Sinai, Security Checkpoints and Snorkeling
From Cairo, we took what turned out to be an eleven hour bus journey east. Eleven hours . . . door to door. Leaving Cairo at 7am, we didn’t get into Dahab until 6pm that night. The journey was long, the roads were brilliant, but it was longer than we expected it to be. See, we were told it would only be eight hours. That might not seem like a lot, but imagine a prison sentence in which, after your eight month incarceration, they suddenly decided to extend it for 30% longer than the time you’d just already served (though neither of us has been to either jail or prison of any sort – we’ve been on over 80 buses on this trip alone in over thirteen countries on five continents in eleven months – I’d like to think we could be considered authorities on the subject at hand). . . Like we said in an earlier post, don’t believe what anyone tells you – it will take longer, cost more, not be anywhere as nice, look nothing like the photos, and not surprisingly – be below any and all of the standards to which you expected and placed upon said journey.
But, we’re not complaining . . .that’s reality – that’s just the way it is.
Anyways, we chose to get to Dahab by crossing by bus. Contrary to what we’d heard from others, We made a point of taking the day bus so we could see the landscape of the desert unfold before us as we passed east from Cairo through this particular stretch of Egypt. Not being completely mad, there is a night bus option that we took to get back to Cairo from Dahab, and we found it to be most acceptable – if you don’t count the time that Christine got groped from some slimy Egyptian dude!!! Despite the negatives, night transit is a great way to travel, the idea is that you can sleep and still save the cost of a hotel hostel, waking to a new town and a new adventure. Riding across the Egyptian desert – wow. Truly, a wonderful landscape to witness and be immersed by, endless desert of flat sand and eerily eroded hillsides soon gave way to a refreshing sight of the Gulf of Suez as we crossed over onto the Sinai Peninsula.
Soon after crossing into the Sinai Peninsula, our bus was stopped at a military checkpoint, and we would soon find that it was only the first of many, many checkpoints to follow as we made our way down the western coast of the peninsula to Shamm El Sheik on the southern tip, then back up the eastern coast to Dahab. You see, we didn’t take a flash bus full of Western tourists, we took the standard local bus that makes this route many times a day, every day of the week. No glitz and glamor for us – we travel with the locals! At each of these these checkpoints, we were boarded by a man in civilian clothes but with an added feature of distinction – a gun on his hip – and one by one, he checked our identification. Passports for travelers, licenses or ID cards for locals.
I’m not sure what he was looking for. Terrorists? Illegal travelers? Names that matched his “No-Bus-Ride-Allowed List”? Sometimes, someone would have to get off of the bus, and we sat there for five to ten minutes on the idle bus while paperwork was checked and specific ID verified – who knows, maybe even a bribe or two made – and then the same person boarded the bus and we were once again on our way. In the six or so hours that we traveled through Sinai, we must have stopped five or six times. At first I was amused by it – new experiences, fun adventures in a foreign land and all – but after a while, it just started to bug me. Not because these stops were interfering with our precious trip or any valuable time we had – that doesn’t even factor into it – but because it just seemed to be an extreme waste of time, energy and valuable paid resources. C’mon, think about it – if I’m such a bad guy that police will stop a bus to look for me, wouldn’t I probably be bad enough to get a new ID card with a different name – or not ride on the bus in the first place?? It seemed to be a well rehearsed, choreographed, and uselessly repetitive act.To be honest, there were bombings in Dahab in recent years, and I’m sure that the govt and police force is doing what they can to minimize the possibility of another terrorist act from occurring, but . . . . anyways – better safe than sorry, right?
Once in Dahab, our bus pulled into the bus station and we were immediately met by the loud and very aggressive touts, offering taxis and a place to stay. But we were all set – we had a place to stay and we even had a free pickup by the hotel. Christine is so social – she had met a very nice couple (Demelza and Jihad – Hi guys!!) and they chatted through most of the bus ride, and it turned out that they were staying where we were, so we all shared a taxi to our hotel. Once we could get one. Jihad is from Lebanon and can speak Arabic fluently, and that made getting a taxi and agreeing on a cost that much easier. In Egypt we’ve found that one has to be firm and loud when talking to taxi drivers – meekness gets you nowhere – but I was surprised to hear Jihad tell me that once he and the taxi driver agreed on a price, if the driver asked for more money or changed the rate once we arrived at our guesthouse, Jihad was going to kick his ass! LOL!
Our guesthouse was really lovely. On the water (no beach, sorta rocky, but easy to snorkel from), great two level outdoor restaurant. Think chill music, lots of shade, good food, pillows on the ground, cold beers and a nice breeze. The breeze was needed, because the temperature seemed to stay at 40-44*/105-112* – it was just plain hot. Our showers were salt water, so to cool off it was easier to just jump in the ocean – and you got just as clean too. With a salt water system, soap just won’t lather up . . . who knew. It was also amazing because along the whole area, 50 meters off the shore was a wonderful coral wall that dropped from 1 meter deep to over 20-30 meters. The whole wall was a coral reef system and we could just snorkel as long as we wanted, then simply swim back to our hotel steps. Really cool!
The highlight of going to Dahab and the Red Sea isn’t what’s on land – it’s what’s underwater . . . . coral. We’ve been lucky enough to snorkel and dive at some of the worlds premiere spots, but the Red Sea soon topped the list of great places. Crystal clear water (50-70 foot visibility!), fish, corals and other reef animals . . . paradise. What made it really great is all this was waiting for us, a mere 30 feet off shore. With Demelza and Jihad, we headed over to Blue Hole and a whole new experience of snorkeling. We were taken there by Jeep and our driver stopped along the way to pick up some local girls who were going there to sell handmade bracelets and jewelry. Of course, we ended up buying some from them and even made sure to buy from each girl so they wouldn’t get jealous and all made a sale. (Great, more bracelets to carry around)
When we bought our tickets to go to Blue Hole, we thought that we would be going out on a boat and even packed provisions to have a lunch on the water. So we were surprised and very confused when we pulled up to a parking lot, a strip of restaurants and no boats in sight . . . great we’re getting screwed again! Our driver assured us all was well, and the diving spot was right next to the shoreline . . . and it was too . . . like 30 feet off shore! With our stuff safely stashed it was time to hit the water. Blue Hole is an amazing anomaly. 100 meters across, 150 meters deep, 10 meters from shore . . . really cool.
Snorkeling over the lip and into the abyss of the hole was like jumping off a building or out of a plane – deep blue endlessness of water below you. It was so freeing, so exciting to be in such an area. The coral was bright, healthy (except where the stupid ones were walking! – don’t walk on coral people . . . OK?!) There was so much to see and though there were many, many people there snorkeling and diving – it was still possible to move away from the crowds and feel free and alone. The restaurant where we kept our stuff had an open shaded area and we would sit on pillows on the floor. We’d snorkel for an hour or so, then head back in to get some drinks and snacks and stare out to the water anticipating our return. We must have gone in four or five times!
Taking a break, we walked to the Northern end of the beach and looked at several memorials placed in honor of those who had died while diving in Blue Hole. Most were younger than 30, there must have been almost two dozen markers.
Finally, the day was coming to a close and it was time to go back to our guesthouse, and we had a thoroughly enjoyable day. We even had our pickup delayed for several hours so we could enjoy the scenery and the snorkeling for as long as possible. But, thankfully we got to see a camel drink from a water bottle before we left!
We had also done an ATV tour into the desert and visited a Bedouin village, but it wasn’t nearly as fun as snorkeling, and I didn’t bother taking my camera. It was a good time, around two hours, and the highlight was stopping to have some Bedouin Tea at a Bedouin Oasis in the desert.
Our time in Dahab was the highlight of our short stay in Egypt, and it was definetly a place we’ll make a point of returning to.
Themocracy
It’s amazing how much money (time) one could save by speaking the local language. This is the first time I traveled to a country where command of the native language makes a difference- and a HUGE difference! ANd, the first time I fell victim to scams and bribery! Ugh- I guess we all need to eat, huh?
Oh yeah!, I loved your little anecdote on our chance meeting and time together! Thank you so much. Jihad really loved it- He was so surprised!
I was happy to hear that Demelza and Jihad met you both.. Wow.. she did not say anything about the scamming.. By the way, I am Demelza’s Mother.
Hi Diane -
I’m glad that you enjoyed our post on Egypt . . . it was an interesting time, to say the least!
I hope you get a chance to review some of our earlier posts, and sign up for our updates to go straight to your email.
Take care
Paul