The “Brits” as Hugo and Andrej call our fellow travelers from England are going to watch the sun rise on the top of Mount Sinai or Musas Mountain. (Moses’mountain). We decide to join them. We try to sleep a few hours before we leave at 11pm.
When we arrive at the foot of Mount Sinai just after 2am a group of boys are playing soccer, two buses arrive with tourists and we find it strange to see so much activity that time of the morning. The soccer boys are Bedouin guides who are waiting for their customers – us.
Our hike commences at 3am. The only light to go by is half a moon and every now and then the guide’s flashlight. The “older” group: Willie, Peter (our British friend) and I fall behind quickly. We stumble and trip over rocks whilst the guys and guide gallop up the mountain. Fortunately I decided last minute to take my flashlight and without it we probably would have still climbed. Somewhere from someone we’ve heard it is a ½ hour climb! I wonder who got their information so wrong…? It is a 7 km, 3+ hours tough hike over difficult terrain to reach a height of 5 250 meters at the highest point! I cling and hang on to Willie as we blunder up the mountain. Suddenly a dark shadow appears from the back with a voice saying, “Do you need a camel? Camel takes 1 ½ hours, walk takes 3 hours.” “No thank you, we will walk.” “Camel is strong, camel is fast, good camel, my friend.” He follows us for a while until we meet the next camel ride salesman! I have to be honest…a camel sounds really tempting as we are huffing and puffing up the mountain with legs that feel like Jell-O at times. Willie and I were avid hikers even before we got married and we were strong hikers I have to add. Our friends referred to us as the 2 V-8’s…those were the days my friends…The power-bursting V-8’s have turned into 2 old sputtering, gasping for air V-8’ crocs! It’s ok though. The new generation V-10’s kindly wait for us to catch up every now and then before they jet off again.
We pass a large group of Japanese tourists on the way up and meet several others from Germany, France and America. I think of Moses often – he climbed this mountain all by himself not knowing what to expect – not knowing that he was to receive stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God. It is hard to fathom, to understand how this happened, what happened between God and Moses. We serve and worship a God that is deeply interested in each one of us, individually, a God that desires a relationship with us; a God that is slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness; not a God that we have to try to appease, never knowing if we are successful or not.
The last stretch up the mountain is a climb of 700 steps – up, up, up…! The horizon gradually starts to glow in the distance – pale white… light blue… dark blue-purple… and then the first tinge of orange just as we reach the freezing top. We join the guys to watch a magnificent sunrise. Groups around us sing different hymns and the atmosphere is filled with quiet reverence as each one is busy with their own thoughts.
Our hike commences at 3am. The only light to go by is half a moon and every now and then the guide’s flashlight. The “older” group: Willie, Peter (our British friend) and I fall behind quickly. We stumble and trip over rocks whilst the guys and guide gallop up the mountain. Fortunately I decided last minute to take my flashlight and without it we probably would have still climbed. Somewhere from someone we’ve heard it is a ½ hour climb! I wonder who got their information so wrong…? It is a 7 km, 3+ hours tough hike over difficult terrain to reach a height of 5 250 meters at the highest point! I cling and hang on to Willie as we blunder up the mountain. Suddenly a dark shadow appears from the back with a voice saying, “Do you need a camel? Camel takes 1 ½ hours, walk takes 3 hours.” “No thank you, we will walk.” “Camel is strong, camel is fast, good camel, my friend.” He follows us for a while until we meet the next camel ride salesman! I have to be honest…a camel sounds really tempting as we are huffing and puffing up the mountain with legs that feel like Jell-O at times. Willie and I were avid hikers even before we got married and we were strong hikers I have to add. Our friends referred to us as the 2 V-8’s…those were the days my friends…The power-bursting V-8’s have turned into 2 old sputtering, gasping for air V-8’ crocs! It’s ok though. The new generation V-10’s kindly wait for us to catch up every now and then before they jet off again.
We pass a large group of Japanese tourists on the way up and meet several others from Germany, France and America. I think of Moses often – he climbed this mountain all by himself not knowing what to expect – not knowing that he was to receive stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God. It is hard to fathom, to understand how this happened, what happened between God and Moses. We serve and worship a God that is deeply interested in each one of us, individually, a God that desires a relationship with us; a God that is slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness; not a God that we have to try to appease, never knowing if we are successful or not.
The last stretch up the mountain is a climb of 700 steps – up, up, up…! The horizon gradually starts to glow in the distance – pale white… light blue… dark blue-purple… and then the first tinge of orange just as we reach the freezing top. We join the guys to watch a magnificent sunrise. Groups around us sing different hymns and the atmosphere is filled with quiet reverence as each one is busy with their own thoughts.
7 up and now 7 down. I’m not sure which one I dislike the most? Putting your brakes on as you go down stresses your muscles in a different manner and it is as ugly in a different way. The good thing about going down is that we do it in day light and I am glad that I did not know what was waiting for us when we “innocently” ventured out 4 hours ago – it is a steep, high mountain that we had to climb and we had no idea…!
We finally reach the bottom and even the young stallions are sprawled out on the rocks. It was worth it though is the final conclusion we came to. We are ravenous and decide to have a nice breakfast before we leave for Ras Mohammed. Little Bedouin boys surround us and our every move. They ask for money, climb on the car, try to look at Sammie and we realize we will have to drive a few kilometres to brunch in peace. We find a spot and enjoy pita bread with hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. With our stomachs full all we want to do now is sleep. I have no idea how I am going to stay awake to keep Willie company as he drives.
Hugo, Andrej and Sammie are fast asleep as soon as we drive off. I fight sleep as hard as I can, but every now and then Willie’s voice pulls me back into consciousness and I answer what I hope sounds intelligent. 1 ½ hours later Willie cannot keep his eyes open either. We stop at a tree 500 m from the road where Willie takes a nap and it makes driving much easier. Ras Muhammed is a nature reserve and considered the jewel for diving in the Red Sea. It is quite pricey to enter and we drive to the gate to find out how much it will cost so that we can decide whether we can afford it or not. The guards at the gate greet us friendly and then the surprise…the government has decided that Ras Muhammed will be free to enter for the month of March. Not every March, the guard says, but this year March! We are thrilled and so excited! We can camp at the jewel of the Red Sea and it does not cost us a thing.
The guards at the camping site tell us that we can camp where ever we want to. We pass one car on our way in and unanimously decide that a beautiful little cove with white sand will be our camping spot. We do not know what to do with ourselves. Free camping on “our” private little beach with the coral reef probably 20 meters from the water’s edge!
We finally reach the bottom and even the young stallions are sprawled out on the rocks. It was worth it though is the final conclusion we came to. We are ravenous and decide to have a nice breakfast before we leave for Ras Mohammed. Little Bedouin boys surround us and our every move. They ask for money, climb on the car, try to look at Sammie and we realize we will have to drive a few kilometres to brunch in peace. We find a spot and enjoy pita bread with hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. With our stomachs full all we want to do now is sleep. I have no idea how I am going to stay awake to keep Willie company as he drives.
Hugo, Andrej and Sammie are fast asleep as soon as we drive off. I fight sleep as hard as I can, but every now and then Willie’s voice pulls me back into consciousness and I answer what I hope sounds intelligent. 1 ½ hours later Willie cannot keep his eyes open either. We stop at a tree 500 m from the road where Willie takes a nap and it makes driving much easier. Ras Muhammed is a nature reserve and considered the jewel for diving in the Red Sea. It is quite pricey to enter and we drive to the gate to find out how much it will cost so that we can decide whether we can afford it or not. The guards at the gate greet us friendly and then the surprise…the government has decided that Ras Muhammed will be free to enter for the month of March. Not every March, the guard says, but this year March! We are thrilled and so excited! We can camp at the jewel of the Red Sea and it does not cost us a thing.
The guards at the camping site tell us that we can camp where ever we want to. We pass one car on our way in and unanimously decide that a beautiful little cove with white sand will be our camping spot. We do not know what to do with ourselves. Free camping on “our” private little beach with the coral reef probably 20 meters from the water’s edge!
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