Red Sea Black Pudding

The chronicles of Dahab:

After leaving you last time we decided to venture into the depths of the Red Sea for snorkelling. We'd heard whispers of a glorious kingdom under the sea, but were a little sceptical of the hype. James and Stuart decided that the best means of getting to the famous 'blue hole' would be to hire bikes and ride. Claire, being not so game, hitched a ride in a jeep where she met a Dutch couple full of stories from years of travel. Once at the blue hole we quickly hired our gear from a seemingly friendly man (later to rip us off) and jumped into the water swarming with an array of colourful tourists... the fish were good too. As soon as we plunged our heads under the water's surface we were blown away to discover a bustling world of fish frenzy and coral colour. It was like nothing any of us had ever seen before and quickly became a highlight of our time in Egypt. Thankfully we had Stu's underwater camera so we could catch some of the beauty but it was impossible to capture the grandeur.

That night after a busy day of snorkelling we set off at 11pm for a two hour drive to Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai is an important Christian, Muslim and Jewish icon, as it is believed that God delivered his ten commandments to Moses at its summit. There is also a monastery at the base dedicated to Saint Katherine. It is one of early Christianity's only surviving churches and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. We arrived at the Saint Katherine monastery after a brutal battering bus ride. In our tired, shaken state we began our three hour hike up the windy camel track to the base of the 750 step climb to the church steeped summit. With 2 hours until sunrise, we quickly found a wind sheltered corner on the hard cold rocks where the three of us huddled together, spooning under one blanket, desperate for each others body warmth. We were amazed that it was only ourselves and about 10 others at the top awaiting the famous sunrise. Eventually we managed to fall into an uncomfortable slumber only to be awoken an hour later by roughly 300 tourists clambering and fighting for the ideal sunrise position... and there we lay like little babies in the midst of their jostling. We could hear several startled remarks such as 'oh, there's people lying there'. Despite this amusing start, we quickly arose and staked our claim on a ledge to enjoy what really was, a remarkable sunrise over the mountain terrain.

So our week in Dahab went quickly, it was beautiful and relaxing. We ate lots of seafood and smoked lots of sheesha (water-pipe)! From Dahab we caught the overnight bus back to Cairo which was surprisingly comfortable. Once back in Cairo we checked into our hotel and then went to check out the 'city of the dead'. This outer Cairo suburb was once a cometary but as the city became more populated, the poorer people were forced to shelter in the tombs. Today it is mostly residential, however there are remnants of the tombs throughout the dwellings.

City of the Dead

Saturday morning we were up early for our flight out of Cairo to London. We managed to get out of Heathrow airport and over to Gatwick airport with surprisingly no hassles. However once in Dublin we were greeted by a PA announcement, 'could Stuart Bowden please report to the customer service desk'. Once there we were informed that we would get to play 'guess whose bag has been left at Gatwick airport', as only two of three bags had made it. So we placed our bets and waited anxiously at the WRONG carousel. We soon realised our error, moved to the correct carousel...... Stuart's bag came..... James' bag came..... and Claire would be wearing their clothes for the next day. We were relieved to hear the bag would be on a flight the next morning and delivered to our house, which it was by 10am.

Our Auntie Noeleen

Ireland is freezing. We wear all our clothes to get out of the house. On Sunday we caught up with family and yesterday we went into the city, went to temple bar, the Guinness factory, the Abbey Theatre and the post office (Easter uprising). James and Stu decided they indulged a little too much in Egypt and so they are on a strict liquid diet.

Tomorrow we are heading into the West... maybe County Sligo, Mayo and Galway. We will update you once we return. Hope everyone at home is well.


the River Liffy