Bedouin evening under the stars and a day on the beach sounded like something we would appreciate amidst all the busyness the end of the semester always entails. As well organized as it was however, all of nature’s forces made sure it went from what could have been a very pleasant weekend to a not-so-good weekend. I woke up early with a sore throat (August and William had already got a cold the day before) and it was hard to get everyone out the door and to the bus on time (although I managed, and with a couple of minutes margin). 
Then our trip was delayed 45 minutes because we had to sit on the bus in El Rehab and wait for a man who had over-slept (he was travelling alone, mind you, without kids, babies and tired husbands to rush out the door). Moses’ wells, which I had been looking forward to seeing, was an exploited area, and what well water was left was littered with trash, cigarette butts and looked in general as far from biblical as it could. Our bus 
broke down when we were nearing the hotel and we had to squeeze into the second bus. I spent 25 minutes with Karl-Abraham in his car seat on my lap, while a lot of people were standing up. Because of this bus trouble, the driver refused to drive into the desert in the evening, and so we ended up having dinner at the development center we had already visited earlier in the day. William slept through the whole thing, feverish, laying on a carpet in the Bedouin tent. The next day, our beach day, we 
woke up to a windy, cloudy, cold, and thundery weather. The boys still played on the beach and even went into the water, got all their extra clothes wet and then shivered from cold with blue lips. I couldn’t even 
give them a hot shower because the ‘hot’ water in our beach resort hotel room never quite reached ‘warm’. Most throughout the weekend all family members complained to me about various problems; the weather, their physical discomfort, the schedule of the trip; things I could not do anything about, and after less than two days gone, I came home to a messy house, all of the family – including myself – sick, and things to do stacked up in piles.
Then our trip was delayed 45 minutes because we had to sit on the bus in El Rehab and wait for a man who had over-slept (he was travelling alone, mind you, without kids, babies and tired husbands to rush out the door). Moses’ wells, which I had been looking forward to seeing, was an exploited area, and what well water was left was littered with trash, cigarette butts and looked in general as far from biblical as it could. Our bus 
broke down when we were nearing the hotel and we had to squeeze into the second bus. I spent 25 minutes with Karl-Abraham in his car seat on my lap, while a lot of people were standing up. Because of this bus trouble, the driver refused to drive into the desert in the evening, and so we ended up having dinner at the development center we had already visited earlier in the day. William slept through the whole thing, feverish, laying on a carpet in the Bedouin tent. The next day, our beach day, we 
woke up to a windy, cloudy, cold, and thundery weather. The boys still played on the beach and even went into the water, got all their extra clothes wet and then shivered from cold with blue lips. I couldn’t even 
give them a hot shower because the ‘hot’ water in our beach resort hotel room never quite reached ‘warm’. Most throughout the weekend all family members complained to me about various problems; the weather, their physical discomfort, the schedule of the trip; things I could not do anything about, and after less than two days gone, I came home to a messy house, all of the family – including myself – sick, and things to do stacked up in piles. There were, of course, a few highlights; August loved the Bedouin night, and I always enjoy a cultural experience, however, it’s already a little more tricky to travel with a baby (the whole women’s issue here makes it difficult to nurse when we’re out, which is frustrating to both me and Karl-Abraham), and if I had know what it was going to be like, this might have been a trip I had rather saved for a different time. Having said this, I’m definitely ready to go back to the Sinai again soon.
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1 comment:
well, you are rich in the new experience, nevertheless :O) good luck with the next trip :O)
and I hope, now you are more haelthy now!
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