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EGYPT
September 14th, 2000
We crossed the border at Taba and walked the half mile to the bus station in the blazing midday heat. We purchased tickets and piled onto the completely full bus feeling a little intimidated about the rather aggressive nature of the locals (men!). The journey took us down the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba where the waters are turquoise over the reefs and deep blue beyond. Dotted all along this coast are small intimate clusters of buildings serving as retreats for tourists as well as numerous half- completed huge hotel complex developments that are now beginning to seriously scar the pristine coastline. The backdrop to this beach scene is the incredibly stunning Sinai mountains.
We disembark in Nuweiba city and are immediately bombarded by the local cabbies all wanting our business. We haggle out a price (which is the Egyptian custom) and head off to nearby Tarabin, a beachfront village filled with rattan and thatched huts and Arabian lounges. Tarabin is very popular with young vacationing Israelis and foreigners alike and has a distinct ‘Hippie’ aura. There are lots of vendors selling rugs, clothes, jewelry and Hukka’s (water smoking pipes, usually filled with fruit flavored tobaccos). On the beach are camels and horses for hire by the hour, and soft breezes blow in off the water soothing the soul. We head to one of the many local restaurants called ‘Panorama Camp’ and have a delicious meal of grilled fish served whole encrusted in garlic, tahini and bread, chips and salad. The proprietor is sweet and happy to have our company. It seems a bit off season but still a little too noisy for our tastes, music blaring from the numerous restaurants dotted along the beach. However, on a walk that afternoon we come across a small establishment at the tail end of this resort strip that offered a much more laid back atmosphere. We relocated the next morning to ‘Soft Beach’ as it was called – it is quiet, the people there are friendly and the toilets are clean!! We spend two days here swimming, relaxing under the shade of palm thatched open air lounges and eat tasty local food. The full moon glows brightly over the warm Red Sea waters and as night develops the wind picks up and provides a welcome respite from the heat of the day.
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| For some more information about Nuweiba visit Nuweiba Net |
The last day we were here happened to be Saturday which is the day many Egyptian men come from Cairo to take in the sights (meaning the women in bathing suits!). There are no Egyptian women to be seen anywhere at these resorts, as it’s the custom in this country that the men work while in most cases women stay home and raise children. Arab women are rarely seen showing so much bare skin, so these men come down here to get an eyeful of the sunbathing foreigners. Its both pitiful and humorous to watch them stand in big groups on the beach and stare openly, sharing binoculars and telescopes for close up viewing! From Tarabin we decide to continue on down the coast to another quite popular diving resort town of Dahab, to check out the coral reefs there.
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DAHAB, EGYPT
We catch the bus and head for Dahab, another Red Sea coast town known for its diving. We find a nice camp, (Bishbishi) and proceed to check out what all the talk is about. We find two superb features; one the Blue Hole, a dive location approximately 10 km north of Dahab. As the name suggests it is a deep circular hole in the coral reef, no more than 20 feet from the shore.
It drops to well over 300 feet, and is surrounded by a rich coral reef with many beautiful species of fish. The other site we loved was a stretch of empty dune-like beach called the Blue Lagoon. Its turquoise and dark blue waters stretches to the horizon and an abundant number of the beautiful but poisonous Lion fish lurk amidst the coral formations. Due to the abundance of fascinating fish and coral close to the surface we chose to spend our time snorkeling instead of diving with absolutely no regret.
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| See a under water view of Blue Hole fish at TourEgypt |
We also ventured into the desert on camels with our young Bedouin guide. An hour and a half into the hot and dusty desert we took a break from the rather uncomfortable ride, to have some traditional hot black tea. Our conversation turned to the camels. Some interesting facts about them are: they drink water every 2-3 days but can go as long as 14 days without it and store this precious liquid in their long necks. Their mouths are hardened enough to grind twigs and stickered, thorny branches for nourishment. When they are lying down they only touch the ground on three points of their bodies, a pad under the chest and at two points on their hind quarters. Fascinating creatures but not very friendly, they will spit at you and kick with their padded feet if you provoke them. (Chris got it on the trail up Mt. Sinai!) Anyway, it seems that Dahab attracts Australians and New Zealanders in large numbers and there are a ton of restaurants as well as dive centers and souvenir shops. Travelers are definitely more prevalent than tourists here and there are also hundreds of Egyptian free-range cats hanging around scrounging for left overs. It is said that people who come for a night or two can end up staying a week or sometimes a month.
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After Dahab, we head for Sharm El-Sheikh to catch the ferry over to the mainland port city of Hurghada. Sharm El-Sheikh is very dirty and very expensive and the options for the budget traveler are non-existent. However, there are plenty of five star hotels with private beaches for those who have a wad of cash to blow. For a map of Sinai click on interknowledge.com to open a new window.
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