Diving (or snorkeling) in Dahab

We have travelled back across both borders to Egypt, sat on another bus for two or three hours, and came to a stop at our next destination: Dahab. From the back of the main strip of hotels and restaurants, the view was similar to most of the other cities we've visited in Egypt. Lots of garbage, some random goats or other animals wandering in the shade of the side of the road, lots of little shops selling drinks and chips, on an endless bed of sandy, gravel and dirt.

We checked into our hotel, which was by far the cleanest, most comforting place we've stayed yet (until the third day when the hundreds of miniscule ants found a trail to my backpack on the floor) Surprisingly, they went straight for my malaria pills which seem to have a tantalizing candy-coated scent. However, they did not make their way in. I will never put my bag on the floor again, despite how clean it appears to be.

Through to the "front" of the hotel we approach a long crescent shaped beach, lined with hotels and lanterned waterfront restaurants. A refreshing breeze and a relaxed atmosphere surround us. This place is a little peice of paradise.

The highlight of Dahab, by far, has been the snorkeling! The whole coast is lined with a seemingly endless coral reef. The water changes from crystal clear to tropical turquoise to a deep tranquil blue. There are so many different fish I couldn't keep track, spiky sea urchins, and every color of coral in the rainbow. We really lucked out coming here, it was a nice change of pace, for a while...

-- Posted from my iPhone

Petra and Aqaba, Jordan

It was well past time to get out of Cairo. By then it seemed anything would be a welcome change. We rode a bus for about seven hours across the north of Egypt to the city of Taba on the Red Sea. From here we knew to walk across the border to Eilat, Israel(a very picturesque but expensive resort town). Next a ten minute cab ride to the border at Aqaba, Jordan. Aqaba is also a nice resort town, slightly less expensive with an amazing mountainscape. We haggled a little for a cab and were soon on our way to our hotel on the south beach near the border of Saudi Arabia. That evening while relaxing in the low cushioned lounge area, we were greeted by someone who we would soon learn to be the owner of the hotel. A rather suave but important looking older man, he slowly approached, stopping breifly to pick a peice of basil as an offering to us. He removed his shoes, placed the basil sprig in an empty clay vase and found a comfotable spot adjacent to us. After conversing for a few minutes he was on his cellphone, pulling strings to find us a very reasonably priced ride to Petra the next day. And for no extra fee might I add, just pure and genuine helpfulness. We continued chatting as his attention drew to our iPod on the table. He was very interested in Google Earth and pointed out "his" nearby water treatment plant. Turns out this guy was quite a big deal in Aqaba. The only reason I am writing about this is to show the utter contrast to my previous blog. This man, and his complete sincerity really added to our experience in Jordan.

Now for Petra! We were picked up at 8:30 by a very young man in a taxi for our long ride to the site. He (and his friend, whom he picked up shortly after us) drove for two hours through the mountains and Bedoin camps. Halfway though this very fast ride we were pulled over at a checkstop and he was issued a 15 Dinar ticket for either speeding or for some fiddling with the removable taxi sign, I'm still not sure. It's a bit scary being stopped in the middle of the desert, by police who you are still feeling skeptical about, listening to yelling in a language you cannot understand...not knowing if you will make it to the place that is the only reason you came to this country for. But, we survived.

We pulled into the parking lot and were told to be back in two hours, we said we were told three, so he had no choice but to agree. By this point in the trip we are just right on our toes about this kind of thing. We ascend down the long path to the treasury at Petra.

It's true what they say about the long walk through the canyon, at every bend you think it is just around the corner. The rock is all swirls of rose red, orange, tan and white. To add to the excitement we are both humming the Indiana Jones theme song! We finally see the rock canyon parting in the distance, and through it this hazy, sun-bleached structure comes into view. To make this vision that much more fantastical, there is barely a soul in sight (besides some locals selling jewelery and camel rides). It was awesome! We explored the massive attraction that some people spend days touring, there was a village around the corner, tons of tombs, and a monistary. By midday the heat was unbearable, and our time was nearly up. We were satisfied but still wanting more. I think we both agreed that Jordan is a place we might one day come back to. And why not Israel too...

Crazy Crowded Cairo

Arriving at Cairo airport was an incredibly overwhelming experience. After reading about every scam in the book, I was still nearly swindled by a smiley and helpful airport employee, who led us directly to his friends' money exchange booth. Luckily Ben knew right away not to trust anything and took us to an ATM instead. That was just the first of a whole slew of similar experiences.

As some of you know, it is nearing the end of Ramadan, which made it very hard to find any food from dawn to dusk, and in turn also made it very loud and crowded from dusk to dawn. Because of this, and a rough adjustment to certain foods here, I regret to say that I indulged in a McFish burger after nearly a ten year boycott. However, since this incident I have become quite accustomed and even fond of many foods over here: hommus, falafel, and apple moussaka!

We let our hotel plan a trip to the pyramids for us, for an extra fee (everything in Egypt has an extra fee). We had a driver take us to all three pyramid sites: Dashur, Sakkara, and the main site Giza. During this trip we saw many of the "in between" parts of Cairo you would only want to see through a car window. At Sakkara, we were happy to have avoided almost all the "extra fee scams" (it seems the locals are allowed into all the sites for free and try to trick you into just about anything). We were duped by an official "Tourist Police", (yes a government employee) who told Ben to go up a staircase for a better view. We thought he was directing us the proper way until Ben got too far and the guard started yelling for him to get down, and then wanted a tip?!?! This was the point I realized that NOBODY was here to actually help us, not even the millions of tourist police you see on every corner, every site... who can you trust? Welcome to Egypt!

With that said, once we figured out just how things work here (or don't work, rather) we started to get by alright. Walking slightly faster through the narrow souks and streets, avoiding eye contact, and basically flat out ignoring locals (as rude and wrong as that sounds and feels) will really help out in crowded Cairo. "Hey you" Where from?" Hey Canada!" "You like?" And my favorite, "How can I take your money?" (which was only funny the first time)

The Egyptian Museum was interesting, overflowing with artifacts, but dry on information (unless you want to buy a guide for an extra fee) I think it would go a long way to put about half of the statues and findings away and organize the rest with a bit more flow and structure... But maybe I should put my criticism aside now.

The pyramids were great, we did a camel ride all around them which I feel was well worth it for the experience. We also walked around "Islamic Cairo" and "Old Cairo" both with their unique charm.

For anyone thinking of one day visiting Cairo, I would be very obliged to say it is the first (and so far the only) place I would recommend doing as part of an organized group.

Croquet and Cream Teas

Despite the cloudy skies and gusting winds, Cornwall has been a quite enjoyable and relaxing holiday! Over the last week we have had loads of fun with more family members than I can count. Last weekend we were thrown a huge garden party complete with fantastic appetizers, burgers, sausages, many veggie options and salads, and some of the finest carrot cake!

The night ended with a bang, literally, when Paul lit off an entire box of fireworks. And when I say a box, I mean he just lit the whole box on fire as we all took cover!!

The rest of the week was spent body surfing on the beautiful yellow sand beaches, going for some long coastal walks (hopefully more of those to come) and eating countless fantastic local foods, including pain de chocolate, clotted cream fudge, Cornish pasties, fish 'n' chips, and my very first "cream tea". Ben's grandma Rosalind was kind enough to teach us the proper rules of croquet, and then treated each of us to cream tea. This included tea with milk and sugar, a fresh baked heart-shaped scone with fresh clotted cream and strawberry jam. And that, by far, is my new favorite thing about visiting Cornwall.