After breakfast on the train we arrived in Aswan
and headed to the Nile Hotel, which as the name suggested, looked out over the Nile. We stopped for a quick meeting in the restaurant,
where a massive group of tourists all sporting matching T-shirts were sitting
quietly while we cackled away at Sam retching after tasting some weird Asian
tofu snack Shaun had been given by a new friend from the train. I really like
our group.
We headed out into the sweltering heat for a very quick tour
of the local banks, shops & ATMs, before heading back to the shelter of our
air-conditioned hotel as the temperature climbed to a staggering 50 degrees
Celsius. Though apparently the news never reports a temperature over 45 degrees
or else people are allowed to take the day off work!
Pretty much spent the day sleeping, before heading over the
Nile to take a motorboat tour around Elephantine
Island, so named because
the ivory trade used to take place there or because it's the shape of an elephant's tusk. We picked up our Nubian guide, an
80-year old legend who is mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide. He proceeded to
regale us with the history of the island (most of which I promptly forgot) and
we viewed the tombs and cartouches carved into the rock face, as well as the two flood indicators(nilometers) used to measure the levels of the Nile. We dropped him off before
completing a circuit of the island and stopping at a café situated at the
bottom of a massive sand-dune…which we then had to climb in order to take in
the awesome view of the desert on one side and the Nile and Aswan on the other. It was hot work and we
couldn’t wait to get back to the bottom and jump into the Nile.
Shaun was the only one brave enough to dunk his head under water as we’d been
warned against it by several friends and family members. The American girls
decided to sit it out until they heard from Aly’s grandfather, a travel doctor.
Shaun was happy to hear about the warnings AFTER he had jumped into the river.
I then managed to leave my brand new travel towel hanging over a chair where
I’d placed it to dry – hope they appreciated the “tip”!
We then hopped back on the motorboat and went back to the
island (or the other side, I got a bit confused) where we joined a local family
for a traditional Nubian meal. I’m becoming a big fan of vegetable tajeen
slow-cooked in traditional clay pots. The local houses consist of several
buildings containing the bedrooms, kitchen & bathroom, surrounding an open
central square lined by concrete seats. It had a roofed section with mats on
the ground that served as the lounge area. After stuffing our faces we were
treated to a display of the local wares handmade by the women of the family –
scarves, woven hats, and silk jangly caps. I ended up buying a bright striped
scarf for EGP20 without bargaining, mainly because another Aussie from a
different group bought one for the same price, but also because I didn’t feel
comfortable bargaining in their home in front of everyone. Plus $4 for a
handmade scarf is a pretty good bargain!
It was late by the time we headed back to the hotel, and we
crashed out as soon as we could, aware that we had to get up at 3am the
following day to catch the bus to Abu Simbel.
