Just got back from a long and sweaty trip to the post office, from where I sent off a couple of missives to the outside world. Unfortunately, in cramming the large packages in to the small letter box I worry that I may have dislodged several of the stamps. Oh dear. I actually went to two post offices and was redirected from the first, which meant I got to spend some quality time in the blazing hot sun. I can always tell when the heat is really starting to get to me because people will begin looking at my bright red face with concern and sympathetically mentioning how hot the weather is today. I usually smile wanly and agree, while edging further towards the air conditioner/fan/fridge.

Over the weekend we were in Dahab, as I said before. It once again wholly lived up to expectations, with heaps of sun, sea and… snorkelling. The Red Sea has a heap of exotic and colourful fish species to gawp at, while the chilled-out atmosphere and friendly people make it a perfect Cairo antidote. You can also climb Mt. Sinai from the resort, although you have to get up very early to get up and down before the sun gets too hot and that naturally ruled it out for me. My friends who went said it was alright although absolutely packed with people, which slightly diminishes your sense of achievement. It was also too hazy to see the sunrise that day, so I didn’t miss out too badly.

The only drag about Dahab is the journey; it’s an overnight bus-ride from Cairo. If you are in a group, like we were, it can be cheaper to hire a minibus but they are so uncomfortable over a long journey! On the way out it’s ok because you’ll forget all about it after an hour or three in Dahab, but the return trip is always a big old ordeal. I don’t think I slept more than about 10 minutes this time and the experience was enlivened further when our driver (who must have been exhausted- poor guy) had a bit of a crisis on the way in to Cairo and forget where/who he was. He reversed back up the motorway for a bit, which I didn’t like very much, and then had to call his brother to come out and drive us the rest of the way. I decided to give class a miss on Monday.

Tags: Cairo, Dahab, letter, Mt Sinai, travel, weather