The Day I Felt Like a Gorilla Sailing Down the Nile

What a Way to Turn 50!

One country I had always hoped to visit was Egypt.  It had always fascinated me.  So, as I was moving quickly towards the big five zero, I made the decision to finally take that trip. 

Now this blog isn’t going to tell you all about some of the most amazing things and places I have ever seen - don’t worry that will follow in a later blog, but it is going to tell you about how I felt like a gorilla sailing down the Nile.

Ok, gorilla may be a slight exaggeration, but, nevertheless, I felt like a hairy old woman.

The view from my small cruise ship on the River Nile.

So, the cruise down the Nile was like a travel brochure.  The green riverbanks with palm trees, stretching out until they reach the desert.  Small homes spotted along the water’s edge watching over all the small sailing vessels navigating their way up and down this famous waterway.

One of the things that you learn almost immediately when you arrive in Egypt, is just how much the economy relies on tourists. You feel real pressure to spend money at every tourist stop.  This pressure didn’t stop on the small cruise ship. 

This is what awaited me at the end of the Nile cruise - the amazing Temple at Abu Simbel.

I was certainly doing my bit supporting the economy – I ended up with four “hand-made” rugs that cost over $500 Australian dollars – and then saw the same rugs for 75% less at a local market.  I bought the two large bottles (500ml) of Egyptian Queen body oil – what a nightmare to get home and I can’t remember how many “Egyptian Cotton” t-shirts I ended up stuffing in my suitcase.  So, when I was aboard the cruise ship, I decided to get a massage.  The massage therapists walk around the ship – especially the pool area- to drum up business. It was hard to say no, and the thought of a massage wasn’t such a bad one.

The next day I rock up to the massage room and am greeted by a lovely young Egyptian lady.  My massage was worth every cent and I told her so when she had finished.  She was very quick to tell me that I should have another massage, as I had a lot of tension in my shoulders that she needed to work on at least one more time.

Now at this stage I was contemplating the idea of another hour of pampering – but that is when that lovely young woman said the sentence that made me feel like a side-show freak attraction and I’m sure I will never forget it.  Out of all the things I saw and heard on that Nile River Cruise – this is the thing I remember the most – and this is what she said…

Watching the sunset over the Nile helped me relax after my hairy humilation. :-)

“When you come back for your next massage, I can remove all that facial hair you have”.  What? Excuse Me? What are you talking about – hairy face?  These are the things I wanted to shout at her, but I was so humiliated that this is what I said with my head bowed – “I’ll think about it” and then I walked out straight back to my cabin to check out my ugly, beastly hairy face!

I looked front on, to the left, to the right, I rubbed my hand over my cheeks, chin and neck and was relieved to see that I hadn’t suddenly sprouted facial hair and become the bearded woman.  Ok, sure, I do have some light, fluffy hair on my face, but I thought that was normal and you can only really see it when you get up very close or out in the sun.  So, I didn’t return for my second massage and de-hairing of my face.

Now, a few years later when I’m sitting in my rocking chair plucking the whiskers out of my chinny chin chin, I often wonder if I made the right decision that day sailing down the Nile.