If you read Day 9, you know that our heroes (that’s us) are bedded down near a small Bedouin camp in Sinai desert, just south of Jebel El-Tih, and that Lars has just survived a vicious surprise attack by a scorpion. Well, I’m happy to report that the rest of the night passed uneventfully and that Lars (and the rest of us) woke without further vermin assault. However, we did have the carcass of the scorpion that accosted Lars, and the Bedouins were… kind of quiet about it.
Even better, we woke to the sight of a Range Rover (the Defender model, for those interested in these things) that would take us away from Jebel El-Tih and towards Mt. Sinai, the next major stop on our journey. This was welcome news, as we’d been expecting to ride in the back of the Toyota pickup that had carried us around Sinai a few days before. The Range Rover meant protection from sun, which meant short sleeves, which meant a new shirt, for me at least. Plus actual padded seats and seatbelts and everything.
The day passed in a series of visits to Bedouin houses more or less between our starting point and the St. Catherine area. The first two were a bit awkward – we’d arrive, be graciously offered tea, and then sit idly, wondering if we were here for 5 minutes or 3 hours, while our guide chatted with our hosts. At some point, Friej would jump up, say “ready?” and go get in the car, leaving us scrambling to put our stuff together and get going.
However, the third such stop at a Bedouin house was a lot more fun. Luke and I had been attempting to play games of Mancala at the other stops, with increasing confidence. At this stop, everything kind of clicked. The people were interested in the game we were playing, an adorable little girl started following Anna around (adorably), and Lars broke out his contact juggling ball, which was a big hit. Our hosts also showed us another game to play with stones in the sand, and despite the insurmountable-as-ever language barrier, we really seemed to connect with our hosts.
This visit, too, eventually wrapped up. The host gifted Lars a ring that fits suspiciously well (copper, we think, since it’s turning his finger green), and Lars gifted the contact juggling ball in return. There were plenty of smiles and happy goodbyes.
From there, we hit another Bedouin family or two, without the same level of connection. Around 5:30pm, we ended up at a small cluster of Bedouin houses near St. Catherine (by near”, I mean about an hour away, which passes for near in the Sinai). We thought we were just heading in for tea, dinner, and some rest before getting up bright and early to climb Mt. Sinai. To our surprise, after we sat our un-sunscreened, un-prepared selves down, Friej had other plans: he sent us off to climb a sand dune. Well, we figured, he is the guide. So we climbed and frolicked a bit.
Eventually we headed back in, and we had some tea around 8:00pm. I retired around 8:00pm, opting to eat when we got up to get ready for Mt. Sinai. I set my alarm for 12:15am, figuring I’d get four hours of sleep. The others… well, I was tired, and I’m not even sure I noticed.
Around 11:30pm, and in the middle of the oddest dream about alternately watching, performing, and driving in some kind of bizarre aerials / theatre show, Friej woke me and I more or less staggered over to eat something before heading out. The plan was to get on the road around 12:30am, for arrival at St. Catherine Monastery around 1:30am. But that’s getting into Day 11.
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Hi guys. Just in case I miss you tomorrow morning, wanted to say the blog is great. Sina is wondering why she’s being allowed to watch so many episodes of Tom & Jerry as I’ve been glued to it for about an hour now. Glad you enjoyed the safari. Off to sort out some better matresses & blankets for the next trip. Can’t wait to see the rest of the photos.