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Published: November 4th 2007
When travelling, plans can change suddenly and drastically. After leaving Dahab, we headed up to the popular resort of Sharm El Sheikh to meet up with my parents for a week of snorkelling and lazing around the beach and pool. The day before we were due to meet them at the airport, I checked e mail to find that my dad had been taken into hospital with a kidney infection and subsequent blood poisoning, so they had to cancel their trip (hope you are feeling better, dad!). As we had already done the major highlight of the area, snorkelling and diving on the magnificent reefs of Ras Mohammad National Park, we decided to move on. This decision was helped by the fact that our accomodation was very basic, mosquito-ridden, and overpriced, and the only transport out of Sharks Bay was by taxi, adding to the expense and hassle. What ensued was a whirlwind few days in Israel and Jordan.
We began by traversing the Sinai desert to the border at Taba. Due to stamp-happy officials in Africa, my passport was rapidly running out of pages so I'd applied for a new one at the UK embassy in Cairo. At the
border, the officials insisted that I should have had my visa transferred into my new passport before exiting Egypt. My only option was to travel to Cairo (8 hours bus ride) to sort it out! What?! After speaking to several officials, smiling lots, and offering a round-about bribe, they finally let me out of Egypt and into Isreal - phew!
Our major port of call in Isreal was Jerusalem. This is Isreal at its most traditional and fanatic. I was surprised when we got a local bus in the city and an orthodox Jewish family got on. They looked as if they had been teleported straight from a 1940s movie. The men were bearded and pig-tailed and wore large black hats and padded coats, even in the heat of the day. The women wore tweed skirts, 1940s hairstyles, and sensible sturdy shoes - not a strappy sandal in sight! Even the childen (and there were many) were dressed very formally and old-fashioned. Fascinating.
We chose to stay in Old Jerusalem. This walled city is full of winding cobbled streets and archways. If it wasn't for Scott's good sense of direction, I'd never have been able to find my
way back to the hotel! The old city is also a focal point for three of the world's major religions - Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. We dabbled in each: following Christian pilgrims and priests along the Via Dolorosa, the last steps Jesus took before his crucifixion; attending Shabbah cerlebrations at the wailing wall on Friday as Jewish people prayed and kissed the holy wall, and teenagers sung and danced; and seeing the huge Dome of the Rock, sacred to Muslims.
After 1 1/2 days of pounding the pavement from one historical spot to another, it was time to move on. We took a bus from Jerusalem to Eilat via the Dead Sea. In true whirlwind-style, we jumped off the bus with all of our luggage, jumped in for a float in (on?!) its salty waters, and then jumped back onto another bus an hour later to continue our journey to Eilet!
Our whirlwind adventure didn't stop there. From Eilat we made a day trip into Jordan to visit the ancient civilization of Petra. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well, which made the 15kn or so of hiking through the hot dusty terrain quite arduous. Still, I have to say
I was very impressed - the spetacular Siq gorge entrance leading to huge tombs and temples carved right out of the sheer rock face. One of the biggest attractions, the monastery, was located out of "town" on a hill, reached by 1000 steps (or at least it felt like it!) By this time, I was SO tired, but, not wanting to miss anything, insisted we go up to it anyway. It proved to be all too much for me, and during the taxi ride on the way back to Isreal, I began shivering violently whilst wearing two fleeces (everyone else was warm in T-Shirts) and felt terrible. By the time we made it back to our hotel, I was convinced I had malaria. The thermometer seemed to confirm this fact. Scott went on a mission top buy fruit juice, water, and rehydration salts for me. Then, we ventured out to a medical clinic to try to get a blood test done, as reccommended in our guide book. Both clinics we visited were unfriendly and ultimately couldn't help us - where is the Thailand medical system when I need it?!!
In the end, we went out for a lovely meal
Man and donkey, Old Jerusalem
OK, I admit, I paid him to take this set-up photo, but we DID see it for real in lots of little towns in Egypt, just didnt get the photo!of veggie pasta and chocolate milkshake (practically the first food we had had all day) and got an early night, and (voila!), no illness in the morning!So much for my malaria scare!
Next, we are off back to Egypt for some more diving and hopefully a few day of rest and relaxation.
P.S. Happy Halloween (we almost forgot!)
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Mum
non-member comment
Sounds like you're going down in sympathy with Dad, unfortunatly he didn't recover so quickly. Sounds like you're having a good time without us anyway. Maybe we'll catch up with you again sometime. Living in hopes, Mum xxxx