Nile River

---

The boat left Luxor at 5 am for the sole purpose of getting in line to go through the lock to Esna. There were hundreds of boats lined up and we stayed the entire day there, not getting through the lock until about 7 pm. During the day the local men come out in small row boats and show you their goods for purchase. They throw them up to the top deck and you throw it back to them. If you buy something, they throw up another item and you put the money in and throw it back. There was a little shop on board and he insisted we would get better prices from him. I bought a “rug” from him for $7.50 which was as good or better price than what they were getting them for from the boat vendors. The ladies all bought outfits for the Egyptian dress up night the next night. If someone on a boat is buying, all the sellers come up to that boat and try to entice buyers. This system came about because the boats used to dock there and passengers got off. Now the boats dock above the lock, so no one gets off here any more. The shop owners were forced to take to the water for their livelihood. I felt very much this was a wasted day. All of the English speaking group compared notes and we were supposed to do in two days what we did in one in Luxor. As a result, we missed some sights and had to rush through the others. It was too hot to stay on the upper deck in the afternoon and the pool was full of kids so no swimming either. Several of our group became very sick this day and part of the next.

---