After a seriously long and unfun bus ride from Cairo to Dahab (we had to go all the way around the Sinai peninsula instead of straight across because of some previous tourist-related unrest a few months earlier), we finally made it to the sea! It was just heaven being in Dahab and I could totally understand why people would just go straight there for a holiday in the sun.
We stayed in a huge hotel complex a bit out of the main town which had a few big pools and a pretty amazing buffet breakfast. We got into a bit of trouble playing a game of waterpolo at one point when an errant ball knocked over someone’s glass (who, to be fair, was sitting in a seat directly behind the goal), but after much apologising things were fine (we hope!).
It was so lovely to be able to swim when it was so hot, and one of the days we went out to Dahab’s famous Blue Hole which is a massive sinkhole 130m deep. We only snorkelled, but it was seriously incredible. Sadly, the photos we took with the underwater camera led to its demise (the Red Sea was a bit salty), but I think the sight of this merman is worth it!
We also had so much fun racing in open topped jeeps there and back—Dahab is much less developed than its neighbour Sharm-el-Sheikh which is only about 30 minutes drive south, so it felt like a much better place to cut loose and have some fun.
One of the things that Adrian and I had wanted to do the whole trip was the walk up Mt Sinai to see the sunrise. Having been told at the outset of the trip that it was most definitely off limits, the plans slowly changed to the point that we were told that if we went (with another independent tour company) that we just weren’t to let our guide know! So that was the plan. We assembled at about 10pm in central Dahab, all rugged up and ready to go. With our small group of fellow tourists, we then drove for 30 minutes towards the centre of the peninsula where we waited for another 30 or so minutes for all the rest of the buses heading up that night to go in convoy. We travelled in convoy most places in Egypt, but this was quite full on with machine-gun armed guards and everything. Apparently there are normally way more groups, but only religious groups and independents like us were going at that point (October 2012) so numbers were apparently 90% down on usual.
After another two hours we reached the base of the mountain, then were assigned a guide and started walking up. There are two ways up: the sandy path which is a series of switchbacks up the mountain, or 3000 steps straight up. We took the path! Near the top the two converge and everyone walks the 750 final steps straight up. They were some pretty massive steps and I’m very glad I had a decent torch! Some people in our group didn’t have a torch and I think they found it quite tough even with the rest of us helping them out where we could.
On the way up they had lots of tea stops and our guide stopped at each one so we could partake if so desired. Apparently this is quite different from several years ago when Mum and Granny went, when they didn’t exist at all. I guess everything gets more and more commercialised... And then we were up! It took just under two hours if I remember correctly. Up at the top we found a possie, took some great photos of the stars, and then rugged up with all our warm gear (wool socks, down jacket, down sleeping bags etc.) and settled down for a short sleep. I think we were one of the few groups of people not praying the entire night, so when Adrian woke me up only 40 minutes later we were worried that we’d missed the sunrise! But even though it was definitely lighter, we had about 30 minutes to watch until it actually rose.
And what a sunrise! We had a Russian Orthodox group chanting behind us which was actually pretty magical and suited the occasion perfectly. Adrian reckoned that the sun came up so fast he felt temporarily dizzy with the rotation of the earth, but I think it was just because he was nervous about his imminent proposal... Of course I said yes—how could I say anything but in such an amazing place! The sunrise coming up over the layers of mountains was just stunning and will make for an amazing memory we’ll never forget.
Once the sun came up it was amazing how hot it got so quickly. Walking back down we quickly shed all our warm layers, although had to wear sarong skirts to be able to go into St Catherine’s monastery to see the legendary burning bush (well, a descendent of the original I guess!). Another dusty and long journey later, we made it back to Dahab where we got to share the exciting news with everyone (thanks for the bubbles Pip and Bastiaan!) as well as have a well-earned nap.
And that was Egypt! Incredibly memorable and definitely a travel highlight. Next stop, Jordan...
We stayed in a huge hotel complex a bit out of the main town which had a few big pools and a pretty amazing buffet breakfast. We got into a bit of trouble playing a game of waterpolo at one point when an errant ball knocked over someone’s glass (who, to be fair, was sitting in a seat directly behind the goal), but after much apologising things were fine (we hope!).
It was so lovely to be able to swim when it was so hot, and one of the days we went out to Dahab’s famous Blue Hole which is a massive sinkhole 130m deep. We only snorkelled, but it was seriously incredible. Sadly, the photos we took with the underwater camera led to its demise (the Red Sea was a bit salty), but I think the sight of this merman is worth it!
 |
| Merman |
 |
| Fishies! |
We also had so much fun racing in open topped jeeps there and back—Dahab is much less developed than its neighbour Sharm-el-Sheikh which is only about 30 minutes drive south, so it felt like a much better place to cut loose and have some fun.
One of the things that Adrian and I had wanted to do the whole trip was the walk up Mt Sinai to see the sunrise. Having been told at the outset of the trip that it was most definitely off limits, the plans slowly changed to the point that we were told that if we went (with another independent tour company) that we just weren’t to let our guide know! So that was the plan. We assembled at about 10pm in central Dahab, all rugged up and ready to go. With our small group of fellow tourists, we then drove for 30 minutes towards the centre of the peninsula where we waited for another 30 or so minutes for all the rest of the buses heading up that night to go in convoy. We travelled in convoy most places in Egypt, but this was quite full on with machine-gun armed guards and everything. Apparently there are normally way more groups, but only religious groups and independents like us were going at that point (October 2012) so numbers were apparently 90% down on usual.
After another two hours we reached the base of the mountain, then were assigned a guide and started walking up. There are two ways up: the sandy path which is a series of switchbacks up the mountain, or 3000 steps straight up. We took the path! Near the top the two converge and everyone walks the 750 final steps straight up. They were some pretty massive steps and I’m very glad I had a decent torch! Some people in our group didn’t have a torch and I think they found it quite tough even with the rest of us helping them out where we could.
On the way up they had lots of tea stops and our guide stopped at each one so we could partake if so desired. Apparently this is quite different from several years ago when Mum and Granny went, when they didn’t exist at all. I guess everything gets more and more commercialised... And then we were up! It took just under two hours if I remember correctly. Up at the top we found a possie, took some great photos of the stars, and then rugged up with all our warm gear (wool socks, down jacket, down sleeping bags etc.) and settled down for a short sleep. I think we were one of the few groups of people not praying the entire night, so when Adrian woke me up only 40 minutes later we were worried that we’d missed the sunrise! But even though it was definitely lighter, we had about 30 minutes to watch until it actually rose.
And what a sunrise! We had a Russian Orthodox group chanting behind us which was actually pretty magical and suited the occasion perfectly. Adrian reckoned that the sun came up so fast he felt temporarily dizzy with the rotation of the earth, but I think it was just because he was nervous about his imminent proposal... Of course I said yes—how could I say anything but in such an amazing place! The sunrise coming up over the layers of mountains was just stunning and will make for an amazing memory we’ll never forget.
 |
| Yes! |
 |
| Stunning sunrise |
Once the sun came up it was amazing how hot it got so quickly. Walking back down we quickly shed all our warm layers, although had to wear sarong skirts to be able to go into St Catherine’s monastery to see the legendary burning bush (well, a descendent of the original I guess!). Another dusty and long journey later, we made it back to Dahab where we got to share the exciting news with everyone (thanks for the bubbles Pip and Bastiaan!) as well as have a well-earned nap.
And that was Egypt! Incredibly memorable and definitely a travel highlight. Next stop, Jordan...
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