Egypt > On the way to Sharm El-Naga

Around seven o’clock we have breakfast for the last time at the hotel in Luxor. I don’t have much of an appetite — another bout of diarrhea is the reason. At eight in the morning, the convoy to Hurghada departs. With more than a hundred minibuses and coaches, we head toward Hurghada. We won’t go all the way to Hurghada, but will leave the convoy about 25 kilometers south of it. Along the way, there’s a scheduled coffee stop. It’s extremely crowded with all the tourists from Hurghada. The difference between the Hurghada tourists and the others is easy to spot — there’s even someone walking through the sand in high heels. Around half past twelve we approach Sharm El-Naga. Just before that, near Safaga, our bus loses a suitcase from the roof. Luckily, we see it fall, and Camel quickly stops. It turns out to be Frits’s bag. Hopefully nothing is damaged — and hopefully nothing else has fallen off earlier without us noticing.

Egypt - The beach of the Sharm ElNaga resort

A bit further on, we take the turnoff to Sharm El-Naga. After a few hundred meters, the asphalt road ends, and we drive another kilometer to the Sharm El-Naga resort. The resort consists of a bay with parasols on the beach and about twenty apartments. It all looks very neat. In addition to the actual guests, there are many day visitors from Hurghada who come to sunbathe and dive. Once in the apartment, I rush to the toilet — and repeat that several times. I carefully eat a little bit at lunch (and back to the toilet again). The diarrhea has returned in full force. In the afternoon, we head to the beach. We rent snorkeling gear and find a spot on the sand. It’s pleasant in the sun, but the northeasterly wind makes it quite chilly. It’s not easy to go into the water. Although they say the water is 27°C (it doesn’t feel like it), the wind makes swimming rather uncomfortable. As long as you stay in the water, though, it’s manageable. While snorkeling, we swim among the fish and along the coral reef — a truly impressive experience.

Egypt - The beautiful coral reefs just below the water surface

With the underwater camera, I try to capture the view in photos. It’s not easy to tell through the diving mask what exactly will be in the frame, so I just take my chances. We’ll see the results once we’re home. When I come up out of the water, the wind is immediately noticeable again. I dry off quickly and let the setting sun do the rest. Since I can’t seem to warm up, I decide to return to the apartment. I take a long, hot shower, but I’m still cold and crawl under the blankets. I have a fever and diarrhea — just what I needed on the last evening when we could have stayed up late. Geert has some tea and bread brought to me. The waiter insisted that Geert shouldn’t bring it himself. Later, Mohammed visits me with some medicine for the fever and gives me a stronger anti-diarrhea pill (stronger than Imodium). I sleep until the next morning, occasionally getting up during the night to visit the toilet.