Before boarding our felucca in Aswan, we took a camel ride (the first of several on the trip) and then headed for dinner at a Nubian family’s home. Riding a camel alongside the Nile is an enjoyable sunset activity… until it is time to dismount and rather than lowering to its front knees in a graceful manner, your camel chooses to drop to the ground in one swift move and you nearly go catapulting in the sand. But that’s just details. Dinner at the home of a Nubian family turned out to be fantastic. 

Not only did they have pet crocodiles that we got to hold (so very random, and yes the Crocs shirt is just a coincidence), but after dinner they played music and we all danced. And while I am certain they do this with every tour group that passes through their home, it was so jovial and genuine. The young girls in the family wanted to hold hands with all of the women in our group and we danced in circles and looked ridiculous without a care in the world. It was a great time.

Bright and early the next morning we traveled by boat from Aswan on our way to Luxor. We sailed down the Nile on a felucca with our tour group, a captain, and his assistant. Despite claims that tourists should never swim in the Nile and our tour guide made it seem like he could get in trouble by doing so, once we got out of town we all jumped in for a little swim. We did flips off the boat, swam for a bit, and then one girl on our trip got the genius idea to tow the lifesaver behind the felucca. At one point the lifesaver broke in half, but while it lasted it was an adventurous time on the Nile!

We spent the day on the boat watching small towns and ancient temples pass us by. We played cards, napped, read books, and watched the sun set. We helped prepared meals on board and docked for the evening on the shores of the Nile alongside other feluccas. We slept on the boat and with the balmy summer temperatures, it was a mild and wonderful evening.

And the following morning we made our final sail into Luxor.

Sailing the Nile in a felucca is one of my most favorite travel memories. I love being on the water and this is a beautiful way to explore the country!