Blogs from Sinai, Egypt, Africa - page 8

From Luxor, we hopped on a painful 16 hour long overnight bus to Dahab (a small seaside town on the Red Sea side of the Sinai peninsula) but it was definitely worth it! Dahab is what most would refer to as a "backpacker's paradise", with lots of cheap hotels, quaint restaurants and some of the best scuba diving in the world... and all with a really chilled out atmosphere. We spent four days total here here with most of our time spent relaxing and scuba-diving, with a little Sheesha smoking and yummy eating thrown in the mix. I managed to get 7 dives in (over 25 total now) and Bonnie got her Open Water and Adventure Diver certifications. Really, there's not too much more I can say about this place other than a relaxed sigh of ... read more

We'd all been excited for quite awhile about our first bush camp. Setting off early from Luxor, we spent a very long day driving north, stopping only to shop at a supermarket for supplies. It was early evening when Kevin first pulled Twiga off road and we made our way to the sight of our first bush camp. Hayley and Kevin didn't disappoint with their choice of venue. The site for our camp was amazing-a huge rocky outcrop bordered the camp site on one side and to the other was a wonderful view across the plain to more desert expanse beyond. Laying out the wadi rugs, having tried to clear the area of as many big stones as possible, it felt amazing to be setting out our sleeping gear under the stars. After the cook group ... read more

We wake up in our amazing beach bungalow to a beautiful view. It seems all the rastas missed Nuweiba and settled to travel to Dahab. As a result Nuwebia has fallen off the map for many tourists and is bliss as a result – not many people, just you, the beach and a few lazy relaxed locals. We love our surroundings and the atmosphere so much that we decide to stay on until lunch before catching an overland bus to Taba. We say our goodbyes to Egypt and cross into Israel/Palestine. Due to our late arrival and our original intentions of traveling to the Dead Sea that night the last bus is already gone. We decide to spend the night in Eilat, which is probably a good thing as I have become sick and eagerly appreciate ... read more

The next day our spirits soaring we hung over and just chilled we meet with Wilson and Susan. We decide to head up to Blue Bells and do some snorkelling together. Nadeer, a really awesome couchsurfer from our New Year’s eve night (really worth the meet up if you’re in Dahab), helps us sort out gear hire. We spend the day chilling and enjoying sunset and a last dinner with our friends in Dahab.... read more

The next day we are keen to get to St Catherine’s monastery, a monastery at the base of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the 10 commandments from God. We are all eager and smiles and the first car who is driving past ends up picking us up. Our luck ends here because in actuality we establish the car is only picking us up because they think we want a taxi. Realising how far we want to go and that we are not intending to pay we end up getting dropped off at a neighbouring town, which is only 5 kilometers away. Its not by the water but this actually makes the town quite pleasant as there are a lot less tourists. We have a tasty seafood lunch and decide to head back to Dahab town centre ... read more