Well... I spoke too soon about feeling better, apparently, because I had another flare-up just in time for our trip to Sinai, in which I was to climb to the top of Moses' mountain. I was more than a little stressed about this idea, but a few sorta sketchy Egyptian pills later, I managed to make it up and down the mountain without an emergency mountain-goat-esque bathroom run. There are no mountain goats on Mt. Sinai, but neither are there trees or any sort of sheltering vegetation (this, like the library of Alexandria, was a shock that should not have been a shock. Of course there wouldn't be vegetation on a mountain in the middle of the desert! What was I imagining, the Rockies? Sadly, yes... I was.) so at any rate, the stark and rocky terrain would not have been a pleasant bathroom experience...
We left our hotel at 2 a.m. in order to start the hike and make it to the top in time for the sunrise, and because of the altitude plus nighttime desert temperatures, I was cold outside for the first time so far in Egypt. (!!) We had a Bedouin tour guide to help us up the mountain, though we could have followed the whole string of pilgrims with flashlights and lanterns if we were truly lost-- it was really impressive to look above you and see a line of lights slowly ascending in a squiggly switchback line. All nationalities of people were there, from Romanians in head coverings to Spaniards quoting the Bible in Spanish as they climbed. (for myself, considering my lack of energy from the sickness it was all I could do to breathe on the ascent, let alone sing or read, but I was impressed.) The sunrise was quite a respectable sunrise, and though my camera doesn't do it justice at all, I have many pictures that I will be posting to Facebook in the future. However, the main highlight of the Sinai hike was the vast number of camels that we got to share the trail with. I can't imagine anything worse than riding a camel up a steep, rocky trail, but there were more than enough Bedouin camel owners who thought that we were going to poop out every time we stopped for a breath. "Camel ride, very cheap? You will be tired soon?" The poor camel guides closer to the top of the mountain got a far less gracious rejection, I'm afraid. And I cannot even describe to you the sounds a camel makes, but I can say that they do not help when you are already feeling rather queasy.
And did I mention my very favorite camel encounter: the love nibble. After being run off the trail several times by camels that I couldn't see because it was still dark, our group stopped for a break in a small space next to several resting camels. I tried to squeeze between one of my group members and a seated camel to look at something, and suddenly felt HUGE LIPS touching my side. I yelped and sprang forward just in time to miss getting nipped by this big guy's yellow teeth. Way too early for that kind of closeness.
The rest of the trip went by without much event... we returned to our barely-used hotel rooms to shower, then visited St. Catherine's monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai before continuing on to Dahab, a tourist town on the Red Sea. This was by far the most Westernized place we had stayed so far, and it was honestly a really nice change after several weeks of the constant harassment and attention we get out in public. I was able to walk around without getting stared at, even when I was wearing my swimsuit to go snorkeling--and this was such a mental and physical relief. And the snorkeling itself... amazing. This was my first time, and though I am not a strong swimmer, I managed to get the hang of it eventually (after swallowing an awful lot of seawater) The reefs were fantastic, and the water was the perfect temperature for splashing around on a hot day. Completely worth the 25 LE (less than $5, that is) that I paid for renting water boots and flippers.
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