Dahab
Having alternated between cultural and outdoorsy experiences during our time in Egypt so far, we continued the tradition by spending the last couple of days in Dahab. After a few initial hiccups involving a defective key at the Red Sea Relax hostel, we were thoroughly impressed by the feast they laid out for breakfast.
With our bellies full, we embarked on a snorkeling trip in the Red Sea itself at a spot called the Blue Hole. The goggles I was given were loose so seawater kept getting into my eyes and I had to take a break to find tighter goggles. On my next attempt I got better at using the flippers, although it was still a tiring experience. That said, looking at fish and coral underwater was quite an amazing experience.
Having worked up a hearty appetite, it was time for dinner. The boardwalk was lined with overpriced restaurants all competing intensely but with pretty much the same fare. After comparing prices and haggling a bit, we somewhat arbitrarily picked one. The food was actually delicious, although we weren't the only ones to think so as our dinner was plagued by cats, all hoping to get some of it.
The next day Luke, Dave and I decided to get a professional shave at the local barber. It was amusing to watch Luke's reaction when his face was threaded! I ended up looking strangely Egyptian after they were done.
We spent our last night in Egypt scaling Mt. Sinai. I prepped by drinking a cup of coffee; the first I'd had in years. It took about two hours to drive to the base of the mountain and then another 150 minutes to ascend it in the dark using flashlights. But we managed to snag an excellent spot from which to watch the sun rise. Once that was over, however, we had to contend with a zillion other people who all wanted to descend along with us. Going slowly was just as well though, since I found the steep descent to be hard on my joints.
