Dahab

After about a two hour taxi trip heading south from the Egyptian border we arrived in Dahab and the scuba diver pointed me down the boardwalk towards where he though the Bedouin Camp I was going to be staying in was located. The Bedouin are a group of nomadic Arabs that live a pretty archaic lifestyle. These are the people you see sitting around in large colorful tents in films like Lawrence of Arabia. In Dahab and along the Sinai coast they have found tourism to be a marketable trade and have built small hotels/hostels that they call camps and I had booked a room in a well reviewed such camp for about 10 dollars a night- a private room no less in a small bamboo walled bungalow and I was excited to see just what I had got myself into.

Well after walking the full length of the beach I still hadn't located the camp and everyone I asked for directions offered the opposite directions of the last person I had talked to. If I was headed south, apparently it was north and vice versa. Eventually I got really close to where it was and finally turned a corner to see a small sign pointing down an unassuming alley for "Dolphin Camp." Slightly apprehensive I headed down the path and it opened after about 50 meters to reveal beautiful while buildings surrounding a courtyard with covered sitting areas and a few small huts. It was beautiful and peaceful and for the price I doubt I could ever find comparable accommodations.My hut was pretty nice and head two beds, a fan, a single outlet and a single light inside it and really reminded me of the old cabins I spent my entire summers in while working at Camp Parsons. There were no plants to be found, but the dirt had been raked in nice patterns across the grounds and I really can't express the rustic beauty of the place. Completely the opposite of a resorty tourist town or lodgings. Here's the only picture I snapped of the camp (which I really regret):

I stayed in one of those little cabins!

Dahab itself was a really pleasant little town and I can't recommend it enough. Particularly for people who like to get away from the hustle and bustle and just want to experience a quiet seaside resort town. It was almost like something off the Oregon coast, just with more of a Tropical feel to it. There were a lot of small stores lining the side of the street opposite to the beach, but there was no pushy sales pitches to come look at their wares, and even if there were to have been some I think besides the occasionally t-shirt vendors, they all sold authentic spices and Egyptian arts and crafts. The ones that did invite me to their shops were always very kind and responded to my "La Shokran" (no thank you) with wishing me a good day. It was just a feel good kind of place to be. The beach side of the board walk was lined with restaurants- and I mean lined with them. Dahab doesn't have a sandy beachfront anyways so there really wasn't a good place to just throw down a towel, but if you wanted a view with the water you had to go into a restaurant and buy at least a coffee or something. The same applied for if you wanted to snorkel, there was a bed rate of 20 pounds Egyptian (about 4 dollars) for the day to sprawl out on the decks and sun yourself or get into the water from the restaurants.

The Boardwalk across the flash flood drainage bridge

I spent my first night just wandering around and getting my bearings on the town. It's crazy being in a place with bars so I took the opportunity to sit and have a beer by the seaside. I can honestly say a beer has never tasted so good and the sound of the ocean has never been more relaxing. After spending the last three months hardly drinking except the periodic glass of wine, I was really feeling it after three beers and walked back to the cabin. After all, I had been traveling since 5 AM and was looking forward to a nice night's sleep.