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Travel Tales from The Nile Revealed
When Mercedes Mann gazed up in the Temple of Horus, she was amazed to see a brilliant blue ceiling blanketed in stars. After more than three millenniums, she was standing under the same sky that ancient Egyptians were when preparing their dead for burial. "I was amazed at what I was seeing," Mercedes reveals. "Not only could you see the original colors, but actual people’s lives were documented on the walls in hieroglyphics."
Mercedes shared this intimate moment with long-time friends Polly and Elaine and her new acquaintances Tim and Dara Saunders, whom she’d just met days before.
"We didn’t know each other before this trip, and yet here we were in the middle of all this magnificent history talking about what it was like to be alive at that time," Mercedes explains.
They were part of a group of individuals who traveled to Egypt and the Nile River Valley. Although they had never met before, seven of them lived in Chicago—all within 30 miles of each other.
"It’s easy to click with people on Travcoa journeys because we all share a love of travel," Susan Neiburger, one of the fellow Chicagoans, adds. "Well-traveled people bring their experiences with them. There are stories to exchange and things to learn. In addition, most avid travelers excel at other things as well—they’re just fascinating people." Tim agrees. "There’s an excitement which you feed on when others are in the moment and passionate about experiencing the culture."
So just what stories did this unlikely band of brothers bring back with them?
"Coming down the Nile, we witnessed the solar eclipse," Tim recalls. "We sat out on the deck and watched the sky turn to darkness in the early afternoon."
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 Mercedes remembers the women donning Egyptian dresses and headpieces for a party aboard the boat.
"It was easy to envision the world Cleopatra lived in because the scenes you saw along the shore were so unchanged since her time," Mercedes says. "As women, we all related to her and what her life must have been like."
As most women do, these newly-made friends shared a love of shopping. "We’d be up on the deck of the boat and barges would pull up alongside of us," Mercedes says. "The merchants would shout ‘Hey lady! Hey lady!’
and then toss up their wares for us to examine. When we’d agreed upon a price, we’d put our money in a bag and toss it back to them."
Mercedes was so impressed by the country’s gold and lapis jewelry, she bought several necklaces, bracelets and cartouches for herself and as gifts for others.
Susan Neiburger, and her husband Skip, had a greater appreciation for the Travcoa trip since they’d traveled to Egypt before.
"We’d visited Egypt before on our own, and it just wasn’t the same," Skip explains. "It’s a hard country to navigate. With Travcoa, we were taken care of all the time and enjoyed traveling with others of similar backgrounds."
Susan appreciated the in-depth look she got into the history, culture and people of Egypt.
Travcoa Travel Planner Christy Napier, who traveled with the group, affirms, "I never thought I’d see the pyramids up close, let alone go inside one."
So what happened to this group of fellow travelers after they’d returned home and unpacked?
"We’ve become friends," Dara says. "Some of us have gotten together as a group here in Chicago."
And according to Mercedes, there have already been discussions on which Travcoa journey these new friends will be taking next. |
