A Sinai adventure

Warning: Long, long post!

It was an early start - we got up at around 6, drank some coffee, took Z for a walk and stuffed the rest of our belongings hurriedly into our bags. I won't mention that my bag was half the size of mrs. anglosaxy's. Must be something to do with her being the 'fairer sex'...

Anyway, we drove over to momma and poppa anglosaxy's place, where the coach taking us down to the border soon arrived. 55 of us piled in; the other 30 or so guests were making their own way down to Eilat. After a few minutes, I soon wished I had chosen that independent route. Christ, Israelis certainly know how to talk...and talk...and talk...and hop from seat to seat...if it wasn't for the shots of ouzo being passed down the coach, I have doubts whether all 55 passengers would have survived the journey with all limbs intact.

On the way to Eilat, we drove down through Mitzpeh Ramon, a giant crater in the middle of the Negev desert with impressive views. The pictures below were taken from the coach so they are not of the best quality...





Well, Eilat came and went, time for the Egyptian border crossing. All I can say is: extremely hot and time consuming. The panic over the excessive amounts of alcohol we carried through was allayed by the mere wave of a hand from the guys checking the bags via x-ray. The only things that were confiscated were some fireworks brought by the father of the bride. Not a wise thing to try and bring through a border, but a valiant attempt anyway...

After taking a couple of pictures of the tribe trekking through the final border checkpost, as shown in the pic below, an Egyptian soldier angrily babbled something at me, pointing at my camera. The only word I made out was 'kalabush', Arabic for prison. Uh-oh. Fortunately he broke into a smile and started laughing. Funny bastard.



After getting on our bus to Nuweiba, we continued onwards and southwards, accompanied by loud, loud, Arabic ballads thanks to our considerate driver. After around an hour, and with the lilting Arab ballads still ringing in our ears, we arrived at our hotel, the Nuweiba Village Resort. First impressions: impressive, especially for Sinai. But I wasn't that interested in the room, I just wanted to jump in the sea. I grabbed mrs. anglosaxy and we ran down to the beach, hand-in-hand, frollicking in the surf. OK, I made that bit up, she headed for the pool, I went to the beach all alone (about 50 metres away...). Here she is, showing how much she adores me...



The rest of the evening was spent eating, drinking beers and ogling at a beautiful belly dancer (apparently she was Russian). Everyone crashed out early, it had been a long 10 hour drive down.

The next morning, I took a walk around the place, snapping a couple of pics of the beach. Nice, eh?





The day was spent hopping between the pool and the beautiful Red Sea. The snorkelling here is great, you have to go out to the edge of the reef to see something worthwhile, but it's definetly worth it. I am so in awe at the beauty of the coral reefs and fish, simply amazing...I shall have to do a diving course one day...

As the evening drew nearer, we had to get dolled up for the wedding. I played it cool, with a nice shirt, shorts and flip-flops, mrs. anglosaxy was a stunner. You'll just have to take my word for it. As the ouzo flowed once again, the huppa was raised and the ceremony started. And yes, there was a rabbi (Reform), though officially the marriage will not be recognized by the Israeli rabbinate. Let's not go there...The wedding was great, lots of dancing, lots of alcohol and some good food (surprisingly good for Sinai). A few people got chucked into the pool, including yours truly, but it was all good.

Anyway, a shot of the happy couple:



Saturday, Sunday and Monday were pretty similar tales: breakfast, pool, sea, beers, sea, dinner, pool. Sunday night was a little more special because it was momma anglosaxy's 60th birthday. I commandeered the beach bar and persuaded them to stick some dance music on. Before long there were some 20 of us getting on down, while on the dancefloor I plied everyone with drink to keep the party spirit flowing...what the fuck, it was our last night, I even gave momma anglosaxy a peck on the cheek...unfortunately there is photographic evidence of this incident, I shall never live it down...

As I wrap this tale up, I'd like to give a hand to a special friend who stuck by my side over the 4-5 days in Sinai. Without his assistance none of the above would have been possible. Take it away, Sakara...