1st May Luxor

1st May Luxor.
Warming up here now. Last week they had 52C up at Aswan with 49C here in Luxor. A cool change came in as we arrived which has been great. We are at Camp Rizeiki here at Luxor. A place that has seen better days but still an oasis in the city around us. They even have a clean swimming pool.
We have spent the last 2 days sight seeing: the first day at the Temple of Karnak and that of Luxor on the Eastern bank of the Nile then today we crossed over to the West Bank and visited the Valley of Kings and Hatsheput’s Temple. We were a little disappointed in the Valley of Kings as our ticket only allowed us into 3 tombs, Tutenkhamen’s was an extra fee. Joan went to that as I had seen it on my last trip. Still, it was a pleasant morning. The wal paintings and carvings are fantastic when you imagine they are over 3500 years old.
Tomorrow we head down to Aswan in convoy. Finally dawned on us why these convoys are needed. Not so much to protect us as a convoy to me seems an easy target for anyone who wants to create havoc, but it’s mainly a quick way to get the tourists from one area to another. Down the south here there are police checkpoints every 3-5 kms at which we would have to show passports etc. In convoy we are waved through, other traffic has to wait for us, we get to where we wanted to in half the time.
A Norwegian couple have pulled into the camp site and are hoping to get on the Lake Nasser ferry the same time as us. I hope that works out as it could mean we have company travelling through what could be the most diciest part of the trip. From Wadi Halfa where we get off the ferry there is about 400kms of sand with no road across. A case of making your own track. Although our van is AWD it is low to the ground and could have problems. I have bought a good shovel and am trying to pick up some sand mats to take with us as insurance.