After 5 hours cramped up in the Air Cairo plane we landed in heavy rain, lightning an thunder in Sharm el Sheik. As it should be on a charter trip, everything was neatly organized and we followed the directions of our travel guides to the right bus to take us to our hotel. (All our charter prejudices were affirmed on this trip by the way) Safely in our seats we were greatly amused by the spectacle of lightning and rain outside. Pulling up outside the hotel the amusement ended. It was totally blacked out! Later in our room, which to our luck was nice and dry, we found the candlelit first evening quite cozy and the adventurous arrival quite exiting. The staff had barely seen that kind of weather before, though their reaction was rather on the humorous side than on the panic one could have expected.  Even the bar was open! It didnt really matter that the Black Labelled whiskey bottle did not contain whiskey but some un idenitfyible substance. We were happy with that and the cheese and tomatoes the bartender managed to bring us against all odds.

The rest of the week was enjoyably sunny and warm, relaxing at the beach and at the hotel pool with my STS articles.

Having to give up the plan to get a PADI diving license due to the obligatory fight with foreign bacteria was a disappointment, but the snorkeling experience on the last two days was amazing! My heart just smiles when I look into the world of these beautiful cute creatures. The coral reef we snorkeled at the national park Ras Mohamed was a great experience. I loved it!

My favorite little yellow cutie (above). Source: P. Villerius

Though Sharm el Sheik is a “tourist hell” of great dimensions with few authentic Egyptian cultural experiences, it was a nice little escape from the frozen existence at home.