Egypt 2.1

My time has come...here in this land of camels, sand, fresh pomegranate juice, and the manner-less.

2 weeks, and I'm just starting to get used to the way things work here!!
Crossing the street is a sport! And besides, I'm getting so good at it; not flinching when the taxis honk at me, or stepping off the curb too soon.

I have swam in the Red Sea, and climbed Mount Sinai in the same day. Literally (and ironically), I have gone from the depths of the ocean to the top of the world within 24 hours. To see such fish, so vivid, so clean. It's as if you're alone down there...so calm and so absolutely beautiful. To dry off in the sun, the sand and salt sticking to my pasty white skin...so relaxing, so full.


Mount Sinai. The hike up wasn't the easiest walk I've ever done, and to do it by flashlight makes it even more entertaining. Throw in 2 girls from Beaverlodge who haven't had much sleep in the last couple days, some campfire songs, and a guide who only speaks Arabic, and you get some of the funniest conversation I've ever had. To see the sun rise, in about one minute, surrounded by a never-ending range of red mountains, shaped and smoothed by the desert wind; to be frozen by the night but then warmed so quickly by the coming sun.

We rode horses last night, out in the Desert by the Pyramids. It was too hazy to actually see the structures, but the moon was bright enough to lead our way. Galloping across the sand, trusting in my horse, feeling so open and so free...so amazing.

The food!! Oh, the food...
Vine leaves, babaganou, fresh fish, fuul (beans), and my most luxurious Baklava...
Spices I've never tasted before, such simple meals, prepared with such flavour! And the baklava is so rich! Dripping with sweetness, and full of comfort.


Egypt is a far cry from Canada, but an amazing place all the same. People surprise you in both good and bad ways...
There's those who try to sell you absolutely anything, for the most outrageous prices, but then there's the taxi driver who requests his favorite pop songs for you to sing, and the guide who claps along.
The girls and their head scarves are absolutely beautiful, creating colourful and striking pieces of fashion out of so little.


I am off to Malaysia tomorrow, and can only pray to have such an amazing time as I've had here...