Sharm el Sheikh
Trip Start
Feb 07, 2009
1
13
41
Trip End
Mar 19, 2009
Sharm El-Sheikh,
Red Sea and Sinai,
Egypt
Friday, February 20, 2009
At 3 we went down (up?) to reception to wait to be picked up for quad biking. They didn't arrive until about 3:30 and we were driven only about 200m down the road to the starting point. Luckily we had all brought scarves as they charged you to use theirs. We got our scarves and sunnies on and hopped on our bikes. We were then shown how to use them - although it was so hard to understand the guy as he spoke so quickly and his English wasn't good
Rehana Beach resort
. I had to get Mike and Adrian to explain it to me. We then had to do a couple of laps around in a single file to get a feel of how to do it.We then set off, slowly at first then picking up speed. Still pretty close to our resort but then we rode onto a road and not only had to worry about steering and falling off etc, but also I had to watch out for cars. Eventually we turned off the road and headed right out into the desert. It was freezing cold - luckily we'd all brought jackets, and the scarves and sunnies kept the dirt out of our mouth, nose, eyes.
First stop was at a small Bedouin camp where they offered us drinks (at a charge). I zipped up my jacket at this point as it was freezing cold. Back on the bikes again for the second ride, this time heading through the desert into more mountain type area. Starting to enjoy it more now, even speeding up with the others and loving the bumps! Second stop and we climbed a hill for photos, then stood in a line and shouted a name - there was an incredible echo. Back on the bikes again for another ride.
I'm right at the back so I can see everyone at front and what they're getting up to
Looking the part
. Adrian and Mike are being naughty - snaking and standing up. Alanna is driving crazy as well, up the bumps at the side of the track and bumping Adrian in front of her. It's really hard to push the accelorator button though, my thumb is so sore and I have to keep swapping positions. I also got stuck as I took the wrong side of the track and couldn't get over the bump to get me back on the right track - I was too scared I was going to tip over. I had to get the guy to ride on with me to do it.Next stop at another Bedouin camp with lots of children running everywhere and women selling bracelets, necklaces and carvings. Before we left, we switched on headlights as it was starting to get dark. This trip was the hardest, as it was adark, and we were still wearing sunnies to keep the dirt out, and could hardly see the track in front of us. When we went back onto the road, the guy in front of me stopped suddenly, so did I and Mike ran into the back of me and I got stuck in a ditch. Again had to be helped out.
We arrived back at our starting point, filthy dirty. Bought photos of all 5 of us on our bikes. Walked back to our hotel and straight into the shower. Not sure that the dirt will ever wash out. Headed up to the restaurant for dinner then into bed around 9pm.
