Dahab and Nuweiba on the Red Sea

After leaving Mount Sinai, we headed over the Red Sea to do some snorkeling and see the sites of the Eastern Sinai. There are two small resort towns there called Dahab and Nuweiba. We stayed at these western-style hotels and ate western food. Where is the real authentic Egyptian stuff?

Yes, I know we had to watch our tummies for foreign bugs and Montezuma's revenge (or Pharoah's revenge if you will), but still...Can't they make some nice koshari, mahshi, baba ganoush, hummus, falafel, and cous cous in a clean environment for tourists? I'm just saying.... 'cuz that stuff is grub.

That is Saudi Arabia on the otherside of the Gulf of Aqaba
 The ferry is taking workers Egyptian workers to Saudi Arabia.

Anyways, I always wanted to snorkel in the Red Sea, the saltiest and warmest ocean water in the world. Being December, the temperatures were cooler on land (50's) than in the water (~70F). But, it wasn't bad except there was still stiff breeze. So, while you were swimming it was fine. But, the moment you stuck your head out of the water it was ice cold. So, we did not do nearly as much swimming as I'd hoped for.

This was Kathleen's first time snorkeling and she went out there with Linda to check it out. As for me, I went separate and had an interesting experience to say the least. As I left the very wide mud-flats and approached the edge of the bank, suddenly there were all of these beautiful coral reefs. I was pretty excited, except that I saw a shark! While it was a ways off, not interested in me, and probably only 4 feet long, it was scary enough, that I turned away. I'd never actually seen one in Hawaii, so seeing one here startled me.

But, as I turned I immediately went right next to a large lion fish with its many poisonous spines sticking out. Startled again, I turned and started swimming to another section of the reef. What did I see there? Three more lion fish! Stressed out, I started swimming back to shore. Man, I am such a wimp. Seriously, nothing was going to hurt me. But, sometimes your animal brain fight-or-flight response simply overrides your thinking brain and you are outta there...

Back at the hotel, we relaxed in anticipation of the day that would probably be our favorite of the entire trip. We were heading to Wadi Gazelle to ride camels with Bedouins.