EGYPT  2001:

Our group was told that an optional sail boat ride would be available for us when we returned to our cruise boat.  I was excited about the boat ride because I had never been on a sail boat before.  The boat ride would take us to an island with a botanical garden on it and return us to the mainland near the Aswan bazaar.  I had a great time on the sail boat because we were much closer to the water and could see more sights up close.  I saw all sorts of Egyptian fish and birds from the boat while our captain steered us towards the island and Fathy talked about the wildlife on the Nile.  Just before landing on the island, I spotted two tiny boats not much bigger than three feet long and a few inches above the water surface.  One boat had one little kid in it who was using his arms with pieces of wood attached to his hands as paddles to move the boat.  The other boat was not much bigger but had two little kids in it.  One was paddling like the kid in the first boat and the second kid was bailing water out of the boat with a cup.  The kids paddled up to the side of our sail boat, grabbed on, and started singing songs.  It was very entertaining to see the kids in the tiny boats, and we tipped them a few pounds and they were off.  Fathy told us later that they were our captain's kids.  I took one picture of the solo kid in the little boat.  It is the eighth picture in the set.

We docked on the island with the botanical garden shortly after the kids paddled away.  The island had a huge variety of plants, flowers, and trees.  It was also full of many different species of birds, some which were very loud.  I managed to take some pictures of some of the birds and a wandering dog.  The island was a very nice and peaceful place to sit down and enjoy the scenery.  Fathy walked us through the island and could tell us what every single plant and bird was.  We rested at the other end of the island for a while and hopped back on the sail boat.

On the way to the bazaar, our captain pulled out a hand made drum and sang a song for us.  The seventh picture from the bottom is a picture of our captain playing the drum.  We sailed into the mainland, thanked and tipped our captain, docked, and headed by foot to the bazaar.  The bazaar was a very strange and interesting place.  Fathy let us go off on our own and some people in our group took a horse and buggy back to the cruise boat.  I however wanted to walk the distance of two miles back to the boat with some of the people in our group.  I was hoping to pick up some souvenirs at a good price before going back to the United States and I thought this would be my last chance.  I ended up bargaining with two merchants for some statues.  One of them I got ripped off on, and the other one I may have almost ripped the merchant off.  You know you are getting a good deal when you disagree on a price, walk away, and the merchant comes running behind you agreeing to your price.