Up at 08.30, we had a good breakfast and paid our bill. I went out to buy 3 scarves as I had a feeling that it would be cold after which we met with Captain Aly in the reception. He walked us down to the river (Fiona managed to trip and fall on the way ) and down to his felucca which was next to the restaurant (Ely's) that we had gone to on New Years Eve. 
The captain introduced us to his assistant, Mustafa and went off to get the food for the trip. 
We were on the water by around 11. First stop was the police station where Captain Aly had to register us. It took a while and gave us a chance to get used to the boat. We set off, but before we left Aswan we had to stop on the other side of the Nile because of excess wind. There was another bigger felucca docked at the same point - stacked with Australians and a New Zealander.
We stayed there for about 3 hours. Aly made us a great lunch of falaffels and salads as well as a tuna dish. We relaxed and watched the various sea birds. I tried un-successfully to get a picture of a kingfisher diving. 
There was another boat next to us which was being used to carry rocks. We watched as, with great effort, the rocks were brought on a bakkie and then physically carried to the boat (there was a wheel barrow there, but they didn't use us)We set off again at around 3pm and had a couple of hours sailing before we docked for the night, joining the Australians and another boat that came with a separate 'toilet boat'.
During the trip there, the wind was cold but constant. Guy , Lauren and I each had a turn at sailing the boat. I was very glad that I had bought the scarves. Aly showed me how to tie them on my head and to keep my ears warm. |
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The area that we stopped in was clarly a regular stopping place. When we got off to find somewhere to go to the toilet, there bits of paper all over the place where others had gone before us. It made it a little less pleasant than it may otherwise have been.
We helped cover the boat with a sun cover and sides - thus becoming a tent. The third boat had a generator which tended to reduce the sense of tranquility. Aly made us a good dinner of koftas and salad and macaroni and then we settled down to some port and had a game of rummy in the dark. Lauren helped Mustafa play and he shared a little of his beer with me (in return for some of our port earlier). We discovered that he had been a the New Years Eve party a couple of nights before so Lauren showed him a vido that she had taken.
It was cold by 9pm when we put the lights out and Lauren and Guy made the mistake of offering their extra blanket as a wind shield for the door. As a result, the night was colder and more difficult than it would otherwise have been .
