SWIMMING IN THE NILE | Egypt River Cruise Days 3 & 4

About to swim in the d.

It's freezing.

Today is already day four on our Nile river cruise, and yesterday was devoted to traveling on the river. It was a very relaxing day, but.

We did get off the boat a couple times. We started yesterday morning with a little walk around this uninhabited island.

The locals used for raising animals and farming. That was rude. And then later in the afternoon, we went for a swim in the Nile.

And it was much colder than expected.

They drove us about 300 meters up the Nile in the tugboat and now we're swimming all the way back to the big boat.

It's so far away.

There's a nice current, though.

They told us the crocodiles are on the other side, so we're okay. Beautiful. Do I look like a Nile princess now?

You look like you have a head fungus.

I feel very. One with the Nile. Oh, no.

We made it.

Oh, the curtain is so strong.

Wow. And the rest of the day we just soaked in the Nile views.

It's supposed to get up to 116 degrees today. So we are up at 7am to go to our first stop and we haven't even had breakfast or coffee.

Let's go. So we're walking through what they think was the rock quarry where they got all the sandstone for the temples that they built in Aswan and Luxor. And it's just incredible to see how they were able to carve these stones 4,000 years ago with primitive tools. And you can just see, like, there's little notches in the rock and as it goes down, like, how they were just able to barely make any progress with their tools.

This is totally different than the other walks we've gone on because it's less about like, oh, look at this great temple or tomb, and more about this is where they got all the stuff to make the temples and tombs. And you can see where they were sharpening their tools and some of the rocks. It's almost just as fascinating to me.

Looking out here. And this is like a foot bath. I think it went all the way down to the Nile, so it would go up and down with a Nile. Here.

Sam.

You can do it.

Hard.

We talked our way off of the tourist trail that runs along the river and now we're out in the middle of the desert exploring a wadi, which, because we've been to Oman, I thought it was going to be like an oasis in the middle of the desert. But it turns out that here in Egypt, Awadi just means it's a valley in the middle of the desert.

And when he says beaten tourist track, he means just the place where our boat goes. I mean, there it is. Not a tourist track at all. There are no bathrooms. There are no trash cans. Just some local guys sitting around guarding the place.

You just give them a little money and head back into the desert. We're currently trying to get out, which is why we're breathing so hard. We're trying to climb up this giant sand dune. We're gonna make it to the top.

Oh, it's hot.

It's only 8:30, and it's got to be at least 100 degrees already. Today's gonna be a hot one. So we've been told that this is pretty much the same terrain that you'll see all the way from here to Libya. Just like a combination of sand and rocks. Desert most fun way to get back to the boat.

Lead the way, Enrique. We're right behind.

He is not perfectly straight. You're next. Okay.

Living the life. On our walk yesterday, we picked some mint and some lemons off of a tree, and then they made us juice out of it. It is the freshest, most delicious juice I've ever had. And now Nate is swimming in the river.

116 degrees isn't that bad.

When you just go for a little.

Swim in the river, it is freezing cold.

Did you see any crocodiles on your swim?

No. I did see something floating beside me.

An animal?

No, it was like a stick. But I think there was something a lot bigger down below.

Probably just a tree. Yeah.

Probably chucked me into it. Joining him for round two, casual carvings on the side of the rock.

Whoo. It's refreshing.

We just set sail. Everybody's just relaxing on the boat. But we are cruising by the most incredible carvings. Like, they're just these little places where they've carved doors into the rock. Apparently, it was for the gods. The pharaohs would come here and give gifts to the river gods. Whatever they were, they're beautiful. And we're just casually cruising by. There's no one here. Nobody's guarding it. I don't even think there's a road that you can get to these places by. It's just amazing how much history is here. I mean, it's everywhere you look. Also, I'm really glad I went for a swim because your body temperature gets up, and then it makes it actually bearable to sit out in the sun and get a little bit of a tan. Nice.

So we've just pulled over at this small town that sits on the side of the river, and they're taking us to see a local coffee shot.

You know it's local when you have to walk through a field to get there. There's really no path.

So the reason this little town exists is because there's a ferry that runs from one side of the river to the other. All these guys are driving tuk tuks. I don't think there's a specific age for driving a vehicle here. I'm pretty sure that kid trying to get me in his Tuk Tuk was 13 years.

This is a super cute coffee shop.

We're at cafe number two, and for the first time in my life, I chose a Coca Cola over a coffee because it is very hot and this is really refreshing. But I still feel like it's local because look.

Not even in English.

You're married.

Now.

Time for some lunch.

This is really high. It's a big boat. You're gonna go on a little post lunch swim because that's what you do when it's 116 degrees outside.

So we just spent the rest afternoon sailing up the Nile. This has definitely been one of the most relaxing cruise cruises that we've ever been on.

It's the most time we've ever spent on the boat for sure. But we've loved it.

It's cool to be able to just like sit back and relax but at the same time see new things.

Which is cool because that's kind of the philosophy of this boat. They say that you should leave re energized and refreshed. And I really feel like that's how I'm gonna feel.

We've spent a lot of time on this top deck. It's felt great almost every single day. Even though it's been 100 degrees, there's been a nice breeze. And so it hasn't been been too hot. But today it got up to 116. And that's been a totally different story. It feels like we're inside of a hair dryer.

It really does. I don't think I've ever experienced a breeze that wasn't refreshing. But the breeze here is.

It almost feels like it's burning you.

It's like more hot than if it just wasn't blowing at all.

But at the same time, like, it's been kind of fun just to experience this new heat. Yeah.

Plus it makes the Nile more bearable because the water is freezing. Contrast is insane.

You would think that with it being this hot outside, the water would be warm. But I guess there's just so much water flowing and wherever it's coming from, it's really cold. Like, it almost takes your breath away when you jump in.

I do not understand. And we're about to have some dinner up on the top deck and wrap up Day four on Greece.

One more cool day to go.

As we started the morning with a walk, I had this bug crawling on my leg. Just getting closer and closer to going in my pants.

That made me itch. Don't.

Don't do anything crazy, okay?

I really love it when they use objects to make their animals. Like Nate's hat in my bracelet.

No, I'm going fast.

And he sucks under the boat.