This is a story about awakening to our greater potential and our greater purpose. Joanne Hutchinson takes you on her personal journey to Egypt where she meets many people and travels to many places to discover more of her real and authentic self. Along the way, she confronts her own fears and understands how she creates her own reality by what she thinks. She meets face to face with disappointment and her own inner critic to find a deeper meaning to her journey and a level of peace that she has not felt before. She experiences poverty first hand in a village in Cairo. She learns to discern the truth through the people she comes across and is humbled by all those that go out of their way to help her. She sees the world through the eyes of the people she meets and develops a profound level of love, compassion and understanding that is life changing. Working with the energies of the temples, the desert and her spiritual guides, Joanne undergoes a healing journey that takes her to a new level of awareness, insight and wisdom. Part of the proceeds of this book will be used fund projects in Egypt that "change lives". The first project is the Good Samaritan Orphanage in Luxor which is home to disabled children and abandoned elderly people. The Call to the Desert A Spiritual Journey of Love, Understanding and Compassion By Joanne Hutchinson Balboa Press Copyright © 2011 Joanne Hutchinson All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4525-0158-1 Contents Chapter 1 GETTING TO EGYPT..............................1Chapter 2 OUT AND ABOUT IN CAIRO........................9Chapter 3 SHARM EL SHEIKH...............................17Chapter 4 ST KATHERINE'S MONASTERY......................21Chapter 5 BACK TO CAIRO.................................29Chapter 6 GIZA..........................................33Chapter 7 THE PYRAMIDS..................................49Chapter 8 SIWA..........................................55Chapter 9 BAHARIYA......................................61Chapter 10 DAKHLA.......................................71Chapter 11 LUXOR........................................79Chapter 12 CAIRO AND HOMEWARD BOUND.....................89 Chapter One GETTING TO EGYPT It was Sunday the 11th of October 2009 and I was excited to be heading to the airport for my flight from Auckland to Cairo. I knew my bags were over the 20kg allowance as I had been collecting children's clothes and art supplies to gift to some children living in poverty in a village in Giza. And wow, the generosity of my friends and clients was so amazing that I had problems fitting it all into my suitcase. I arrived at the airport and went to the check in counter. My large suitcase was over the baggage limit but the staff were not concerned about that. What they were more interested in was my hand luggage which they asked me to show them and then said they needed to check the weight. It was 10kg and the allowance was just 7kg so I was then asked to re-pack it to meet the requirement. It was a funny feeling as I wondered how on earth I could fit more stuff into the bigger suitcase which frankly was full and was the reason why I had more hand luggage than I would normally travel with. I decided I couldn't leave anything behind and I just had to make it fit so there I was in the middle of an international airport, kneeling on my suitcase squashing and forcing everything in until I got it zipped up which I did. I was completely oblivious to everyone around me and in hindsight; it must have looked hilariously funny. It was now over 27kg and I wondered if I would be charged for excess baggage but luck was on my side and they let it go through. That was a relief. I then headed to Immigration where they also checked the weight of my carry on luggage which surprisingly weighed more than at the check in (something to be said about the calibration of weighing machines) but it was just under the limit. Phew! By now, I decided that there were some things I needed to learn from this to apply to my future trips. I made my way to the departure gate and waited for the boarding call. This didn't happen at the designated time and I could see the level of anxiety increasing amongst my fellow travelers. At last a boarding call was made, only to learn that boarding had been delayed for thirty minutes. Now that everyone had been informed, there was a collective sigh of relief that we now knew what was happening. Thirty minutes later, we were told there was a further delay and the next message was that due to mechanical problems with the engine, boarding was now expected to be delayed for a further two hours. The vast majority of passengers verbalized their frustration with loud sighs, indignation and anger — all at the same time. It was so perfectly synchronized while the staff graciously offered free food and drinks. I found it amusing to observe the group dynamics but my grin was not welcomed. Of course, it was for our safety that the plane