The Red Sea...Finally!

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Greetings all: This past weekend, Ahmed and I had our "real" honeymoon - a 4-day weekend in Dahab! I have never been to the Sinai Penninsula yet, so this was something new for me, and Ahmed has only been to Dahab once before.
The trip started out rocky, thanks to Egypt Air, who messed up our reservation (and about 20 other people). This was Ahmed's first experience in an airport (and, thankfully, later on a plane), so this was not a good first impression. Anyway, after much yelling and such, we were on our way - on a flight with some nasty turbulance! D'oh! Ahmed was like a little kid, though - he wanted the window seat, he laughed as we left the ground, and generally just enjoyed the ride.
Arrival in Sharm el Shiekh was smooth (you can't fly right into Dahab). His friend, Ahmed, was waiting for us with a taxi. I learned that when you are the only foreign female in a car with 3 Egyptian men, EVERYONE gets ID'ed at the various checkpoints in the Sinai. But there were no problems. Our hotel - The Tropitel - was amazing! It really did look just like the brochure, only better! The design of the hotel is perfect - it is U-shaped, with the U facing in such a way that you are somewhat protected from the sometimes strong sea winds when you are outside eating or hanging out by the pool. The room was great - very bright, with a perfect view of the pool area and the Red Sea! "WOW" is what we said when we got to our room and saw our view. The rest of the day was spent resting and eating.
The next day, we took our little hotel shuttle bus (we were about 15 minutes from main Dahab town) to "the boardwalk" - not really made of boards, but you know what I mean. It was also beautiful - lots and lots and lots of cafes (my dad wouldn't make it all the way down the boardwalk with all of these restaurants to sample!), all with big comfy pillows on chairs or couches to sit on. We met up with my friends, Doug, Evelyn, Elise and Grace (from the Jordan trip), and their neice, Bethany. Afterwards, we shopped, and ate, then shopped and ate some more. Later at the hotel, we ate some more, and then walked on the beach.
The next day we got up early for a trip I was hyped for - a desert outing into the wilds of Sinai. It's so mountainous, with many valleys, and I had heard that the coloured canyon was great. However, I was not told that I would be climbing up and down straight rockfaces!!!! Hey, did you all know I have a huge phobia about falling?!? And I totally freaked when we got to certain tricky places to climb. Between Ahmed and our kind and strong Beduin guide, they got me out of there. Great views, but no more climbing!!!
The next day, we got up early, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast buffet at the hotel, walked on the beach for a couple of hours and then got a ride to Sharm. There, we caught a bus home (with A/C and the cleanest washroom ever in Egypt). I'll definitely be going back to Dahab soon! Take care..

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Photos

The "Boardwalk"
All the souvenirs and food you could ever need!

Great view!
View from our hotel balcony.

The Red Sea
The section of the Red Sea known as the Gulf of Aquaba is where Dahab is located.

No Camels
Darn it, I really wanted to bring my camel on the boardwalk!

Even more...rocks
These rocks look like they have a coloured "M" in the middle, just for me!

War sign
An old sign from the Sinai war with Israel.