Yahtzee

You make the final preparations for your departure from Aswan. As you are shoving your belongings neatly into your back-pack, the receptionist peeks his head in the door.

“Um, Sara. When you finish with that, I want to talk to you.”
“Okay. What about?”
“When you finish.”

The receptionist no longer has the ability to inspire negative emotion from you. You are ready to leave and never see his pudgy-ugly little face again. Ten minutes later, however, he comes back to your room. In his sun-stained hands he holds a steaming hot glass of traditional Egyptian tea and a cup of sugar with a spoon. He pathetically attempts to convey a puppy-dog face of apology, silently offers the cup of tea and sugar, and walks away.

“That’s weird,” you think.

It is not usual for anyone to give tea unless asked for- especially if not on good terms. You wonder what he is up to. You wonder if he put something in the tea to make you sick. You look in it, swirl it, smell it, and set in on the shelf. You finish loading your bags, pour the tea down the sink, and make your way downstairs to check out.

“Oh, you’re leaving?”
“Yeah. So what did you want to talk about?”
“I wanted to tell you I was so angry with you for going somewhere else for your felucca. Why you didn’t ask me?”
Smirking, you reply, “It doesn’t matter. I’m leaving. Halos, it’s finished. I got my own felucca. Goodbye.” Your pulse is racing. You begin to walk toward the door, but you pause, face him, and say, “And maybe next time you shouldn’t lie!” You walk out.

Back at the hotel where you made your felucca arrangements, someone arrives to lead you to your felucca which is a small sailboat. Boards across the center of it create a seating/laying area when covered with mattresses and sheets. There are two small cubby-hole sections at the front. One is for stepping into the boat as well as an under-board access. Your bags are stored underneath the boards. The only way to get to them is to crawl underneath. The other section, on the opposite side, is the kitchen area. It consists of a giant Bunsen burner covered by a rack to form a stove. This is where your next 6 meals will be cooked. Already aboard are two of your boatmates: Ale, a.k.a. Mudfoot, from Argentina and Tom, a.k.a. Mr. Lippy, from Australia.

You sit with Tom and Ale for about 2 hours talking about the experiences all of you have been having in Aswan, how many people are trying to rip each of you off, and what kind of sexual harassment has been faced. After a while, you all begin to wonder if the boat is ever going to leave the dock. Eventually, two more Australians arrive. They are Ana and Rob. The five of you have boarded and you set sail.

The next day-and-a-half are intentionally uneventful. The five of you get to know each other, relax, play Yahtzee and enjoy the pleasant breeze. There are a few tipping scares after some unexpected gusts of wind, enjoyable meals, sun block, and music. A teenage boy rows past on a boat made of empty water bottles in a plastic bag. Some Egyptian monkeys try to follow Ana and Ale to watch as they search for a bush to pee. Cruise ships dominate the water, providing a constant rocky sleep. By the last morning, Ale and Ana have weak stomachs.

Finally it is time to exit your loyal boat, “The Nile Dancer”, and pile into a covered truck. The covered truck will take you to your next destination: the Temple of Kom Ombo.