A ride on a Felucca

Well, today is going to be a nice and relaxing day.  We are going to get on a felucca and take it up the Nile River.  I get to spend the night on it too.  You know what's weird though?  There is no power on the boat, no food on the boat and no bathroom on the boat.  No worries though, there is a support boat that follows along on our trip.  We tie up to it a few times during the day and go over and eat and get drinks.  We can use the bathroom here too.

A felucca needs the wind to make it go.  It's like a giant sailing mattress.  It's really relaxing.

Here I was laying out in the sun.  Don't worry I put sunscreen on so I wouldn't get a bad sunburn.  I took a little nap.

Look at how tall the felucca sail is.

There's a lot of pretty scenery along the Nile.  The boat stopped at the river bank so I could swim in the river.  It was so cold!  You wouldn't think the river would be freezing, but I didn't stay in very long.

I saw lots of cows and horses hanging out even getting washed by their owners along the river.

See the mosque in the background?

The bridge was built too low so when a sailboat has to cross under, they have to lower their sail to fit underneath.  It's the only bridge for a long way.

This was the support boat that has all the stuff we need.  

I got a little tangled up.

The sun is starting to set and pretty soon we will have to stop for the night.

The sailboats cannot sail in the dark because they don't have any lights and it's really really dark out.

We are going to eat dinner and go to sleep.  In the morning we will finish sailing, get off the boat and head up towards Luxor to see more sights!  Nighty Night!

Flat Stanley's trip to Abu Simbel

I was so sleepy when I woke up so early to head down to Abu Simbel.  Thankfully, I could sleep in the van on the way down and they packed a breakfast for me when I woke up.  There wasn't much to see on the way down because we are traveling through the desert.  It would be so hot if we were stuck out there.  There are actually two temples in Abu Simbel.  One temple is for Ramses II and across the way, one is for his wife Queen Nefertari.

Look how much I have traveled around Egypt already.   Abu Simbel is the very southern city before you go into Sudan.

Abu Simbel and Lake Nassar.  It's one of the worlds largest lakes.

This is the temple for King Ramses II

                         

Queen Nefertari's temple

Gosh,  I feel so small!  Wait, I am small!

All the writing and pictures tell stories

Can you tell which one is the queen?  The thing in their hands is an ankh which is known as the key of life.

The King is big!

These are the Falcons that guard the entrance to the King's temple.

Two times a year, the sun rises just right and it shines deep inside the temple right on King Ramses II.  Many people come to witness this event that has happened for over 3,000 years.

I don't think I'd want to get lost in the desert!  I actually saw a sandstorm too.

I have to drive back to Aswan today.  Tomorrow I am taking another felucca ride but this time I get to sleep on the boat.