16 August 2006

Mt. Sinai (again)

After my fun excursions with the unique pyramids, I checked into my new hotel to meet my new tour group. There is a British family, another American Girl, and another British guy who is my roomate.

The next morning, we left early to make our drive to Mt. Sinai again. We got to our hotel, which contained a bedouin tent and smoked shesha (hookah) all night. We then had to wake up at 2:30 AM to make the climb before sunrise. Because I knew I could climb, I decided this time I would hire a camel on the way up. I was able to look up at the sky and watch the stars, plus it was shooting star season.

For any of you who have ridden camels, you know that they are not quite comfortable (especially for guys). There is a wooden pole behind you, right up on your back, and another wooden pole in between your legs. Whenever the camel slopes up or down, the poles also move....and you can imagine. Luckily, I only took it on the way up, but two of the guys took camels on the way down (against our guide's advice) and they described the experience as "unbelievably painful."

Mt. Sinai was still as gorgeous the 2nd time around. A lot more people this time than the last time around, but it was still an awesome experience

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