Sinai

Last weekend we went to Sinai. Ben had Thursday off from work so we decided to take the opportunity and just go….it was really rather spur of the moment. We left at about 9:30am and were at a Bedouin camp in Egypt by 11:30 am. It’s amazing how close it really is to us!

We planned to go a Bedouin camp called Sawa, and when we got there it looked pretty nice but it turned out a HUGE group was coming in that night and there wasn’t even room for us. Fortunately the whole seashore is lined with Bedouin camps so we easily found another one. It was called Kum Kum 3 (which means Tea Pot 3). We stayed in a little bamboo hut right on the beach. Actually we didn’t stay in it, we slept outside, surrounded by a mosquito net. It was definitely warm enough. We stayed two nights and both mornings the sun woke me up at 7:05 and by 7:15 I was too hot to stay in bed:)

Here are the highlights/noteworthy experiences of the trip:

1. The whole time we were there we did the only thing you do when you go to Sinai..nothing. I read a book and a half.

2. The water was extremely shallow and even 50 meters out it barely came to your hips. The coral was really shallow as well and wasn’t the prettiest I’ve seen, but there were some pretty crazy fish when you made it out far enough to find some reefs. The bottom of the sea was covered with Sea Cucumbers, which I first I have to admit I thought were turds!

3. Two guys who were staying there caught an octopus and cooked it for dinner.

4. As I said, the only thing you are supposed to do in Sinai is relax, but….at any given moment there are at least 5 flies sitting somewhere on your body and 15 more waiting for their turn

5. The food was…interesting. Some of it was really good, but one night the only option we had was fish. I’m not a big fan of fish, but I usually like it enough. However, at home I am used to filets….here, we had three HUGE fish served to us on a large platter…they were whole, with the heads, and amazingly sharp and ferociously teeth! I could even see the red spots on one of the fish and it made me think that perhaps it was one of the pretty fish I had seen snorkeling earlier in the day. I spent about 15 minutes getting rid of the bones and making a pile of meat and then put the plate under the table to get it out of my sight (the tables are like 10 inches off the ground by the way, so this isn’t really weird). I just can’t stand to see the animal that I am eating, I just like to see food:)

6. I’m glad I went, but I had a lot on my mind (Ulpan in particular), and seemed to forget how to relax. I will want to go back again sometime when I have a better mindset and can really enjoy the nothingness. I think if we go back we will try to find a better beach too….one that is known for snorkeling and swimming.

Ben took a lot of pictures and he has chosen his favorites for me to post on the blog. Some of you have already seen them.

As for an update this past week: My work visa is on hold for the moment because of some silly reasons the government gives us, but my tourist visa was extended when I went to Egypt so it’s ok…I found a community center about 3 blocks from our apartment that has line dancing, salsa dancing, pilates, and rock climbing, I think I’m going to join….more soon.