Birthday Boat Ride

Cairo, Egypt

I didn’t get steak on my birthday (way out of my budget!) but I got the next best thing … a falucca ride on the Nile with my friends from CASA. Of course, CASA didn’t plan this trip because of my birthday, but the timing seemed perfect. Not many better ways to spend a birthday than on a boat, even if it was a “stink-pot,” not a sailboat like my last falucca ride. Apparently the low city bridges make a sailing falucca less fun than they look.

From Birthday Boat!

In any case, about half the CASAween went on the trip, which constitutes almost half of everyone I know in Cairo. Cosette and Emma brought baclava to share with the group … way better than birthday cake! And the captain happened to have Happy Birthday on CD. In fact, we were treated to about 7 versions of it!

From Birthday Boat!

There were water birds, houseboats and crew teams – not a sport I’d ever associated with Cairo before! And just as we rounded the point of Zamalek Island … my camera batteries died. It seems Ni-MH batteries and heat don’t mix well, and I’ll have to start storing them in the freezer. Surely there’ll be other falucca trips!