Hiking Mt. Sinai

Text coming soon.Yesterday we left Jordan crossed into Israel and then crossed the border into Egypt where the relentless pursuit of people petitioning us to buy things or hire their cab. Everything is bargained for. Upon exiting Egyptian customs a guy asked us if we needed a cab ride. We said that we would walk a mile to the bus station. He persisted along with many others to give us a ride. He ended up following us down the street and eventually he was waiting at the bus station. It turns out that one bus a day goes to Mt. Sinai. We were forced to begin haggling. After walking away from him a few times we agreed to a price then departed on the four hour journey through the beautiful desert. We wished the camera was working so we could take photos of the incredible landscape. On the way we picked up a hitchhiking police officer and we even stopped for the 3pm Muslim prayers. They pulled over for what I thought was a toilet break. Instead they got down on their knees and started praying and bowing in the direction of Mecca. Eventually we arrived to Sinai. We stayed at the monastery at the base of the mountain. The next morning I woke up at 3a.m. and began hiking the trail by the light of a crescent moon. There were Bedouin camel guides who petitioned me to hire them for a guide to the top. I opted for a solo journey. I lost the trail a couple times, but was able to get back on course while waiting for a Bedouin guide to appear. I could follow his camels and the clients he was guiding. Once on the mountain the trail was easy to follow. I made it through past the slippery ice covered steps at on the top of the mountain with another fifty minutes or so before sunrise. I expected to find many people at the top. All I found was a Bedouin man renting out blankets at mats. He told me I was the first one up. Slowly more people appeared as the sun rose from the direction of the Red Sea. Beautiful! I descended the mountain down the 3,750 steps of the trail called the “Steps of Repentance”. I made it back to the monastery to join Mariella for breakfast at 8:30 am.
P.S. The camera did not work the night before hiking Sinai, nor the morning prior to departure. I took it out while waiting for the sun to rise and it started working again. We are grateful.