Egyptian lesson #77: Camel's have many superpowers, my favorite is their night vision.

Dear Mrs. Barry,

Just wanted to send you some updates of our break this past week at a camp site outside of Dahab, called Abu Galum, along the Red Sea (Sinai side).

Camping was quite fun, however, I slept SO horribly.  Amanda and I cuddled into the freezing night on both Wed and Thursday while listening to the Red Sea 8 feet in front of us.  We also slept with seven or so hard rocks under our mat and a bug of some sorts eating at my skin (then I was told its because I am sweet like honey, but that didnt make it any better...)

We woke up each morning to a bedouin man serving flat bread with white cheese and jam with the choice of bedouin tea or nescafe before our first dive.  A larger breakfast followed Dive 1 and around 1pm we prepared for our second dive of the day.  The diving was FANTASTIC at this site (Abu Galum).  My favorite was early Friday morning.  We had our regular pre-dive meal and headed to the dive spot around 6:30 am so we could catch the high tide.  Sameh, our dive master, decided he didn't want to brief us on this dive as he was going to leave it all a surprise and it was incredible.  I felt like I was floating around the world of Avatar in 3-D, like the blue warrior princess protecting mother willow.  :)   Both the coral and fish were extremely diverse in species, shades and shapes.  I was blown away with the vividness of all the colors; diving in and out of pathways while dipping over and under different obstacles.  

I am very glad I stuck with this adventure- third times the charm, right?  I feel like I have overcome a large fear I once had with open water and have learned to control my body in ways I was not aware.  In the beginning, I was so cautious of my ears and scared to death to lose my mask or regulator but now I know I have the skills to get through if any of those things did happen under water.  

Also, we rode some camels up and down a mountain along the sea AT NIGHT.  Very scary!  Did you know camels have night vision?  Well, at least that is what they told us...  Needless to say, during our journey home, I decided to leave my camping pack on the camel and run my way back to town to wait for everyone else... a good hour and a half.  But worth it, you can't beat running a trail in-between a mountain and the gorgeous Red Sea.  

 

I hope you had a great week!  Let me know what you have been up to.  I miss you guys.

much love,

LA

Bedouin Beauty by the Sea.

Email from fellow Norwegian and diver regarding specifics of the next "travel pants party"...

Again, the Egyptian state has been kind enough to provide us with another national holiday. Thus, during the long-weekend which The Armed Forces Day produce we will be camping and diving at Abu Galum.

For those of you unfamiliar with Abu Galum, this is one of the 18 protected natural areas in Egypt. This rarely visited place is only reachable by a 1.5 hr camel ride. It consists of a small Beduin community, a picturesque beach and beautiful, virgin coral reef.  We will see intriguing reef formations made up of a variety of both hard and soft corals.  Local inhabitants include emperor-fish, crocodile-fish, trevallies and the rare turtle.

The dives at Abu Galum is suitable for all levels of divers.  For those of you who don't dive, the reef is perfect for snorkeling and simply kicking back while dreaming of how the Sinai coast was 30 years ago.

Tuesday 5th:
Bus leaves from Scubaseekers shop in Cairo at 5.30pm.

Wednesday 6th:
We'll be meeting at the dive center for check-in at 8.30am. After this follows 2 dives in Dahab (location weather dependent). We will then leave Dahab 3 pm from the Blue Hole by camel. Arrival in Abu Galum at 4.30pm. There we will set up camp and enjoy dinner.

Thursday 7th:
The whole day will be spent eating, diving (2 dives), snorkeling and chilling out by the beautiful beach.

Friday 8th:
Breakfast and 2 dives in Abu Galum, then we will return to Dahab by camel around 3.00pm.

Basic food will be cooked during our stay by our beduin hosts. We will have three meal per day consisting of items such as foul, tuna, bread, cheese etc. If your taste-buds are of the more luxurious kind we recommend perhaps bringing something “extra” such as protein bars, canned meat etc.

In true 1001-nights-fashion we will sleep on carpets and cushions under the stars. It is likely to be hot with a sleeping-bag, but you might appreciate a thin sheet and pillow.

Please keep in mind that we will traveling by camel. It is therefore imperative that you pack your belongings in a backpack. We should also try to keep the quantities of stuff to a bare minimum. Seeing that we will be camping, here is a suggestive list of what you should bring in addition to your essentials:

- Light shoes
- Thin sheet/Sleeping-bag, pillow
- Flashlight (+ spare batteries)
- Snacks
- Sun protection: hat, sunglasses, sun-cream 

- Paper tissues/wet ones/toilet paper

Included:
Transport by jeep and camel within Dahab.
Dive guide.
Tanks.
Food in Abu Galoum 5 Meals
Overnight stays in Abou Galoum
Water