The M/S Eugenie, from Aswan to Abu Simbel, is operated by "Belle Epoque" of Cairo. Our excellent guide/tour manager was Khaled. Eugenie is billed as a five-star boat – personally, I would award it six or seven stars.
If you don't want any souvenirs at all, it is possible to last a week without cash, as the Nile boats operate a "cashless" system. If you want something, all you have to do is sign for it and settle up later with a credit card. But keep track of how much you are spending! Familiarise yourself with the prices on the boat you are on before you start drinking and, more importantly, before you start buying rounds. Expect to pay at least (GBP)4 for a scotch!
The onboard shops are not safe havens from the rip-off merchants. A fellow traveller paid five times more for a piece of clothing than I paid for the same thing "in the market". You can haggle in the shop!
One of the most important things about the Eugenie is the "little touches" that make a journey memorable. On the excursions ashore, for example, we were always at some point met by a waiter from the ship with lemonade. Not much effort involved, but hugely appreciated by the parched passengers. Another thing to notice is that the engines are not as noisy as on other vessels.
When we were taken to it, Eugenie was moored with two of the other lake cruise boats, miles from the centre of Aswan, east of the high dam, near the railway, and is approached by a path obviously not intended for the purpose.
Armed troops and police with machine guns are everywhere.
Cabins on the Eugenie and its sister ship, the Kasr Ibrim, have private balconies. The other two lake cruisers do not. On Lake Nasser, where there are only four boats and therefore no side-by-side mooring, balconies are a definite plus and are worth having. The top decks have adequate shade and seating,
The first morning was started at the Kalabsha temple island - the sunrise is well worth the effort of rising before dawn.
Gliding almost silently toward Kalabsha, past the High Dam, across the deep blue water of Lake Nasser, under a pink sky, is one of "those" moments, and hugely evocative. Even the nearby fish factory cannot spoil it! All the fish caught in the lake are processed here before being sold in the Cairo markets.
Some of the lake fish are huge. A freshly caught one-metre bass was served for dinner one night aboard Eugenie and was delicious. When considering swimming in the Lake, bear in mind some of its other residents - the crocodiles. A fellow traveller from the USA pointed out that there is also some interesting macrobiology in there!
All the temples visited in upper Egypt (the area around Lake Nasser once known as Nubia) have long been re-sited to escape the rising waters created by the dam.
Also on Kalabsha Island are the temple of Beit el Wali and the Kiosk of Kertassi.
The sheer size of Lake Nasser is difficult to appreciate. If it were not for the fact that it is as calm as a millpond, it would be like sailing the ocean. At times, parts of the horizon do not include dry land.
Wadi el Seboua, the next stop, is now also the site for another two temples; Dakka and Meharakka. The afternoon visit here was almost unbelievably hot. Luckily we made the visit as late as the light would permit. Circling in the sky was an ominous looking flock of Red Kites. The walk between the temples took about a half hour. Magnificent.
Once back on board, we were later invited to the top deck for cocktails, and were astonished to step onto the deck to find all the temples floodlit. An extraordinary sight made all the more striking by the music being played on our boat.
The next day we visited Amada, where the temple of Derr and the Tomb of Penout are also located. This was now the western desert in all its fury. The heat was very nearly unbearable.
The Fortress of Kasr Ibrim, which survived the inundation only because it was located on top of a hill, is now a pathetic little island which it is not possible to visit. A shame, as it looked, from a distance, fascinating. The ‘fly-by’ visit was so short I barely had time to photograph it. Archaeologists are still working on the site.
We moored for the night in a "cul de sac" at the side of the lake. Members of the crew congregated in a boat alongside to drink tea and smoke a "hookah". Some French passengers took the opportunity to swim in the lake, despite the warnings.
We left at dawn to sail to Abu Simbel. The temples, being so huge, can be seen for miles. Other warnings of their approach are the narrowing of the lake and aircraft swooping in to the airport.
In the late morning there were swarms of tourists that could be seen from the boat, milling around the site. I cannot imagine anything worse than the ordeal of an overland drive to get there. A lot of people also fly or drive here from Aswan for the day. There are hotels in the town.
Arriving by boat is definitely the way to do it.
Our first visit to the temple was arranged for three o'clock that afternoon. An unfortunate feature of the popularity of Abu Simbel is of course the crowds. The only way of avoiding them is to visit during the heat of the day. What struck me immediately about the interior, after the sweltering heat of Wadi el Seboua, was the relative coolness. This was only explained later by the air conditioning plants, installed during the reconstruction. Just what was achieved at that time is not apparent from viewing the exterior. Our second visit left me agog! We were taken inside the artificial hill that was constructed to accommodate the temple, and a vast concrete dome now houses the entire structure. From a walkway inside the dome, one can look down on the interior of the temple which was rebuilt like an enormous "constructor set". It is truly astonishing if you are not expecting this. (Sorry for spoiling the surprise!)
One may then leave the hill at the front, through a small anonymous doorway to the right of the giant statues of Rameses, or at the back of the hill, on the edge of the town, where the trinket sellers have their stalls at the bus station. (Mercifully, they are not permitted at the front of the temple.)
In the evening, the temples are floodlit, and the accompanying music makes for an enjoyable visit.
Back at the boat, a troupe of local performers entertained with singing and dancing. This was not described in any way as being "typical", but I felt it was more Butlins than Nubia. I hope I'm wrong.
Abu Simbel airport is appalling. It does have air conditioning, but nothing else to recommend it. There is one shop selling "cheap" (that does not mean inexpensive!), tacky, overpriced souvenirs. It is not up to the rigors of mass tourism. It seemed like the hordes of tourists were viewed by the local officials as a commodity that had to be moved.
The flight to Aswan from Abu Simbel was by Egyptair Airbus A320. As the flight was designated "free seating" and I was first on the plane, having sprinted across the tarmac, we flew First Class! Seats on the right get the best views of the dam. Cruising height is only 14,000 feet for the 25-minute flight.