Felucca Journey
Wednesday, 14th June was our first of three days and nights cruising down the
Nile on a traditional Egyptian sailboat, called a felucca. These boats are
very basic, unlike the huge tourist cruisers we saw constantly. There were no
bathroom facilities so if we needed to go we had to ask the captain,
Mohammed, to find somewhere to stop (which could take up to 15 minutes) or
we could go off the back of the boat (no. 1's only!). Showering was an
interesting idea, too. Sebastian and Juan, the crazy Columbian boys in
our group :-) would shower by sitting at the bow of the boat and having
buckets of the freezing cold Nile water thrown over them! That was also a
great way to cool down. In fact, Dan tried it once too. We also had a
swim when the boat stopped for the evening. The water in the Nile is very
fresh. Some people say not to swim in it because of the horrible diseases
you can catch, however our group leader assured us that because the water
was so cold and the current so strong, the chances of catching things were
minimal. With 40 degree temperatures during the day, we were willing to
take the risk! Otherwise, one could just wipe themselves down with a wet
cloth (using bottled water, of course!).
It was a great experience being on the felucca. The scenery was fantastic
and at nights we were lucky enough to have a full moon shining down on us
(although it made it hard to see the stars). It was amazingly tiring, lying
around doing nothing all day :-) although we did occasionally play card
games (including a really funny, loud one Juan learnt from a friend from Yemen).
At night the boat would pull up along the Nile (the captains all know the
river so well.. there were always other feluccas stopping at the same places).
On the second day we stopped at Kom Ombo to see the temple dedicated to the
god of healing, in the form of a crocodile. I can't remember which god it
was! We also met up with Debbie and Sharon there, who had to miss the first
day on the felucca due to illness. Oh, and of course our crew had to restock
our supplies of Coke, as Sebastian had drunk nearly all the supplies (in one
day!!). Some of the sights at Kom Ombo temple included the mummified crocs,
and hieroglyphics of a lady giving birth and another breast feeding. There
were also carvings of the medical instruments used at the temple. Pretty
modern!
For our final night before disembarking at Edfu, we stopped at an island
nearby to the city. It seemed this was the most popular spot to stay as
there were 6 other feluccas tied up with us that night. The brothers of our
other crew member, Makmoud, also joined us and we had a huge bonfire,
with singing and dancing on the beach. Our group were a little subdued that
night but the other boats stayed up till all hours of the night!
