Sinai to Saint Catherine

This morning we checked out of our hotel and set out on our way to St Catherine's. It was interesting to drive through the countryside, which changed dramatically as we travelled south. Ahmed provided us with some information on our journey. We learned that the Suez canal was built in between April 1859 and 1869, taking over 10 year and 100,000 people to build. We travelled through the tunnel under the canal. The countryside in the morning was very flat and sandy as to be expected as we journeyed through the Sinai Desert, but the majority of the time we could see the Gulf of Suez from the right side of the bus.
We have two drivers today as the drive is over three hours, so we are joined by Osama, a very pleasant gentleman. Our first stop was a comfort stop with lots of opportunity to shop as well as gain comfort. The washrooms were so clean that the fellow was in the process of running a squeegee to clean out the water from the floor as we arrived. The next brief stop was at Oyun Musa or Moses Springs—where Moses was reported to have struck the rock of Horeb, and water came forth for the Hebrew People. (Exodus Ch 17 Vs 1-7). The sand is very evident, but so is the evidence of underground springs, as there is a fair amount of vegetation, and there is a small settlement of at least three generations. The children really enjoyed receiving Canada pins and Pencils.
We had lunch at a lovely sea side resort called the Moon Beach. The restaurant was lovely and overlooked the Gulf of Suez. The food—fish with rice and French fries—topped off with wonderful melon—was really great! Several went down to the water to dip their feet in the Gulf of Suez. The water was reported to be very comfortable, but all resisted the temptation to go for a swim.
The balance of the trip down (with one more comfort stop) was pretty uneventful, and we were happy to arrive at St. Catherine’s. The guest house has a number of very basic rooms, for the most part clean, though some had some plumbing issues.
The biggest decision people need to make is whether or not they are going to climb up the mountain in the morning, and if they do so, will they take a camel—one way or two, walk the entire way, or languish in bed. Whatever the decision, it was made at supper so that arrangements can be made for the appropriate wake-up call.
Dinner was a lovely