EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 6

Today was a day of rest which was just as well. We were all shattered after Abu Simble and the fun and games of our Egyptian night, so my plan was to plonk myself on the sundeck and indulge in a spot of people watching.



I was thrilled to discover that when we’d docked in Esna, we were just opposite a small shop, café and stall selling what looked like bread so it was fascinating to watch the locals go about their business.



For me, the best bit were the Donkeys. I’d been offered 50 donkeys for my aunt by one of the sellers at the Valley of the Kings but they looked quite malnourished so it didn’t seem like a very good deal to me. The ones pulling the carts of grass and milk churns didn’t look much better, but they were amazingly speedy.



The afternoon was spent cruising down the Nile back to Luxor. It was really interesting to see how the locals lived and Yahya told us that the reason there are so many unfinished houses in Egypt is because you only start paying tax once the building is complete. What a cunning plan! He also told us that the average wage is 400 Egyptian Pounds a month - about £55.



There was a bit of wind on the sun deck so after spying on the natives for a while, we headed down to the lounge bar for a spot of tea and a look at the DVD that had been filmed of our cruise. It was weird because I hadn’t even really noticed them filming but they’d managed to capture most of the trip including Jane wearing her Dumbledore cloak!



The sunset over the Nile that night was one of the best we’d had and I was really pleased that we were stationary so that I can snap away and be sure of a decent photo. The tiny fishing boats in the foreground really made it for me.