It was my first time on an overnight cruise. It was relaxing and enjoyable. Three days were just nice, more could be a bore as there was nothing really much to do other than eat, sleep, relax, read and play games perhaps, and of course enjoy the nice scenery along the way.
At Esna, about 55km south of Luxor, we came to a lock. There was quite a jam with ships waiting for their turn to go through the lock. It was about a 3-hour wait for us and by the time our turn came to cross, it was 7:45pm.
While the jam was piling up at the lock, traders came in droves on their boats to sell goods, mainly clothes and shawls, to the passengers. Pretty interesting and enterprising I would say. They would throw the goods, wrapped in plastic bags, up to the passengers on the sun deck or into the respective rooms. If you decide to buy, then put the money into the plastic bag of goods which you want to return. These people are good at ‘catching’ the packages. However, should the package drop into the sea, they would use a long pole to ‘fish’ it out. It was quite a sight, especially when people started to negotiate at the top of their voice. And indeed a tough and rough way of eking out a living.
Traders displaying their goods beforethrowing them up in a plastic bag
At the lock in Esna, with the gate closed
At the lock , with the gate opened, ready to move on
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