The Patterson Pair: Mount Sinai

We arrived in Aqaba, Jordan this afternoon and have nicely settled into our hotel. I'm currently writing from the lobby, where the net is a bit expensive ($4 CND/hour) but all the other internet places are closed as people prepare to break their fast around 6 pm tonight. Supper for us is at 7:30 pm ( you get better service when the locals have their stomachs filled!) and then all the shops will reopen again until probably 1 or 2 am.
We left Cairo on Tuesday and drove the 8 hours to St.Catherine's, which is a very tiny village at the bottom of Mount Sinai. Only the two other Canadians from our original tour are still with us now, as all the others were only with us for the Egypt part of the trip. Three other guides in training have joined us though, making the ratio of guides to tourists 1:1! Not bad! Cheryl and Virginia are both from Britain and Patricia, from Italy. If there was any doubt that Patricia was a true Italian, it was confirmed when she boarded the minibus carrying a huge lasagne, wrapped in tinfoil and then protected by a pillow case with red hearts on it. She was going to visit her friends in the Sinai and brought them a special meal. She was a little worried about how she was going to heat it up though, as it was a Bedouin family and I think their accommodations were quite basic. Also accompanying us on the bus were the driver, an armed guard and an ImTrav rep from the Egypt and Sinai area. We were well taken care of. We stopped twice on the way to Sinai for gas and washroom breaks, and also had to go through a couple of military checkpoints.
Leaving Egypt, the landscape changed quite drastically. Leaving behind the apartment complexes and pollution of Cairo, we soon were in the dessert and could catch glimpses of some blue sky ahead. Entering the Sinai Dessert and mountain region was truly amazing. The rock formations are like nothing I have ever seen before and the rocks rise out of the ground in soft pinks and greys. Camels and nomadic people appear from time to time, but besides the blue sky and the rocks, the area along the highway is mostly deserted. Before reaching our hotel in St.Catherine's, we stopped at Wadi Feiran, which is Sinai's largest oasis and consists of a natural spring and over 12 000 date palms. This is the alleged site where Moses struck the rock and water came out. (There were certainly lots of rocks to choose from!)
We made a quick stop at a grocery store for water and "energy bars" (ie chocolate!) before heading to the hotel. Supper was a large buffet, served at 7:30 pm, with the traditional Egyptian grub - rice, potatoes, roasted chicken pieces, chickpea salad, buns, pasta, beans in tomato sauce and mixed veggies along with an assortment of cookies and cakes for dessert. Bed time came early (9 pm) as our Sinai adventure would start early the next day!
At 1:10 this morning, we received our telephone wake up call from the front desk. Five minutes later there was a knock at the door to make sure we were truly awake. Only J, Carol and I decided to make the trek up the mountain. The trainee tour guides had done it before, the other Canadian opted out and our tour guide, Siobhan was feeling sick, so we told here there was no need to come with us. We had a Bedouin guide, Ramadan, with us, so didn't really need any other guides. Upon arriving at the mountain around 2 am, we had our bags searched by guards, went through the metal detectors and then were able to start our hike up the mountain. The mountain is 2285 m tall, roughly 7 km!
It takes a good 2-3 hours to hike up the mountain on the camel path, depending on the weather and the amount of people on the path. The other route, the 3000 plus steps of repentance, takes much longer and most people don't attempt them in the dark. Upon approaching the base of the mountain we had to walk through "camel alley" where the Bedouin guides are with their camels, offering to take people up to the top. (The camels can actually only go so far, as everyone who wants to reach the top must traverse the 750 steps at the top which are inaccessible by camel.) Most of the camel drivers were calling out "camel? camel?" except for one in the group which was trying the Cairo approach, "taxi? taxi?."
I was determined to walk all the way up to the top by myself but after 45 minutes of walking in the dark, stumbling over rocks and camel dung and gasping for breath, I decided that I might as well hire a camel. I think the combination of the early morning, the darkness and the strange environment made me feel a bit sick too and I knew that I still had to climb the 750 steps at the top before I could see the sunrise. There isn't too much negotiating going on when one tries to get a camel, as the camel drivers know they have a service that you need! There are camels every step of the way, especially clustered around the little tea houses, so as soon as I came across one, J arranged for me to take it up. (The cost was 55 EP - the best $11 CND I ever spent!) If this is the correct Mount Sinai that Moses climbed numerous time, he must have been quite a spry old man. (or at least had a side membership at the Y!)
Carol and J slugged it out for another 20 minutes or so before J's tiredness won out over his cheapness and he decided to hire a camel as well. He did better than I did though, and managed to get one for 40 EP. Riding the camel was much easier, although my camel did not seem to happy at having to work at 3 in the morning. I'm sure if he was a union camel he would have been asking for double time! There was much groaning and bellowing as his driver made him kneel down for me to climb on. He also plodded along quite slowly and almost stopped a couple of times. I'm sure I saw one of the empty camels coming down, give my camel a toothy grin, as if to say "ah ha, you have to carry a tourist up to the top and we're already on our way home!" Jonathan seemed to get the energizer camel - his guide just looped the reins around his neck and sent him on ahead, while walking behind and talking to our Bedouin guide.
Before long we had all reached the stairs and were ready for the last little climb. Carol had climbed all the way and put the rest of us to shame. (Twice our age too!) The 750 steps can hardly be classified as steps - more like climbing and clamoring over giant boulders while trying to catch a breath every once in a while. Since the camels can't climb the steps, the locals have found another way to sell their services. For a small fee you could get someone to carry your bags to the top or even hold your elbow for you and guide you up the steps. There were also numerous tea houses along the way, selling water, hot chocolate, tea, coffee and other edible goods. Most had lanterns burning outside and some crude type of couch inside for people to rest on. Five minutes before the top, we stopped at the last tea stop to catch our breath and warm up a bit before we sat on the top of the mountain and waited for sunrise. (It was quite windy out so our sweaters and gloves came in handy!) This tea house had one more item to hawk - smelly camel blankets and mattresses to keep you warm while you waited up at the top! Prices were quite expensive by Egyptian standards too - 10 EP for a blanket or a chocolate bar ($2 CND) and 5 EP ($1 CND) for a hot drink.
Around 4:20 am we climbed the last little bit, caught our breath and found a stop to sit. There weren't too many others at the top but some had come armed with sleeping bags and pillows and had been there for an hour or two already. The sunrise was scheduled for 5:15 am so we had about an hour to make ourselves at home. We both enjoyed our chocolate bars that we had bought in the village yesterday as well as some other well deserved treats. It was quite quiet at the top until more tourists came and crowded our site. Sometimes at Easter there came be hundreds at the top but thankfully there weren't too many this morning. The sunrise was as beautiful as everyone had told us it would be and much more appreciated after you climb 3 hours just to see it! We stayed on the top until just before 6 am, when there was enough light to see down the mountain without our flashlights. It was a little slower going down at first, as everyone was crowded on the stairs, but once we got back to the camel path, the crowds thinned out. We reached St.Catherine's monastery at the bottom around 7:30 am and took a few quick pictures before heading back to our bus. I found the hike down quite hard on my knees and back but the dull ache was a good feeling!
After breakfast we headed back to sleep for a couple of hours before packing up and leaving the hotel around 11 am. We had a two hour drive today to the port of Nuweiba, Egypt where we crossed into Aqaba, Jordan. The ferry is not always on time and due to many pilgrims heading to Saudi Arabia for Mecca, Siobhan was a bit worried as to how the crossing would go. Fortunately the ferry was waiting for us when we arrived and after loading our luggage into the storage hold, we were able to get some seats in the VIP section upstairs. The main section was filled with locals and was quite hot and strange smelly so it was nice to get a breath of fresh air. Leaving the port in Egypt, you can see Jordan & Saudi Arabia and upon arrival in Aqaba, Eilat, Israel is just across the water!
Our guide in Jordan met us with a smile and said this is the first time in two months that the ferry has been on time. Customs were another matter and quite confusing, had it not been for our guide. We unloaded the bags from the boat and then proceeded to put them on our minibus. Our passports had been kept on the boat and were sent to the immigration station where we had to collect them. Our Jordanian guide went in to collect the passports while we unloaded our luggage, took it into the building and had it scanned! We also had to pass through metal detectors before picking up our luggage again. We got the passports back from the guide, had them stamped and then boarded the bus again. Before we could leave the complex an official came on board to check our passports and make sure everything was in order!
The hour is almost done so will close for now. The agenda for tomorrow is diving in the Red Sea in the morning and then a Jeep safari tomorrow afternoon through Wadi Rum. Petra and Amman are the following days. Hope to write again tomorrow but might not have time until Amman!