Ras Abu Galum - Sinai's Secret Pt 2

---

I just finished my first day of boat diving, here in Hurghada. Here's a brief itinerary of my travels since my last entry:

Cairo for 2 days (Pyramids, markets, museums)
Overnight train to Aswan
Aswan 5 hours (mostly on a sailboat on the nile)
Train to Luxor (same day)
Luxor for 1.5 days (temples, tombs, bike riding)
Bus to Hurghada (8 hrs instead of 4)
2 days in Hurghada diving (here I am...)

So, amidst all of these experiences, I will finish up what I can remember from Abu Galum and hopefully have time to expand on my recent travels - really too much to write, so you may be seeing some more poetry soon.

A few egyptians finished eating and took off, another one continued to pile more rice onto the plate for aaron and I, but I had reached capacity. Immediately after eating, I felt a sudden urge to snorkel, so I did. I picked up my fins, mask and snorkel and walked the 50 feet to the water and swam away.

Still slightly buzzed from the pre-lunch grass and my stomach in a satisfied euphoric state, I focused on the incredible vibrancy of the colors of fish, plants, corals and other animals throughout the reef. This is something I have never noticed before: Sea urchins glow bright neon blue and green from the inside out that you can see through tiny vertical slits in its body. Clams are beautiful and come in all shapes and sizes - it puts a different spin on the meaning of a pearl. I have now seen clams from two inches in length to two feet! They may be blue, green, purple, slightly yellow, brown, whatever! Each one is just as interesting as the next. Tens of pufferfish, cornet fish, sea urchins, clams, lionfish later I climbed out from the underwater world of Abu Galum.

Watching the sun approach the coastal mountaintops, I realized it was time to move on and get back to Blue Hole. Our lunchmates were gone, and it seemed the only people left in 'town' was an international group of 6 who were spending the night. The walk back was shaded, cooler and pleasant. The lighting was mild and spread evenly over the landscape. A pair of crabs mated on the rocks while waves splashed around them. Another hour of uninterrupted walking and exploring brought us to Blue Hole. The last dive group was in the process of packing up and they had a full vehicle. A couple local 'blue holians' helped us find a taxi ride back to Dahab. 20 LE and 20 minutes later, we were dropped in the town center, called Assala, where most of the egyptians live. We filled our packs with fresh fruit, drank fresh sugar cane juice, and shared a cow liver sandwich (I hope).

Sugar cane is produced in a very magical process. The raw canes are first shanked with a knife to prepare them and make them smooth. The juice man grabs them and shoves them 2-4 at a time into a circular hole on a steel machine the size of a refrigerator. Almost instantly, sugar cane juice gushes out below. Delicious. Fresh juices are quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of Egypt. Fresh mango, orange and sugar cane juice is readily available everywhere. They are too good and too cheap. Mango juice, the most expensive of the trio, can cost up to 5 LE (.80).

---

Comments

[Patti]

Sinai pt 2
love the descriptions of the fish and sea urchins. unbelievable! enjoy xo

[Heather]

I loved your post about Abu Galum! It made me really want to go there, and drink fresh juice! My blog is looking for travel reviews, photos, etc, to share. If you have the time, check it out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com, or email me at [e-mail]. Continued fun on your travels! Heather :)

["sox"]

keep the writing coming;;; i can see with your words!

[dru]

darling its betta down where its wetta take it from me..
up on da shore dey work all day unda da sun dey slave away.. miss you JSZ.