The Christmas Post

Yes Christmas has well passed but when you are in the desert there is no such thing as internet so its time for a little catch up. Christmas passed this year for us with little fanfare but a large amount of cheer. Well, for most of us. One of the crew, I won't say which (although you can guess which one by the pics) was rewarded with a bout of the Pharoah's curse on Christmas day but he remained in high spirits and recovered quickly. The great gift opening was postponed to the evening (giving the ill a chance to recover) and the rest went out for a delicious Christmas lunch. In the evening we ordered in some hot soup and began the exchange. Our little group put together an exchange in which the limit was 20 Egyptian pounds (4 CDN dollars). We picked names a few days earlier and each of us went out to barter and haggle our way into purchasing the best present for the price. It was no easy task although we all discovered that when you have a limit it is amazing just how far prices will drop at the markets. In the end, the presents went on to the Christmas chair to be opened in the morning (see pic of Christmas chair). Everyone did well but the winner for the best prize for buck went to Lisa who haggled a shop vendor from 22$ to 4$ for a little mock Egyptian instrument. If you are to ask Lisa she says she still thinks she over-payed. It was great fun. In addition to our little gifts to each other we were also lucky enough to get some cards and gifts from our family to really make the day special and we would just like to say thank-you for these little things that meant the world to us. Anyways, before we knew it Christmas had come and gone and we were moving on.