Dahab, this time climb Mt. Sinai

Some people have asked about the title "Dahab, Habibi" on my previous post. "Habibi" or "Habiba" is an Egyptian Arabic term of endearment, like "mijo" or "mija" in Spanish. It is used like "my sweet little one", or "my love".

Anyway, this little girl reminded me of all this. She was selling handmade bracelets along the beach.


Jasmine knows some super cool people in Dahab and they graciously offered us the use of their spare room. From what I gathered, Robert and Vi (sp?) divide their time between the UK, Singapore and Dahab. They are renting a home right on the water, from a Bedouin man. This first photo is basically their drive way. Then their backyard, and home, a stones throw from the water.


















Just across the water are the mountains of Saudi Arabia.










The hammock in the living room clues you in to the Dahab lifestyle.





"Welcome" indeed. Thanks Robert and Vi!



















These photos were taken just outside their backyard.
I wish you could have seen the stars at night! Amazing!





The water is very shallow (the light green water) and then supposedly there is some of the most breathtaking coral and marine life where it drops off into the deep.





















Robert prepared a tasty meal. It was greatly appreciated after our 7 hour drive.









Our hosts watching us drive away.


















Day one was all relaxation and recuperation after a tough school year...



I guess we missed having a daily challenge (work) because we certainly found an adventure for ourselves for our second night in Dahab. Jennifer, Leah and I decided to climb Mt. Sinai.

About 13 of us crammed into a minivan at 11pm, ready for our 2 hour drive out to the mountain where we met our guide and began walking up the rocky path (with hundreds of others).

The stars were fantastically brilliantly amazing... the few times I was able to glance up from focusing on my footing.


There were any number of camels one could hire to walk you up the mountain... they're not very comfortable though. Well, maybe on the way up they are, but Leah and I tried to ride a camel on the way down (so tired!) and that got old real fast. The camels didn't seem to like bracing themselves on the rocky path with the additional weight on their backs. They complained with a loud moaning and the going was very slow. Also, the saddle horn type things that you hold onto were digging into our backs, as the camels leaned into the decent. The boys leading the camels were none too pleased to let us down. They wanted to charge us the full fair, but we refused... Leah got off first and my 10 yr old camel jockey was keeping me up there, holding me hostage, until he got some money out of us.


Anyway, back on the trail.... Leah said climbing Mt. Sinai was possibly the stupidest thing she'd ever done. Two hours into it, I believe her exact words were, "I don't know if I had ever made a dumber decision than climbing a mountain in the middle of the night with 400 strangers."

I have to admit it was really tough going there for awhile.





The guy in the purple was our guide.













Jennifer was all energy and smiles, not like some of the other hikers.










Once at the top, after 3.5 hours of steady climbing, what a view! We made it as promised in time for the sunrise. It was surprisingly freezing up there after the heat of the day and our sweaty hike. Of course, the Egyptian entrepreneurs had blankets and mattresses one could rent.

...and then the treck down. We did it!





Here I am, pretending to be happy and then later, at the top, watching the sunrise.