I'm going to get this out of the way: I have blacklisted Amigo Tours. They lie. Almost constantly. What you book and what you get are never the same thing, and so you spend lots of time with the angry face on trying to get what you paid for in the first place. Blah.
But the felucca trip itself was great once we got underway and sorted out all the lies and obfuscations of our tour operator. Our group was 12, in all, 4 over the legal limit for a felucca, but still quite comfortable. We were two Australians, one American (me), a German, 2 Quebecois, 2 Belgians, a Brazilian guy, a Japanese girl, and 2 New Zealanders, mostly in our 20s-30s. The crew was a bunch of young guys as well, so it was all laid back and good fun.
The Nile is definitely the coolest place to be in the heat of the day. The breeze blows cool off the water, which is the perfect temperature for swimming (I know you're not supposed to swim in fresh water in foreign countries, but it was so hot and the water was so tempting...I couldn't help myself). The boat itself has a sun shade, and is flat on the bottom with cushions for everyone to lounge on. We sat around reading, cracking jokes with the crew, writing, taking photos, and just generally relaxing after all the hustle and hassle of the cities. The crew prepared some really delicious meals, with pita, salads, falafel, and the like all laid out on a tablecloth in the center of our little circle.
At night, our crew jammed with Ben, one of my Aussie compadres. Ben played guitar while they played the drums and sang. Then we called it an early night as the waves lapped along the side of the boat.
Yesterday was more of the same. We stopped a couple places to swim and stretch our legs, and had some fun with the local kids. I got my butt kicked in a cartwheel race, then built some sand castles with the younger ones, who all wanted to mug for 1000 pictures. The guys got a football game (that's soccer to y'all in the States) going with the older boys. All the women on the beach, of course, cleared out the minute we arrived, unfortunately. Alas for modesty.
Last night we had dinner in the village where the felucca's owner lives. It was a delicious spread, but our chef (in full veil) never came out to greet us because she was so busy preparing it. I went in later and offered to help with the dishes, but she would have none of it, so I busied myself trying to entertain her toddler, who was really excited to have visitors but had no idea what to make of us.
Today was a zoo because we fit two days worth of things into one day. Kom Ombo and Edfu, which our itinerary had set for yesterday (a full day of sailing), were in the morning, and then today's itinerary was pushed back to late afternoon. Kom Ombo and Edfu are both very well preserved and lovely, but all the temples are starting to blend together. I really wish I could read heiroglyphics...
Luxor and Karnak this afternoon, however, were another matter. Karnak is the largest religious structure in the world. It's huge both in footprint (many many acres of chapels and sanctuaries and columned halls), and in vertical impact. Everything is so tall, it makes the people buzzing around it (and there are millions) look like tiny ants. Alas, we only had 1/2 hour to explore the whole sprawling complex, which really annoyed me - I could have spent all afternoon there, but this is why our tour operator is blacklisted. We arrived at Luxor temple at sunset, and while it's not so impressive after the scope of Karnak, it was all lit up, which gave it a real supernatural vibe. Very cool. It gives you a sense of what people coming in from the villages would have thought of the place.
Tomorrow is a very full day, although our operator is going to try to squeeze it all in before the heat of the day. We have the twin Valleys of the Kings and Queens, plus queen Hatshepsut's Funerary temple. It'll be a lot to see, and I've got my fingers crossed that our operator won't ruin it for us. But even if he does, it's not the end of the world because I'm going to stay a few extra days here in Luxor to see some of the temples that weren't on the itinerary before I go back to Cairo and on to the Sinai.
But the felucca trip itself was great once we got underway and sorted out all the lies and obfuscations of our tour operator. Our group was 12, in all, 4 over the legal limit for a felucca, but still quite comfortable. We were two Australians, one American (me), a German, 2 Quebecois, 2 Belgians, a Brazilian guy, a Japanese girl, and 2 New Zealanders, mostly in our 20s-30s. The crew was a bunch of young guys as well, so it was all laid back and good fun.
The Nile is definitely the coolest place to be in the heat of the day. The breeze blows cool off the water, which is the perfect temperature for swimming (I know you're not supposed to swim in fresh water in foreign countries, but it was so hot and the water was so tempting...I couldn't help myself). The boat itself has a sun shade, and is flat on the bottom with cushions for everyone to lounge on. We sat around reading, cracking jokes with the crew, writing, taking photos, and just generally relaxing after all the hustle and hassle of the cities. The crew prepared some really delicious meals, with pita, salads, falafel, and the like all laid out on a tablecloth in the center of our little circle.
At night, our crew jammed with Ben, one of my Aussie compadres. Ben played guitar while they played the drums and sang. Then we called it an early night as the waves lapped along the side of the boat.
Yesterday was more of the same. We stopped a couple places to swim and stretch our legs, and had some fun with the local kids. I got my butt kicked in a cartwheel race, then built some sand castles with the younger ones, who all wanted to mug for 1000 pictures. The guys got a football game (that's soccer to y'all in the States) going with the older boys. All the women on the beach, of course, cleared out the minute we arrived, unfortunately. Alas for modesty.
Last night we had dinner in the village where the felucca's owner lives. It was a delicious spread, but our chef (in full veil) never came out to greet us because she was so busy preparing it. I went in later and offered to help with the dishes, but she would have none of it, so I busied myself trying to entertain her toddler, who was really excited to have visitors but had no idea what to make of us.
Today was a zoo because we fit two days worth of things into one day. Kom Ombo and Edfu, which our itinerary had set for yesterday (a full day of sailing), were in the morning, and then today's itinerary was pushed back to late afternoon. Kom Ombo and Edfu are both very well preserved and lovely, but all the temples are starting to blend together. I really wish I could read heiroglyphics...
Luxor and Karnak this afternoon, however, were another matter. Karnak is the largest religious structure in the world. It's huge both in footprint (many many acres of chapels and sanctuaries and columned halls), and in vertical impact. Everything is so tall, it makes the people buzzing around it (and there are millions) look like tiny ants. Alas, we only had 1/2 hour to explore the whole sprawling complex, which really annoyed me - I could have spent all afternoon there, but this is why our tour operator is blacklisted. We arrived at Luxor temple at sunset, and while it's not so impressive after the scope of Karnak, it was all lit up, which gave it a real supernatural vibe. Very cool. It gives you a sense of what people coming in from the villages would have thought of the place.
Tomorrow is a very full day, although our operator is going to try to squeeze it all in before the heat of the day. We have the twin Valleys of the Kings and Queens, plus queen Hatshepsut's Funerary temple. It'll be a lot to see, and I've got my fingers crossed that our operator won't ruin it for us. But even if he does, it's not the end of the world because I'm going to stay a few extra days here in Luxor to see some of the temples that weren't on the itinerary before I go back to Cairo and on to the Sinai.
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