DAY 35 Sat 17 July

I somehow managed to sleep through my alarm this morning. It had been a rough night, much to hot. I had ended up heading out into the living room to sleep on the couch to hopefully make use of the airconditioning – it helped to a limited extent. All this meant I was somewhat late heading over to the house to find out whether Maryanne needed me to help with her clients today or if I could head out for a ride with Pal. Unfortunately my presence is needed here on the farm. So I had to medicate dogs and get into the farm t-shirt and then wait for the families to arrive... and wait and wait...
Unfortunately today turned out to be one of those stinking hot days, which made it rather miserable showing the two girls all the horses, and then walking round with Bunduq keeping an eye on one of the girls, making sure Bunduq didn't take off with her – he was a good boy though. I was happy when the girls changed over horses, and the grooms took over looking after the youngest girl on Dory. After a nice lunch, they all went over to have a look at the goats, donkeys and the gamoosa. All though the young girl had been told that if the temperature made it over 35 degrees after lunch, she wouldn't be able to ride the horses because it would be too hot for them, she kept trying. After she realised we wouldn't let her ride a horse, she then asked about riding a donkey, and when the answer to that was also a 'no', she wanted to ride the bull (aka the waterbuffalo). She was certainly persistent. The girls then took some brushes and went to brush the horses, and I had to follow quickly after the youngest girl, as she headed straight towards the paddock with the young horses, trying to make sure they didn't squash her in their youthful exhuberance, or that she didn't do something stupid. After she finally left the paddock, I headed back to the house – I needed a break from the heat and a nice glass of a cold beverage (I settled for water). Not long after that they headed off home, and I was able to relax for a bit in the guest house.
As the evening started to cool off, Mona and I headed out for a ride in the countryside (we decided the desert may be rather to hot). We were joined by Achmed's older brother Mahmud on Farhan. I decided to take out Shaboura and give her a schooling ride, but she was very well behaved, and Mona was on Gameela (who had fun plodding along, but it nearly drove poor Mona crazy). There wasn't that much of a chance for having a chat to Mona as we were riding, because Shaboura walks really fast, and Gameela was very very slow. It was my last chance to go for a ride with Mona, as she is heading over to France tomorrow.
As we rode through one of the villages, in a large fenced area, there were a whole group of children playing soccer – how they could do it in that heat I have no idea at all! Then there was the whole family out delivering gas bottles on their donkey cart - I think family life in Egypt is beter than in the western world. They have more of a family bond in that they work and play together more than westerners do now days. And the nice thing about Egypt is that parents aren't afraid to let their children head out and run around without parental supervision. Kids have a chance to be kids and have fun and learn from their mistakes. The down side is that they are often working very young, at least out in the countryside.
When we got back, Mona and I organised a nice fresh chicken salad for dinner, and after she left, I headed over to the guesthouse to collapse for the night.

Countryside ride 19:
Distance - 4.53km
Time - 0:59:48
Average speed - 4.5kmph
Max speed - 12.0kmph