Sail Ride on the Nile River – Cairo, Egypt

While traveling through the Middle East in 2008 Lindsay and I spent a few days in the amazing city of Cairo. Our wonderful guesthouse (which I have written about) was only a few blocks from the grand Nile River which winds its way through the entire city of Cairo. Almost every evening Lindsay and I would walk down to the Nile just to take in the scene. There are always hundreds of ships out in the water and this mixed with the unique cityscape of Cairo made for a great scene. As we looked out over the river we noticed numerous small sailboats with bright orange sails (advertising some cell phone company). We eventually learned that these were the sail boats that were “for hire” and on one of our last nights we decided to take a ride. It was a particularly beautiful evening and the sun was just getting ready to set over the city. We walked along the docks and found one very friendly gentleman offering a sail so we took him up on the offer. He was very quite, and had a hilarious demeanor, so Lindsay and I were getting a huge kick out of him. He really never said anything but his facial expressions and movements cracked us up. As we floated out into the river Lindsay and I settled in for an amazing experience. We both just laid back, relaxed an watched as the ancient city of Cairo floating slowly by. By the time we were out in the water the sun was just staring to go down and the lighting across the city was spectacular. I remember it was a mix or orange, purple and blue. I don’t remember any specific buildings but I do remember passing numerous gorgeous hotels (the fancy ones are always along the Nile), palm trees, bridges and numerous other boats. The experience was so fun and relaxing that an hour felt like 10 minutes! Before we knew it we were making our way back to the dock and our sail was done. Cairo can be an exhausting, and downright frustrating, city but taking a few minutes to simply sail through its heart on the Nile River is an amazing way to relax, and connect, with this world class city. Lindsay and I will never forget our slow sail ride on the Nile River on that beautiful summer evening.