The Pilgrimage

(by Annie) Sinai is a place known for its history, geography, and last but certainly not least - religion. Of all the places in Egypt, this was one of the places I was most looking forward to. Growing up Catholic, Mt. Sinai wasn’t just another place on a map it was Moses, the 10 Commandments, and the burning bush. Perhaps seeing Charleston Hesston every year cemented such thoughts as well.

Rachael was a Scuba Star these past couple days. Seriously, I had so much fun simply watching the excitement on her face as she prepared for a dive. Tuesday was her final day and her last two dives. I will of course let her jump in here.

(Miller insert) I’m a certified open water diver! This means I can dive to 18 meters and understand the equipment basics, communication signs as well as the necessary survival skills, should a minor emergency happen. Instructor Harvey was amazing, so patient and so fun too! The worst part was making each other laugh underwater, chuckling and a breathing regulator don’t mix very well. The last dive was absolutely stunning (in no small part due to the fact that my wetsuit finally started to go on easily). A group of 6 of us went to a site called the Islands. It’s about a 5-minute ride from the dive center in a truck and a walk-in from the beach. Getting to the bathwater-warm, waist-high, crystal clear water, we donned out fins and masks and executed the entry Harvey had explained on shore. About 10 meters out, the bottom splits open and there’s a crack to dive through. I followed Harvey and still wasn’t quite sure where I was trying to squeeze my body. A couple turns and the tunnel opened into quite the underwater theatre. There are two main underwater reef islands (hence the name) and we made it out to the second one and around. Once around, a current picked us up and we were able to simply float a few meters off the bottom in a sitting position and drift by the animals and coral. Disneyland has GOT to pick up on a ride like that! When we did an air check and finally surfaced again, I couldn’t believe we’d been down for 50 minutes. There’s so much to absorb while making sure you don’t drown, which gets a little easier every time. All in all, I’m so happy with the way this went. The dives were awesome, the people in the dive center are amazing and I can’t wait to get back to Dahab. Bring on Lake Erie!

(Annie’s back) So after we had Miller’s temporary ID card and scuba certification papers done we waited for our bus to Sinai. The hotels in Dahab get together to offer this service – ride there at 11:00 p.m. and home by 11:00 a.m. You can do the math, which means twelve long hours to drive two hours each way and hike 6 km to the top of Sinai and back again. In the end it saved us an entire day that we would have had to spend finding lodging and food.

We both passed out during the ride there, let’s face it our normal bedtime is 9:00 p.m. maybe 10 if we have had an adventurous night playing pool and bar trivia. Which we did in a bar shaped like a BOAT!! Anyway, I kept on waking up and just seeing buses upon buses passing us, very large tourist buses. When we finally arrived, there was honestly more confusion rather than clarity and the 4,000 plus people that had come to hike as well did not make it any easier. Our Arabic speaking driver finally put us in touch with our English speaking guide, which is mandated by the Egyptian government.

Two things were very clear from the beginning - our guide was in a hurry and my sandals would never ever not smell like camel poop. At first the walk was fine, I really had no trouble going on flat land. And then there were three or four nice Bedouin men asking if I would rather take a camel. The other pilgrims were everywhere and I really felt like I was at an amusement park trying to be the first one to get in line for the newest roller coaster. So, it certainly did not start off as the deeply religious experience I thought it might be.

After about 2 km we did out first rest stop. I simply could not catch my breath nor continue at the pace we were going. The camels were also driving me nuts. We might have actually passed more camels then actual tourists. I actually got nipped on the arm by one of the more ornery ones. It was also Rachael's turn to be a sport. We looked at the clock decided we had plenty of time and we went a lot slower than the rest of our group. We stopped about every 30 minutes for me to rest. About two hours later we reached the plateau of the camel road up Mt. Sinai. This left 700 steps until the summit. Well everyone had finally reached the new roller coaster and going was slow. The sun came up right when we reached the top and it was beautiful. We luckily picked a perch with not a lot of people and just watched the sun rise with the most amazing views.

Obviously, the way down was a lot easier and Rachael took some amazing pictures of the views we had missed during the night trek. We didn't even have to stop once and made it down in about an hour and a half. Laving us enough time for some tea before the monastery of St. Catherine's opened. I absolutely love going into monasteries but again was struck with some of the tourists ruining the moment for me. We herded in at 9:00 and first went into the simplistic church itself. It was lined with beautiful old photos and paintings. Chandeliers spilling out from the ceiling and old small church pews lining the inner hall. I lit several candles and then headed over to the back of the alter and the confessional. Outside the main attraction stood - The Burning Bush. People taking photos under it and stealing a little sliver for home - don't worry Grandma - I got you a little piece.

When we finished the whole group van piled back in the van. We arrived back at our hotel. The dive instructors asked Rachael and I the same question: Did you like it? We couldn't answer that one. But, the second was if it was worth it? That answer was simple - Yes! So, we are pilgrims, now finally in Luxor, Egypt. Our 18 hour bus ride left us with sore backs and ankles the size of grapefruits. Today we will do absolutely nothing except recharge our batteries for the next three days we have in the valley of the kings.