July 7, 2005

Now, where did I leave off...oh yes, I wrote last about our trip to Sinai. Let's just say that Mt. Sinai is very tall and it's no easy climb. Joe and I forgot our flashlights at home which was rather inconvenient for our night climb. Luckily the man at the bedouin tent at our hotel offered to sell us a "deluxe" flashlight with 3 batteries, not just two. We bought two, just in case.

Unfortunately, as we set out on the mountain "trail" we could hardly see where we were going. One of the flashlights cracked (quality "deluxe" plastic), so poor (big) Joe had to hold it together the whole climb. The light faded in and out. So, there we were, climbing a mountain in the pitch black night with one flashlight in the lead. While we climbed, bedouin men would come by hawking their camels. Every now and then, camels would come up behind us and pass us by. We were all deadset on climbing the mountain without the assistance of a camel; however, we didn't realize the pitfalls of sharing the trail with camels -- camel terds. Sorry to be so graphic, but half of the climb was spent with our eyes glued to the ground, hoping that Joe would light the way with our one flashlight so that we would not land in a steaming pile of camel dung.

We climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed...Those camels started to look all right. Finally, we reached the steps where the camels were no longer an option. 700+ steps. We made it, though. There were tons of other pilgrims climbing up the mountain with us and as we reached the peak, we found a spot among them on the cold rock to watch the sunrise. It really was beautiful, but we didn't waste any time climbing back down the mountain. Without an ounce of sleep, Joe and I were exhausted!

After Sinai, we took our bus to our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh. I don't know about Joe and Jan, but it was heaven for us. It almost didn't feel like Egypt. No taxis to climb in and out of, hardly anyone to bargain with, and just the bright blue water and beach. I wish I had more to tell you about our stay at Sharm, but I think my sister summed it up well - "It's paradise." We laid by the pool, lounged by the beach, ate from the big breakfast buffet. Joe and I decided to be smart and wear 40 SPF sunblock that we picked up here in Cairo. Big mistake. You'd think that 40 would protect a fair-skinned girl like me, but no. It just didn't happen to be waterproof. Joe and I were roasted badly after twenty minutes or so in the Red Sea sun. Apparently, it's a bad idea to expose skin that hasn't seen daylight in almost a year. My burn made the third day a little miserable, but still relaxing.

We bought (big) Joe some snorkeling gear, so he got to float around and look at some of the amazing coral and fish. The last day we took a glass-bottom boat ride which was really cool. It was like looking at a huge aquarium right beneath us. The Red Sea is known for it's snorkeling and diving for a reason.

After all that relaxation, we were actually ready for a change, but it was a little hard coming back to the hustle and bustle of Cairo. There's not much that is relaxing in the city noise and smoggy heat. We've spent the last couple of days touring Coptic Cairo where we visited the purported site where Moses was drawn out of the Nile, one of the places the Holy Family stayed in Egypt, and the place where Mary drew water to wash Jesus. Then, we shopped till we dropped (almost) in the Khan El Khalili. Today, we did something a little more American and went to The War of the Worlds.

I have to say, it's been great having Joe and Jan here. They have really held up well under a lot of the pressures of Cairo life and they are such wonderful guests! We are just glad that we are not saying good-bye for long, as we are following them back to the States. They are patiently awaiting their ride to the airport right now. They leave at 2 am and we leave at 10 am. We'll be back in the U.S. about 8 hours after them. We definitely can't wait!