The knocking on the door for the breakfast wake up call shook me from my deep sleep. We went upstairs and had breakfast.
Deciding to risk missing a day trip in a small boat up the Nile to visit the Nubians by going with our friend Mohammad, we left the boat at 9 and headed to the mosque where we had agreed to meet yesterday. I put on my swimsuit and sandals and debated bringing my life jacket.
I think everyone was mutually surprised, including Mohammad, as all parties were on time and committed to the deal. In the next few hours, I would have the best time so far on the trip and one of the best times of this whole incredible year.
With the camera out and ready, Antonio and I crossed the line of white boats, ducking under their colored canopies and decorative tapestries. We met our driver, a kind looking, slightly big man who had two little sons on board as well. The kids were funny and cute. Third world children. We started up the motor ready to begin our adventure.
We had a private boat. We pulled out onto the main Nile and then headed up the river taking a side stream toward the village of the Nubians. Having put complete faith in a man who I didn't trust, I could only hope for the best. Heading up the side stream we saw other people from our group come back the other way. I waved and pumped my fist in the air. We went up to the white roof and I marveled at the incredible beauty of the Nile. Up on the roof Mohammad began to play a drum and sing. He taught us some dances. We were speaking to him in Spanish as he though all of us were Spaniards.
Entering Nubian country, we floated along the stream, dodging boulders and seeing warning signs in Arabic about the current and crocodiles. We arrived at the dock of the Nubians and I ran up the sandy hill to catch up with Mohammad who had gone up ahead. The town was very pretty with painted houses and women in Muslim dress. There were dozens of camel riders, each one offering a ride to the tourists. We walked together into a Nubian house with an open dirt patio. In the center were glass cages housing crocodiles. I got to hold one which I kissed and put on my head. Mohammad knew everyone in the village. We got henna tattoos while sipping on mint tea.
Outside, we ran into everyone from our group. They already had to go and were getting to take our time. We all mounted on camels, the girls in front and then got the longest camel ride I've ever had. Veronica and I shared a camel that seemed to be lopsided as I kept slipping off. We said goodbye to the village and got back on the boat.
We pulled into a deeper part of the Nile, still close to the shore and went swimming for the next hour. I did a flip off the top of the boat and then swam with Antonio to a large rock about 30 yards away. The girls and Mohammad swam over too.
Sun bathing on the deck on the way back to the cruise ship, I felt like a king. Back safely on our cruise ship, I said thanks to Mohammad and paid him 10 euros for the incredible morning.
Back on board we only had about 30 minutes to wait before our last lunch. I took a hot shower and changed into the one nice shirt I'd brought along for the trip. Antonio and I entered the dining room a little early and said hi to Hussein, our waiter and then got to take pictures with the chefs. We loaded up the plates with more delicious food and sat down. I wanted to make a toast, and once everyone was seated I "ting, tinged," my glass, stood up, suddenly nervous, and delivered an unprepared free form speech. Although grammatically incorrect, I said thanks to our guide, crew members and for everyone else who had put up with our crazy antics. I got a big round of applause.
In the next two hours before having to leave the boat, we cleaned up our rooms and packed our bags. I sat upstairs talking with some of the people. At 4 we had to leave the boat. I had had an absolutely amazing time and was already missing it. I shook hands with the crew members and gave one last long look at the Nile before boarding the bus.
I fell asleep on the drive to the airport. There were a lot of groups all heading to Cairo. We had to wait around for a while before boarding our plane for Cairo. The pilot came in screaming fast, but everything went well with the landing. Landing in the capital city were were met by more representatives from Royal Vacaciones. After having to wait and fight to the front to get our luggage, we then walked a couple hundred yards, dodging the traffic to our bus parked up on the hill. The bus would take us to two hotels, Pyramids Park and Grand Pyramids, both in the neighboring city of Giza on the other side of the Nile. Were were assigned rooms and told what to do once we arrived at the hotel.
The 5 start hotel was lavish, extravagant and the most luxurious place I've stayed in this year. With is huge swimming pool, Bedouin tents and incredible conference halls, the hotel's wealth was matched in size only by the surrounding area's poverty. Our room was posh with a flat screen TV and balcony overlooking the yard. Housekeeping brought in more towels and extended the couch into a bed for Chupi as we were sleeping three in the room. We tried swimming in the pool, but were told that it closed at 6:00pm.
The girls were going to be meeting up with an Egyptian friend who had studied at UCSD, so Chupi, Antonio and I had a guys night out. Our hotel was 4o kilometers from the center of the city, so out on the street we caught a taxi. "75 pounds," he told us. "15," we replied. "OK." We jumped in and sped off in the worst car I'd ever been in. Smelling of gasoline, no seat belts and a driver who swayed back and forth on the road, I accepted the fact that I was already dead and found a surprising calm as we sped at high velocity over the bridge to Cairo.
We asked him to drop us in the center next to the main square. Having no plans, we decided to wander around. After passing the area dominated by globalization, we got into the poorer, local neighborhoods. We stopped at a nut store and ate some pistachios while drinking water. We found a back alley with tables of men smoking hookah. We sat down at a table and without sharing a common language with the waiter ordered beers and a hookah. We were invited into the shop itself and sat with a few men. One of the guys spoke English and we talked to him a little. We hung out for a while, talking about the trip so far. We then decided to go back to the hotel around 3:00 as we would be getting up at 7:00 to see the pyramids.
Our taxi ride back was even crazier than the first one as we sped through Cario at night, not stopping for a single red light. The driver didn't actually know where he was going, but we eventually made it back to the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment