What the heck does that mean and who are the Texas Devils?
Well the Texas Devils are an American Air Force couple who are on a two year stint in Russia completing a Master’s Degree and enjoying life in St. Peterburg. They have a truly interesting blog at the Texas Devils Blog and in February they took a Nile Cruise and when I read it I thought that maybe our readers would enjoy it to.
Here’s their post and you can read it on the Texas Devils website by clicking here. They’ve got some great photos too.
Thanks to Courtney for her kind permission to reproduce their story.
_____________________________________________________________
The cruise was fantastic. Hands down. The Olmsted Foundation encourages independent and cheap travel. A Nile cruise is neither. They hold your hand at every step, serve you, cater to every whim with an “of course, Sir!” and, in summary, are totally awesome. After almost killing ourselves with stupidity in Tunisia, we needed it.
So, join us on the deck of the Nile Adventurer. Not bad, eh? In Egypt, luxury is well done, and available at middle-class prices. The staff were very helpful, and not in that “yes Sir, but secretly I want to kill you” way. I honestly felt that the Egyptians were some of the most hospitable people I have ever met.
As you can see, the Nile is not short on beauty, especially at sunset. The incredible thing is the strip of green life near the river, and the total lack of vegetation after that. They say that the Nile has no tributaries within Egypt… think about that for a second. Crazy, huh?
All along the way you see herders and farmers who live off the river, all pretty much entirely without rain.
The river isn’t just fancy cruise boats… the Egyptians WORK here too. Check out the agricultural boat above.
Every town we passed would come alive when the boats floated along. Women were washing clothes in the river, and children would shout “HALLO! HAAAAALLO!” to the boats. They weren’t satisfied until we waved back. In Egypt, you start to think that everyone just wants your money after a while. These kids had no way to get your money, they just wanted to interact. I really liked them – they would run alongside the boat for almost a mile.
The Nile has lochs, thanks to development. Here you see our Chinese friend, Sherry, stealing the spotlight from Courtney. Meanwhile, the lochs are lowering our boat to avoid the rapids near Edfu. Not pictured, hundreds of Edfu residents are trying to sell us stuff to the right.
And, BOY HOWDY! The Egyptians know how to sell stuff. All I can say is, WOW. When the boats are at rest, they paddle rowboats out to the cruise ships and start hawking goods to the upper decks. The photo above pictures Muhammed, a very clever yet honest salesman who negotiated with me for 1 hour on the price of an authentic Egyptian Gallabeya (the “robe-thing” that he is wearing). They would toss their goods on board the ship from below, and trust the tourists to throw them back if they didn’t suit them. All merchants wanted Dollars or Euros instead of Egyptian Pounds, but the prices were lower if you negotiated in pounds. Muhammad succeeded in selling me and Courtney our party outfits for the “Egyptian night” on board the ship – all for less than $20. It was truly a crazy scene, as merchants would literally throw silk, dresses, and carpets at the boat and then negotiate prices.
“My firriend! My Firrrriend! This good cotton! best in world!” “I normal take $30, but you my firrriend! How about $20!!!!”
In Egypt, everyone who sells stuff is your “good friend.” Especially of Americans. We told them we were Russian, and the price dropped right away! Thanks, Russia!
Here you can see the final product! Not bad, eh?
And finally, the whole crew! We were well-acquainted with some truly interesting British and Chinese travelers. All-in-all, we were blessed with such a fun group. I wish all of the passengers and crew of the Nile Adventurer, Feb 2008, the best! Thanks for the great trip!
