Day 7 - I've fallen for you, felucca! (Nov 11)

We woke up to tea and breakfast in the morning after having slept quite well on the boat. We set sail and lazily zigzagged back and forth down the Nile for most of the day.

We stopped in a small village called Agaba, where Ramadan is from. He took us to his family's house there, where we met his mother and grandmother. They served us hot hibiscus tea and we sat on a mat in the mostly unroofed living area. There were several baskets of hibiscus flowers, in need of having the petals peeled, so I asked if we could help. Soon everyone was in on the fun, and we sat around chatting and picking the petals. Eventually, his mother and grandmother joined us, and though there was a language barrier, it was clear to read their warmth and hospitality from their faces. After an hour or so and with dark pink fingertips, we headed back to the felucca again.

At one bathroom break (at a cow pasture...watch out for patties!), we met up with another felucca, and their very animated guide, Ayob (ee-yop). He invited us to another Nubian village called Dawar (?) for an extra 20LE, and we all thought it would be worth it. He took us to an amazing house there, that even with dirt and concrete floors and no roof in places, was like a mansion. Beautiful decorations and wall coverings made of dried fruits adorned every nook you could find. We saw the kitchen, and how they store and prepare foods like flour and cheese. Apparently, the building has become somewhat of a community center, and there are regular meetings and weddings held here. The sad news came when we learned the patriarch of the house had passed just 2 months earlier, followed by his wife one month after that.

From there, they took us to a tea and coffee shop, and we each got one for free, as included in the aforementioned fee. We were carted around with the guests on the other felucca as well (a couple Germans, a couple Americans Amy and Jason, and a couple of Vietnamese girls) by a rickety and small tuk tuk-type truck with two bench seats in the covered-but-doorless back end.

Back at the boat, dinner was waiting...camel! I tried a bit, and, well, I guess it was something like beef, but darker and a bit more flavorful. I tried it to say I tried it, but ate vegetables and rice for the main part. After dinner, we danced on the bow of the boat to what sounded like Reggae-style music, had some sweets and drinks, and at midnight, they sang happy birthday to me, followed by an Arabic happy birthday song from Ayob. It was a wonderful and memorable way to start my 26th year.