EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 4

Anther day and another early start – yawn – this time from Aswan. This morning we were off on a ferry ride to the Philae Temple, and the Egypt of my imagination.



Philae is actually on an island, so after some cunning evasion tactics to avoid the sellers (shaking my head instead of saying ‘no’ so they don’t know what nationality I am), we hopped onto some seriously dodgy looking ferries to take us over the island.



Unfortunately, two of the sellers were allowed to ride with us so we were a captive audience, but we did bag the bargain of the day with 12 colourful bracelets for £1 (or 10 Egyptian pounds – what a surprise!).



After our guided tour, we had free time to wander about and I was off and running to get as many fabulous shots as I could. What was nice about this temple was the surrounding scenery that made a fabulous backdrop; bright white and vibrant pink bouganvillia, and the water behind as well as the odd flea-bitten moggy sunbathing on the warm stones.



Apparently Philae is one of the islands that was flooded when the Aswan Dam was made and the temple now stands on the island of Agilika just opposite. I’d wandered down to look across to the original site when one of the policemen beckoned me to one side. He lead me off behind one of the old ruins and seemed to be heading into the bushes so I decided that I was much more interested in the main temple in the other direction and made a quick getaway!



The other curiosity at Philae is Trajans Kiosk which is a separate temple within the grounds. Yahya told us that it used to be submerged almost entirely and when he was a boy (a very long while ago!) they used to row boats in between the capitals of the columns because the water was so high – what a fabulous memory to have.



As we arrived back on the mainland, we spotted a group of tourists in high viz lifejackets. All became clear when we saw the Saga flag waving at the front of the group so we all laughed smugly to ourselves, but devine retribution wasn’t far away that evening…



We pushed our way through the sellers who clammering for our attention within the fenced area, but these were a lot less persistent than the others we’d encountered so far. There were loads of them including small kids who ran after us shouting ‘Luvly Jubbly’ and ‘See you later alligator’. Everything they had was 10 Egyptian pounds!



Without further ado it was off to the Aswan High Dam which was responsible for flooding the original site of Philae as well as Abu Simbel and other temples in it’s path. I suppose this is an amazing achievement of modern science but honestly, I was more interested in the yellow flowers.



After lunch we set off for our felucca ride - did I mention I don’t like boats?? We walked along the quay and down towards what looked like a few bits of wood with a sail – eek! Even the colourful ferries moored next to us started to look more robust and I was seriously concerned as we set off with way more people than I’m sure is strictly legal!





Actually, despite my initial reservations, it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. We bobbed along gently in the breeze taking in all the wildlife and the sights such as the Nubian island in the middle of the Nile. Of course it wasn’t long before one of the crew got out his collection of bracelets and beads for us to buy as well as wooden crocodiles. I’d forgotten about those…



We’d chosen one of the optional excursions to the botanical gardens and then Mango island. The botanical gardens weren’t as interesting or colourful as I’d imagined, but they were worth a look if only for the gorgeous little kittens which seem to have taken over the island.



There was a huge collection of trees including one that looked like it was made of curtains, but not many flowers which I prefer. We did also see a strange looking bird that had a long thin beak like a woodpecker. One of our group suggested we tempt over one of the cats so we could get a photo of it in flight – how mean!





We only stayed 45 minutes or so at the Botanical gardens but that was long enough for me, but it wasn’t until we were leaving that I realised there was a huge section we’d missed – what a pair of wallies.



Mango Island was our next stop where we were to be greeted with a glass of Mango juice and then have some have traditional Nubian coffee and cake overlooking the Nile.



We had a few minutes free time and although it wasn’t long enough to wander far, I did come across a superb water pitcher that might have been in my handbag if it hadn’t been so enormous!



We were also allowed to help ourselves to citrus fruit from the trees, but as fresh fruit was one of the mainstays of the buffet onboard, I didn’t bother. However, the highlight of my afternoon was passing the camel caravan.



I wish I wasn’t such a cowardy custard as there was an optional excursion later in the week of a camel ride with a visit to a traditional family house. Unfortunately, I am terrified of the beasts – even more so when I realised they were fully grown Arabian camels rather than the babies we’d seen in Morocco. Eek to say the least.



When we got back to the quay just beside our boat, the MS Fleurette, there was a rather heated exchange between our guide and the policeman who pushed us back out on the water and wouldn’t let us dock. Fortunately, a quick call to the boat and we found ourselves climbing up onto the roof of our ferry and making a daring leap onto the wrong side of the boat like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean (our tour leader even had the Jack Sparrow style teeth)!



Darkness comes early in Egypt in the winter, so it was only 5pm as we made our way back to Philae for the sound and light show. The white boats looked stunning against the inky black background, and lent the ride across to the island a thrilling quality.



The temple at night was beautiful with all the etchings and columns lit up in shades of red, gold and blue, but I can’t say I was that enthralled by the storytelling. The (vocal) acting was of a quality last seen in Crossroads and just wasn’t gripping. Perhaps we were disappointed because we’d only visited that morning and heard virtually the same things, but this is one to miss in my book.



It was on the way back that we were to all pay penance for laughing at the Saga group earlier in the day when our boat started to cough and splutter only a few minutes into the journey back to the mainland. All sorts of nightmare scenarios involving crocodiles, sea creatures (mythical and geographically impossible) and the diseases likely to be caused by drinking untreated Nile water were discussed before we finally limped back to port. PHEW.

At dinner, we somehow got onto the subject of the most common time to die which apparently is 3:33am. As we were due for a 3am wake up call the next morning for our trip to Abu Simbel, we were quite relieved that the early start might save our lives. Rick thought that when the call came through, we should 'choose life' which just goes to show which era we grew up in!