Felucca trip up the Nile

Felluca on the Nile
see all photos »

We arrived in Aswan at around 11am on the overnight train from Cairo. We had just spent the last two weeks visiting the sites in and around Cairo: Giza (the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx), Saqqara, The Egyptian Museum and Old Cairo. This was the start of what would turn out to be a six week tour of Egypt. The plan was to head down to Aswan to visit the famous site of Abu Simbel and to take a Felucca cruse up the Nile River to Edfu and Luxor, then continue by local bus to the Red Sea port of Hurghada and then Sharm El Shiek.

Our first day together on the Felluca with Capt Moustache behind drinking my beer
see all photos »

As soon as we stepped off the train in Aswan we were met by a very friendly Egyptian man who happened to be a Felucca Captain with the colourful nickname of Captain English Moustache. He explained he could take 6 people on a 3 day cruise up the Nile. I wasn’t about to take the first offer from a strange man in a train station so we politely told him we would consider his offer. While visiting the sites around Aswan over the next several days, we met up with like minded travelers that were interested in taking a Felucca cruise. Before long we had our group of 6 people. We made our day trip to Abu Simbel and the Temple of Philea with our new friends and had great fun hanging out around Aswan in the evenings together. While this was going on we were constantly approached by Felucca captains with equally colourful nicknames like Captain Bob Marley and Captain Kangaroo. However, we kept running into our friend from the train station Captain Moustache. We decided to take a trial sail with him for about an hour one afternoon. There was a good wind that day and we were impressed by the sailing skills of Capt Moustache and his 1st mate that we nicknamed Gilligan. At the end of our outing we agreed to go with Captain Moustache and Gilligan to Edfu. Now that we had our Felucca trip planned the other Captains in town seemed to try even harder to get our business. They told us that our Captain was “a bad man” that had been to jail for stealing. This concerned us at first but we dismissed it as being gamesmanship and kept to our original plan.

Felucca cruse up the Nile River to Edfu and Luxor

Our crew with Captain Moustache at the cafe
see all photos »

The day came for our felucca trip and our group of six showed up at the appointed time and place. Captain Moustache was there with Gilligan but they had a companion with a backpack that stood off to the side. We soon learned that this was a hopeful traveler that wanted to join our group. However, we felt it wasn’t right to add a stranger to our group at the last minute and so he had to pick up his pack and leave for the next boatload. He didn't have to go far; Captain Bob Marley was setting off the same morning and was happy to take on another passenger. We boarded our felucca which had been fully provisioned with our meals for the next three days; this consisted of fruits, vegetables, rice, beans, yoghurt and bread. We chose not to have meat in our menu since refrigeration wouldn’t be possible. However, we brought along our own liquid refreshments - mostly in the form of beer and bottled water.

Our felucca on shore
see all photos »

We set off from Aswan on a crystal clear morning with a slight breeze and settled down to enjoy the sights that would greet us along the banks of the ancient Nile. It was interesting to watch people going about their daily routines on the Nile: farmers operating simple irrigation equipment that probably hadn’t changed for centuries, while a group of farm labourers washed their crop in the river and families bathed their children and washed their clothes.

The sailing was slow an easy, following the upstream flow of the river. Captain Moustache's demeanour had now changed from serious and concerned Captain of a sailboat at work to a relaxed passenger while Gilligan took care of the sail and rudder. Capt Moustache then appeared on deck with a purple tie-died shirt with a picture of Bob Marley. He then started to sing reggae song: "Don't worry about a ting, cause every little ting gonna be alright", he was obviously quite high!

Gilligan at work
see all photos »

As the evening approached we headed for the shore to camp for the night. A fire was prepared and we shared a simple meal of salad, hummus, vegetable stew and bread. As night fell, a fire was built and we settled down for some impromptu entertainment. Capt moustache first told us a story called: "Crocodile in de Nile". I’ll try and re-tell the Capt moustache version: Crocodile in de Nile is hungry and he sees monkey in a tree by the river bank. He knows that the monkey wants the fruit from the tree on the other side. So he says to monkey: I will give you a ride on my back to cross the river so you can have the fruit. Monkey says to crocodile: No you just want to kill me and eat my libber (liver?). Crocodile in de Nile says: No I just want you to cross so you can bring some fruit to me. So monkey jumps on the back of Crocodile in de Nile. He swims to the middle of the river and says to monkey: Foolish monkey, now I will kill you and eat your libber. Monkey then tells Crocodile in de Nile: I don’t have my libber; I left it back on the other side, if you return I will go home and get it. Crocodile in de Nile then swims back. Monkey, jumps off of his back and climbs high into the branches. Another felucca party then joined us and we then enjoyed drumming and singing put on by the two crews. It was a magical evening

Iife on the riverbank
see all photos »

We slept on the deck of the felucca and awoke early in the morning. My wife was up first and so was Capt. Moustache. He decided that it was a good time to try and chat-up my wife since all women from North America are easy pickings. She decided to feign sleep and lay back down beside me. The next day's sailing was very hot and sticky. We were encouraged to go swimming but nobody took up the challenge, explaining that they'd read about a nasty parasite in the Nile that takes up house in a persons libber (liver). Capt Moustache just laughed at us and jumped right in.

Felucca on the Nile
see all photos »

We spent another night of fireside entertainment and sleeping on deck. It was interesting to watch the cruise ships and wonder what their passengers thought of our chosen method of travel. I wouldn't have traded places with them for the world! We felt like we were having a real adventure, sharing a truly memorable experience that seemed authentically Egyptian.

The third day passed like the others until around noon when we headed to shore for what we assumed was a toilet stop. Captain Moustache then announced: "Ok we have arrived". We were not ready for it to end. Our magical trip had ended and we were all disappointed. We hadn't been prepared for the fact that it was coming to a close.

I am so grateful that I was able to share this exceptional experience with my wife. I urge anyone that has ever dreamed of taking a trip off the beaten path to do so. You don't regret the things you do; only those things you don't do.

I feel grateful to this day for this memory