Surprise?!?

Anyone a bit surprised to see our pictures? Thinking that our next blog entry may be pictures of Moses Mountain? Wondering how we ended up riding camels on the beach and on a boat snorkeling in the red sea?

We were surprised ourselves. I guess the whole ideas that "you can't judge a book by its cover" and "things aren't always as they seem" could be used in this situation. Our hotel we'd booked (and the tour to St. Katherine's and Moses Mtn we'd booked through them) had excellent reviews! The best sea food! Cheap and really clean! Great place, friendly expert staff! Great location! In fact our friends were planning on going to Taba over the weekend and not only changed their minds to come to Nuweiba with us, because it sounded so appealing, they also decided to stay at the same hotel as us!

Our drive was long, but because the four of us were so excited and the driver was so nice, it wasn't too bad! We talked and laughed. Then we arrived. The hotel didn't have our reservations; they sat us on the beach for almost 1/2 hour while they "cleaned" and "prepared" our rooms. The "Great location" and "excellent beach" we'd heard about weren't there either. The beach was nothing more than a strip of sand, seriously maybe 15 ft across, and when we saw the restaurant we were afraid. I don't know how these Egyptians aren't always sick--- seriously. I know if we'd've stayed there we'd all be throwing up and sick the whole time. And then the rooms. I don't know really how do describe them. You know there are kinds of dirty where they look dirty but they still look safe? This wasn't that kind. There weren't really lights, and I don't know if that made it look better or worse. I sat of the bed just briefly and wondered if I'd end up with sand lice if I stayed in it much longer... Our friends (who have a little higher standard of hotels since they have more money) were more than appalled I think (which is understandable since she is pregnant).

So eventually a couple hours and two hotels later we ended up at the hotel we stayed in. *we found the rooms through another hotel owner down the beach whose hotel was full but who our driver knew from a previous drive, so this hotel owner called all his friends to find us a place** It was nice there at our hotel and we got upgraded to suites. we think it is because we are American and everyone else there was Russian, in fact... they flew the Russian and Egyptian flag (that's it)!

We had an excellently relaxing weekend. We hung out on the beach and did a boat tour of 3 great snorkeling locations. But the whole town was strange. Like there wasn't a town really, just here and there something and a lot of Bedouins. We tried a sea food restaurant (not me, I don't like it I got chicken) but it was totally deserted and on this strange dark road (which was the main road) and the food wasn't too great either. The whole town seemed like a ghost town, we joked it was like the twilight zone and we'll leave and look behind us and it will have disappeared. The strange feeling was increased by the fact that our hotel didn't ever get our info since we were hooked up through the owners friend, it was like we didn't really exist. And EVERY hotel was booked but we didn't see a lot of people. The whole town just seemed a bit off like the setting of some suspense movie.

Although we did have a great time, we were glad to make it home (after we were joined in the car ride back by 2 policemen apparently Americans can't travel across Egypt alone after dark) back to our own place. Maybe Nuweiba just seemed empty after living in Cairo 2 months where there are people everywhere. I wonder if Denton will seem almost equally strange! No, I don't think so because there are cars everywhere and real places that are full... But I wonder if it will seem quite so busy!