ASWAN TO LUXOR
FELUCCA – LUXOR – WEST BANK – HOT AIR BALLOON
Captain Fateh will be your guide for the next 2 nights and 3 days.
Joke was, they had to pull him out of forced retirement due to a
shortage of skilled sailors during the high season.
But in reality..
He was a riot. Pure Personality.
Unbridled Joy.
His smile expresses everything I want to say about Capt. Fateh.
End of day 1.
Sunset on the Nile.
About 20 kilometers north of Aswan.
Our first wake-up in the felucca.
The second day on the Nile.
Sometimes they tie 2 feluccas together for cargo transport.
YouTube of near miss.
No traffic rules on the Nile either.
End of day 2.
Second sunset on the Nile.
On our last night we pulled in with 17 other feluccas for a bonfire and
singalong.
This is the morning after.
Everyone is saying goodbye.
Andrew takes a picture of me, Brad and Nina, and Mandy, as we say goodbye to Capt.
Fateh
After disembarking on our 3rd morning, a minibus transported us to Kom Ombo.
And then to Edfu.
Once in Luxor,
Mandy and I climbed over the mountain in the background (yeah, the one with the
pointy tip),
to get to the Valley of the Kings, and then back over the mountain in the foreground
to
get back to Hapshepsut’s Temple.
Next day I did a Luxor balloon ride at sunrise.
I was told to be ready at 6:15 am.
A knock on my door at 6:10, and the driver says ”Must hurry”.
I’m whisked downstairs to the car.
Careen through town to the ferry.
Quick breakfast on the ferry, then 5 minutes later I’m off the ferry and in a
minivan,
for a 5 minute ride to the takeoff area.
Out of the van into the already inflated balloon, and after 5 minutes of instructions
and getting
settled, we are airborne. Very efficient.
By the time I was finished seeing Tutankhamun’s mummy in his tomb, Tutmosis III’s
tomb,
and several others in the Valley of the King’s, Hapshepsut’s Temple, and several
nobles tombs.
Then the vast temple city of Karnak, and Luxor Temple, I am templed out.
Due to a last minute scheduling change I ended up checking out the Luxor
Museum.
I am glad I did. It is very modern and well laid out.
They should send the persons responsible for this museum to Cairo to bring the
Egyptian Museum into the 21st century.
