Days 10 and 11: The Sinai Peninsula

The center of the red circles is the area we stayed/the mountain we climbed.
If you were curious about our geographic location over the last couple days.

At 5:15 on the morning of the 14^th our alarm went off.  We both showered (separately) and packed our backpacks.  At 6 we met Mohammad Naguib in front of our hotel with our van and driver for our trip the Sinai Peninsula and to hike Mt. Moses (Musa/Sinai).  We drove around the corner to Holiday Tours to meet Yehia who had arranged our tour.  I would like to extend a thanks first to him, then to Hoda Mahmoud (who suggested Yehia and his company), and then to my Uncle David, who has put us in touch with Hoda who as been so very helpful, and then to my mom for being David’s brother, and then to her dad for having them both, and then…ok you get the point.  Oh also to my dad for marrying my mom…ok whatever.

Fox Camp nestled in the desert mountains

It was about a 6-hour drive to Fox Camp where we made base.  Unfortunately, this meant we got there about 1, which meant we had a long time before anything was going to happen, and we were in the middle of the mountains in the desert.  Fortunately, the ride down there wasn’t all that bad.  We didn’t really find any comfortable positions to sleep in, but we skirted the Red Sea part of the way - which was really pretty.  The last hour or so we spent winding through the mountains, also providing a variety of scenic views.  It was especially interesting because these are desert mountains, not the Colorado ones I’m used to.

Our brick housing at Fox Camp

Luckily enough I had packed my ipod, so I had a little something to do at Fox Camp.  Unluckily, I did not bring my book because I had envisioned us scaling the mountain with our backpacks and didn’t want to take it up (this did not end up being the case).  Patrick did – he actually finished his whole book over the car ride and our down time.  But the luckiest thing that happened was we happened out of our room right when they served lunch, and then we did it again for dinner, so we didn’t miss any meals.  Eventually I picked up a copy of Kate Moss’ Sepulcher because it was there and I wanted something to read.  I actually got about 100 pages into it, but it’s a 600+ page book so I have no idea how it ends.

Lunch was some kind of beef, cucumbers and tomatoes, and scrambled eggs, while dinner was a different kind of beef, rice, and potatoes.  And there is always bread, which isn’t particularly great, but it is very filling and satisfying when you didn’t get to eat breakfast.  Anyway, what was kind of worrisome was that our driver (Ahmed) dropped us off and was supposed to introduce us to our guide (Musa), but he kinda just pointed us towards the camp.  We checked in and got our room but then had no idea what to do.  Our room, by the way, was in a brick building and had one low wood shelf with three pads on it each with a reasonably firm pillow.  And by reasonably firm I mean unforgiving.  It was also really hot in our room, but conveniently it cooled down outside at night so we left our door open and shut the screen.  But it was an experience, and it definitely would not have been worth the extra $95 a night to stay in a hotel.

Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me

Anyway, after dinner we finally asked someone if they knew Musa and after a while they told us not to worry that he would be here.  So we went to our room where it we baked in our brick oven, took off a reasonable amount of clothing and turned out the lights.  At this point it was about 9, and since we had to get up at 1 a.m. to start our hike we were ready to at least try and sleep.  About 15 minutes later our driver shows up and says something in Arabic followed by “Musa”.  So I kind of flipped around on the bed so my head faced the doorway and Musa came in and said hello in about as many words.  He then asked if he could turn on the light and I kind of stuttered so he did, and there we were just lying in our boxers.  They were both a little taken aback and I started to get up and put on pants but they told me not to bother.  He talked to us for a little bit and then said he’d wake us up at 1:30 so we could get started by 2.

Our view right as we reached the top

We set an alarm anyway and it went off, we dressed and we’re about ready by the time Musa showed up at our door; I think he was mildly relieved to see we were fully clothed.  About 1:45 we set out to climb Mt. Moses (so named because it is alleged to be the mountain on which Moses received the ten commandments).  At first we just walked along a road, which seemed kind of stupid to us once we actually started our ascent because other groups had been driven down the road while we walked.  Seemed like an unnecessary use of energy, but whatever.  Eventually the road turned to gravel and for a while it was a very slow incline.  Keep in mind, it is 2 in the morning so its almost pitch black except the flashlight our guide has and the light Patrick brought (which was unbelievably bright so we didn’t use it except when we needed to).

It was gorgeous

We walked for about 50 minutes and then took a break.  Musa offered us some bread (croissant-like stuff) and yogurt to put on it, so we ate a little and drank some water.  We spent a couple extra minutes resting and stargazing, and then continued our journey.  After this stop the road slopped more dramatically upward.  There was a clear path the entire way (that is to say, in the daylight we likely could have found our own way fairly easily), with only the occasional awkward step or set of rocks to make it more difficult.  We continued on like this for an hour or more, Musa leading and Pat and I following behind carefully picking our steps.  Every once and a while we would stop to drink and adjust a bit to the altitude.  Once in the dark we came across a Bedouin leading a camel down the path we were on (Musa also is a Bedouin; apparently this is what they do, but he knew everyone we ran into).  Eventually our path connected to a much wider path that had many more people on it.  This, Musa told us, was the main road up from the monastery area.  Evidently it is an easier path (though ours was not that difficult), so we joined the dozens of people also walking up the path.  Most went at a slower pace, so we passed as many as we could.

Near the top we started encountering stores that sold water, tea, coffee, and candy bars like snickers and twix.  Of course everything was far over priced, except the small waters.  Once you pass these stores, however, all that’s left to the top is a “staircase” that Musa tells us will take ten minutes.  I guess Musa usually works with world class athletes, because there was no way we came anywhere close to ten minutes.  A half-hour of steps later, we found our way to the top of the mountain, about 4:45 a.m. local time, and prepared for the sunrise.

It slowly got lighter

It was already growing light by the time we got there, but the sun didn’t appear for a while.  It was beautiful though.  So entirely peaceful; we were able to see ridge after ridge (I’ve included pictures to better describe this), and it was almost chilly right before daybreak.  We probably took way to many pictures, but it was definitely worth every second.  I wish there was some way to better describe.  The way the sun came up but the delay it takes for light to reach the earth that allows you to look directly at it for a little bit, the light casting shadows across the sea of ridges, the colors, the breeze; it was all amazing.  I guess the best way to put it is that it almost – almost – made up for not getting to go to Colorado and stargaze out there.  But it really was beautiful, and I can’t thanks Dr. Berkey enough for suggesting it.

The sun rising

After the sun was up high enough that you could no longer look directly at it, and we had observed the scenery as much as possible, we made our way back down all the stairs to find Musa patiently awaiting our return.  Upon our arrival he asked if we wanted to see St. Catherine’s Monastery, or at least the outside, because it was closed today.  We said yes, and he asked if we wanted to take the stairs or the camel path.  We said the stairs.  So, slowly but surely we plodded down the 3000 Steps of Repentance.  I wish here was more to say about it because it took forever, but it was just a bunch of rock steps weaving down in between two ridges.  So it wasn’t that exciting.

We walked around the outside of the monastery and took a couple pictures, then Musa led us down a road that he said would take us back to our car.  Again, we were on a road, and we didn’t know why we hadn’t been picked up, especially cause we had walked up and down 4,000+ steps and covered thousands of feet in altitude.  But, we didn’t really have much choice.  For a while we were a bit confused about which direction we were going until we finally rounded a bend and saw Fox Camp.  Over the entire journey we had completely circled the mountain, and reached the top of it.  Looking back on it, it was a lot of work, but definitely worth it. 

Once back to camp, we were supposed to be served breakfast, but somehow we got back after the kitchen had closed (which was alright because I think we had only paid for two meals, and we had eaten lunch the day before which I don’t believe was in the game plan).  So, we loaded up the bus and started the return drive.  It was pretty much the same as the drive there, except our driver did stop at a rest place and let us order food.  And by order food I mean he told the people working something and they brought us out about 6 different things that we tried to eat as much as we could, but there was too much of some and other stuff we weren’t particularly fond of.

Finally we made it back to our hotel through the Cairo traffic.  We relaxed for a while (and showered, I finally shaved for the first time since arriving), and then went out to get some much-needed food about 6:30.  As usual, the streets were relatively bare except people setting up for meals, and the subway was completely empty.  Literally there was no one waiting for the train when we got down there.  There were a couple people on the train, but not many.  We went back to a place we like named Felfela; Pat tried the lamb cutlets and I had the mixed meat platter.  Afterwards we went back to the hotel, each spent some time skyping (video or audio chatting with people back home), and then decided it was time to sleep since we’d been up since 1:30.

A couple final notes.  First, my family seems to have deemed it necessary that, despite the fact that I asked the second day I was home this summer, they should wait to get a kitten until I leave.  On top of this, there are plenty of stray cats (and some kittens) around that I have repeatedly wished (and spoken aloud) to send home.  On top of that, my mom must have thought it was funny to send me a picture of the kitten right before I left to go into the desert.  So if anyone was wondering about my mood – well I’m really good, except also really jealous.  Jessie thought it would be nice as well to tell me on skype tonight that it likes to sleep on my bed.  Great.

Finally, a couple observations.  Children here really have the run of the mill (which isn’t altogether or surprising, or that much different from my neighborhood I guess – it’s just a different setting).  It reminds me a bit of the movie Little Manhattan.  I’m sure they’re all supposed to stay in a certain area, but they just run around and play pretty much anywhere they want to.  The only English word they know is “hello,” and there has been more than one occasion when they’ll see us and say hello, and when we wave their face just lights up.   Sometimes they get up and run behind us saying hello for a number of blocks.  

A view of the Monastery from above

Also, tonight on the subway we saw four teenagers (15, 16?) – two guys and two girls.  They were dressed and acted pretty much like American teens, which is a stark contrast to how most everyone else we’ve seen has dressed.  It was interesting to see the new generation trying to change norms, but at the same time I even felt a little awkward for them around the older, more traditionally dressed people on the train.  

The gap between ridges contains ALL of the
steps we walked down 

Lastly, the good news is I’ve discovered I really like tea.  The bad news is, I really like tea.  It’s been great to have with breakfast, but I am beginning to find I want it more and more often, which isn’t the greatest thing from a budget standpoint.  Oops?