We arrived in Luxor today after spending the past two days sailing down the Nile river in a Felucca. These are very simple boats that can sail with very little work. The main, and only, sail has a boom that is above the roof of the boat so there is no need to worry about getting clobbered when the boat tacks. It makes for easy sailing. In spite of this simple design, these boats can reach some pretty fast speeds as the sails are very tall for the size of the boat.
We set out from Aswan in the late afternoon and sailed for a few hours before finding a nice quiet spot on the side of the river to camp. Our Captain, Jim, and his first mate, Abdula prepared us some pretty good meals with minimal cooking facilities and almost no room to work. This boat didn't really have a galley as much as a corner for food prep. The storage and sanitation conditions were ... let's just say that several people have been sick after coming off these things. Val and I have been traveling enough that our systems can pretty much tolerate anything at this point, even dishes that are washed in the river!
Aside from the food, the trip was fantastic. The scenery went from lush, tropical looking areas to sand dunes that came right to the river's edge. Photos just can't do it justice. There were swampy areas with birds everywhere feeding in the river, and all along there were small villages where kids were playing and swimming in the river. This is truly the life blood of Egypt! The river is over a mile wide in some areas, and narrows quite a bit in others. It is completely navigable by larger boats, and we saw dozens of river boats capable of carrying hundreds of passengers heading up and down the river while we sailed.
Now that we are in Luxor, we need some serious showers, some laundry to be done, a cold beer and then a nap. Tomorrow we begin the sight seeing in earnest as Luxor is the base for touring the greatest sites in all of Egypt. Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Luxor Temple, Temple of Karnak and hundreds of others. This is the area where most of the former kings and queens of Egypt have been buried. This is also the location where King Tut's tomb was uncovered many years ago.
I'll give a bit of history in my next journal entry since we have been getting a lot of it, and it's very fascinating. First, I need that cold beer!!!
Until next time, relax and enjoy the scenery.
Eric
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