I am sorry to report that I do not have time to give you the full summary of my amazing weekend, or time to upload my pictures. I have an Arabic exam at 8:30 in the morning, followed by a peer editing for my 10 page short-story. I promise to have a full recap of my trip tomorrow, accompanied by beautiful scenery. For now I will tell you about the most physically trying thing I have ever done...climb a mountain in 2 hours.
Our bus started an hour late on Wed. night. Actually not surprising because it is Egypt, but it also caused problems for us when we got to Mt. Sinai. You climb Mt. Sinai at night, mainly because the Egyptian sun is too powerful to make climbing comfortable during the day. The 3-4 hour hike begins around 1-1:30 am, and you arrive at the summit at 5-5:30 to experience sunrise atop this biblical peak. Our bus arrived at Mt. Sinai at approx. 3:17. Factor in bathroom pit stop, hiring guide, and gathering group, and the sixteen of us started up the mountain at 3:27.
The "leader" of our group decided it was possible for us to make it up the mountain in order to see the sunrise. Can I just tell you, WE RAN UP THE MOUNTAIN. Now, it wasn't really a run because it is a mountain, but the parts of the trail that were relatively level, I was literally jogging, and upset, and about to pass out really. Only about 3 people in our group were enjoying the idea of booking it up the mountain for sunrise, the other 13 of us struggled to keep up in order to have a guide. Now I am the first to admit, I'm not in the best shape, but I would say I am in the best shape now that I have been since cheerleading. I really thought that I was going to faint at one point.
Once the sun started coming up and I could see the top, I got a second wind, I hurried with the rest to the top...so I thought. Just when you think you can go no higher, you are faced with about a zillion stairs! The stairs about did me in. With below freezing temperature, thin air, and exhausted legs, I think I took about 10 stairs and had to break for the entire rest of the ascent. EXHAUSTING! The only retribution was the spectacular view of sunrise and reveling in the fact that I climbed the mountain faster than most people can boast. On the trip down the mountain, our tour guide told me he has never had a group climb the mountain so fast. He was tired and impressed, so I decided not to feel bad about the fact that I about had to hire a camel to get me to the top. My legs were shaking about 2 hrs. after...lol.
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