We arrived at Aswan around 11 am. It's a much nicer city than Cairo, but it only has a half million people. We had a few boat rides on the Nile, it was beauiful, 33 degrees but did not feel that hot. We were taken to Elephantine Island, the largest island on the Nile. It was amaing to go through the community and have a meal served by a nubian family in their home. The lady of the house did henna on my hand after the meal. The nubians are different from other Egyptians in that they are of half egyptin desent and half african. 75 % of them now rely on tourism. It was an amazing experience. I will try to upload photos because there are no words for this experience.
I got my camel ride today! nothing much like riding a horse. only a blanket, no saddle, so I felt like I was about to slip off, and of course I was fairly high off the ground. Camels are actually pretty noisy and their noises sound kind of angry. The boy who was my camel walking partner gave my camel quite a whipping to speed him up. This made me very nervous because fast is more scary than walking pace. I think he was punishing me because I wore a tank top, so he could see my shoulders. A huge cultural no-no. Some people in our group were naming their camels and it was really all very funny. My biceps are sore because I had a death grip on the 'saddle horn'. it was exciting, but I was very relieved to get off!! It was cool also because we were in the desert and the sun was setting. There's nothing like it.
Our tour group leader calls us the "Champions", so I feel like quite a hero!
Right now I'm sitting on the roof-top of the hotel, overlooking the Nile. It's 8pm - which is 1 pm in winnipeg. Across the nile is desert and a hill with the tombs of ancient princes. it's stunning at night.
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