We’d always wanted to see the mysterious Nile
But decided we’d like one day to do it in style
We eschewed the thought of those big, ugly cruising boats
Which are little more than a hotel that floats
And found, through a company called Bales
A small, charming wooden boat with two white sails
Six cabins were all this dahabiyya could boast
Room for just twelve people at the most
Idyllic, ‘least as far as we could tell
Provided all twelve passengers would gel
Suspiciously, we eyed people on the plane
We hoped our fellow travellers would be sane
One chap across the aisle caught my attention
Particularly when I thought I heard him mention
Dahabiyya, he wore a linen suit
And suddenly the awful thought took root
As I listened to this man boast and gloat
Please Ra! Don’t let him be on my boat
At Cairo airport, my fears soon subsided
When the Bales group into two were divided
I had a feeling now this holiday had begun
That the crew of the Musk were in for some fun
First though, we were Cairo bound
An experience that truly did astound
As we drove that night along Cairo’s manic roads
All life was there, trucks with impossible loads
Perched on which a worker grabbing sleep
Cars switching lane to lane with just a beep
The ubiquitous sound of a vehicle’s horn
Our precious health and safety they would scorn
Donkeys and camels, riding contra-flow
The speeding hordes barely thought to slow
As pedestrians leapt across the carriageway
And miraculously lived to see another day
After such a white-knuckle ride
There was great relief to be finally inside
The gates of the Mena House Oberoi
Whose beauty and serenity was pure joy
Though in the dark from us her secret she hid
Her views of a wondrous pyramid
The reason after all that we were here
To hope secrets of ancient Egypt would come clear
Next morning, the great pyramids we spied
As we made our way to meet and greet our guide
Little could we possibly realise
When on Saladin we first all set eyes
That this man over the coming ten days
Would change us in so very many ways
“You have free time in Cairo,” the brochure said
But Saladin had other plans instead
With passion, he proposed an itinerary
There was so much he wanted us to see
Though lured by the thought of a rest
We suspected then that Saladin knew best
And duly let him lead us by the hand
To reveal to us the jewels of his ancient land
How far we’ve come since that first day in Saqqara
Our minds as barren as the great Sahara
As the pyramids and tombs we would explore
We found ourselves wanting to know more
Confused by gods and kings, myth and tradition
Saladin was patient in his mission
To open our eyes and slowly educate us
For our ignorance he never would berate us
Yes we saw pyramids, tombs and temples in their glory
But without our dear guide to tell us their story
They’d appear as just so many piles of stone
Another solar boat, another throne
Our trip though was not all education
There was time as well for fun and relaxation
And how we laughed, we were lucky as can be
To find our group had characters like Toby
Poor Vicky, how he liked to tease her
His Egyptian hosts he’d greet with “Alright geezer?”
His wicked sense of humour made us choke
Then Paul would enter the fray with some old joke
Long-suffering Jan had heard them all before
But that never stopped Paul coming back with more
Hassled by a city’s busy throb
We always could rely on big Bob
To befriend all the kids on the street
He’d laugh and joke with every child he’d meet
Kind humoured, even though he’d know
They were only there to ask for “one euro”
Still at least it gave him something else to do
Than trading a couple of camels in for Sue
For photo-shooting we must award the job
To our dear new friends Helen and little Bob
Usually last to rejoin our little crowd
Those two would make David Bailey proud
To arrive at historic sites before the crowd
Late morning lie-ins were not allowed
Poor Sue Foster, who’s partial to her bed
Had to rise at crack of dawn, instead
She was not exactly filled with elation
Woe betide anyone who tried a conversation
To engage her husband Tommy as a rule
You only had to talk about football
But mention Everton, and he’d surely swoon
And spit curses on you from the god Amun
Now in every group, as we all must have feared
There will usually be one who’s rather weird
Who thinks he can guide the skipper through the locks
And who wanders round the temples in pink Crocs
Who joins in Egyptian dancing and has a go
But ends up rocking the world like Status Quo
Who goes for a stroll on an island in the Nile
Then decides to end his 59th year in style
By joining a game of football on the sand
And hoping his poor wife Jo would understand
Martin wanted one last game, don’t you know?
Before the poor thing turned the big Six-O
Now it’s time for these new friends all to part
And we do so with a very heavy heart
With memories of sailing dawn to dusk
Upon our sumptuous cruising boat the Musk
As we leave we may well shed a few tears
With names like Isis and Horus ringing in our ears
But we’re richer now than we have ever been
Thanks to the patient teachings of Saladin
So let’s raise a glass and thank the gods of Esna
That we ended up on Musk and not on Nesma!!
©Joanne Wallen Ross
6-17th October 2010
