Yesterday we were taken by horse and carriage to The Temple of Horus at Edfu. This form of transport is a great way to travel as long as your driver doesn’t think he’s employed by the Pony Express to deliver the US mail in record time.
Our driver seemed to feel that he would please us more by taking the journey at a gallop whenever the traffic would allow. But we reached the temple in one piece and on our return journey he gave us the sedate carriage ride we really wanted.
Our Egyptologist explained the history of seemingly the best preserved temple in Egypt and explained the reason was because for hundreds and hundreds of years it was covered in sand which helped preserve the exterior and interior as perfectly as it is.
He also hit the spot with me when he explained that this was the temple that celebrated the 21 day “Festival of Drunkeness” ( and I would suggest “silly dancing”). Sounds just the place for me!
A nice part of the Nile cruises that Barbara and I have enjoyed previously have been our table companions. This cruise has been no different and we have shared our 8 person table with 3 other interesting and lovely couples. From Helensborough in Scotland there is Patti and Roy who are enjoying their honeymoon on board ship. From Bath there is Linda and John and from Harrogate there is Melissa and Chris. All of them have travelled extensively throughout the world but all of them always harboured a desire to visit Egypt and cruise the Nile. They have all said that both the Royal Viking and the excursions have more than lived up to their expectations. Chris and Melissa are off to Cairo tomorrow for 3 nights and then travel on to El Gouna on the Red Sea for a further 4 nights. The rest of us fly home tomorrow.
We have had some really fun evenings together sitting out on the sundeck under the stars in the warm night air just talking, laughing and swapping stories about our travels and the mishaps that life throws at you.
I’m writing this on Sunday, again up on the sundeck, enjoying a cappuccino in the warm air of Luxor. Later we are going to visit some of the hotels in Luxor that we sell in order to get a better knowledge and feel for each property.
Tomorrow we sadly have to leave Egypt and fly home and on Tuesday re-open the Nile-Cruises-4u offices and get back to normal. In the meantime it’s another coffee for me and a last few hours of relaxation aboard the excellent Royal Viking.
