1 February 2009

After 3.5 hours of sleep, we had a little 2 am wake up call and got ready to hike the mountain. We started at about 3 am, when it was so incredibly beautifully starry. I love the stars so so so much. So it was quite magical, except for the fact that I was still sick and coughing up a storm. Needless to say, I was one of the last few people to make it to the top, along with the other sickies and cripples. But I started feeling better the farther we’d go, which is weird. I guess I just needed a goooooood dose of the great, beautiful outdoors. Being sick, I still had a bit of a difficult time hiking up to the top, but then to realize that Moses hiked up that mountain eight times or something, and as an ooooold man, I couldn’t complain much. And there were other people much sicker than me hiking that day. Either way, hiking is the greatest.

The sun has risen!

You know I love a good sunrise here and there, especially on top of Mt. Sinai.

just chillin’ (for real) at the top

YAY FIJI! There were some rocks where people had written their names and stuff, and this person was from Fiji. Gotta love those Fijians, yes you do.

Hiking down… long hike.

Along the way there are all these Bedouins offering camel rides, and Marianne and I decided we’d take their offer. WE RODE CAMELS DOWN MT. SINAI!

beautiful nature

Marianne and Mohammed and an extra camel. By the way, I had no camel guide. My camel was just cruising along down the mountain. He knew the trail fabulously of course, by it was a wee bit scary at times because the camel would get so close to the edge and the cliff and I’d be like, “Whoa, Camel, scoot over.” It wouldn’t. But thankfully I didn’t fall off the cliff.

Do you see the 10 Commandments? Yeah, me neither, but they’ve gotta be here somewhere.

Here’s the 16 year old guy named Mohammed that was helping another guy named Mohammed take Marianne and I down the mountain. He was pretty cool. He told me to take a picture of him.

Marianne and I paid $15 each, with tip, for our camel rides down Mt. Sinai and it was so worth it. It was definitely my most favorite part of the entire Egypt trip and such. We were just having so so much fun. And it was good to give the Mohammed’s some money, because people here do not have opportunities like we do to make money. It’s so crazy. But Mt. Sinai was amazing and the camel riding was simply marvelous!

We left our hotel near Mt. Sinai at about noon and got back on the bus. We drove a few hours to the border and after we got through the intense border crossing back into blessed Israel, we were just hanging out at the Red Sea waiting for the other people.

This was my second favorite part of the trip: taking my shoes off, rolling up my pants, and stepping into the Red Sea, which was unexpectedly warm. I just miss the ocean so so so much, so my little toesies were so happy playing in the Red Sea. I loved it. I love the ocean. I love the Red Sea. And I love being back in Israel!
Sunset on Mt. Sinai, sunset on the Red Sea. I am living the good life.