Two Trips to the Sinai

Ok, I apologize...I've been really lazy lately, and haven't made the time to keep up with my blog. I've been super busy, between work (which is getting intense) and crazy weekend vacations. So here are the updates:

A couple weeks ago, I made a trip with Ma'andi and all of the Cairo AIESECers and some AUC friends that I've met through Maddie, to Dahab, which is a beach town on the Sinai Peninsula. It takes 8 or 9 hours to get there on a very uncomfortable mini bus, but it's definitely worth it. I never expected to visit beautiful beaches in Egypt, but this was great! The water is a perfect blue, and just the right temperature. Dahab is known as a great place for diving and windsurfing. There is a spotcalled the blue hole, where the coral makes a circle of about 2 feet deep water, and then in the middle it plummets into an 87 meter deep hole. I'm not a diver, so I just went snorkeling, but I've never seen so many different colors and fish! It was just awesome.

That night we left at midnight to go climb Mt. Sinai. We got there at about 2am, and started the three hour climb. It was really tiring and actually pretty cold, but we got to the top just in time to see the sunrise over the desert mountains. There's a little church on the top of the mountain, and a lot of people praying. It was quite an experience. I definitely recommend it as a must-do if you come to Egypt. On the way down, we visited St. Catherine's monastery, which sits at the base of the mountain. Inside they have a lot of old icons and paintings, and even the burning bush...yes, the one that Moses saw...which is still alive and growing inside the monastery.

Back here in Cairo, I've been really getting into the hum of work, now that I've learned how things go, and they're giving me more responsibility. I'm still loving life in this big city, and I'll be sad when I have to leave it.

The other big trip I took was this past weekend to an incredible place called Basata, which is also on the Sinai Peninsula, but it's a lot different from Dahab. Basata is not even a town; it's just a small compound of bamboo huts, surrounded by desert mountains on one side, and the Red Sea on the other - what a juxtaposition! There's no electricity in any of the guest huts, but there is a main hut that has electricity and food. The owners (an egyptian man and his German wife) set out food that you can prepare yourself, and they make fresh bread all day. As you take food to cook, you just write down what you've taken on a sheet of paper on the wall, and pay at the end of your stay.

What I loved so much about Basata is that there is nothing to do except sit and relax by the water all day long. The sea is so salty that you can float very easily, so it's easy to lie down and take a little nap floating in the water. Of course, the snorkeling is great there too. Egypt has some of the best coral reef in the world. Basata is so simple - it's the perfect place to relax, forget about chaotic Cairo, and do a little self-reflection. I was really sad to leave.

Now I'm back in Cairo, trying to get through another week at work. Time is flying by though. I've made a lot of great friends within the ex-pat community who have helped me settle in and have a good time. A good circle of friends, a nice apartment, and some general knowledge of how Cairo works, helps you feel more comfortable living so far from home, although I do still miss everyone back home a lot. Oh, well...I'll be home soon enough.