Days Three AND Four

Perhaps the most famous mountain top experience ever recorded was Moses meeting God on the top of Mt. Sinai. But before he got there he was "stuck" in Egypt. Let me tell you how we got there.

After a sweet sleep in the lap of the luxurious Veraclub Hotel on the Red Sea we woke up to a delicious breakfast buffet. We then spent the rest of the morning snorkeling along the coral reef which is just a hundred yards off the shore in front of the hotel. There we saw Tiger Fish, Clown Fish and others of iridescent blues, oranges and yellows. The waves were rather large along the reef, and getting a bit dizzy we began getting ready for the trip to Mt. Sinai.



Pulling away from the luxury of Sharm El Shiekh we entered some of the most "god forsaken" land known to man. Two and a half hours of traveling in terrible heat without seeing any signs of green life makes you think why anyone would head into this place. Yet part of the time we had to have a police escort because of some recent "incidents" along the road.

We finally get to St. Katharine's, a tiny dusty town at the base of the Sacred Mountain. We get off the bus with our backpacks ready for some interesting climbing. But first we mount camels for the first four kilometers of the trip.

Riding a camel has never been on my bucket list and now I know why. Lawrence of Arabia made it look way more fun than it is. Getting off the camels our real climb begins. Being lead by a bedouin guide we begin our climb at five o'clock knowing that we will finish in the dark. We have seven kilometers ahead of us but it up 3,700 feet to reach the peak.



We watch the brownish, redish, blackish rocks turn darker and darker as we climb. Finally the sun sets and we climb the last stage with our flash lights. But just below the summit we see a fire and a group of Bedouins sitting around it. They have made camp for us and even have a meal ready. First some vegetable soup, then quail, rice and potatoes followed by some tea. Can you imagine eating quail on Mt. Sinai, how cool is that?

Then we find a mat and heavy wool blanket provided by our guides and look for a flat spot with no stones, no small task. Sleeping under the stars on Mt. Sinai, a full moon standing guard. Well sleeping might be a stretch! Then in the morning we watched the sun come up, praised God for his gift of a new day, and then summited the peak. There on top of Sinai, with a breeze on our backs and the sun in our eyes, we learned how important going up to meet God on our own lives really is.



All through the Bible people go up to meet the Lord: Mt. Sinai, Mt. Nebo, Mt. Carmel, Mt. of Transfiguration and Mt. Zion. All of them mean work just to get there. I wonder how much work we today are expending on meeting with God?



After breakfast we begin our hike down. It takes a lot less time getting down, but with each step it gets hotter. Finally at the bottom we again mount the bus and travel out of the wilderness to the gulf of Agaba. I have never seen the water so blue and shimmery as the moon rises over it. Tomorrow...off to Jordan.