Lazing in Dahab

As ferry veterans we were looking forward to the short hop from Hurghada to Sharm el-Sheikh but the reality was somewhat different to our expectations. A genuine attempt at security (x-raying all our stuff before and, somewhat bizarrely, after the journey) bookended the sort of ride more suitable to Chessington World Of Adventure than the world of mass passenger transit. We had wondered why passengers were not allowed on deck during the crossing but after 10 minutes, when the boat started pitching, yawing and doing other weird things from "The Dictioanry Of Maritime Terms", we understood why. It was at this point a member of the crew started handing out wax-paper bags. I can only think it was because it was too rough to put our litter in the bins.

Against the odds we bumped into Andre again and we arranged a taxi to take us and a Swiss chap the 80 or so kilometers up the coast to Dahab, a laid-back traveller haunt. The atmosphere here is very different to the rest of Egypt and much needed it is too after 5 weeks of bartering for everything from bottled water to souvenirs and being lured into papyrus shops. There's coral reef to explore here but as appealing are the beach-front cafes where you can lounge all day drinking pop, nibbling snacks, reading and musing on life's problems with closed eyes. We managed to stretch breakfast out until 6pm the other day but we're not proud of it.

From here the plan is to move on to Jordan where we expect to stay for a couple of weeks before flying on to Turkey.

Oh, and tomorrow it will be 6 months since we set off from Stockton Town Hall!