The Pharaoh’s Curse (Wesday, Thrusday and Friday) August 26, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Airlines, Cairo, Hotels , trackbackWEDNESDAY
Kom Ombo and Edfu, like the fitness of my charges, have been and gone, and now at Esna a few determined explorers rattle by horse- drawn carriage towards the town centre at 6am. Esna, a series of dusty streets and alleys, is still asleep, apart from the odd scavenging tat-eared dog.
The temple sits some fifty feet down in its own huge sandpit, buried for centuries until someone tripped over what turned out to be the top of a pillar. High above, in abrupt contrast, sit the comparatively recent buildings of the town, their roofs and turrets catching the early morning sun.
Back on board, the senior consultants, having had a council of war, open up with a full frontal attack of heavy verbal artillery, ending with a chilling final volley:
“Most of us will be taking samples home for analysis.”
And sending each other massive consultancy bills, I think to myself, while my well practised straight face almost lets me down with both this thought and that of the possible scenario in the Heathrow customs hall.
I assure the grim-faced surgeons in front of me that representations will be made to the shipping line on our return to Cairo, and that, meanwhile, the captain and I will, after appropriate consultation, revamp the menus.
“Revamp to rice and yoghurt!” trills Doctor McRae, en passant. “I’m still fine!”
I give him what I hope is a suitably withering look. Late that afternoon Plague Ship Hatshepsut reaches her final mooring in ancient Thebes, and there is a chorus of clicking camera shutters as we pass the unexpected splendour of a silhouetted Luxor temple.
Doctor Turner takes me aside to acquaint me in funereal tones with the details of a colleague’s latest symptoms. I wish he hadn’t.
THURSDAY
The decks are a little more lively, with the genuinely and partially recovered sitting about in little groups, eyeing me accusingly whenever I pass. (I’m sure the Ancient Mariner had an easier time.) At least the numbers on the shore excursions are slowly swelling, although the collective preoccupation is not so much with details of what site we are about to visit, but how many “comfort stops” there will be.
Magnificent Karnak, with its corridors of stone rams, sky-embracing pillars and gigantic inscrutable statues, stretching apparently as far as the eye can see, is breathtaking. Ozymandias, whose famous admonishment has been haunting me from Day One, seems to lurk round every corner, laughing up his sleeve.
The captain, possibly in an effort to make some amends for our problems, offered today’s trippers airline paper bags, just in case. Several who declined this gesture now regret it, and I’m thankful for the sandy ground which provides the perfect means literally to kick overthe traces.
Back on board, the hoped-for but unexpected sight of a deusexmachina in the form of our travel agency chief is immensely reassuring. Gratefully, I enlist his help; he confers with the various spokesmen with charm, patience and a magic defusing device called being The Boss.
Relieved, I turn my exhausted attention to the details of tomorrow’s expedition to the Valley of the Kings, and our return flight to Cairo.
FRIDAY
Finally back at base, it’s amazing what a five-star hotel can do to revive the spirits.
The difficulties of the cruise are all but forgotten by most. “We’ve had a marvellous time,” they beam, “really marvellous.” Before I retire to bed, one small item appears for the stop press. Doctor McRae, the only one to have survived the cruise unscathed, has tripped on a kerbstone and broken his foot.
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