So I know I said I'd be better, & have yet again failed, but here's another (& possibly one after this one, I'll try but I won't promise) blog entry for you! It's so hard to believe I've been here for three months, & am now lamenting the very little time that I have left. Yes, I'll be back, but I've so fallen in love with this place that it will be hard to say goodbye for a little while...

Anyway! So the theme of this post will be short accounts of my travels outside of Cairo thus far!

DAHAB:

First & foremost was Dahab & Mount Sinai! I went early in February. After planning to go to Luxor for the weekend, the AUC travel agency screwed up on our ticket dates & we decided we still wanted to travel that weekend. So we basically out of a hat picked Dahab, & let me say it was the right decision! I went with my friend Laura & two other girls who live in the dorms. We hopped a bus around midnight that Thursday & arrived in the Sinai peninsula to see the sunrise over the mountains in the wee hours of the morning. We were debating over whether or not to bring our passports, well thank god we did because there were about 8 security checkpoints along the way. I guess that's the price you have to pay for feeling safe in the Middle East. Anyway, we arrived in Dahab at around 8:30AM on Friday morning, & took a taxi (a truck bed) to our hostel called Alaska Camp. Dahab is magical- it's so laid back & basically the ambience of chilled out-ness sucks you in & makes you want to stay forever. I could have very well spent a month there, or every weekend. The bus ride was so worth it. The way Dahab is set up is the main part along the shore is lined by restaurants with whom you exchange business for using their portion of the shoreline. It is so beautiful. You sit there, looking at Saudi Arabia in the distance over the Red Sea, & ponder how you could be anywhere else. A guy who runs our hotel (a bit too forward with women, but thankfully there were a few of us to avoid anything truly uncomfortable) took us snorkeling for the afternoon- it was some of the most beautiful seascape I have ever seen! The Red Sea is unimaginably blue, & then you dip your head underneath & see every color of the rainbow along with countless species of wildlife- fish, plants, etc. I so wish I had the time to get my SCUBA certification cause I would love to dive there! Holas, it shall happen later on. That being my first real snorkeling experience, I was very lucky, & loving the place already. It is so picturesque as well, how the mountains meet the water, you think you are in a scene straight out of a movie. Especially being in Egypt! I would never have thought such natural beauty could exist. Gameel awi indeed.

That night we climbed Mount Sinai, which, in biblical terms, is the mountain that Moses is said to have received the ten commandments from God. So being such a holy site to three major religions, you would expect something extraordinary. It didn't disappoint! We started the climb at about 1AM, & already it was truly celestial. I mean that quite literally as the stars, even spending every summer for the last 10 years in Temagami & being lucky enough to experience that sky, were unlike anything I had ever seen before. With every turn it was like we were walking into the sky- indescribable really. Eventually Laura & I, being the fast walkers that we were, escaped the throngs of tourists & got to a part of the path to ourselves, which was nice because we didn't have to frustratingly wait for the group in front of us to avoid stepping on their heels. We arrived near the top (with only the final 750 steps to go) at the last camp at about 3:30, & napped for a little while under a blanket we rented, & for which were oh-so-thankful. It was freaking cold! I was wearing my North Face, my Under Armor, leggings, yoga pants, tube socks, & a scarf (I unfortunately donated another one to the mountain on accident) & was still bloody freezing! Near sunrise we made the final climb to the top & got a good spot to watch it. & friends, there's just something about the way that the sun slowly blankets the mountains around you that gives you chills. The landscape is so rugged that you actually feel like you are on top of the cradle of civilization. It was truly one of my most memorable experiences to date. We made our way back down the mountain, took a nap on the drive back & chilled out in Dahab for the rest of the day. Laura & I went snorkeling again whilst the other two took the earlier bus back, & took the 10PM bus to Cairo, arriving in the wee hours of the morning just in time for class! A fantastic weekend, one which I will likely be repeating before this time around here is up.

BAHARIYYA OASIS/BLACK AND WHITE DESERT:

So the following weekend I went on a trip with my program at school to Bahariyya Oasis & the Black & White Desert. I'm not normally one to go on organized group tours, but since you kind of need to go through an organized tour guide to get there I figured the price & the opportunity was worth it- & it was. We left Thursday at around 2PM from school for the seemingly endless bus ride. Got to Bahariyya (south west of Cairo) around 10PM, & whilst the Oasis itself was lovely, the town was a total dump & I was ready to get camping, We spent the first night in a nice little hotel & then got up the next morning to make our way out into the desert with a group of Bedouin Guides.

I guess there were about 25 of us on this trip, & we split up into groups to jeep through the desert. Our drivers were the best/the craziest, so I think it'd be safe to say I was in the most fun car. We first went to a sand dune & that was cool, then to the black desert which is black because it's got lots of volcanic rock on the surface (I stole some). & the way it was described to me was perfectly accurate: it's cool, but after about a half hour you're like, "ok, ready to see something else!". Haha. So we went to Crystal Mountain, which was a way cool hill in the desert with tons of crystal formations (I stole some more) & then stopped for lunch at a buffet.

After lunch it was time for the white desert, which was really one of the coolest places on earth. It's like the moon. First we went to an area with just big blocks of chalk & lots of sand dunes & walked around. Then we made our way to a tiny oasis with a prayer square so our guides & the practicing Muslims who were with us could observe the sunset prayer. After that we went to where we would be camping, a field of these massive chalk formations that makes you feel like you're on the moon. Look at the pictures to understand what I'm talking about.

There's not much more to say about it. I had a hit of the "mummy tummy" (ie traveler's food poisoning- my stomach has NOT been holding up well here. That stay in the hospital in December really finished off my immune system) so I spent most of the night really getting to know those rock formations if you know what I mean. The next day we spent driving back the Cairo, & arrived that evening after having a very satisfying weekend!

SIWA OASIS:

My wonderful man-friend Ryan's (who I mentioned coyly last time :) hehe) mom was in town visiting, & he & I had been talking about going to Siwa together for a little while so we went one weekend in March! It holds the record of my favorite place I've been so far in Egypt. The weekend was just perfect, peaceful, & beautiful!

As there are no direct buses from Cairo, we took a train to Alexandria Thursday night & an overnight bus from there to Siwa. I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the train was- like Amtrak but a fraction of the price! The bus was bloody freezing, & I woke up with a sleeping leg & thinking I was in Western New York, but we got there a couple hours early basically free of hassle & took the motorcycle trailer that was our taxi (an upgrade from the donkeys they mostly have) to our hotel. It was called the Shali lodge & is quite possibly the nicest hotel I've stayed in. Not because of amenities or anything but it was so clean & peaceful, the buildings where made of mud brick & had a very earthy feel (especially the bathrooms). The bed were very warm & comfortable, & part of the set of bamboo furniture that complemented the room. We had to wake up the owner since it was so early but he kindly let us into a room so we could sleep for a few hours until ours was ready. The first thing I noticed about Siwa was how quiet it is. Being in Cairo, or most places really, you forget what real quiet sounds like & how lovely it is. I was amazed at how this place seemed to be the epitome of the word "oasis". It was like being in the real version of the archetypal beauty that you see in a painting or a cartoon. Anyway we slept for a while, got woken up to move to our room, & slept some more. We got up around lunchtime & went out for a little while into the town & got some lunch. After renting a set of bikes (yes, I was ecstatic!) we went back to the hotel where Ryan & I took a nap & his mom enjoyed some sun rays. I would normally feel bad about being so useless on a trip, but that was part of the beauty of Siwa: life just moves slower there, & it's nice to be able to enjoy its simplicities.

After we woke up, we biked around town & went out to a place called Cleopatra's Spring which was so peaceful, & idyllic that I can't even describe it in words to you. We enjoyed some fresh juice & some more relaxation, & I longed to swim but realized a) that it would be a little cold & b) that I probably wouldn't be that comfortable in a bikini amongst all the Egyptian men. The night went without a hitch & we woke up the next morning, had breakfast, & headed to a shop where we had made friends with the owner- but perhaps too good of friends as he proposed to Ryan's mom. Oh Egypt. Anyway after that we just walked around admiring town & headed out for our desert adventure at around 3PM. We were set up by a man with a hotel with this guide who I unfortunately would never use again. However, it was a great time anyway! Siwa is right on the edge of the Great Sand Sea, which is one of the biggest dune fields in the world, & we enjoyed some time just driving around the dunes. Our driver apparently wasn't experienced enough, however, as we unexpectedly ran into a bump & got stuck in the sand. While we waited for help to come & pull us out, we pulled out the dune board- it was fun while it lasted, but way too much effort for a not so great dune. When they finally got us out of the sand we hopped back in the jeep & drove around some more, stopping next at a hot spring. After taking a quick dip we went off to the cold spring nearby, which was beautiful but again freezing! Kind of glad we didn't have time to swim. After that it was off to another part of the desert to watch the most grand sunset I've ever seen.

We were then taken to our "campsite" for the night. Now we ordered a site by ourselves out in the middle of the sand where we'd sleep on our own, but instead got put at a campsite with some makeshift huts & another group of travelers. We expressed our displeasure with this, so whilst making the fire, our guide went out & "made" a "wind barrier" (it was the saddest looking thing I've ever seen) in the middle of the sand & set out some mattresses & blankets, which was better than nothing. After a couple hours of Ryan narrating "The Pillowman", & trying to fall asleep whilst the Bedouins banged their drums at 1AM, the three of us had a nice night under the stars, where at one point we could even see part of the Milky Way. I think nothing compares to the stars in the desert.

The next morning we got up first thing, went back to our hotel, showered, & quite unsuccessfully (we only got a 150 pound discount) tried to bargain down our disappointing guide. We spent the rest of the day again admiring the town & began our journey back to Cairo, arriving at around midnight after an arduous journey involving running around in an absolutely poop hole of a town, & being driven so nuts by the horn on the bus I thought I actually might jump out of my skin. It was again an incredible weekend, & one of my best memories of Egypt thus far!

So those are the travels I did before spring break & my bout with hepatitis. Very soon & will fill you in on spring break (Syria!) & my life in the last couple of months. Until then, ma'salaama friends! :)