First contact with the Bedouins (Day 9)

I think the majority of our group were glad to leave Hurghada behind. Around noon we boarded a catamaran which took us across the Red sea to Sharm el Sheikh.



The ride was a bit rough due to strong winds, which are quite usual for this area. The captain didn't seem to bother and waves were splashing way over window height all the time. Some of the other passengers had quite a hard time. There was even some puking going on but I tried hard to ignore that. However, we made it to Sinai peninsula in one peace.

From Sharm el Sheikh we headed inland to the town of St.Katherine. After settling in a cute little hotel, we had lunch and were afterwards amused by a group of Japanese cyclists preparing for training. They were obviously some big-time cycling enthusiasts. Who else would go cycling in the desert?



A short walk around the town followed. We met Abdullah - our Bedouin guide for the next few days. At a Bedouin-run tourist camping site he offered us some black tea with fresh mint and then took us around. We tried some freshly picked almonds from a tree at Fox camp. There were many local herbs growing in the gardens. Since recently they even have a computer with internet connection.


Our walk continued with a climb to a nearby hill overlooking the town of St.Katherine. Near the top there were these two local girls. They were quite shy, yet very beautiful.



And it wasn't just us guys who had thoughts like that. Since our girlfriends were standing around, we admired them quietly. The female part of our group also noticed their beauty and commented loudly about the need to watch us guys a bit closer around these parts.

I made a gesture suggesting that I would like to take a photo. Almost instantly both of the girls covered their faces. Regardless of that one of them stood up and nodded. The other one did not seem seem to like it and they exchanged a few words on the subject.
There was just something very special about her, but unfortunately you can't capture that with a photo camera. You can take a look for yourself.

On our way back to town we were told they served beer in a hotel next to ours. Of course we took the chance. After a quick beer (really, it was just one beer!) we went to the hotel to get some sleep.

No, we weren't that sleepy but our adventure was once again scheduled to continue in the middle of the night...