Julian was already "templed out" and had decided to give Abu Simbel a miss in favour of the extra hours in bed. As it turned out he had spent the extra hours throwing up and sitting on the toilet. Something to do with the Lamb we assume. He had already checked out of the hotel when we got back and we found him asleep on the deck of the Felucca we had booked for the next leg of our journey.
We had been expecting to be joined by another Australian couple - but apparently they had deferred their trip a couple of days so it was just the three of us and a guy from Taiwan who had been coincidentally on the same bus tour as Tim and I. The captain's name was Mohammed (most common name in the world Tim tells me) but is known as "Ziggy" - after Bob Marley's son. Their Felucca sailed under a Bob Marley flag and the crew/cook who was Ziggy's cousin had the dreads and the attitude.
The normal schedule is to start around lunch time, but because we didn't get started until late in the afternoon we only a few hours of daylight. We drifted slowly down river, it was peaceful and relaxing and very enjoyable. Julian opened his eyes for a few minutes to greet us but slept most of the day. It got cold as soon as the sun went down so we covered ourselves in rugs. It was a family business - so they travelled in a Flotilla with the three other Feluccas that they owned and we moored on the river bank next to the others. They had a fire going and were already drinking beers and singing songs - but due to our early start and Julian's sickness we were all curled up asleep and missed the fun.
We didn't sleep that well though - as the night wore on the cold set in. Tim and I doubled up so we could both be under two blankets. Tim had been a very effective hot water bottle for me as a baby and I recalled him to duty.
The meals were simple vegetable meals - felaffel the first night and some cutlets made out of egg and bread for breakfast. Always accompanied with the dry pita bread that we liked at the start and have become very sick of as the trip has progressed.
Julian was feeling better as the day progressed. It was a very pleasant peaceful morning - although we spent a lot of it discussing economic and political theories. We had lunch on a small island and got off to stretch our legs and acquaint ourselves with the passengers of the other boats. One boat was full of a group of old school friends from Washington DC who had spread out around the world over time and got together to visit one of them who was now living in Cairo. The other was a mix of US, French-Canadians and a guy from Mt Barker in Adelaide.
In the afternoon a trip to a camel market was on offer. We weren't expecting much from it - but the boys went along really just so they could hang out with the others - I stayed on the boat to get some quiet time and read. I haven't had much of a chance since the boys arrived and was happy for some quiet. They were pretty dissappointed when they got back - the market had been four lazy camels in a pen. But they had had some laughs with the others who had purchased some camel meat for dinner at a stall in town. They also learnt the Egyptian equivalent of "in your dreams" "Fel Mish Mish" which apparently literally translates to "When the Apricots blossom". According to one of the Americans if you use this they knock 40 pounds off the price just for knowing it. We have been waiting for a chance to use it ever since.
We moored on the river the second night just short of Kom Ombo. Apparently the port itself is very noisy and crowded with cruise boats so we didn't go all the way there. Another camp fire with the other passengers. We had a few beers and plenty of laughs and a very good time. They were very good company and one of them put it very well when he said - "We Americans aren't to well thought of around the world at the moment - but hell look at us, we are just a bunch of ordinary guys who want to share some beers." They were interesting and amusing and we had a very pleasant evening. We double up on the blankets but still slept poorly due to the cold and the noise. There seemed to be an alnight party downstream on the cruise boats with terrible music just a bit too loud for us to ignore.
Still - we woke in reasonably good cheer feeling fresh and happy - before floating the last half hour to our final destination.