Transition to Land Touring in Sharm el Sheikh

I’m not meant to be rich, so it’s a good thing I’m not. Some might question that since I unofficially “retired” when I was 50. I don’t really live extravagantly. Yes, I travel, but not luxuriously for the most part. My upcoming tour may be an exception. I arrive a few days early for the start of a land tour of Egypt, sitting in the lobby of a Hilton in Sharm el Sheikh looking at all the posh décor and Christmas decorations, thinking about the tent I stayed last night in Marsa Alam, the sand still wedged between my toes. I think in a former life I really was nomadic. If I lived in Egypt, I may have been what’s referred to here as a Bedouin. While it’s easy to sink into the cushioned wicker chairs, dine at the never-ending buffets, it’s really not my style. I’d much rather eat at the local food stalls.

I enjoyed my stay at what is touted as an eco-friendly lodge in Marsa Alam, though didn’t see any evidence of it. There, the resorts were powered by generators. Signs noted that some lights had to stay on 24/7 so the generators would continue to work. The power of the sun, the sea and the wind are too expensive to tap compared to the availability of cheap oil in this part of the world. Garbage is another issue. I learn from Collin, a fellow American who is working as a dive guide at Shagra Village, that there is no garbage collection. It’s as apparent blowing across the land as it is swaying underwater. I could fill the pockets of my BCD with man-made refuse on every dive. He says liveaboard boats have the reputation of dumping food waste over the sides of the boat. Given the silky shark and other fish under a liveaboard boat moored at Elphinstone, I would concur. I hope the Royal Evolution wasn’t guilty of this . . .

In reading about diving on the Sinai Peninsula, I realize I should be in Dehab. It’s more the backpackers’ area, where the tourists are closer to the locals than in Sharm. Sharm is like being a tourist in Cozumel or Cancun. You don’t really know you’re in Mexico except for arriving and departing. From what I’ve seen so far, Sharm el Sheikh is a long street of (American) hotels—on one side you have the hotels facing the beach, on the other, they face the mountains. The mountains here are all a beautiful tan color of sand. From the plane’s window, the mountain tops peak through what looks like a flat cloud of sand. Of course, the elevations here are short compared to the Himalayas, but the effect is mesmerizing. Upon first seeing the desert, I have an immediate respect and possibly fear of it. It takes no imagination to understand how people can perish here. One may fear being on water out of site of land, but at least the wind and waves can carry you to safety. That’s not true of the desert. There, you best have a camel which has a good sense of direction. Apparently, camels can go 38 days without water.

I realize how little I know about Egypt. Yes, there are pyramids, which I learn are actually in the suburbs of Cairo, an area that houses 20 million people. Greater Cairo sports the highest density of people per kilometer. The infrastructure is stressed there, but it doesn’t seem to compare to the stresses of the infrastructure in Kathmandu. At least in Egypt, the population growth is diminishing, though it is still increasing by one million people every nine months.

I happily connect with some Dutch women and a Swedish man I’ve become friends with on other trips. We spend a couple of leisurely days together before the rest of the tour group. It’s wonderful to have this time together to reconnect, reminisce about Nepal, Peru, and Africa. We laze at the beach, walk the promenade, visit the Old Market, of what half has been rebuilt after being destroyed by bombs, and avoid sharks. In the past week, a cargo ship dumped some dead sheep into some nearby waters. Once that food was gone, it’s thought this provoked some attacks on snorkelers in the area so snorkeling is not permitted. It’s did affect the diving for a few days, but luckily that resumed so I could go to the Ras Mohammad National Park for my last three dives in Egypt-a few crocodile fish, porcupine fish, another yellow Slingjaw Wrasse and a minding-my-own business Oceanic Shark. Forty-eight dives in the Red Sea in all. Now I’m off in the other direction—to climb St. Catherine Mountain a couple hours’ drive north of Sharm el Sheikh.