Advertisement
Published: November 22nd 2006
Edit Blog Post
Stuck in Horghada Leaving Luxor, I took a five hour bus trip across the Eastern Arabian desert and through the Red Sea Mountains to the coastal port town of Hurghada. This was to be a jumping off point for me to get over to the Sinai Peninsula, destination - Dahab, Egypt. I arrived into Hurghada Saturday evening and hoped to pass through quickly but unfortunately learned that the next high speed ferry across the Red Sea would be early Monday morning. I checked into my $7 per night hotel room and bided my time exploring the local bazaars and visiting the lone Western outpost in town, The Hard Rock Café. Again, like all the other towns so far, I seemed to be the lone American, amongst an array of European and Asian travelers, most of which were not speaking English. I’ve had fleeting moments of loneliness and isolation here, but that has always been assuaged by the friendly Egyptians who don’t hesitate to strike up conversation and satisfy their curiosity with American tourists.
Dahab & the Blue Hole Monday morning I awoke at 3:00am to catch the high speed ferry to the Sinai Peninsula port town of Sharm
Our Guide
Mohamed reflecting on the homeland. You could tell he thoroughly enjoyed being out here. el-Sheikh. From there, a one hour taxi ride sped me to the laid back beachfront utopia of Dahab, Egypt. Unlike all of the other cities, this was and felt like a little slice of paradise for me. Young backpackers and hippies fused in with European diving groups are all chilling out here along the scenic and relaxing coastline. The dramatic mountains meet the sea to create a spectacular panorama. This felt like a great place to shake off the dust from the last week so I decided to stay two nights instead of the planned one night. Traveling without commitment or firm plans is great! On arrival to Dahab, I quickly located a comfy beachfront hotel and was snorkeling along the world famous Red Sea coastline by 11:00am. My hotel arranged for my jeep guide to the Blue Hole dive site, where I saw all kinds of amazing colorful fish. The “Blue hole” is well, a really deep and wide hole (125 yards deep and about 50 yards across) amidst the coral reefs and only a few kicks from the coastline. Everyone was saying that the Red Sea is the second best dive site next to the Great Barrier Reef,
and I believe it.
The Colored Canyon Today I arranged for a Jeep Trek into the Sinai Interior for a tour of the Colored Canyons and White Canyon sites. The super skilled (and fast) driver Fahad along with guide Mohamed picked me up bright and early this morning and I jumped onboard with a fantastic group of strangers who all became friends by the end of the day. In the group, there were two ladies from the Netherlands, one German, one Italian, and a clowning brother and sister from Madrid Spain, Rosa and Juan Carlo. Our first stop was the colored canyons, two and ½ hours from Dahab and much of this on bumpy, bumpy, bumpy roads or as Fahad calls it, “an Egyptian Massage”. The pictures here speak for themselves - We walked about one hour on the fine sandy floor and through the narrow snaking canyons, with beautifully colored walls of crimson, orange and yellow. Climbing out of the canyon, we sat down for tea at a Boudin camp, where our Jeep and driver awaited.
About the Boudin The Boudin (desert dwellers) belong to 14 distinct tribes scattered through the Sinai Peninsula and in
my observation, inhabit some of the most inhospitable land on earth. They mainly trace their roots to tribes in Jordan and Saudi Arabia where they still have ties. We drove through hours of rugged dessert landscape and throughout there were these small tribes of Boudin in plywood camps, living with the bare minimum.
Lunchtime with the Boudin & the White Canyon After our trek through the colored canyon, we headed back out on the bumpy road and across the valley to another bumpy road for lunch with at a Boudin camp. On the way, our driver Fahad, emboldened by our cheering, drove us up and down sand dunes and down big drops while we all laughed and rolled around in back. Once we arrived, we found a Boudin camp set amidst a lush desert oasis backdrop and they quickly served us up a wonderful meal of different Egyptian foods. After the great meal and some relaxing, Mohamed led us out on the final leg of our tour, a walk from the camp into the white canyon. After a 45 minute walk through the white sandy canyon, we climbed a ladder out, and emerged onto a plateau to see
Clored Canyon
Surrounded by Spaniards a spectacular sunset dropping over the vast mountain range and the red sea beyond. Here we climbed to the top of a rock and soaked up the silence while the setting sun cast a red orange glow on the valley behind us. Afterwards, we all walked, some rolled, barefoot down the pristine sand dune to our awaiting jeep. A perfect end to an adventurous and fun day
Advertisement
Tot: 0.144s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 20; qc: 113; dbt: 0.0672s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
Alan Holmstrom
non-member comment
Love your Blog
Great photos - great commentary - great adventure. Let me know if you get these comments. Call us on Thanksgiving at your Mom's if you can. Love, Dad and Dia