January 1, 2010 Aswan to Cairo

Dean and I got up at 7:00 and went to our last breakfast on the boat. When that was done, the group went down to the quay, following Hala’s warbling call of “Pharaohs!”  We bordered a motorized launch and cruised upriver through the blocky granite islands of the first cataract. Mohammed Arabi, “The Bird-Man of Aswan”, accompanied us and pointed out the numerous waterfowl along the shoreline which included an impressive variety of species: kingfishers, plovers, shovelers, terns, herons, egrets, bitterns, hawks, buzzards, purple gallinules, and ibises. Camels and their drivers ran along the west bank up to the Nubian village. We disembarked and walked up to the village where we were greeted by gracious hosts and served hibiscus tea.

Several Nile crocodiles were caged in a pen. One of the men took one out and let the students handle it. A girl offered to draw Henna tattoos on any who wanted them. She was very good and fast, making a lot of money since nearly all of the women got one. Naturally, people started bringing trinkets to sell and some people bought them. Colorful dolls were the biggest hit. A young, colorfully dressed girl who spoke a little English was a particularly saleswomen. Mark bought a lot of her dolls.

We sailed back downriver to the quay. Most of us sat on the roof of the boat, enjoying the view, ambiance, and close friends we had made within our group and the TWU group. We ate lunch on our cruise boat after gathering our luggage in the lobby. Then, after settling our accounts, we said good-bye to the crew and went to the bus which took us to the airport. The previous night we learned that 5 people could not fly with us: Bob, Anne, Drew, Kaye, and Al due to a ticketing screw-up. Originally we were supposed to take train to Cairo but E.F. did not try to book it until there weren’t enough seats. The flight plan was that the five would follow us late at night but it all worked out and 5 seats were booked on an Egypt Air flight that actually left before ours and beat us to Cairo by a couple of hours.

Our plane was a high-wing Fokker 3D Turboprop, one of my favorites. We had a great, smooth, 2-hour flight down the Nile with the Gulf of Suez in the distance. The pilot allowed passengers to come up into the cabin. Mark was in his element.

Upon landing, we were taken to the King Hotel where dinner was being served. It tasted great. With a bunch of students, Dave, and Diane, I smoked a bowl of apple flavored tobacco from a hookah. It was surprisingly good. When it was done, I went to bed.