Diving, Snorkeling, Hiking in Dahab
Trip Start
Aug 16, 2005
1
33
43
Trip End
May 02, 2006
Dahab,
Egypt
Monday, February 6, 2006
Bonnie had been to Dahab on her last visit to Egypt two years ago and insisted we go and that I would love it.
She was right.
Dahab and our time there really improved my impression of Egypt. God knows that if I was going on Cairo alone, I would NOT be terribly impressed with the country. But turns out it is beautiful. The Sinai Peninsula itself is gorgeous rocky desert
Camel Station
. The drives were beautiful, the people more laid back, the weather warmer, and the marine life alone worth the trip.We stayed at a wonderful little place called Bishbishi for about four days. Nice place, nice people and frankly for our standards, bordering on luxury, our own large room with a bathroom and no need for 6 blankets to keep warm at night like in Cairo.
Bonnie and I were certified for diving together on the west coast of Australia about four years ago. It had been a while since either of us had been diving so we agreed it would be a good idea to take the "refresher" course and brush up on rules and safety before actually doing our first dive. It went really well. Our instructor was Gafa, a funny and very good teacher who really made the whole process pleasant. Diving can be really scary. We each have our "issues" and we were rather anxious. The refresher went well and the subsequent dive did too. Different dives are fun or interesting for different reasons. Personally, I am keen on the bigger animals, sharks, turtles, rays, etc. These are things I hope to see every time, but the fish are beautiful as well. Nothing like swimming freely in an infinite blue aquarium teeming with fish and coral. No sharks this time, but South Africa should satiate my taste for sharks soon enough
Comin' Down the Mountain
!The next day we went snorkeling in what is called the Blue Hole, about a 1/2 hour drive from Dahab. The Blue Hole is just that, a giant hole about 120 feet in diameter right off the shore, about 30 feet from the beach. You literally walk out on a plank from the shore, take a step off into the air, plunge under water, open your eyes and are in another world. It is a giant, dark blue abyss that you can only see down as far as the sunlight penetrating from the surface allows and all around its perimeter there is beautiful coral and an abundance of beautiful orange, yellow, electric blue, green, and red fish. It is a very popular site for divers who venture up to 80 meters below the surface. We opted for a snorkel instead, and I was happy we did. One thing about snorkeling, especially in this particular spot is how just by lifting your head up out of the water, you are in another world entirely. Eerie almost. The water was pretty chilly and the reason we didn't stick around for long. Even with the wet suits we were shivering. Still not full blown summer here yet.
My favorite part of our Sinai experience was our climb up Mt. Sinai on our second to last night in Dahab. Mt. Sinai is where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments from God, and the site of the Burning Bush. It is about a 2 hour drive from Dahab to St. Katherin's Monastery which is cradled at the base of the mountain. We drove out there in a mini van from Bishbishi with about 10 other people staying at the hostel. Left the hostel at 11pm to arrive at Mt. Sinai around 1a.m. for a night hike. The whole point was to watch the sunrise from the summit. Bonnie, Mabs (Welsh guy) and I were very fortunate to meet Moses, our guide for the evening/morning.
Gafa, Bonnie, Me, Mabs
I am quite certain that is not his real name, he is Muslim for starters and it just seems like a bit too coincidental huh? Anyway, Moses was awesome. The hike, incredible. It will be added to my list of the most memorable moments for me on this trip so far. I had no idea how beautiful hiking at night could be. The stars were INCREDIBLE. INCREDIBLE. INCREDIBLE. Only two other places have shown me a sky like that, the salt flats in Bolivia and the west coast in Australia. There are millions of them...millions. Venus is clearly visible as is Mars and many constellations.We had two flashlights between the four of us. It was a bit scary at times because the trail is very rocky and at times rather steep. There are camels for hire along the way and it is funny and terrifying to come across them on the trail when there is no warning and you cannot see 5 feet in front of you in the dark. Sometimes they were just perched right on the side of the narrow trails and I swear I nearly tripped over a camel twice had it not been for their horrendous gurgling/burping noises to alert me of their presence or the light of the flashlight cast in front of me just in the nick of time.
The hike was not easy. Compared to the hike to Machu Picchu or the Andes in southern Chile it was piecemeal but it had been a while since we hiked up a mountain and I was out of breath most of the way
In the Cave, Mt. Sinai
. But it was well worth it. Arrived at the top around 4a.m, Moses took us to his little special spot, a hidden cave right on the edge of the mountain, a scary little place to negotiate in the darkness but smack dab in front of the North Star and exactly where the sun would rise directly in front of us two hours later. The guides on Mt. Sinai make their money by renting blankets and cushions to the tourists to get comfortable or even sleep while they wait for the world to wake up. We rented 3 blankets and shared a cushion, lay down in our little cave, talked while we stared up at the immense sky. At times just sat in silence, each of us lost in our own worlds...dreaming with our eyes open, some moments in disbelief at where we were, what we were doing at that very moment. Some things can be so surreal. They are so beautiful and so peaceful, so spiritual, at least for me that they seem like a dream...The actual sunrise was beautiful. However, apparently many people are so moved or inspired by this religious place, sight, the sunrise, who knows what all that they feel compelled to start singing, chanting, playing their flute, whatever they are moved to do and the rest of us have to endure their enthusiasm too. A group of about 30 Koreans started singing hymns just as the first rays of sunlight were stretching up to the heavens from behind the mountains in the distance. It was nice at first, they must have been a choir and it was interesting to hear the familiar songs in Korean but 30 minutes later I wished God would have inspired in them some quiet reflection time
Me, Watching the Sunrise
. At about 8a.m we started our descent. I don't know where I found the energy as we hadn't slept in over 36 hours but I pretty much raced down the mountain. Partly because whenever I did try to stop and give my legs a rest my knees were trembling so bad I had to keep moving or they would have buckled under me. When I got to the bottom I lay down on the rocks and enjoyed the sun while I waited for Bonnie, Mabs and Moses. When they reached the bottom we went into the monastery for a few minutes, nothing too impressive except for the burning bush. Seems hard to believe they can identify this particular bush as one from biblical times but there it is inside the monastery.
Spent the short time we had left in Dahab relaxing, enjoying the sun and reading. Finished another very good book. Looking forward to the next place like Dahab where we can just sit and read and soak up the rays. Love the excitement and the adventure, but more and more lately, I really yearn for that relaxation time. Maybe "home" seems to be fast approaching and I want to enjoy those moments now more than ever...
