DAHAB THE BLUE HOLE DAY 122 -125 214km.

 Left the Dive Inn after a lovely breakfast and ventured up the coast to see a shipwreck, the picture showed it all above water, not exactly. Now there is just a small Chuck of metal sticking out, looks like a rock.

Anyhow on my way in I hit some mud and took a spill, I just managed to pick up the bike, getting weaker I guess and I could hardly catch a brethe afterwards. Anyhow I continued on past all the police checkpoints up the coast, as the track goes all the way to Dahab right alongside the Gulf of Aqaba. However I got to a point where it was way to rocky and had to turn around and head back. I stripped down and had a refreshing swim in the crystal clear water, but the coastline is just strewn with plastic and other crap, just disgusting in such a beautiful  setting. 

There was nobody around the entire time and the montains run into the blue  sea and are spectacular in colour and ruggedness.  

On the way up I ran into an Italian couple who are in a Fiat Panda and heading to Cape Town, he even had a shower in it and 4 spare tyres and had taken off the 4x4 sign otherwise they would not have let him into the Sinai. But now they are fooked cause Sudan just went to war yesterday and everything is closed now.

After three police stops , average wait is twenty minutes as they first tell me I can't  proceed any further and have to take a bus , then they photgraph my passport and get on the phone while I wait, then they become more friendly and after a half an hour we are all laughing and then suddenly they say I can go. They are worried about my safety........

Found another dandy ,, Dahab Bay Hotel $20 a night, includes breakfast, you can't  beat that and it's on the beach and out of town where all the tourists and free divers hang out. Ended up staying four nights.

Am still on my Ramadan diet and it works. I now have forgotten about drinking beer and the thought repulses me, so I guess i was never an alcoholic like some people insinuated, I even thought I was. 

The next day I snorkeled at the southrn end of town and then went to the Blue Hole and couldn't  tell any difference. 

As I was parking my bike the tourist policemen demands to see my passport which I don't  have and that pisses him off, cause apparently I need to take it even when I am snorkelling, and they are so arrogant and so I show him my Egyptian license and he snarled and walked away. All because I am on a bike.

DAY 124      15-4-23    RIP TERRY.  MOUNT SINAI.

Went to ST. Katherine's Monastery which is about 125km from Dahab, almost in the middle of Sinai. Anyhow it's closed for the next five days and Mount Sinai trail starts at the Monastery, so walked up it, 4.85 km. You meant to have a guide but didn't  see any around and kept on walking, was fairly easy path and then at the end you had to climb 750 steps to the summit, took two hours and didn't pass anyone else all the way up.

The mountains are stunning with the rich copper tonę colours and the African blue sky.

CAIRO to SINAI 10-4-23 520km 15hrs.

CAIRO TO SHAM EL SHEIKH  Day119 to 121.

Left at 5am to avoid the traffic theough Cairo and it worked well and got to the Suez Canal Tunnel at 7am. They haad to phone and verify my permit and that took 8 hours! 

Then went 500m and stop again for twenty minutes while three guys take a photo oof my passport and then make phone calls and finally let me go. Another 60km I am stopped at a big police checkpoint for an hour and a half and then they have to escort me. After a 100km they let me loose and I completed the 200km on my own in the dark, passed four tourist beses being escorted by the police, but zoomed by them and arrived in Sharm at 8pm. Not ideal doing 15hours for 520km but happy to have got down here, cause I can enter Israel from her, no stopping me now I hope. Am at the Dive Inn and the name describes it, at $25 a nigjt it's  not that bad, filled with Russians. The Egyptians are not real nice folk, very unfriendly and arrogant till you challenge them, then they kinda lighten up.

DAY 120 & 121

Went snorkeling both days, the maringis life is exceptionally spectacular, and that's all they have here, a huge tourist place woth all the trappings. I don't  particularly care for it and look forward to leaving for Duhab tomorrow and diving in the Blue Hole.

CAIRO DAY 116-118 7 APRIL 2023 675km.

LUXOR TO CAIRO  685km     37*C

Was planning to go down to Aswan but with my ture situation could not risk it ,as it doesn't  have enough kilo's left on it to get to Cairo or Israel, where they have tyres.

So bolted to Cairo on the Western Desert Road and made 380km when the police made me follow them again for 150km. Had seven different escorts and they drive so slow and it was 37*C and miserable.

 The last 100km they let me loose and arrived around five at the Guardian Hotel. It is the tallest building in the area so have a nice view of the Pyramids. 

DAY 117    SATURDAY  8th APRIL 23

Walked to the Pyramids and tried to find the spot where my Dad had a picture taken back in the WW2.

The ground was up about ten feet higher back then from what I could tell. Walked to all three Pyramids and went into the tombs which was rather interesting. 

I sourced a tyre finally and the guy brought it over, made in Turkey, Analas. It will work till the end of the trip I hope. What a luck.

DAY  118    PERMIT TO ENTER SINAI PENINSULA.

I had heard you can get a permit to get into the Sinai, so my plan is to go to Israel entering at Tabah / Eilat border from Egypt. 

So went today to try my luck.

It is at the HQ of the Military, and the security guys told me "no motorbikes in Sinai, go away now". Then they said I have to go the Ministry of Defence. They won't  even let me in and send me away, so I go back to where I started. The guys won't  let me enter the building just to talk to someone, so I persist and find a guy that speaks English and explain to him and he tells them and they argue and then let me in. Get to the 3rd floor, window 32, ask the guy about the permit, he agrees and copies all my documents, I wait an hour and he says I have to go and get the permit at an address he wrote down for the Uber driver. 

So off we go and it takes us to The Ministry of Defence, guy says same thing, they do not issue stupid permits here.

I go back to my man on the 3rd floor and he tells me they do not issue permits for the Sinai in this office. I keep at him and tell him that this is where they issue permits and he argues a bit ,then tells me to wait. Then the senior guy comes and I repeat everything and then he says I don't  need a permit and I tell him they sent me back and told me I need a permit. He tells me to wait. I wait. Then they confer with another old guy and I show him my papers and he grumbles and they tell me to wait. I wait. Finally they call me in and I pay $10 and the guy that told me they don't  issue permits there, hands me the permit !

  Started at 9am and walked out at 2:30pm , very happy indeedas at one stage I was ready to bag it but thought I would go back and bitch a little more and it worked. What really irked me was the Uber cost of $13 for the whole day !