... taking a leisurely sail along the Nile. According to my journal, even ordinary sailing days had a fair share of excitement ...
SAILING, SICKNESS, AND A CASUALTY
As we are sailing all day I made my way to the sun deck to sit in the shade and read. My interest in the book soon waned. The passing scenery was not to be missed. Blot out the noise of the ship's engine and erase the odd tractor, Peugeot or lorry from the landscape, and I was sure nothing had changed for 4000 years.
The hot afternoon sun was on the point of driving me to my bed for a siesta when there was a thud. The ship's engine stopped and our bow began to drift towards the bank. Next, the sun deck was awash with men in crew uniforms all frantically pulling up the floorboards. At least eight of these sailors I had never seen before - where did they all come from? - more to the point, with all the cabins occupied, where did they all sleep and eat?
Furniture was piled high and moved around and we passengers found ourselves in the way. Not that we were told we were an obstacle - the Egyptians were far too polite.
The chain that linked the rudder to the helm had broken - that was the thud. With the full chain and cable exposed, it was a simple matter of loosening the double screws to provide some slack, re-arranging the chain and then tightening the screws. A fellow traveller, who insisted on introducing himself as I— (I'm in civil engineering, you know), took great pains to explain the technicalities to me in minute detail. All I really wanted to know was whether the problem could be fixed or not. As far as I could see, the sailors were only doing what I do to the washing line when it gets worn in one particular spot!
I— (I'm in civil engineering, you know), droned on and on. I nodded and smiled in what I thought were all the right places. Meanwhile, the crew busied themselves, replaced the floorboards and then returned from whence they had come.
Despite that piece of excitement, I have to report that the sick list had grown considerably and now included the boat. I counted that, excluding myself, there were only five other passengers who were still healthy. Well, they did all partake of the street food the other day. I stuck with Moz's Maxim - if the food is not cooked and you can't wash it yourself, don't eat it. As Moz had worked and travelled all over the Middle East and North Africa, I set great store by his advice.
Needing some quiet, I returned to the cabin and sat outside undisturbed. It was very nice of the few Fellow Travellers to speak to me as they passed on a tour of the deck. But, I don't mind being by myself. I was perfectly content floating upriver, quietly taking in everything I possibly could. I sat and watched the clumps of lotus flowers floating on the eddies and contemplated the very blue and completely cloudless sky.
On a sandbank was a dead water buffalo, rotting in the heat and being pecked at by the birds. Wealth, to a certain extent, can be measured in terms of animals. A donkey is low on the scale, with oxen or water buffalo about the middle, and a camel the most valuable. That rotting animal probably represented a family's life savings.
Our Captain decided to continue sailing as he had been warned that the water level in the river was to be lowered at midnight on the thirtieth. We still have to negotiate the most difficult lock at Abydos. It seems we will be sailing for most of the night, eventually docking at about 3.00 am...
There will be more from my Egyptian journal over the coming weeks. If you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy my earlier posts about Cairo Giza Solar Sailing Tell-el-Amarna Assiut and Egypt generally - just click the links.
Interesting observations!
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