I organised with Maryanne to head out into the desert with Mohamed this morning. I had missed heading out for a ride with Pal, as I wasn't feeling quite human when he rang. On his way back from his ride, he stopped off at the farm to see Maryanne. After Pal had left again, Mohamed had saddled up Wadi and Negmadin (I had to get my last ride in the desert on my favourite horse), and we headed out into the desert looking for pottery shards. I led the way out there (I was pretty sure I was following the directions that Maryanne had given to Mona the time we went out there), but it wasn't until I was on top of the excavation that I knew I had done well. I had been seeing the darker area that I thought indicated the excavation for quite a while, but it wasn't until I was right on top that I gave myself a pat on the 
back. Looking around the area turned up more painted pot shards, and Mohamed even got in on the act finding some more for me – I had quite a bum bag full by the time we were finished there. I also found part of the top rim of an alabaster pot which joined the painted shards. They had excavated quite a bit of the mud brick wall in that area as well which was interesting. It was certainly quite a profitable morning. On the way back, I took us via an area I had seen a couple of times before from a distance – it is out in the desert, but there are a few small bushes holding their own out there – I wonder if there is a little bit of ground water there. It could explain why the area with the pot shards is there if back in the day that was a little oasis, but that is just speculation on my part. We rode back through the bone yard to get more photos, but didn't do as much weaving through the area as we had done yesterday, and then we were able to go for a race 
up the race track. It wasn't the fastest ride I have been on on Wadi (that was the day I went out with Mohamed, Waleed and Hassam on Diva, Negmadin and Nazeer), but it was still great fun, and it will be a long time before I am able to do that again. When we got back, Pal and Sabine were visiting, though they were about to head out to Sabine's place with Mohamed and Sherif to pick up the last of Sabine's stuff from her flat, to take it around to Tatouch's. It was her final day of moving and settling in :) Unfortunately as I was giving Wadi a last pat, he rubbed his head on me, tearing a hole in my jodphurs. I had already decided to leave one pair there in case anyone could use them, and so I left that pair there as well – it cut down on weight, and they are more likely to be repaired there – I'd never get around to it if I took them home.My job for the rest of the day was packing – and I felt a bit like a chook with its
head cut off, trying to get things in and arranged in such a way that they would make it home safely (I had bought a little too much in the way of fragile glass – impulse buy – but they look so good!) I had room left to put stuff in, but weight was a big issue, with the weight of the belly dancing costumes (it would be interesting weighing each one to see what they way – lol). I had taken over Maryanne's scales, and they told me that I was right at the limit of my 29kg (editor's note, grand total was 30.2kg).I got a phone call from Morad in the afternoon, saying that he was home for a little while before he had to head out again for the wedding, so I headed over there to say bye. On the walk over, there was a donkey cart beside the path festooned with washing hanging out to dry – it certainly made for a colourful donkey cart! I dropped the last of my beer in Morad's fridge, as I wasn't likely to drink it tonight, and I also left him my NZ Haflinger shirt, and my Haflinger hat. I then sat down and spent some time talking to Morad and his friend. They gave me a lift back to the farm on their way into town, and a last hug from Morad, before I walked
down to the farm to finish my packing.I got an evening ride in around the village, with my other favourite horse, Shaboura. It was hard riding round there listening to all the kids calling out "Allo, allo" and asking to have their photos taken and knowing that it was the last time I would get that for quite some time. The sweet potato man was in the village again, which was a nice sight, as the smoke from his stove headed up the little chimney on the back of his donkey cart, while his donkey nuzzled in the dirt looking for some food to eat. The interesting thing, as we headed up the last stretch to home was the guy riding his donkey, and leading a camel – the light at this time had the colour that you associate with the beginning of sun set – catching and highlighting the yellow colour (which is nice in Egypt where
nearly everything has a sandy yellow colour) – it showed up the camel nicely. The camel was ahead of us, heading in the same direction as us on the opposite side of the canal, so we were following behind and beside it for quite a distance – it's things like this that make riding in Egypt very special – the randomness of Egypt means that every time you head out, even if you follow the same route every time, you are likely to see something new, different and/or interesting. After we made it past the camel, there was a donkey in the shafts of a cart on the side of the road. It was waiting while its owner loaded up the cart with green fodder for the animals. Talk about carrot stretches – this donkey bent its neck right around trying to get at the grass in the cart behind him – clever donkey – he managed it too! Once again the battery of the camera died at the last village before home – fortunately there was nothing extraordinary to take photos of for the small bit of trail left.
Once back at the farm, I got the other camera out and got some photos of the grooms. I also got to meet the new gardener. I then spent a little bit more time packing and trying to finish the Amelia Peabody book I was reading (don't think I'm going to manage that unfortunately), until Sabine & Tatouch turned up for a celebratory drink for Sabine's new accomodation, and a commisatory drink for me for my departure. After they left, I tried a bit more to sort out my luggage, before collapsing into bed.
Desert ride 13:
Distance - 12.4km
Time - 1:41:52
Average speed - 7.3kmph
Max speed - 49.1kmph
Countryside ride 22:
Distance - 4.76km
Time - 1:02:59
Average speed - 4.5kmph
Max speed - 12.6kmph
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