Holy Land Tour Day 7 & 8

The majority of the day was spent driving from Cairo to Sinai. We did drive under the Suez Canal. The whole reason to drive to Sinai was to hike Mount Sinai, also referred to as "Moses Mountain". This was the one thing that I decided before going on this trip that I would not participate in. It required waking up at 1 am and hiking up the mountain in the dark with a flash light. There was the option of taking a camel up to the base of the steps and then walking up the remaining 500 or so steps. I struggle going up my 13 stairs throughout the day, I couldn't imagine 500 all at once. I do not regret my decision.

This was the one place where I felt extremely homesick. I am sure it was the mixture of the paper thin walls, pillows where I had to cover it with my t-shirt in order to sleep, the shower that was 3'x3' and held together by some wire, and the emaciated cat that kept crying at 4 am. Most of all it could have been the food. Out of the dishes that looked somewhat edible, none of it had any flavor. I can't say I felt very bad when we left that place.

The masses of people making their Exodus down after watching the sunrise.
Had I happened to go into labor while hiking it's good to know there was an emergency clinic on the mountain. I am glad I never had to use it.

From Sinai we headed to Israel. What a drastic change in scenery. We stayed in Eilat which is located on the southern tip of Israel on the Red Sea. Before reaching the hotel, those that wanted stopped at the beach to snorkel. Daryl had a great time. I attempted, but kept feeling like I was hyperventilating. At least I can say that I snorkeled in the Red Sea, even though it only lasted 10 minutes. We made it to our hotel about 5 pm. Everyone was pretty exhausted from being up since 1 am. This was my very favorite hotel. I don't know why we never got any pictures of it. Part of the reason it was so great was because it was in Israel, which meant that we were finally able to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and drink water with ice in it. And the buffet there was so good. I think all I ate was salad and watermelon over and over that night. They even had gummy worms at the dessert table and they were the most favorable gummy worms I have ever had. Even Daryl, who is not a gummy worm fan, couldn't stop eating them because they were so good. Anyway, the buffet was heaven after the buffet we had to eat in Sinai. We also had an amazing view of the Red Sea from our hotel room, which had a board walk with little shops all along it.