Exploring Dahab

I spent the afternoon after I was free done from diving sitting at a restaurant eating Greek salad. Yes of course there was a cat on my lap!

The Red Sea along the corniche in Dahab.

Later in the afternoon, I took a quad tour into the desert. The hotel sheikh ali dahab resort set it up for me for 300 egyptian. It was pretty fun riding in the sand and seeing the water on one side and the desert and mountains on the other.

One of the Egyptians told me I looked like a badass. Funny! The scarf was needed to keep sand out of your face.
We had to ride on roads for part of the journey to get to the next access point in the desert between the mountains.

At the outpost they had Bedouin tea which was very sweet. We climbed rocks on a narrow trail to get to the to of a hill.

The path we climbed to get to the top. That was part of it as it curves around to the right at the bottom with some narrow passages between the rocks.

The view was very pretty and to get back to the other side and an easier way down you cross a suspension bridge.

The suspension bridge.
We were told to go slow across the bridge. That was not as much fun so of course I didn’t listen and went quickly.

We relaxed at the outpost for awhile and I chatted with Egyptians I met. One wants to teach English in China and we talked about that, connected on we chat, and had dinner laughs.

On the way back it was very dark and there were no lights on the quads. But the one leading had a light so I could make out the quad just in front of me.

Afterwards I met Nicole and Mostafa at Yalla bar and had soup and Egyptian beer.

At the resort we have been eating traditional Egyptian breakfast which is eggs, foul (yummy fava bean dish), homemade cheese, cucumbers/pita bread, fruit…

The next day we booked a tour to the blue lagoon. It took a guy with a truck and a boat ride to get there. Cost was about 265 Egyptian plus $10 US to get through the checkpoint.

Not sure why there are two tickets and not just one. If it helps preserve the area, I have no problem with this.

We stopped at Blue Hole which is a diving spot. It has the best coral and fish. However. It goes from 10 metres to 30 meters as you step of the shelf and then if the current pushes you it will take you to the 50+ meter depth or what is known as the blue hole. It is a dangerous spot. Many drivers die here and there are memorials.

Memorials to divers

We stopped for a bit while we waited for the boat.

After getting off the boat we were at Ras Abu Galum.

The are little supermarkets like this one that had cashed goods and supplies. You can choose to camp in one of the little bungalows over night. It is cold there in the desert but they supply all the camel blankets you will need.

We walked quite a long way (about an hour) to get to the blue lagoon. You can be driven in a taxi instead: the back of a pick up truck!

At this point across the water is Saudi Arabia. That is how far we are up now in the Sinai peninsula.

At the blue lagoon the water is quite shallow a long way out. It was cold water but we braved it anyway. It would be much warmer in the summer but also more crowded. You can kite surf which requires lessons.

We relaxed in a tent, enjoyed tea, and enjoyed the day.

Cats are everywhere. I felt bag for this mom and family as there would not be much to catch to feed them here.

We decided to take the pickup truck taxi back.

At Ras Abu Galum we ate rice, vegetables, and chicken from one of the locals. I should have taken pictures. She told Mostafa that she would make a meal and he would never forget her! It was very tasty. I saved the chicken to give to cats when we arrived back in Dahab. I should have taken a picture of her as she was obviously the boss of the area!

On the way back I was trying to take a picture of the sunset. We slowed down at the checkpoint and I tried to grab a picture. You should not do this. Even if you are not pointing the camera at the officers, it is against the rules. They asked to see my camera and Mostafa explained I was taking pictures of the sunset (which I didn’t actually take when I realized my error). The good news is I did not have my phone taken away but I did not get the shot. After the checkpoint the driver slowed down so I could take a picture.

The next morning we are leaving from Dahab. Before breakfast I walked down to the corniche to see the sunrise. It was beautiful and peaceful.

I took a nice long walk after sunrise to eat the last breakfast in Dahab. This is a beautiful place and I’ll miss it. It is only about $20000 USD to buy a house. A consideration for retirement.