mode of travel with each passing year. And it means missing some of those 'must see' places but we can live with that. It also means we are open to everyday 'discoveries'. . .

“Be present in all things and thankful for all things.”
― Maya Angelou

. . .such as the one we had in neighboring island Kauai two weeks ago.  The waitress pouring us a cup of afternoon coffee asked if we’d heard there was a seal on our beach. Minutes later, camera in hand, we were watching the 'little' two-year-old girl nap on the beach in front of our hotel. The Monk Seal drew quite an audience of watchers – all who delighted in doing nothing more than watch an afternoon nap in progress.

Sleeping Beauty on the beach in Kauai

“Forever is composed of nows.”
― Emily Dickinson

KoOlina - O'ahu

Now I have to admit that when we arrived I did slip back into that old mode by saying, “This time we really should go to Pearl Harbor.” And then I added that we ‘needed’ to drive to the North Shore and see its big waves, and then there is that Thai restaurant only a few minutes away in Kapolei town that we ‘needed’ to go back to and maybe this time we should go out on a sunset sail.. . .

Frozen MaiTai

That ‘to do’ list like so many others has been filed away. We’ve opted to sip frozen MaiTai’s on the spur of the moment and watched the sun set as often as we can. That’s enough for our travel 'to do' list these days.

KoOlina Sunset

“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free.

Don't miss so many of them.”
-- Jo Walton

That’s it from us this week. We’ll be in Hawaii a bit longer so we may have another tale or two from here. In the meantime, tell us about your travels – are you more comfortable with an organized itinerary or a blank page with no ‘to do’ lists?  Do you need a vacation from the vacation after you get home? Where ever you go and how ever you do it, may your travels be safe and happy.

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Photo Friday
Travel Inspiration

Hanapepe ~ Beyond the Beach and Back in Time

We aren't the lay-in-the-sun, bake-yourself-on-the-beach-people we were a few decades ago. So it isn't just the inviting beachscape, toasty sun and rolling waves alone that bring us to Hawaii each year. It is all the amazing places this island state has tucked away beyond its beaches that bring us back as well.

Just last week during a trip to Kauai's west side, we found ourselves doing a bit of time travel. . .

Hanapepe Swing Bridge - Kauai

. . .during a visit to Hanapepe (ha-na-pay-pay), a little spot that proudly calls itself Kauai's 'biggest little town'. It may be small, but it is one of our favorite destinations on this island.

Walking across the town's swing bridge that connects the old Main Street to the fertile valley on the other side of the Hanapepe River, we couldn't help but think of a time - long before Captain Cook visited in 1778 - when ancient Hawaiians populated the area. The main staple grown in the area was 'kalo' or taro as it is commonly called today. The area's earliest commerce was the trading of salt from the Hanapepe ponds. The 1880's brought sugar cane cultivation and that drew Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Portuguese immigrants to work in the fledgling industry.

These days the old foot bridge - once a transportation link between the fields and the town - is a source of entertainment for tourists who want to test their courage in walking across the creaking, swaying structure. Visitors who make it across the bridge are asked to turn around and not disturb the residents who make their home on the other side of the river. (The original bridge was destroyed during Hurricane Iniki's rampage over the island back in 1992 and was rebuilt and strengthened as part of the storm recovery efforts.)

Hanapepe - Kauai's biggest little town or so they say!

Hanapepe, 18 miles (29 kilometers) from Lihue (where the island's major airport is located), was a bustling economic center from the early 1900's through World War II. Bars and shops lined its streets. Two movie theatres and three skating rinks were in operation. You can't see the ocean from its historic Main Street, but it isn't far away.

By recent accounts, there are more than 40 buildings and structures along the old Main Street that qualify for state and national historic status, but no one in this laid-back part of the island has gotten around to doing any of the required paperwork to get them recognized.

One of the old theatres in Hanapepe

That doesn't mean the town doesn't take pride in its history!  A stroll from one end of the street to the other provides a fascinating glimpse into the 'way it was'  thanks to the photographs from yesteryear, each displayed with a paragraph or two telling the story of how it used to be. Hawaiian 'talk story' at its finest.

History proudly displayed in Hanapepe

Today many of the old wooden structures house tourist shops and art galleries. An old service station is now a convenience store. A former  bar is  home to a bakery. Each shop and the building it is housed in has an interesting story behind it. All are worth a visit, but the one that brought us back to this quaint little spot we'd discovered two years ago, was Talk Story Bookstore; 'the westernmost independent bookstore in the United States'. We simply had to see the store's cat again and to purchase some books.

Owners Ed and Cynthia Justus opened the store 12 years ago with no business plan in mind, he told us.  They were simply moving their ebay business to a storefront. Today they have 100,000 books from which to choose, new, used, collectibles and rare and receive 3,000 new books a month. (To give you an idea of the variety of books in this small, unassuming-looking store, I purchased a book called "Savushun" a novel about modern Iran. It was the first novel ever published in that country by an Iranian woman).

And yes, the cat came to greet us just as it had during our first visit here two years ago.

Talk Story Bookstore

We also returned to the fragrant shop - just down the street in another old wood frame structure - of the Aloha Spice Company. We couldn't resist buying couple of packages of Anahola Granola. The company was started by Becky, a single mom, who lived in Kauai's Anahola.  She was born and raised in Orcas Island and Seattle, Washington. The early '80's found her living in Kauai and a few years later she began selling her homemade granola in at a farmers market. Today several varieties are commercially packages and sold including the "Tropical" mix which combines macadamia nuts, sun-ripened papaya, pineapple, sweet coconut, whole grain oats, nutritious seeds and Hawaiian honey. Who could resist that wholesome combination, right?

A mouth-watering and fragrant stop in Hanapepe, Kauai

Across the street, as we'd peered through the screen door of the Midnight Bear Bakery, the driver of a delivery truck parked nearby called out to us, "That is the best bakery on the island. I make it a point to stop here every time I come to this side of the island." With that kind of recommendation who wouldn't go inside?  It was soon decision time: Meyers Lemon Danish or Macademia Nut Cinammon Rolls? The just-out-of-the-oven cinnamon rolls won out, but next time, we'll throw calorie-counting to the wind and try the Danish as well!

Scene from Old Main Street Hanapepe

Another thing we'll make it a point to do next time is to return for their Friday Night Art Walk which takes place every week from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. It is the biggest event in the island's biggest little town!

Bridge over the Hanapepe River - Kauai

That's it for this week. Time to go enjoy a bit of that tropical sunshine. We'll be back next week and until then our wishes for safe and happy travels!
Aloha~

Linking this week with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Photo Friday
Travel Inspiration

First a trip to Costco, then to Hawaii

Based on temperature alone it really seemed a no brainer, that decision of ours eight days ago, to head to Hawaii sooner than our planned mid-January departure.

Directional sign Kaua'i

2017 began at our Seattle area home with daytime temperatures in the low 30F’s (-1C) and nighttime’s dropped to 20’s (-6.6C) and below. Snow had dusted our lawn and blanketed other surrounding areas.

In Hawaii day time temperatures were 79F (26C) and nighttime 67F (19C).

Beach on Kaua'i

A no brainer for sure.  But we were already booked to depart in mid-January for our timeshare life on Hawaii’s island of O’ahu and weren’t sure that a last-minute change of airline tickets and finding a reasonably priced accommodation on short notice was in the realm of possibility.

Sunrise island of Kaua'i

We put our spur-of-the-moment idea into action by checking the rental sites that specialize in timeshare and interval-home rentals. Our reasoning was that having a kitchen and eating at home would save both money and calories. Our go-to sites include Redweek.com and TUG.com (timeshare users group).  While both sites offered plenty of  ‘short-notice’ choices, the prices were somewhat inflated to our way of thinking, which might have been why they were still available only a week before the rental period would start.

Of course, we are talking January, the highest of high seasons – when many, like us, are desperate to leave the cold behind - so we expanded our search to include hotels. The destination didn’t matter, we were open to staying on any of Hawaii’s eight major islands.

Mural - Maui, Hawaii

Hawaii, our youngest state, sits in the Pacific Ocean southwest of the United States mainland, and is made up of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts that extend 1,500 miles from the Big Island (Hawaii) in the south to the Kure Atoll in the north. (Early day explorer James Cook happened upon them in 1778 and named them The Sandwich Islands, not because of their grouping but to honor the First Lord of the Admiralty John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.)

State of Hawaii

Our search took us to our favorite booking sites including Kayak.com, Hotwire.com and Orbitz.com. In each case accommodations could be had, but when coupled with the potential airline change fee, a week’s rental car and a possible inter-island flight, we’d just about given up when a TripAdvisor reviewer mentioned traveling there via a Costco Travel Package. . .hmmmm, hadn’t thought to check there . . .

Maui, Hawaii

Costco, for those who aren’t familiar with the name, is a big-box, big-quantity warehouse-type store, that got its start in our town, Kirkland, Washington, several decades ago. There are now 674 Costco stores world-wide including those in Canada, Australia, Mexico, United Kingdom, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. It is a membership store that we’ve belonged to for many years.

In addition to large quantity supplies and food, we’ve found some of the best prices for rental cars are on its on-line travel site and we check there routinely before booking cars. (By booking through Costco the second driver  - me! - is always free.  That isn’t always the case when booking directly with the car company.)  Thinking back, a couple years ago we booked a Hawaiian get-away package for a hotel that had provided us a few nights of fun in Waikiki. Why hadn’t we thought of it earlier?!

Beach - Lana'i Island

Once again, Costco came through with a six-night getaway package on Kaua’i, nicknamed The Garden Island for its lush foliage that carpets its hillsides and valleys.

Kaua'i - the Garden Island

The package includes: six nights in a standard room at the Marriott Courtyard Coconut Beach, near Kapaa, an Alamo full-size rental car, buffet breakfasts for two, and a $50 gift card to Costco.  The hotel’s daily $20 fee is extra.

So was it a real savings? Yes! To the tune of $800, as a matter of fact.  We compared the prices of renting the hotel either from one of the sites mentioned above or from Marriott, the cost of renting the car (through Costco) and of paying for the breakfast separately. Our cost would have been $1,986 but instead paid the package price of $1,194.  The buffet breakfasts alone cost $23 per person and that would have amounted to $276.

Saved money changing our flights

The change fee with Alaska Air was a $125 per ticket, but the fare to Kauai was less than that we’d paid to Honolulu, so our change resulted in a $65 refund! (Sometimes changes do work to the benefit of the passenger, you just don’t hear about them as often as the horror stories related to cost increases.)

Hybiscus bloom - Hawaii

The inter-island flights will cost about $200, which we reason, we’d have easily spent going out for dinner and wine a couple of times here in the frigid Northwest.

Land of Aloha 

So here we are in Kauai where the morning temperature is 66F at 6 a.m. The Weather Channel tells us it is 35F and snowing back in Kirkland.  We standing on our deck barefoot wearing tee shirts and shorts, toasting the new day with a cup of Starbucks, awaiting sunrise.  Yes, that spur of the moment idea was a no brainer - and a good one at that! 

When we began the blog one of our purposes was to share tips about travel deals – and sources for travel deals – with our friends.  I want to assure you we don’t get any kick-backs or deals from the companies we recommend, including those mentioned in this post.  It was just such a good deal – and such an easily missed one – that we wanted to tell you about it. It also is a reminder to ourselves to think outside the usual box when we come up with one of these last-minute travel ideas.

Well be back next week and hope to see you here as well.  Until then, Ahh-Low-HA! as we say in Hawaii! 

Linking up with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Photo Friday
Travel Inspiration

Departing Cairo ~ A ‘touch’ and go affair

Gently her hands circled my breasts before moving down my rib cage, then up my back and front in a seemingly unbroken motion of discovery. She’d averted her eyes as we stood face-to-face barely inches apart, her concentration focused on what she was – or wasn’t – feeling. Her palms down my arms, around my wrists; up the leg – all the way – and down the other. Front and back, round and round.

It reminded me of some of the massages and the Turkish bath that I’ve willingly shelled out big bucks to experience. This was, however, free and to my way of thinking, had a much bigger potential health payoff:  it just might just keep some nut from boarding my flight and blowing it out of the sky.

View from the plane as we depart Cairo, Egypt

That wasa portion of the security check we underwent just inside the newly renovated Terminal 2 at the Cairo Airport. The terminal, scheduled to open in late 2015 had been only open for two weeks before our December 2016 departure.

Still so new it looks almost empty - Terminal 2 Cairo Airport

The sleek, modern building is expected to boost annual passenger capacity by 8 million. It’s expanded capacity, which will include accommodating those enormous double-decker A380 planes, is hoped to play a role in luring travelers back to Egypt. In articles about the new terminal tourism officials said that in addition to enlarging the terminal they were taking steps to make visitors feel safe while visiting the country.

Plenty of eateries from which to choose - one day anyway

If our experience at the airport is any indication, they are taking that safety and security business seriously.

That first security checkpoint was footsteps inside the front doors. Bags, coats, and shoes went into bins and through an enormous scanner (we find it curious that after the ‘Shoe Bomber’ incident a few years back we often are NOT required to remove shoes when going through airport screening on that side of the Atlantic).  Here shoes were off then humans walked through a scanner, then were hand searched as I described above.

New shop being readied in Terminal 2 Cairo Airport

That was the first of four such thorough security checks we would encounter between the front door and our boarding gate. A second one was done after obtaining our boarding passes and checking bags. British Airways required boarding passes be issued at the airport, you couldn’t print them out in advance.

Business Class lounge - Cairo Airport

The third screening was just outside the Business Class lounge that serves several airlines.  The lounge was spacious and comfortable and made waiting for the flight a pleasant experience. However, just steps outside the lounge we again ran bags through screening machines, walked through a scanner and again each of us was ‘patted down’. (We had to wait a bit until they could round up a woman to ‘pat me down’ at this checkpoint.)

New terminal 2 at Cairo Airport

We entered the waiting area at our gate by walking through a scanner and there officers ran a swab over our clothes and bags – all belongings -- then checked the swab for traces of explosives. By then we’d had enough screenings; I’d announced the glamour days of travel were long gone. We’d pulled out and replaced into our bags our computer and the plastic bag of carryon liquids enough times for one day (although we did it again in London). Our passport and boarding pass had been scrutinized by many. . . enough, already!

Waiting area Terminal 2 Cairo Airport

Intimate and intense pre-boarding security checks aren’t new to us and like other frequent travelers we could probably tell a horror story about the process encountered at any of the major European and American big city airports.  But because I’ve devoted a number of posts to the wonders we’ve encountered in Egypt, I felt I needed to tell a bit more of ‘the rest of the story’. Airport security is intense if not tedious, but after two recent plane crashes of undetermined-but-suspected-terrorism causes, it should be.

We’d been home only a few days when the Seattle Times newspaper ran an Associated Press story, about the crash of the EgyptAir flight last spring.

It was headlined, Explosives found on crash victims of EgyptAir flight

'CAIRO – Traces of explosive have been found on some victims of an EgyptAir flight from Paris that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea in May, Egypt’s government said Thursday, a find that could deal another major blow the country’s tourism sector.'

Tourism in Egypt has tanked thanks both to a well-publicized revolution in 2011 and those two airplane crashes not to mention a couple other attacks on tourists. Many of you have written comments saying that safety concerns are keeping you from visiting.  And while I’ve written glowingly of our explorations, both with guides and on our own during our last two visits, the environment is one that not all travelers – no matter how well-traveled – may want to tackle.  However, we are already excited about what we will do in Egypt next March when we fly via Cairo to get back to Greece! 

A final smoggy view of Cairo from departing flight

It’s a new year and we hope it is filled with travel adventures for you – whether real time or armchair.  We do want sincerely thank you for the time you’ve spent reading our posts, sharing them with others (the icing on the cake!) and for taking time to comment or send an email about them.  Our world is better because you are a part of it!  Until next week, stay safe and be happy!

Linking up:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Photo Friday
Travel Inspiration