From Idfu to Aswan
I have two questions. Why do they call them fallukas, instead of sailboats? And, what is a cataract? If anybody knows the answers, please respond.
Sitting in a little cafe on the Nile as the sun is going down. Feeling good after the 70-mile ride today. What could be better than this? Oh, I know - 4 more months of this! Lots of fallukas out there on the river, which, as far as I can tell, are sailboats.
Oh. Forgot to mention. Saw a bona-fide caravan the other day, it was the day that we left the Red Sea and went through the hills. It comprised of 3 women in somewhat colorful clothing (more colorful than the black that I usually see women wearing), 1 camel, 2 donkeys, several goats, and 2 dogs. O.k., a mini-caravan. It was splendid! With the desert as a backdrop, as they walked along. I really, really wanted to stop and take a picture, but it seemed so invasive. So, I didn't. Maybe I should have. But a little further along the road, I saw 2 camels walking by themselves, so I took a picture of them. (Too bad you can't see any of these pictures - I really will figure out how to upload them at some point.)
Everything is more beautiful from a bike. I don't kow why that is, but it's a fact. A stretch of road today had Nile river on the right, and orange-brown rock walls on the left. Stunning! In a car, it would have been beautiful, but on a bike - stunning! This is why biking is so great. All your feelings are more intense. Take the most beautiful sight you've ever seen in all your life. Magnify the beauty by about 20. That's what it looks like from a bike. Don't know why, it's the same sight. Rode with Duncan (from New Zealand) today. He was riding sweep. Nice.
As I walked along the Nile this afternoon, many people approached and chatted. Some asked if I wanted an Egyptian husband - I got that in Idfu last night, too! But most just asked if I wanted a ride in a falluka. Also, I met Kooki, a 12-year-old Nubian kid in the cafe that I was sitting at by the river. Turns out he is the son of the owner. Really cute and nice kid! He was eating something and looked so happy! So I waved to him (not knowing, at that point, that he was the owner's kid). He waved me over. I shook my head a smiled and said, "No, no." But he kept insisting, kept waving me over, and holding up his food in offer. Finally, I went on over. Then, the owner came by and told me to join him and eat, that he was eating a Nubian specialty. So, I ate a little, while standing, but Kooki patted the seat next to him and said, "Sit! Sit!" with just the biggest smile ever. So, o.k., I sat, just for a short while. He couldn't really speak much English, but just the most charming kid ever, never stopped smiling and saying, "Eat!"
--------------- TODAY ------------------ TOTAL
Cycled -------- 115 km (71 mi) ----------- 815 km (499 mi)
Sagged -------- 0 ------------------------ 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total ---------- 115 km (71 mi) ---------- 980 km (607.5 mi)
In Saddle ------ 6 hrs 25 min ------------ 44 hrs 47 min
Ascended ------- 953 feet ---------------- 7,809 feet
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6 comments:
Aren't cataracts those things you get in your eyes, that cause blindness? you have a wonderful life, leighanne. i hope to someday come even close to what you've found. you're my inspiration.
From Khartoum to the Egyptian border at Wadi Halfa (now submerged) and on to Aswan in Egypt, the Nile occupies a narrow entrenched valley with little floodplain for cultivation; in this stretch it is interrupted by six cataracts (rapids). From Aswan the river flows north 550 mi (885 km) to Cairo, bordered by a floodplain that gradually widens to c.12 mi (20 km)
a falluka crosses the Nile river with passengers, a falluka is a small sailboat that ferries people across the river
It all sounds amazing, LeighAnne. Very much looking forward to the next installment.
Incidentally, a note on cataracts: The word for cataracts of the eye is thought to derive from the older word for a type of waterfall (from the latin word for a waterfall, cataracta, which in turn derives from the greek katarassein "to dash down"), based on the visual similarity of the milky white opacity of cataracts in the eye and the way rapidly running water turns white.
Hmm strange question:
Ketch is a sail boat
A cutter is a sail boat
Catermerans are sail boats
Eskimos have over 30 words for snow:
Aluiqqaniq : Snowdrift on a steep hill, overhanging on top.
Aniuk : Snow for drinking water.
Aniuvak : Snow remaining in holes.
Aput : Snow on the ground (close to the generic Snow)
Aqilluqqaaq : Fresh and soggy snow
Auviq : snow brick, to build igloo
Ijaruvak : Melted snow, turned in ice crystals.
Isiriartaq : Falling snow, yellow or red.
Kanangniut : Snowdrift made by North-East wind.
Katakartanaq : Crusty snow, broken by steps.
Kavisilaq : snow hardened by rain or frost
Kinirtaq : wet and compact snow.
Masak : wet snow, saturated.
Matsaaq : snow in water
Maujaq : deep and soft snow, where it's difficult to walk.
Mingullaut : thin powder snow, enters by cracks and covers objects.
Mituk : small snow layer on the water of a fishing hole.
Munnguqtuq : compressed snow which began to soften in spring.
Natiruviaqtuq: snow blasts on the ground.
Niggiut : snowdrift with South-east wind
Niummak : hard waving snow staying on ice fields
Pingangnuit : snowdrift made by south-west wind
Piqsiq : snow lift by wind. Blizzard.
Pukak : dry snow crystals, like sugar powder
Qannialaaq : light falling snow
Qanniq : falling snow
Quiasuqaq : re-frozen snow surface, making crust.
Qiqiqralijarnatuq: snow when walked on.
Uangniut : snowdrift made by north-west wind.
Uluarnaq : round snowdrift
Uqaluraq : taper snowdrift
The falluka must have some unique properties that make them identifiable as something more than simply a sail boat.
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