Part 67: We’re on a Boat! April 1, 2013

After leaving the train station we were transported to our living quarters for the rest of the trip:  a boat.  A really nice boat (I wasn’t expecting it to be so swanky) on the Nile. 

Having grown up on the Mississippi River, I am usually disappointed by most rivers.  Most of them are tiny little things that I would usually classify as a stream.  The Nile, however, held its own.  It is also surprisingly clear, but more on that later. 

After showering, napping, and eating (the food on this boat was amazing!), we went for a ride in a felucca, the traditional type of sailing ship used on the Nile.  It was hot that day, but in the shade it was bearable.   We floated past several ruins (they are just sort of everywhere) while SA explained what they were and answered my questions about hippos and crocodiles (apparently, they don’t live in that section, sigh).  We were then given the option of swimming.  The water was soooo cold, but clean enough that you can see your toes with ease.  Some of us even jumped off a giant rock. 

On our way back in we got a tow, since the wind was not cooperating.  We also had a Nubian villager come aboard to sell us jewelry made by the villagers.  I bought a blue necklace made of shells. 

Once we were back on land, we were taken to visit a perfume maker’s shop.  We saw how they extracted the oils out of flowers and papyrus and all sorts of other things.  We were then given a lesson in smelling these and how they mix them to create different perfumes.  I ended up buying small bottle of papyrus extract.

Our last stop of the day was the local bazaar.  Most of us bought some sort of costume for our dress-up night.  I only bought a scarf with jingles on it because I really didn’t want to buy a whole belly-dancer costume that I would have to pack home to Bulgaria and then home to the US.  The bazaar was, as usual, filled with aggressive salesmen that I tried very hard to avoid.  I didn’t buy anything but I enjoyed looking around.  

That night on the boat, they had a belly dancer who naturally pulled some of us onto the floor to give us “lessons.”  I went up with SS from my tour group.  We tried to shimmy and shake, but I don’t think we were all that successful.  After the belly dancer left we got to watch a whirling dervish which was pretty impressive, but gets boring after a while since you’re literally just watching a man spin in circles.

That night we went to bed early since we had to leave at 6 am for our trip to Abu Simbel.