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Published: March 6th 2009
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We got up in good time today and, after breakfast on our rooftop patio, picked up our laundry from the front desk and packed for our two day trip down the Nile. We ended up getting to our departure point, the Aswan Moon Restaurant, a good hour before our twelve o'clock departure time. After loading all of our suitcases onto Mahmod's Felucca, Evy and I went back off to the old town to buy some post cards and oranges for the trip. When we returned we had lunch at the restaurant and met Ramadon, Mahmod's first first mate. Mahmod appeared briefly, but then headed back off to prayers.
When Mahmod returned from the Mosque, we all boarded and prepared for sailing. We now were joined by a third man, dressed totally in white, who I took to be the helmsman.
The felucca was now set up with boards covering the hold and cushions covering these boards. A huge awning covered the virtually the entire area from the mast to the helm, making a very comfortable seating area out of the hot sun.
The harbour area was quite congested with boats meaning we had to tack a lot as
we began our trip. We seemed to be at a crossroads of eras as we sailed past ancient looking felucca and ultra modern cruise ships. The shoreline continued this contrast with stone temples next to the golden arches of MacDonald's.
At one point we met up with a motored tour boat and there was some exchange of word in Arabic followed by the passing of a kettle and a few glasses to our boat. I guess we forgot a few things.
The city was beginning to thin out on the banks when we made our first stop at a river side police station. All tours on the Nile need to have permits and there are also safety checks. Mahmod pulled out the life preservers and strung them to the side of the mast making sure that the fire extinguisher was also visible. As it turned out, the permit people were off at lunch so Ramadon made everyone tea while we waited.
When were finally had our permit, it turned out that the third gentleman, dressed in white, was not joining for the trip. We sailed from the shore and quickly left the last traces of the city behind.
This is the Egyptian winter holidays, so we passed numerous places where kids were swimming in the river or riding donkeys along the shoreline. As we settled into the rhythm of the long tacks back and forth across the river, we pulled out the school work and got Benjamin and Joshua going.
For a considerable time, we could see a low bridge looming in the distance. Given that it was much lower than our mast and clearly not
a draw bridge, I was curious how we were going to manage this. In the end, we sailed right for it then at the last moment, Ramadon hauled the sail such that the entire rig tilted allowing Mahmod to steer the boat under the bridge and continue the tack on the other side.
With school work done for the day, Joshua engaged the three of us in an endless series of card games, made even more awkward by the shifting winds. The occasional cruise boat chugged past us, belching black smoke.
Mahmod is a quite devote Muslim and on an Easterly tack across the Nile, set up his prayer mat on deck for his afternoon prayers. I had
never really considered the intricacies of facing Mecca on a moving boat.
As evening began to approach, Ramadon peeled the potatoes and prepared the food for cooking. He then took the helm while Mahmod did the actual cooking. As the evening air began to move in, we pulled out our sleeping bags and set them up on the cockpit area while the stars began to appear in the darkening sky.
It was mostly dark by the time we gently beached the boat on the sandy shore. We ate a satisfying dinner of potatoes in a tomato sauce served with heaps of brown pita bread. After dinner Mahmod brought out a series of cotton tarps and closed off all the sides of the cockpit area, creating a private room for us. He fashioned a lantern out of a empty water bottle filled with sand from the river bank and stuck a candle in it. Though I am sure this was not nearly as fancy as the 5 star cruises that sailed past, I felt this river camping on the Felucca felt far more authentic though the fact that Benjamin and I spent the next two hours watching the movie
“Master and Commander” on the ipod might have taken a bit away from the timelessness of the scene.
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