SAILING THE NILE IN A DAHABYIA

OCTOBER 2015-PART 5

Dearest Friends & Family,

The morning after the visit to Edfu was to be a full day of sailing.  With sails billowing we slowly sailed towards Aswan headed to a spot called Sa Sila.  It was a great day of leisure and relaxation as we passed scene after scene along the way.

Donkeys & Cattle On An Island Grazing

 I found it fascinating that all along the river on small to large islands there were cattle and donkeys grazing. I was told they are loaded in boats in the morning bringing them here with the reverse happening in the evening to take them back to the villages. I would've loved to have seen the boats loaded with animals, but we were never by an island at the right time of day. 

Larger Island

Grass Huts For Shelter On the Bank

Over the days the journey progressed I learned more and more German words.  One of the first was the word for cinnamon.  I have it in my coffee each morning and was in the habit of sharing it with Renata so when the rest joined us I offered it to them as well.  I was pronouncing the word as Simnt, but Gabriele said it was actually Tsimnt with a ts sound at the beginning.  As I tried that on for size I spit all over Gabriele!!!! We all had a great laugh over that and from then on I covered my mouth either by my hand or a scarf when trying any of the words with a ts sound at the beginning.  It seemed to me ALL the words I was learning started that way.

Gabriele, Uwe & Me One of
Many Laughs

I knew the word for thank you was Danke, but one day I wanted to say Danke Danke for some assistance and it came out Danke Donkey!!! That became a big joke throughout the rest of the time together.  We had so many laughs each day I cannot remember when I have laughed so much in such a short amount of time.  It was wonderful!!!

Later in the afternoon of the day of sailing as I was taking a snooze in my air conditioned cabin to get away from the unrelenting heat, I realized the boat had stopped and the crew was frantically securing the boat to trees and rocks at the edge of the Nile. Then I could see rain drops in the water through my windows and hear the sloshing of waves against the boat!!!  I promptly ran up on deck in time to witness the lightning and thunder along with the wind and sheets of rain.  Gabriele told me there had been a sand storm just prior. I could feel the wind still held tiny grains of sand.  The village people started gathering on the bank to watch the action waving at us until the rain and wind became too much.  We watched the storm for a bit then retired to the salon below as the rain was soaking the deck as well as us!!

After the storm was over we assessed the situation to find varying amounts of water coming through the ceiling into our cabins and the salon.  These boats are not built to shield against torrential rainfall because it is such a rare occurrence.  Meanwhile the crew was working madly on deck to mop up the water to stop the leakage.  

I had very little water in my cabin, but across from me in cabin 5 Heike’s mattress was soaked, so I offered the mattress I was not using to take its place.  I was willing to have the boards of the bed exposed but the captain would have none of that insisting on putting a sheet, duvet and pillow over it so it looked like a sunken bed.  Once back up on deck we realized the storm had broken the heat wave and it was deliciously cool.

Relaxing 

Laughing

 Chatting

I was so happy for the day at sail because I really had an opportunity to speak with and get to know Gabriele.  She and I really connected as we discovered we are spiritual sisters of the heart and have a mutual soul connection to Egypt.  I am so blessed with people who have come into my life in the past few years and who turned out to be kindred souls and dear friends to join with the ones I have have been blessed with for a long time.  The song comes to mind: “Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.”  Through alchemy of the heart silver turns to gold.

As the sun was setting we reached Sa Sila, a temple built by the pharaoh Horemheb, celebrating primarily the god Amun but also other various gods and goddesses of the Nile.  He built it for the workers of the sandstone quarries to have a place to worship. But more about that in the next blog.

Sa Sila Under The Full Moon

Much Love To You All,

Sara/Mom/Grandma Syrup