Bus for Quepos...Maybe Not

The last couple of days in Costa Rica I was not able to get on the internet because of the shops being closed for the holiday. After Dominical Kyle and I took what should have been a short bus ride north back to Manuel Antonio. We arrived at the bus stop with plenty of time to spare to catch the bus north. When the bus came it read, "Quepos", which is where we were heading. Kyle went in front of me and paid for the both of us. Here is a rule that can save any of you some time if you ever find yourself travelng in a foriegn country. Always double check the destination of your bus with the driver! : ) Even if the bus says the name of where you want to go on the top, this does not necessarily mean that it is heading there. I think we assumed that if the bus has a city's name across it, than that is its destination. Not exactly. I soon realized that we were definitely not heading north in the direction we should be. Long story short, what should have been a 2 hour bus ride , was an 8 hour day of over crowded bus rides. It was all good though. We got to see the city of San Isidro and take a pretty hilarious bus ride back. I counted over 100 people on a bus that has seats for 45! Men, women, children, and even a dozen baby chicks were crammed inside this sauna on wheels. It was an adventure just wondering if we would make it up the next hill! Like, The Little Engine That Could, we slowly climbed up and down the mountians at a brisk walking pace. It is amuzing things like these that keep traveling interesting. It's important to look at it this way, otherwise you can find yourself way too stressed over things like deceptive bus destinations. No matter where you are in the world, you can always find an adventure on the public bus! The last couple days where nice to just relax and reflect on our time in Costa Rica. Kyle and I surfed one last time in Manuel Antonio and also saw the elusive sloth that we had been wanting to catch a glimpse of. We were able to get pretty close, and man are those guys ugly! It was quite a site to see the sloth doing what they do best. I guess the best phrase for this behavior would be slothing around? Anyway, it was trying to climb a telephone sign and not having much luck. Imagine someone trying to climb a well griesed fire pole and you will get an idea what he looked like. After our sloth entertainment we went to the La Mariposa hotel for lunch by the pool. As one of the "1000 places to see before you die," I thought I might have already passed and gone to heaven! The hotel sits on top of a mountain that has a 270 degree view of the national park and the Pacific Ocean. There is an infiniti pool around the entire deck and views that I will never forget. The hotel was a nice ending to a great trip. Above are some pictures from the trip and a video below. I hope you enjoyed reading about Costa Rica as much as I enjoyed being there! I am set to graduate in May so there will be many more adventures to come!

No Surf....Relax!!

Kyle and I are still in Dominical. The waves are pretty small, but it´s nice to take a break from surfing. Since we have been in Dominical we have been hanging out with two Dutch guys and a girl. They left this moring for different cities. Meeting new people is another thing that I really enjoy about traveling. They were really great to hang out with and an absolute riot! The people that surround you can make a good experience a great one. Positive energy is contagious and it is definitely a good thing to have those kind of people around. Yesterday we hitched a ride with a local surfer and went to a waterfall just outside of town. After a short walk we could hear the water crashing and see the 20 ft. falls in the middle of the forest. It was nice to chill out there and go off the rope swing. Jose, the surfer, put on a show when he climbed over 30 ft. up a tree and jumped into the small pool. Jose was born in raised in Dominical. He teaches surfing for a living and seems to have a nice life. If I run for president it will be on the platform of Jose, the surfer instead of Joe, the plumber! lol....We are staying in Dominical tonight and then heading back to Manuel Antonio for the rest of our trip. The waves will stay small with a Christmas swell coming in on Thursday. It is going to be a very Feliz Navidad if we get some good waves!

Our First Surf Contest

Kyle and I have been doing the usual. Wake up for a pre dawn session, eat , surf again, repeat until sunset. Today the local surf shops were putting on a surf contest for anyone who wanted to give it a shot. Me, Kyle and two friends of ours that we have been surfing with decided to enter. I was in the first heat of the day. I found myself really excited and kind of nervous to be competing in my first surf competition. The heat was 20 minutes and I caught about 5 waves. The thrill of paddling against 4 other surfers going for the same wave definitely brought out my competitive side. I was tempted to tackle a few of them off of thier boards. Win by any means necessary! However, tackling is for football so I just tried my best. I was pretty happy with my performance, placing 4th in the mens open longboard division. Kyle was trying to tell me that it was because there were only 3 other competitors in my division, but I´ll think what I want. Kyle and the other guys competed in the open shortboard division and came out the same as me. Although I wanted to win, it was more about having a good time and trying something new. I think that when we try new things it breathes life into us. When was the last time you tried something that put you out of your normal comfort zone? I´m not saying go and do something crazy and dangerous, just something you would not normally do. It can be something as simple as reading a type of book that you would not normally pick up, or crossing off something on you ¨things to do before I die¨list. Life is about our different experiences over the years. Don´t leave that list or new opportunity sitting there. Carpe Diem, Viva La Vida, Sieze the Day! My camera won´t hook up here, but I´ll be sure to put of pictures as soon as I can.

Dominical For Now

Yesterday Kyle and I headed to a town called Dominical 44 km to the south of Manuel Antonio. The trip should take less than an hour. However, the Manuel Antonio local government has chosen not to pave the road in between the two towns in an effort to keep tourists in Manuel Antonio. This is marketing your city, Costa Rican style! All you have to do is to make it harder to get to any other towns! Well, it didn´t keep Kyle and I away and actually makes Dominical my new favorite place in Costa Rica! We are staying in a hostel directly in front of the best beach break in the area. This morning we woke up for a sunrise session and walked about the same distance most of us walk to take the garbage out to surf. I like this walk much better! This is not to say that Domincal is not developed, but not nearly as much as other towns. It´s funny because we are always searching for a place that is ¨untouched¨ and not ¨developed¨. However, it is because of our search that places become known, visited, and later more commercialized. So now I find myself in a dilemma. Should I write that I hate this place and no one should ever come here. keyboard won´t let me do a queston mark, or parenthesis...lol....No, I tell about how great it is, thus contributing to the very problem that I seek to avoid. The simple fact that I am here is the reason for development. So now you see my problem. Instead of just not going in the first place, I think that we can still enjoy what our planet has to offer without commercializing everything. Tell that to the people trying to make money and Í´m sure they will not agree. In the end I guess we should just try to always have a positive impact on our surroundings, whether they are human or in nature. On that note, Kyle and I are going to follow my rules and enjoy the rest of our trip in Dominical.

Living the Life...

Our days have been pretty much the same since I last wrote. Wake up early to catch the bus to the beach, surf until we can’t feel our arms, and then head back to the hostel to watch the sun dip below the Pacific. This trip feels like it is not as much about what we are doing, but more about what we are not. It’s nice to not have any particular plans. It‘s even nicer to forget about the day of the week and time of the day. Sometimes we get caught up in the momentum of everything moving around us. If only I can move through life with the same flow and grace of a breaking wave. If you don‘t surf, try it! There is no other feeling in the world. The swell is hitting the local beach here, so here is where we will stay. Later in the week we will probably head to another town nearby for a change of scene and some different breaks. The pictures above are of the beach we surf at, sunset view from our hostel, and the monkey's that call this area home.

Surfing With Crocidiles!

Kyle and I arrived in San Jose on time at 4 pm yesterday. We could already see Costa Rica´s beauty from the plane ride in. Mountains covered in tropical rainforest paint the land a deep green for as far as you can see. After grabbing our surfboards and loading them in our taxi we got a taste of San Jose rush hour. What should have beena 30 minute cab ride took about an hour and a half. We thought we might miss our bus to the beach but they ended up having a later one than we thought. Our first meal in Costa Rica was perfect! A gaint plate of chicken, rice, beans, and vegetables for about $2 was exactly what we needed after a long day of traveling. Now we were off on our bus ride to Manuel Antonio. After winding through the mountains for 4 hours we had finally reached our hostel. Vista Serena sits on the side of a mountian over looking the Pacific ocean. The porch has many hammocks that provide a great place to watch the beautiful sunsets. Our first morning here we woke up and headed to the beach. The beach is only about 10 minutes down the mountain. The last two days we surfed for at least 10 hours. My shoulders are definitely asking me to take a break. But its so hard with perfect waves pounding the beach all day. The water is a great temperature and the sun is not too bad when its behind the clouds. The spot we surf at is at the far right end of the beach from the picture above. The beach looks like something out of Jarassic Park. Today, Kyle had an encounter with a living dinasour himself. He came running out of the water and I knew something was up. A 7ft croc was patrolling the surf and decided to get uncomfortably close to Kyle. Crocs are not uncommon here, so it was not a huge surprise. Needless to say we took a little break from surfing until he decided to go bother other unsespecting beach goers. Crocidiles are not the only widelife we have seen. Yesterday on the was back from surfing we saw a whole group of monkeys and two sloths in the trees. It is really amazing to have such diverse plant and wildlife around us. Costa Rica has more species of both than the U.S. and Europe combined! The food is good, the surf is up, and the weather is perfect. I just got here, but I´m already planning my return.

WINTER BREAK COSTA RICA STYLE!!!

The last time I wrote I had just returned from a great trip to the Middle East. It has only been a little over 3 months and I'm ready for new adventures. Kyle and I are heading to the Rich Coast o en espanol, Costa Rica BABY! I have always wanted to go there and I felt like now would be a good time. It was kind of a last minute thing. I started looking into flights last week and became frustrated when all of them were around $600, not what I was hoping for. After staying up way to late travelociting and orbitzing on the computer I decided to try one more time the next morning. Then it hit me, American Airlines Ft. Lauderdale to San Jose: $238...round trip! It was a sign from the travel gods! Kyle was not planning on going do to a lack of funds from late night partying and unpaid debts to a local mob boss. However, I convinced him to skip town with the financial help of a few of "my people" (Mom and Dad).  So now here I am writing on the eve of our trip to a motherland for surfing, rainforests and cerveza (beer). If you don't know any spanish, I think you will have a nice arsenal of slang by the time you are done reading my blog. We are leaving tomorrow and returning the 26th. While we are there we are planning on doing a lot of surfing and relaxing. Costa Rica is home to some of the worlds best tropical rainforests and surf....sounds like a good combination. Our first stop will be on the Pacific coast in a town called Manuel Antonio. The picture above is of Manuel Antonio National Park.  I will try to write everyday, however I may never leave the peeling surf for long enough to manifest more than a : ) So if you see that, you know its all good and we are living La Pura Vida! (The Pure Life, a common saying in Costa Rica) 

Home Again

After 23 hours of travel time I arrived back in Atlanta. Not quite home, but close enough. Mom picked me up from the airport around 3 P.M. and by 5 I was back on the road again. We were heading to the Blue Ridge Mountains to visit Grandma Deenie and Grandpa John. Kyle, Morgan and the whole gang are in full force here. Bar-B-Q, Wal-Mart, and country folk certainly makes me feel a long way from where I spent my last two months. My experiences in Israel and Egypt are memories that I will never forget. It is truly facinating to have a first hand look at one of the worlds most historically rich and politically charged regions. I definitely feel like I became more Jewish after living in the Jewish State. Not necessarily more religous, but a deeper connection with the Jewish people. I felt at home when I was in Tel-Aviv or any of the other Israeli cities. I will definitely be going back to Israel in the future. As for Egypt.....I can't really say much. I mean the pyramids! Who doesn't dream of going to see the pyramids? It was a truly surreal experience touring all of the ruins of ancient Egypt. I would recommend anyone to go and see them sometime during thier lives. Make sure you take the donkey ride above the Valley of the Kings if you go! I really enjoyed writing my entries during this trip. They give me an opportunity to reflect on what I am going to do and what I have done. In between now and my next adventure I will be completing my final year of college. I will tentatively graduate in May with a degree in Anthropology. After that, I really don't know. Definitely some more traveling. Then I will just take it from there. Opportunities arise, friendships are forged. Its not what you know, but who. However, what I know is also very important. And there is one thing that I am sure of. Everything will work itself out. A positive outlook can do amazing things for yourself. So stay positive and stay tuned to find out where in the world I am!

Mt. Sinai, the beach, Tel-Aviv.......HOME!!!

From Dahab we took a taxi 2 hours inland to Mt. Sinai in St. Catherines National Park. The scenery there was beautiful. Jagged mountains rose out of the desert everywhere. On the way there we could feel the air getting cooler and more pleasant. It felt like a cool autumn day in the middle of summer. After arriving we toured St. Catherines Monestary. One of the oldest in the world, St. Catherines was quite and peaceful. Inside the monestary is a church dating from 330 A.D., also one of the oldest, along with many other ancient relics. The burning bush where God spoke to Moses is also located within its' walls. When we where done touring we headed to a local restaraunt to fuel up for our 3 hour hike to the summit. When we where ready to go it was about 4 P.M. so we had to hurry in order to make it for the sunset. The locals insisted that we hire a guide to show us up the mountain. It was funny because there are two routes, one of witch is a camel path and the other is known as the steps of repentance. I don't think you need a guide to show you where the next step is or witch way a large path winds. In Egypt there are not a lot of job opportunities. Tourism is the main source of income for many Egyptians. So this was certainly not the first time we where asked to cough up a few hundred Egyptian Pounds for something that did not seem very neccessary (I.E. my hour long trip around Luxor in a horse and carriage to get nailclippers that ended up being gold and from the shop of the drivers friend....ect...ect...) So Julian, one of the French brothers, and I were adamant about paying him. Another one of the guys in our group insisted he would pay for the guide to be on the safe side. I beat the guide to the top of the mountain and he certainly did not do much guiding for the other members of the group. In fact he disappeared soon after I reached the top. Taking the steps up the mountain was amazing. The steps where laid many years ago by a monk in order to show repentance for his sins. As I was climbing it was really hard to believe that someone had put all 3,750 steps in themselve. On the way up the air was cool and I did not cross a single soul. I seperated myself from the rest of our group and it was just me and the mountain. About 2 hours later I reached the top, legs burning. The view was spectacular. By now the sun was slowly making its way behind the mountains. The sun and the mountains began to play a dance with colors and shadows. About 45 minutes later the rest of my friends made it to the top. Here we rented mats and blankets for our night under the stars. With only 5 or 6 other people at the top, we pretty much had the mountain to ourselves. The sun set, the air cooled, and the stars began to shine. After eating a nice dinner by our candlelight we laid down and watched the sky. There was no light polution so the entire Milky Way sparkled brilliantly. Around 4:30 A.M we were woken by the Muslim prayer calls from the mosque at the top of the mountain. Mt. Sinai is a holy place for all 3 of the worlds major religions. Pilgrims from all over the world flock here everyday to watch the sunrise or just to visit the mountain. The sky changed wild colors until the sun finally peeked out from behind the distant mountains. The warmth from the sun was a huge relief because it was freezing!! I would guess that it was around 45 degrees at its coldest. This is pretty cold when you have been in 95 + for the last two months! After the sun was shining with full force we began our trek down the mountain. This time we opted for the camel path. Somehow we managed to find our way down the path without paying a guide to "show" us the way. Once at the bottom we loaded up and headed to Ayyash Camp back at the coast. Here we ate delicious bannana pancakes, snorkelled, and relaxed. This is one of the camps that I had previously gone to with Kyle about 4 weeks ago. I think that it is one of the only places where you can sit down to eat breakfast, read, take a nap, wake up, eat lunch, read, take a nap, all without ever getting up. Absolutely one of the most quite and relaxing places I have ever been. After three days there we packed up and headed about an hour to the Taba border to enter back into Israel. It felt like I was coming home as I came back into the Jewish State. It was a really nice feeling, although I could have stayed at the camp forever! Now it was back to the harsh reality of everday life. Waiting in lines, waiting for buses, cars, buildings, people! 9 hours after I left the camp I arrived back in Herzliya with my friends from here. Today I am going to go to the beach one last time and then I leave for the airport around 10 PM and arrive in Atlanta around 3 PM tomorrow. I hope you all have enjoyed reading about my trip as much as I have enjoyed being here! One more entry soon to come upon my arrival home : )

Back in Sinai

The 17 hour bus ride was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I must say that riding in an Egyptian bus across the country is quite an experience. The scenery is beautiful, mountains and desert in all directions. You also get a free 17 hour carnival ride. You think the roads and drivers are bad where you live. Well, you havn't been to Egypt. Traffic lights and crosswalks, although they are there, don't seem to exist. 110 degree weather during the summer does not help the pot holes either. We made it safe, so thats all that matters. From Na'ama Bay we took a boat out to Ras Mohammad National Park. I have never seen fish and coral so bright and colorful. It was a really nice day on the water. After one night there we traveled 2 hours north to the coastal city of Dahab. Here we are doing some more snorkeling and chilling out. In a couple of days Catherina, my self, and two French brothers that I have befriended are going to Mt. Sinai. Yes, the Mt. Sinai where the Bible says Moses gave the 10 commandments. We are going to hike the mountain and spend the night at the top to watch the sunset and sunrise. Mt. Sinai is also home to St. Catherines Monestary, one of the oldest in the world. Apparently it gets pretty cold up top so I will have to rent a blanket from the hostel up there. Should be a fun experience. Its hard to believe I will need a blanket in a place just 2 hours away when I am in 110 weather here! After that we are planning on going to another beduin camp to chill out for the last couple days of my trip. We might rent camels for 15 Egyptian Pounds, or 3 U.S.D. to explore the desert surrounding the camp. Not something you can do everyday in St. Pete, FL.

Donkey Time!

We woke up at 5:30 this morning and crossed the Nile for some donkey trekking. I got to say that riding a donkey is a whole lot more exciting and adventerous than it sounds. Those little guys are strong animals. We took them through the sugar cane fields by the river up to the first ridge of the Nile Valley. We had amazing views of The Valley of The Kings and Hatchupsut Temple. It was one of the best experiences I've had in Egypt. Nothing compares to riding a donkey galloping at 15 mph, the wind in your hair with ancient ruins all around. But seriously, it was awesome. I got to go because we are about to get our 17 hour bus to Dahab. Wish me luck : ) My donkies name was William Shakespear and he was a BEAST!! Hauled all 200 lbs of me up a mountain! Check him out!

Egypt Baby!!!

So we took our 12 hour train south to Aswan soon after my last entry. The train took more like 14 but it was Ok because I slept most of the way. In Aswan we were quickly escorted by our travel guide to our 5 star Nile Cruise Boat, The Queen of Hansa. From the boat we traveled north stoping at different temples and monuments. It has been incredible. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. I have been on a few cruises from Florida and none of them come close to this. It is obviously a lot different. First of all I was on the worlds second longest river. The scenery is always changing as we slowly made our way from one ancient site to another. Most of the sites are just by the river because the Nile was used to transport all of the massive stones used for thier building. 95% of Egypt is desert and then you have the Nile cutting a life line through its' center. It's really beautiful to see desert sand for miles and then lush green as you approach the river. The cruise ended in Luxor, formerly Thebes, today. Tonight we are staying in a hotel here and taking a donkey ride to the top of The Valley of The Kings tommorow for sunrise. I figured I should take the donkey so that I can pretty much complete the cycle. In the past 2 months I have been on planes, trains, automobiles, boats, camels.....so the next logical step is a donkey! Today we already toured the Valley and entered some of the tombs. One you have probably heard of is that of King Tut. Tut was actually a very insignificant king. It was only because his tomb was not looted by grave robbers that he gets so much attention. After seeing his gold coffins in the Cairo Museum I realize why he has close to the same celebrity status in Egypt as Hanah Montana has in a 3rd grade girl scout troop. Tommorow at 5 we are taking a 17 hour bus ride to Dahab in the Sinai where I will probably just chill out for the rest of my stay overseas. Enjoy the pics... Obviously the big triangle shaped things are the pyramids....The big statues I'm sitting in front of is the temple of Abu Simble. Each statue is over 60 ft. high. You can also see the camel traffic jam on the way to the pyramids. The Sphinx, or "Father of Terror" in Arabic. The other pictures are from different temples and views from the cruise : ) These temples are massive, look at the size of the people compared to the monuments. I can do handstands now, so I figured I'd start doing them in front of ancient temples. You get bored in between touring millenia old ruins...... The one with Kyle is at the airport before he left. The guy in the middle is Dan. He is the Israeli kiteboarder...and yes he is as funny as he looks....lol.. Hope you enjoy!

Pyramids, Now South...

I arrive in Eilat by bus early Tuesday morning. Here I met up with Catharina, the girl that was also planning on going to Cairo. Its always better to travel with someone else. Just as long as they are not a crazy person. Luckily Catharina is far from that. We arrived in Cairo early afternoon yesterday and booked a tour with one of the local travel agencies. We stayed in a great hostel in downtown Cairo and woke up early this morning to tour the Great Pyramids. We rode camels through a traffic jam that was half camel half car. Not something you see everyday. After the chaotic mess we broke away from the tour buses and people trying to sell you mini pyramids. I have to say it was pretty amazing. Still has not really set in that I saw them this morning. Almost like a dream. You read about something and see pictures of it your whole life and then your actually there.....It was pretty surreal. After that we visited some more of Egypts 97 pyramids. Next, we toured the Cairo Museum and got to see the beautiful artifacts from King Tuts tomb along with many, many others. Now we are about to go catch a 12 hour train to Aswan close to the border of Sudan. Here we will tour the temples of Abu Simbel on a Nile cruise. I got to go...I'll be sure to post pics ASAP. Probably won't write for the next 6 days b/c of the cruise....Bye!!! : )

Things Don't Always Go As Planned

Well, I'm leaving to go to Egypt in a couple of hours. However, a few things have changed. Bill is not going to be in Cairo because of something that came up with one of the tennis tournaments. This is not a big deal as I can just stay in a hostel. So today I pretty much spent all day researching the different accomidations and tours available for Egypt. After a day I feel like I got nothing done. There are about a million choices!! I think I will just end up booking a tour when I arrive in Cairo. I don't know if you have ever heard of the burden of choice, but I'm feeling it right now! Sometimes it is easier when there are fewer options. My kite will not be repaired on time so I will not be kiting in Egypt. Kind of sucks, but I could have far worse problems then a broken kite : )....Trying to be optimistic!!!....But sometimes....I mean I brought all 30+ pounds of kiting gear halfway around the world then bought another kite in Isreal for $500 (which broke after using it twice) and have not really kited more than 5 days. More hassle than it is worth!!! But sometimes we do things out of love or passion that we cannot explain. I love kiteboarding, and this time she broke my heart! Oh well, ancient Egypt will be amazing and instead of riding the wind on the water I will get to spend more time exporing whats underneath it.

To The Pyramids!!!

Just got back from the Kinneret where I was kiteboarding for the last three days. It is a beautiful place to ride. Any place that the wind blows everyday is good! My kite has been giving me problems so hopefully I will have it fixed before I leave for Egypt Monday night. I am going to take the midnight bus from Tel-Aviv to Eilat Monday night. I will arrive around 6 AM and then take a taxi to the Taba border crossing. At the border I am planning on meeting up with a friend of a friend who is also traveling to Cairo. It is not the safest place for girls to travel by themselves so she will tag along for the ride. The bus from the border leaves at 10 and is supposed to arrive in Cairo around 5. Wednesday I am planning on touring the pyramids and Thursday the Cairo Museum. I will be staying with my friend Bill in Cairo. Bill is a professional tennis coach who recently took a job there running a tennis academy. He is coaching a player in the olympics this year. Pretty cool....I know Bill from St. Pete where we kiteboarded together. Friday morning we are driving 3 hours to Ras Sadr Egypt to do some riding. After that it is pretty much up in the air. I might stay and kiteboarder in Ras Sadr for a couple of days or go back to Cairo and tour around some more. No set plans. Also, I am planning on relaxing in Sinai again before my trip is over. The picture above is of Ras Sadr where I will be riding....Looks nice!!!

Wanted: Travel Partner

Kyle left two nights ago to return to Florida. Funds were running low so it was time for him to go back to reality. I don't speak for Kyle, sometimes Kyle doesn't speak period, but if I had to guess I would say he had a great time. It was nice to share some amazing experiences with my brother. He returned in one piece and niether of us gave each other black eyes. Based on these facts I would say it was a success traveling together. Now he is going to serve tables so he can save up beer money for when school starts. Just kidding Mom. The money is for textbooks and study guides ; ) Now I am staying at a friends house outside of Tel-Aviv. Thursday I am going with my kiteboarder friend Dan to the Kinneret for some riding over the weekend. Friday I turn 22 so it should be fun celebrating it with some time on the water. It's all downhill from here. 21 was my last significant birthday. Yeah, I'm 21, now I can get into bars! 22 doesn't have much significance besides that it is the first time I've had an age with two of the same numbers in it since I was 11. Thats pretty cool.....I guess. Once I turn 111, now that will be a milestone. Triple 1's ! Anyway, today I got my visa for Egypt. Next week I am going to Cairo to see what those large triangles in the desert are all about. I have a friend who is a pro tennis coach working in Cairo . I will go stay with him and tour around and then head torwards the Red Sea for some kiteboarding. After that I think I will go around the Sinai Peninsula sightseeing. The southern end is home to some of the best coral reefs in the world so I definitely can't pass that up. I have 4 weeks left and I'm going to do my best to see as much as I can.

Serenity in Sinai : )

Kyle and I just crossed the border from back into Israel from Sinai. I don't think I have ever had a more relaxing 3 days in my life. After entering Sinai throught the Taba border crossing we grabbed a cab and headed down the coast. That would be the last time we were aware of the time and day. After an hour drive south we arrived at our Beduine camp. Kum Kum 3 was the name of our camp. It was located on an empty stretch of beach with mountains behind it and a coral reef in front. 10 miles across the Gulf of Aquaba is Saudi Arabia. The Sinai region is amazingly beautiful. I will let the pictures do the talking. We basically woke up whenever the sun poured through our hut and went to bed when the moon was setting behind the mountains. I can't tell you any times. Time was left at the border. So we would wake up, take about 4 steps and go swimming out to the coral reef. After exploring around the reef we would eat a nice breakfast at the kitchen in our camp. Egyptain pancakes were our favorite. Sweeter than pancakes at home, covered in chocalate and fruit. Then we would sit and read in a hammock or on some of the many large pillows under the tent. Usually I would fall back asleep and wake sometime in the afternoon. Now it was time for another swim and then maybe some paddle ball with Kyle. By now the sun is getting close to the mountain peaks, so I know its time to shower. After a refreshing outdoor shower its time to read and take another nap. Dinner comes as the moon begins to rise over the mountains on the Saudi side. After dinner we play some cards and listen to the beduines play traditional music under the glow of the moon. Its a hard life! : ) It was like we were in a time warp. Everything goes by at a pace that you don't get anywhere else. Complete silence surrounds you like the mountains and the reef. I think I am going to go back before I leave in August. I almost forgot the best part. We paid 15 Egyptain pounds per night. Thats roughly $3.....Enough said.....