Hola amigos!

Hey guys and gals!


Nigel and I made it safe and sound out of Israel and into Jordan and we are now traveling around Europe...we are in Spain at the moment!


On our second day in Israel we took a day trip to Bethlehem and saw the spot in the church where Jesus was born and then we tried to catch a bus to the Dead Sea but apparently none of them run there right now because of the fighting and taxis were too expensive so instead we hiked up the Mount of Olives and had a grand view of Jerusalem. That night we went to the New City or East Jerusalem which is full of fancy shops, restaurants and bars. It was a major contrast to the poor Muslim part of town we were staying in. We took a bus the next morning to Eilat (poor Nigel had to sit in the aisle for the 5 hour ride because they overbook the buses) and then had the joy of crossing over the border into Jordan. Once we got there we realized that there weren´t any more buses running that day from Aquaba to Petra, where we wanted to go. We ended up sharing a taxi with a French couple and the third driver we had along the way (they kept switching up) hooked us up with a cheap hotel in Wadi Musa which is right outside the site of Petra. The next day we went into Petra and walked all around the old city that is built totally into the rock faces. It is pretty amazing what they were able to build back then. We hiked up to the top where the monostary is and we also saw the building where they filmed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. We were exhausted after walking the 10km and went back to the hotel and had a nap. We met an Aussie guy and ended up having dinner with him and then we all went to the Cave Bar which is 3000 years old and supposedly the oldest bar in the world. It was all built into the rocks and the tables were in the tombs. The beer was freaking expensive because the alcohol taxes are so ridiculous. The next morning we got the taxi back to Aquaba to head back to Egypt. We thought it would be cheaper and less of a hassle if we took the ferry directly from Jordan to Egypt rather than go through Israel again and walk across the three borders but the boat ticket ended up costing us way more than we expected and the super fast ferry was not fast at all. We finally arrived in Egypt and it was total mayhem at the port. We bought our bus ticket to Cairo and then had to wait while families boarded the bus with everything they owned. It was like everyone was moving house! There were people carting around refridgerators and tables and chairs...it was insane. A lady wearing the full veil befriended us on the bus and she tried to explain in broken English why everyone was going to Cairo that day and why they all changed into their best clothes before we arrived eventhough it was 11pm but I didn´t really understand. We finally made it to Cairo...it had been the longest day of traveling! Our hotel room in Cairo was enormous and really nice. The next day we went to the markets and wandered around and had our last kebab dinner and then at 1am I left for my 4am flight...Nigel was flying out the next afternoon and still arrived in Europe at the same time I did because of my layover, no fair.
We arrived in Frankfurt Germany and only stayed for the one night. It was nice to be back in a civilized country with real food, the only thing is our hostel was located on a street surrounded by sex shops and prostitutes...you dont get that in Egypt! The following day we took the train to Munich and booked into a hostel and then went straight to Dauchau, the concentration memorial site... it was my second time of going there and it was still just as depressing. On our way out of the memorial we met an Aussie couple and they offered us a ride back to town which was only like 20 minutes away. We took them up on it since it looked like it was going to pour down at any minute. Sure enough as soon as we got in the car it started pissing down hard and then it started HAILING the size of golf balls! Nigel and I hadn´t seen rain in almost 5 mths so it was quite different. The couple driving us started to argue about whether or not to pull off the road and then we got lost for a few hours but we eventually made it back to the city! We went and had a beer in our hostel bar and then met up with them for dinner. It was still pouring down rain and we weren´t quite sure where we were going but we stumbled upon the place NIGEL had found (he made me write that) in the guidebook, Beethovens Cafe. It had live music, good atmosphere and the food was cheap eventhough it was a really good meal! The next day in Munich there was a festival so the streets were packed with performances and food stalls, it was awesome! We left that night on the overnight train to Paris. We were planning on going to Italy but because our Eurail pass doesnt include Switzerland we would have had to pay a shitload to cross through there...kinda pissed us off. But oh well! We arrived in Paris and got a hotel room which was cheaper than the hostel in Munich where we had gotten dorm beds and shared a room with 40 other people. I had forgotten how beautiful and how big Paris is! We went to all the sites...the Eiffel Tower at night which is romantic :) and the Saucre Couer, Notre Dame, the Louvre where we saw Mona Lisa which is alot smaller than imagined, and the Garden to Tuilleres and the Arc de Triomphe. It was the anniversary of some French war on that day so they were having a parade and some kind of ceremony under the Arc which was exciting to see. We spent two nights and three days in Paris and then we took the overnight train to Venice. We wandered around Venice for a few hours (its been Nigels favorite place so far) and then took the train on to Florence. We spent the night in Florence and did some laundry and stayed in a very religious hostel. The next day was the worst day we had. We went and saw the large Church in town and then went to see Michalangelo´s statue of David. The line was really long but we thought it would go faster than it did....we were wrong. Nigel waited in line for THREE and a half HOURS to see a naked guy and also pay 10 euros to get in! I took off and went bikini shopping while he waited hehe. Since we waited so long, or I should say since Nigel waited so long, we didnt want to get out of line so we decided to miss our train and take a later one to Pisa. We went and saw the leaning Tower of Pisa which is pretty cool and definitely is leaning (refer to photos if you dont believe me). We went back to the train station to catch our train to Rome. As we were about to board we were told the train wasn´t going...apparently there was a twenty four hour train strike and the only small sign notifiying everyone of this was in Italian so all of us dumb travellers were standing around like what the hell? By missing the earlier train from Florence to Pisa we had missed the last train to Rome....damn David! There was a bit of a protest that went on in the train station that we watched but in the end we all ended up spreading out our sleeping bags and spending the night in the station. At 5:30am the next morning we boarded the first train to Rome which was ridiculously overcrowded by everyone who had been stranded because of the strike. We arrived in Rome and then we couldn´t find our hostel for ages and we ended up walking with our packs forever, I thought I was going to die. Our hostel was actually a building where they used to house the Olympians so it was huge and unwelcoming. The next day we did a hop on, hop off bus tour of Rome and went and saw the Colosuem, Fountain de Trevi, Roman Forum, and all that good stuff. Our second day there we went to Vatican City and saw Pope John Paul II gravesite and the huge Saint Peters Basillica. We caught an overnight train to Nice, France and spent the day there on the beach, which is quite pretty, and then caught another overnight train to Barcelona. We met a young American couple in the train station and went with them to a cheap hotel and then went and walked around the markets and beach and Las Ramblas where the street performers all hang out. Because we had spent two nights sleeping on trains we passed out really early and slept straight through to the morning. The following day we did some more siteseeing and then met up with the couple for dinner. It was quite funny because we kept seeing places we wanted to eat and then when we sat down outside they told us the menu we had read was only for inside so we ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant that only served pasta and pizza. The food was crap but the sangria was yummy and it was the guy Mikes birthday that day and at midnight it turned into Nigels birthday so we celebrated! We hung around Barcelona the next day and then caught the train to Alicante...we decided to go there by asking the ticket guy where in Spain he thought was beautiful. We spent the day getting to Alicante and wandered around the streets at midnight when we arrived, searching for a hotel. Alicante is a cute smaller town with a really nice beach which we spent the whole next day on and had yummy lunch in a small pub. That night we went out to the bars and drank and danced til 4am then had KFC, Nigels favorite :) There were more bars and more people than we´d ever seen! Today we are going to see the castle here in Alicante and then we are catching the 6pm train to Madrid then going onto the French border town, then on to Paris, and on to Belgium...it´ll be like a 24 hr train trip, fun fun. We only have six days left here in Europe so we are going to Belguim, Amsterdam, Berlin and then back to Frankfurt where we fly out. Time has gone so fast and so has our money! Its been a blast though and Nigel is really happy he got to see Europe as well.
Well if you read through this entire thing then you deserve a prize :) Hope you all are doing great and I will see some of you soon!
xoxo
R&N

Israel & the Palestinian Territories

Hi all! Nigel and I are now traveling around Israel and Palestine. Our last week in Dahab flew by! On our last night we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant then went out for a few beers with some friends. Although we had a great few months, we were both definitely ready to leave.
We took the bus from Dahab to Taba and from there we had to walk across the border into Israel. My dive bag that I'd purchased the day before ripped all the way down the side as we were crossing...should've known better than to buy an Egyptian quality bag! Once we had crossed into Israel we then had to take a bus to the bus station in Eilat where we then got on another bus for the five hour journey in Tel Aviv. There were lots of soliders riding the bus as well and they all had huge machine guns, which is a bit scary to see. In Israel everyone (men and women) has to serve two years in the army at the age of 18 so most of these soliders with big guns were just kids. We arrived in Tel Aviv around 8pm at night, it'd been a very long day. We checked into MoMo's hostel and straight away met a group of four Americans....I couldn't believe it! Apparently there is a program called Birthright and Jewish Americans can come to Israel for free so there are huge tour groups of teenagers everywhere. That night we went out to dinner with the guys and were shocked by how expensive everything was. We were spoiled by living in Egypt where everything is so cheap and you can eat for around $2 a meal but the food here is alot nicer! The next day we walked around the city which is very westernized and has a beautiful beach. Eventhough Egypt and Israel are so close it felt like being in a totally different world and we were happy to be back in civilization. We walked through the busy Carmel markets selling everything from fruit to socks, through the expensive shopping district, then along the boardwalk to Old Jaffa and the clock tower and sat on the beach and watched the surfers and sunset. Supposedly Tel Aviv has an awesome nightlife but we were too tired and too poor to go out.
This morning we had an hour bus ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. As soon as we stepped off the bus we noticed straight away the difference from Tel Aviv. Here the Jewish people all dress in the traditional black suits and big hats and have the two long, curly sideburns. We were told of a good hostel in East Jerusalem so we got in a cab and went....turns out East Jerusalem is also Palestine. So our hostel is smack dab in the middle of the Arab area but it is alot cheaper in this area. We put our bags away and then went across the street to go sightseeing in the Old City. The Old City is surrounded by an enormous wall and you have to enter through the gates and stupid us, not remembering that it is Friday and the Muslim holy day, went to go enter when thousands of Palestinians were trying to exit from going to the mosque...it was insane! Inside is a maze of narrow alleyways and markets and the entire city is divided into four quarters; the Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is the main Christian site where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. Afterwards we went to the Wailing Wall, the main Jewish site where people stick prayers in the crack of the wall. I accidentally walked down to the mens prayer area and was instructed to go to the other side where the women pray...oops. We walked to the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim site, but weren't allowed to go in since its their holy day and only Muslims are allowed in. Our hostel gave us free dinner and then we went for a walk around the rest of the area. At sundown it became the Jewish holy day of Shabbat or Sabbath. All of the sudden, after not seeing one Jewish person in the Arab neighborhood all day, thousands of people walked down the street into the Old City to go for their turn of prayers. There were a few police cars lining the streets to keep the peace. It all seems so odd because it is so segregated. Nigel and I stood there eating ice creams in the middle of the square while on the sidewalk on our left walked all of these Jewish people in the Orthodox dress and to our right were all of these Muslim people in their robes and scarves covering their hair.
It truly is a fascinating place. I have learned so much about all of the different religions and traditions since being here. Everyone, both the Palestinians and the Israelies, have been so friendly. Tomorrow we are doing a day trip to Bethlehem (which is in the West Bank and I was really confused by that because the West Bank is actually in the East of Israel but its called that because it used to be part of Jordan which would make it the western part of Jordan, confusing) and to the Dead Sea. I'm sure it will be another interesting day!
xoxo

Climbing Mt. Sinai

I am so exhausted right now! Last night at 11pm Nigel and I left on a mini tour bus heading for Saint Katherine's Protectorate where we were to climb Mt. Sinai. It is the one touristy thing we wanted to do before leaving Dahab since it is such a sacred sight. Mt Sinai is 2285m at the peak and is described in the guide book as being "easy and beautiful to climb". Ha! Within the first 5 minutes of the hike 4 people out of our group opted to hire camels to carry them up the rest of the way. We started our hike at 1:30am (you have to go at night because during the day it is way too hot) and after 2 1/2 hours of sleep stumbling up the mountain and up the 750 steep steps at the end, we finally reached the top. It's cold at the top and people walk around hiring out blankets and mattresses to sleep on. There were lots of people there awaiting the sunrise but I was a bit disappointed because there weren't any hard core religious people singing hymns which I was expecting. The sun came up and it gave a gorgeous view over all of the peaks. After enjoying the beautiful sunrise we realized we now had to hike back down, ugh. We took the 750 steps down the summit and then took a different route, the 3750 Steps of Repentance laid by a monk as a form of penance, to arrive at the St Katherine's Monastery. The guidebook definitely made this hike sound easier than it was, especially when you haven't slept all night! We had a look around the Monastery but there were too many large tour groups to really enjoy it.
When we got back to Dahab, Nigel's friend Mark was visiting from Sharm so instead of going straight to bed we went straight to the bar. We have tonight and tomorrow night and then we are off to Israel and Jordan for a couple of days before heading to Europe. I am excited!
Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all!

Roadtrip to Sharm

After three months of living in laid back, beachy Dahab, Nigel and I decided to take a road trip to the 'big city', Sharm El-Sheik, and see what it's all about. Viv, our manager at Sinai Divers here in Dahab hooked it up with the dive center in Sharm so that we got to do all of our diving for free (saved us about 200 euros)! We had to be in Sharm at 3:45am and we had two options of getting there; either pay a taxi 150LE each way or take the bus for 11LE so obviously we opted for the bus. The last bus leaving Dahab though was at 10:30pm so we arrived in Sharm a little after 12am. We took all of our stuff to sleep on the sunbeds at the public beach but it wasn't long until we started getting harassed by security guards and so we went back to the dive center where we had to then convince the guards there that we were allowed to hang around until the morning. Morning finally came and we were both exhausted from staying up all night but we did get a chance to nap on the 3 hour boat ride out to sea. We were diving the Thistlegorm which is a British warship that was bombed during WWII and eight people died. It was discovered in 1950 by Jacques Cousteau who kept it a secret til 1993. The first dive we went along the exterior of the ship and you could see where the bombs had hit. We saw a big tank on its side and the conditions were awesome- no current and great visibility which is rare. On the second dive which was only an hour later, the current was really strong and the vis had deteriorated but it was ok because we were diving the interior of the wreck. It was full of motorbikes, bombs, jeeps, tractors and boots. It was a little scary though because it is very dark and claustrophobic! The wreck itself isn't covered with much coral, no where near as much as the Yongala Wreck in Australia, but there were lots of fish around and we saw a big crocodilefish. I couldn't dive the third dive of the day at another dive site because I wasn't using nitrox but Nigel did it and said it was beautiful coral. When we got back to land at 5pm, we were going to go check into the cheapest hotel in Sharm but was told it had closed down and given another recommendation. With all of the 5 star resorts one on top of another budget accommodation is hard to find there. We walked all the way to the hotel we had been told about to find out it was closed down as well so we took a taxi to the youth hostel on the other side of town. Before we got into the taxi I showed him my map and asked him if he knew where this place was, which he said he did, and we agreed on 10LE. Ha! What should have been a 5 minute drive turned into forever! He stopped and asked people on the street directions and they would explain and he'd say he knew but then would stop again...obviously he had no clue. This went on forever and we were tired and hungry. He had stopped at a big group of taxi drivers and I said something to Nigel about the 10 LE and the driver flipped out screaming "no 10 Le, 10LE bad!". Nigel and I both stared out the window but then he flipped out again and turned around while driving screaming "Where do we go?" like it was our fault we were lost. I was scared of this crazy driver and Nigel made him pull over and we got out and didn't pay. We went into the police station across the street to ask for directions and the driver followed us in there and tried to get the police to make us pay for our long ride around in a circle, which we didn't end up having to. We got directions and walked off but still managed to miss the place and luckily this foreign woman picked us up and drove us there. Things got better for us though...right across the street from us was a mall with McDonalds, KFC, Hardees, Starbucks and Pizza Hut! We don't have any fast food in Dahab so we were very excited! We stuffed ourselves and slept like the dead.
The next morning we were back on the boat at 8am setting out for Ras Mohammed National Park. Once again we were the only non-Germans on the boat. The first dive was at Jackfish Alley. We saw a huge Napoleon Wrasse and a few large moray eels. The second dive was at Shark and Yolanda Reef and was the best dive of the day. At the very beginning we saw a school of giant barracuda, lots of spotted rays, moray eels, scorpianfish and the yolanda wreck which was carrying toilets so there are toilets all over the sea floor. The last dive was at Small Canoe. The diving was really good but it wasn't as spectacular as everyone talks it up to be. When we got back to land we walked around Sharm for awhile. It is so much bigger and busier than Dahab! We had another fantastic, healthy fast food dinner and then took the night bus back to Dahab. At the bus station the guy called Nigel off the bus and asked him what was in our suitcase and when he told him dive equipment the guy said he had to pay 10 LE because it weighed too much. Nigel told him "nicely" that he wasn't paying that when the bus ticket itself only cost 11 LE plus Nigel put the bag on himself. They will do absolutely anything over here to try and scam you! We were grateful when we got back to our little house in quiet Dahab. I've only worked a few days since we've been back but thats ok, we have been laying out at the beach and enjoying our last few weeks here. I can't believe it has gone so quickly! I am definitely ready to leave though. I feel like I've gotten to know the place, culture and diving and now I'm ready for some air conditioning and real food and all those sorts of luxuries!

Arabic Lessons

Yesterday I randomly checked the news online since sometimes it feels as though I am living in a bubble here, and I was shocked to see the horrors that happened at VA Tech! What a senseless, unbelievable, tradegy! My heart goes out to all of you that lost a loved one.

Last night I had my first Arabic lesson....it was really hard and I was horrible at it! But so were the other 5 ladies in the class and some of them have lived here for years so that made me feel a bit better. The classes last a month and are somewhat expensive but its good because it gives me something to keep my brain active and the social aspect is fun. After the class we all went out for a beer and since it was only the second time Ive had a drink in the past few months, it only took me two pints to feel a bit drunk!

Yesterday when we were at a dive site, Nigel got his watch stolen out of his dive bag...the watch that I gave him and had engraved. :( Its the fifth time he has had stuff stolen. When things like that happen I am ready to pack my bags and leave. I have never lived somewhere so hypocritical where prayer chants ring out five times a day but everyone also tries to rip you off or steal from you. There hasn´t been one day that has gone by that I haven´t had to haggle over the price of groceries or a taxi ride. OK I am finished venting!

Miss you all!

La la

Hi all! I just got back from guiding two dives...they were lovely even though yesterday we had the first thunderstorm since Ive been here and the ocean looked like chocolate milk. Im just hanging out now at the dive center waiting for Nigel to finish up. Living in the apartment has been great although we have all sorts of insects visiting us from time to time. Nothing else too interesting to report! Hope you all got the pictures!

Home Sweet Home!

Ah! I just wrote this huge blog and then a guy came and accidentally pulled the plug on my computer and it was all lost :( Oh well, here's what I can remember....
Yah! We finally found a place to live! After a few hours of sorting out the details with our landlady in Arabic, English and lots of hand gestures, we got ourselves an apartment! We moved in a few days ago and it has been much better than living in the hotel. Our place is five minutes down the road from the hotel where it is a bit quiter and there aren't any goats or screaming children roaming around. It's shaped like a big "L" and has a small courtyard, a bedroom sectioned off by a sheet, a small living room with 3 chairs, a table and TV (which Nigel is really excited about because it gets English movie channels) a kitchen with a working fridge and a bathroom that has fresh water which I am really excited about because I hate showering in salt water! Tonight Old School is on TV :) It's funny though because they cut out all the nudie bits so if you haven't seen the movie before it's a bit confusing. Our rent is dirt cheap and our landlady is really nice. Eventhough we can't really understand eachother she seems to enjoy coming over for chats. I went a bit crazy the other day and spent every pound I had in my wallet on groceries because I am psyched to have a kitchen although most the stuff I bought is just junk food and not things to cook because everyone knows I can't cook.
Nigel and I have been working pretty much everyday for Sinai Backpackers dive center. After his 11th day straight of working Nigel finally took a day off. He taught a rescue course and I got to be the victim which meant lots of free diving for me! We went out on a boat for the day and went to a dive site an hour away. It was beautiful and the food was surprisingly good and it was fun because Nigel and I got to do something cool together while he was getting paid. I am pretty confident now at being a guide and knowing all the dive sites. The restaurant owners all kiss the guides butts as well to try and get them to come to their place for lunch which is good for me! The other day on a dive we saw a huge grey moray eel and a spotted eel snake. I am still working at Tota but only one or two nights a week and it is pretty pointless since I can't bartend and basically just walk around and make sure people are ok. I get paid the same as I would bartending though and every time Nigel and I go in there we get all our drinks for free so I'm going to keep doing it just so I don't lose the hook up.
Today was my day off and I went up to the roof of our new place to lay out but was then joined by the landlady's visiting friend. She is from Cairo and although I could hardly understand her I could gather I was the first person she has ever seen in a bikini. She showed me all of the layers of clothing she was wearing then pointed at me and said "not in Cairo" and "only for husband". Then she came over and took note of my armhairs and tried to rub off my tattoo. Talk about feeling self conscious! I tried to write in my journal but she came over and practiced writing her name in it instead so it wasn't a very relaxing day but it was entertaining!
Well I am now sick of writing so I'm gonna go! Hope you all are doing great. Jules and Teen hope you are having a fabulous vacation!
xoxo