Dahab

Thanks Marianne - we even contemplated not paying in extra to see it as it wasn't meant to be very good but I couldn't resist!

and thanks for jacuzzi warning Monica, I wasn't in it anyway that's for sure!

Well we are in Dahab now. Dahab is arabic for golden and that is really the colour of the sand here. It isn't really a beach to lie on because the sand is so coarse but the colour is incredible and our hotel has a swimming pool! It's a very cool place and Egyptair didn't lose our bags this time!

When we arrived we had an hour long drive from Sharm el Sheikh - I am so glad we decided to not stay here its just 2 miles of resorts in the middle of the desert it looks a bit claustrophoic! The drive was incredible though. It was just one road in the middle of a desert with the towering mountains on either side - a real reddy colour. At times we even spotted a few Bedouin camps where people still live in this harsh environment. A not so scenic sight were the camel corpses dotting the desert. I'm not so fond of the beasts I have to say, they sound prehistoric and smell very very bad but still, poor gamals! :(

Its tiny here with only two streets but you don't need any more. Our hotel is right on the water and the street is lined with candles at night inviting you into all the Bedouin style restaurants: basically just candles and massive floor pillows and low tables. There is constant shisha smoke filling the air and the few people here are mainly here for dives and snorkelling which the area is renowned for. The view is incredible and you can see Saudi Arabia all lit up across the water at night. The people too are a lot more relaxed and there have been no taxis harrasing us for 24 hours now! They def. adopt a more Bedouin friendly approach though they still ask Leo "wife or girlfriend" every time I'm out of ear shot. It would appear wife is the best answer as they don't seem to put much by the term girlfriend. The only things harassing us are the cats which appear from nowhere when you try to eat, they even annoy Leo! We have a litter of kittens beside the hotel though which is adorable but all the cats are so scrawny here its hard to tell which ones are kittens or not.

We are enjoying it a lot here - the first day we havent had to do something or go somewhere. Unfortunatley I have ended up totally burnt within an hour and through sun-cream so thats the end of my sunbathing!

We want to climb Mount Sinai for sunrise, a half hour drive from here, but when we arrived we found out tonight is the only night we can go because when you descend, you can visit St. Catherine's Monastery and it is closed on Fridays so... we're going tonight sunburn and all! I am a bit worried but it was my idea to do this so I will give it a go- worst comes to worst you can do most of it by camel back but I don't trust camels so I don't really want to be on one in the pitch dark on a steep mountain! The climb should take about 3 hours maximum and apparently blankets and things are rented out by the Bedouins on the summit to keep warm (although I can't believe anything is cold here) to wait for sunrise. Apprehensive but excited so will post all about it if we don't die with the physical effort. The stars and sunrise will make it all worth it though!

We will be here relaxing for another few days and the plan is to try and get to Jordan to see Petra (and hopefully the Dead Sea) on Saturday. We still have to find out how feasible that is though but hopefully it will be straightforward enough then back to Cairo to shop! After the peace here that will probably feel like a nightmare. There is lots of lovely things to buy its just such a stress having to haggle everything and knowing most of them are probably conning you. I would buy more if I could be assured it wasn't made in China!

As always hope everyone is well. Can't believe we have been away a full week now - time is flying by.

lots of love xx