March 5th, 2026

Last Temple, or should I say last ancient Egyptian temple. When we looked out our window we saw tons of horse and carriages going down the street. Apparently this is the only way you can get to the temple. Viking used to also use the horse & carriage to get from the boat to the temple but they got too many complaints from passengers about how the horses were treated so Viking got permission to have buses take us to the Temple. This was one of the busier temples we have been to. Kathy is “templed out” so she skipped this morning’s excursion.

You can see how packed it is. There must have been 30 river boats docked when we got up this am and this is the only thing to do in this port.

Horus is on the left. This temple was defaced by the Christians and they also tried to burn it. 2 “locals” have taken up residence in the temple.

Some of the locals.

All the horse and buggies waiting to take people back to town.

We were back on board by 10am and had the rest of the day to lounge and pack for an early departure in the am. The crew does not have to rush tomorrow to get the cabins cleaned for the new passengers since no new passengers are coming on board. Most of the crew is Egyptian and are from Luxor so when we dock they will do some housekeeping and then head home.

We had gone through a lock on the river when we were going to Aswan but it was at night so we did not really know it was happening. This time we were returning in the afternoon so they gave a narration on the top deck. They have an old lock and a new lock and the old lock is open and vendors can walk out on the lock and try to sell stuff to the ship’s passengers since the boat passes very close.

The vendors on the old lock showing their products. There were several times that they would just throw something in a plastic bag up onto the boat. They were thrown back and one actually landed in the water but the vendor fished it out with a hook pretty quickly. The boats also followed us and threw things on board. The boats have to go slow during this section so they are easy to come along side and shout at people and show their wares

It is always easier to pack to go home than it is to leave for a trip since you know that everything in the room has to go so packing did not take too long.

We had a nice farewell dinner and said goodbye to all our favorite crew. This crew really is one of the nicest crews we have ever had.

First cloudy day we have had. Last sunset on the Nile.

Early start tomorrow for our flights back to Cairo.