The River Nile surprised me on several counts. First, as I said, it is clear and blue and beautiful. The second big surprise was that there were hundreds – or maybe thousands – of islands in the Nile. This was especially true around Aswan. Most of the islands were granite rock, but some were swampy reeds that looked like out in the Stockton Delta where I grew up.

In the first photo, you can see some of the islands. This type of setting was common for the Nile around Aswan. You can also see the mist rising from the Nile. Today was the first of eight straight days where the temperature was over 100 degrees. The pictures of the Nile frequently look cool and refreshing, but it was really hot. It was, however, usually much cooler and more pleasant when we were on the Nile.

The second photo was just a small island that we were passing in the river. We saw many islands like it. It was mostly granite rock and looked like it belonged in Lake Tahoe or in the Yosemite Valley. It also gives you a clue about where they got some of the rock for all the temples and tombs. In fact, the red granite in the Great Pyramid came from Aswan and we saw some just like it here (but not in this picture).

In the third photo, you are looking at parts of three islands, though it’s hard to tell in the photo. These islands were covered with lots of vegetation, reeds and so forth, in addition to rocks. This photo is also typical of how there was the Nile and vegetation, and then there was the sand dunes and the desert.