Up, Down, & Underwater

Locations: St. Catherine (Mt. Sinai) & Dahab

The last leg of my adventure was spent climbing Mount Sinai and relaxing by the Red Sea in Dahab. Gecko’s knew what they were doing when they ended a 3-week tour with a beach visit!

Our group got into St. Catherine in the late afternoon. There isn’t much to do there, and I’m guessing people don’t stick around for much more than the hike up Mount Sinai.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the history of Mt. Sinai (other than the fact that it’s also the name of a Toronto hospital), it’s where Moses received the 10 commandments from God. Unfortunately, the church located at the bottom of Mt. Sinai was closed to the public the day we went, so we didn’t get to see the Burning Bush.

We had to wake up at 2am to climb this mountain in time to reach the top before sunrise. It isn’t really climbing, in the sense that you didn’t need ropes and harnesses, but the foot-trek up was no easy task. If you do this hike, remember that head-torches/lamps are your friends. You want to see where you’re going and know where the edge is. The Bedouin guides and camels know, but you won’t in the darkness.

Here’s where you say “What? Camels on a mountain?”. Well, yes. They are for those who prefer to camel-trek most of the way up. I say most, because you still have to climb about 750 narrow, crowded, uneven steps to the top after the mini camel safari.

It’s about a 3 hour climb to the top (average) and there are rest-stops along the way so you can stock up on water and snacks if you need to. It’s pretty chilly at night, so I recommend layering. But if you’re still cold, you can rent a blanket and buy tea or hot chocolate when you get nearer to the top.

So how’s the view?A M A Z I N G. Cloudless sky. Bright rising sun. Mountain surroundings. A light breeze. Peacefulness. A climb well worth it!

The sun eventually warms you up before you have to make your way back down – which is a good thing because you need your muscles to warm up and work properly for the downward trek. We had two options – go back the way we came – which involved some steps and then ramps…or go down another way which consisted of 3750 steps (aka the Steps of Repentance…apparently the more dangerous way). Well, the 3 Canadians, me included, decided to take the steps…and we were rewarded with awesome mountain-side views and glimpses of little churches and man-made arches along the way.

After our very exhausting climb, our group went on to Dahab to soak up some sun and have some fun [yes, the rhyme was necessary! :)]

Dahab consisted of swimming, ATVing, snorkeling, and drinking the best Mojitos I have ever tasted. No joke! If you’re ever there, there’s a bar called Mojito…and yes, it does have the best mojitos! Oh and this is where Cherry-Mint shisha/sheesha was introduced to me at Tree Bar…delicious.

Snorkeling and scuba diving in the Red Sea is really popular, especially in the area we went to: the Blue Hole. It was my first time snorkeling, and it was def a good first-time experience. I only wish I had an underwater camera to show you how colourful the fishes were!

I guess I should mention that the beach portion wasn’t the greatest…Unfortunately, Dahab doesn’t have the white sandy beaches that everyone loves so much. They have pretty rocky beaches so I didn’t go near the ocean as I didn’t think my flip-flops would cut it!

After 3 nights in Dahab, we spent about 7 hours on a bus to get to Cairo and spent a final night together as a group.