Picture the scene: sitting on the banks of the Nile, puffing on the sheesha pipe after another delicious meal on board our dahabeah, and slowly winding down after a hard day of eating delicious food, lounging on cushions, napping in hammocks, sipping lime juice and swimming in the Nile.
This description, free of embellishment, accurately describes just one evening of our five day sail boat cruise along the Nile. Even Sarah was relaxed enough by the end of the day to give the sheesha pipe a try.
Typically, we’d visit a temple in the morning and go for a walk in the afternoon. One day, we did a particularly fun desert walk, working up a rare sweat on an otherwise totally undemanding cruise.
The dahabiyah isn’t the only (or the cheapest) way to cruise the Nile from Luxor to Aswan, but it is the best. The pace recreates the lifestyle of a bygone era and I’ve rarely been as relaxed as I was on that boat. Other options are the felucca and the large cruise ship, but the former has no amenities and the latter goes much faster, missing much of what is of interest along the Nile, because the ship is too large to moor along the riverbank.
We were lucky to be travelling on the same boat as a very nice Australian family. After five days and nights of eating and chatting with Alex and Amy, we had become pretty good friends. Their boisterous son, Lachlan, was a godsend for Eloïse. The two of them kept each other entertained for the entirety of the trip, which made things much easier for us, as we only had to keep an eye on Lucas.
The only other passengers on the boat were four Italians, also very nice people. We got to know them less well, because of the language barrier, but it was still good to get to know them. The entire party ate their meals together, which says a lot about how well we all got on.
The crew were fantastic, paying close attention to the children to make sure they weren’t in any danger. The deck had low railings, so Lucas in particular was in danger of falling over the side. Thankfully, he never really came close to doing so.
On the final evening of the cruise, the chef baked a birthday cake for Lucas (eighteen days early, but who’s counting?) and this was presented to him by the entire crew, singing, dancing and playing musical instruments. I was dumbstruck. It was truly an unforgettable moment and one I’ll cherish for many years to come. Our little boy didn’t really know what to make of all the fuss, but he did seem to like the cake.
All good things come to an end and so, too, did the cruise. It was a bittersweet moment. We said goodbye to the crew, tipped them generously for their hard work and fantastic service, and then bade a fond farewell to our new found friends, the Australians.
This was truly an unforgettable trip and I must give a plug for Nour El Nil, the company that organised it. If you want to cruise the Nile in style, I can wholeheartedly recommend this company.