2nd port of call in EGYPT - SHARM-EL-SHEIKH - April 6th

Situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, it has a small population of only 35,000.
The city is called the "City of Peace" because a number of peace conferences have been held here including the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

Ex Pres. Mubarak is here.  He lives here now (though I heard today he is in the hospital)  He is being protected by the Bedouin tribes and the army here and although still in Egypt, he will never be brought to trial because of this protection he retains.

There are loads of beaches here and tourists come from many different countries such as Russia and Europe to enjoy the scuba diving and snorkeling on the numerous reefs in the area.

We had planned some snorkeling and then walking through the old market on our own.  The tour for the snorkeling was fantastic.  They took us to a very private area reserved by scientists for sea research.  It was not an open bay and was secluded by hills so that it was unseen from the road yet still part of their
National Park.

This was one of the guard houses to the park.

Although you can't see it, the reef below goes from super shallow water to about 30 feet deep so it was easy to see everything clearly.

Just ignore the added pounds!

Well we snorkeled for more than an hour.  We held hands while we snorkeled among the fish, sea urchins, clams and fabulous diverse coral.  Water was a little cold but well worth the chill to see so much.

We came out of the water for a cup of Bedouin tea and dried ourselves in the sunshine. Spectacular!

We had the afternoon to ourselves and went into town to the old market.  People were sitting on the sidewalks under the shade of the trees, drinking coffee or tea, smoking, and playing card games.

People were friendly, everyone spoke some English and the shop owners treated us royally.

Whether or not we bought anything didn't seem to matter.  They all wanted pictures with us and offered us hot or cold drinks made from an edible hibiscus flower. Amazing.

This stall sold a huge variety of items we couldn't even begin to identify.

Unfortunately the shop owner did not speak enough english to tell us what everything was.

Now meet Sharif.  He coaxed us into his store which was beautifully decorated with lush carpeting, soft seats and a selection of lotions and potions like I've never seen.  He took my hand and pulled me onto the sofa and stated to apply a lovely smelling mixture of goo on my face.

I can't tell you how pleasant this mixture felt. Smooth, cooling, and I could feel my skin tightening as I sat there.  What is it you ask?   Camel milk, crushed papyrus flowers and mint.  Did I buy, you ask?
Of course I did!