Snorkeling in Sinai

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  Sharm al-Sheik, Egypt
Thursday, December 1, 2005

2005-12-01 Sharm Al-Sheik
Dave

The trip to Sharm was bad. Border control wasn't too awful, Israel doesn't mind people leaving (other than the hefty exit fee) and Egypt loves tourists. We have a bunch of Isreali stamps in our passports which means we are banned from most Arab countries (much to our families' relief).

There was an older couple that I really admired. They were taking a day trip from Israel to St. Catherine's in Sinai (Egypt). St. Catherine's is one of the oldest Christian churches and it houses a descendant of the burning bush that spoke to Moses, one of the two times that God directly communicated with a man. The man had a hat on that said, "Jesus is my boss". I'm impressed that these fairly old American tourists were brave enough not only to go to Israel but cross into Egypt and get themselves around without a tour guide. I'm sure they just paid a huge amount to a taxi driver (which would have been much cheaper than a tour) but it's still rare to see Americans do something that difficult so far from home.

They were fortunate to take a cab because for us the trouble started when we got to the bus station in Taba and was told that the 9AM bus to Dahab was cancelled. We couldn't figure out who the official bus station man was and we have learned to not trust Egyptians volunteering unsolicited information especially when a hefty taxi ride is involved. We determined to wait until after 9 before getting concerned. At ten minutes after 9 we talked to a group of Egyptians waiting on the road.

Dave With Fez

They were going to Sharm al-Sheik which is past our destination of Dahab. We waited with them hoping a service taxi would pull up. No such luck. Eventually a normal taxi came and wanted a huge sum of money. We told him we would wait for the 3pm bus to which he responded that the 3pm bus was also cancelled. We tried to convince the Egyptians to share the taxi with us but they said that Egyptians and non Egyptians were not allowed to share a taxi. We later learned that was because there was an additional border fee to be paid just a few yards down the road. Kim kept trying to ask the Egyptians how they were going to get to Sharm and they were evasive. I suspected that tourists get the first crack at the taxi and if we didn't take the taxi they would. This all seemed very unfair to Kim and she got upset. We have learned that Egyptians get very uncomfortable when you get upset. One of them felt so bad for us that he ended up negotiating with the driver and the other Egyptians for us all to take the cab to Nuweiba, about halfway to Dahab. One of the Egyptians opted out, probably because he felt uncomfortable with upset Westerners.

On the way to Nuweiba we saw the broken down bus with a lot of unhappy people standing around. Fortunately at the bus stop in Nuweiba we just barely caught the bus to Dahab.

By this time we had had enough of Egyptian travel and wanted to just get back to home base in Luxor. We could take the bus past Dahab to Sharm and then take 6pm ferry to Hurghada where we could take the midnight bus arriving in Luxor at 5am.

Kim Finishs Pizza

However, by the time we got to Sharm we were ready for a break and still wanted some time on the beautiful Red Sea beach so we checked into a hotel for two nights.

The hotel Pigeons House seemed perfect. It was across the street from all of the expensive resorts that lie on the beach but it was very cheap. The manager was nice, it got good reviews from our guide book, and someone staying there recommended it. There was a dive shop next door that rented snorkels and gave a discount to people staying there. The included breakfast was very good for a budget hotel. I went downtown to get picnic food and we had a nice dinner on the tables outside our room.

Before going to bed Kim went to the shared bathroom and heard someone enter after her. She assumed it was a woman (being in the woman's bathroom) but she glanced up to see a man staring at her. She shouted at him and he ran. She started to chase him but thought better of it and got me. We talked to the manager who told us it was a guest and he would be confronted and he gave us a room with a private bathroom. Everything else was nice so we stayed another night there. When we checked out he wanted to charge us for the private room for both nights instead of just the second night. We argued about it a bit and compromised for a price between the two. I basically liked the manager and thought the customer service was generally pretty good but if he didn't intend to upgrade our room for free he should have been clear about it. We had already paid for the cheap room and for all he knew we were checking out in the morning.

But enough about the bad stuff. Oh wait... I got two blisters between my toes that popped and were raw and really hurt. Despite all the hassle and pain and expense, staying at Sharm was totally worth it. The beach was fantastic, just as nice as Nuweiba except for all of the old and fat Russians (many of whom were unfortunately topless). We went snorkeling and it was incredible! So many fish and rays and octopi! And then I saw the reef which was an explosion of colorful fish and coral. I went in four or five times and probably spent six hours in the water over the two days. I think my favorite fish was the parrot fish. I had heard of a parrot fish before but never seen one. Swimming around I saw a fish that looked like a parrot. Go figure. I also loved the yellow fish that looked like big angel fish.and would swim up to investigate me. The octopi were very cool but I didn't get to seem them do anything other than hide. Oh, and the huge schools of tiny fish were amazing. They were everywhere and it was so interesting to see them move. I also saw two lion fish, one of which from the shore in one foot of water. Two rays, one of which I had to chase to take his picture. Two big anemones with clown fish. Lots and lots of blue lipped clams. Some little fish that would try to swim in the gills of the parrot fish. Every so often the parrot fish would get annoyed and try to eat the little fish. It was all so great!

We ate twice at our favorite restaurant where they have big fried shrimp and bring extra mezze for free. We also ate pizza and salad bar at a Movenpik restaurant on the beach, but mostly we ate fruit from the store.

I needed new flip flops and a bathing suit. I couldn't get anyone to go for less than 40 pounds ($8) for flip flops until I used the line, "These would cost me 10 pounds in Luxor. How much are they here?" I got them for 25 (about what they cost at WalMart). The swim suit was more difficult. The best I could find was 40 pounds for one that was a bit too small. I found one promising shop where the shopkeeper asked me how much I had paid for the flip flops. I lied and told him 20 hoping to send the message that I won't take his first offer. Well, he went over the top and asked 220 pounds for the swim suit. I laughed at him and he laughed at me. At one point I think he was frustrated because he insulted me but acted like it was a joke. As I left the store he told me that my wife is a lucky woman to be married to such a good man. That's the second time that someone told me that when I felt they were annoyed with me. The next shop was happy to sell me the perfect bathing suit for 30 pounds or 1/7 what the previous shop asked. Sheesh. Oh, one of my favorite things in Egypt is the cheap juice. I went to a juice shop and offered two pounds (the tourist price in Luxor). He snorted and said "ten". I told him it was two in Luxor. He just waved me away. Ten pounds for juice? I can get fresh juice cheaper at IHOP.

Leaving Sharm was almost as difficult as getting there. We jumped into a minibus that said marina but it was a different place than the port. We asked a taxi to take us to Sharm al-Maya (where the port is). He said yes. Then I tried to explain that we wanted the port and he didn't understand. I showed him a map but cab drivers don't understand maps. Eventually Kim showed him our ferry tickets. He seemed to understand but then tried to drop us at the wrong place. I knew how to get to the port so I just directed him. When we got there he said, "airbort! This is airbort!" It was clearly not an airport. When I gave him the agreed 10 pounds he got upset and wanted 20. I argued and finally offered 15. It wasn't very much farther than he wanted to drop us and it was part of Sharm al-Maya, at least according to my map. He was pretty upset (or perhaps a good actor) and eventually took it. I had the feeling that he really did think he deserved more but didn't want to make a stink because police side with tourists, especially when a local would have paid much much less.

Maybe the rest of the trip to Luxor will be more pleasant.

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