Snorkeling Cruise to Paradise!
We took a cruise to Paradise!... Paradise island that is.
But first we had 3 stops at various portions of the reef a good distance away from the shore. The three youngest quickly decided that snorkeling wasn't for them, and stayed on board while we took turns snorkeling off of the back of the boat.
Jeanne jumped in and also decided that snorkeling is more difficult than she remembered. But Cathy was creative and decided that she felt more comfortable snorkeling with the kids inner-tube.
The first stop was a LOT of swimming and quite far away from the boat. Scott and Bryce were both disappointed with the scant numbers of fish. BUT it was beautiful coral and beautiful water!
But he second stop was a parking lot of boats and had some great fish.
Bryce decided to be a practical joker and push Scott in after the swim.
Then the camera man came up with an idea for the leader to jump through a hoop (made up of Scott and Bryce's arms).
They knew he was going to trick them and wanted to grab his arms... but they missed. Still it was all good fun!
Next we had lunch on board. Odd food but good enough.
Last stop Jeanne finally joined in... Cathy-style. She was surprised how much more secure she felt with the kids floatie! This stop had great fish (since they fed them). We even got to see an electric eel and a massive Napoleon fish! Really fun!
Earlier, Scott grabbed a bar to stabilize himself at the back of the boat and the handrail came off. Then it was Bryce's turn to loose his balance and grab a hand rail above him... unfortunately, it came right off and Bryce fell hard and flat. He put a brave face on, but it definitely knocked the wind out of him!
Looks like a hand rail to me... not just a towel bar!Paradise!
Finally, we dropped anchor off a large island called Paradise island. We were caught a ferry boat to the island and got to enjoy the pure white sand and crystal clear water. It was so blue!
Christina loves building sand castles with a moat... this one was a bit too close to the shore. Still it is fun to join in a project.
Some fun kid pictures in the crystal clear waters...
It also was where we said goodbye to Brittney's green floatie that got caught in the wind and truly sailed across the ocean blue.
But alas, our time in paradise was over and back to the boat we had to go!
We were greeted with a traveling ice cream man who sold us expensive ice cream (5 gbp each!). But it sounded good so we bought a round for everyone. But then he was discovered! The ship owner chased him off the boat with a broom handle! After much screaming the traveling ice cream man just motored away. But the saga wasn't over! When the tour leader found out that we were overcharged by 1 gbp he spun the boat around and chased the guy down! We weren't sure where this was going to lead... The seas were rough and the kids were tired! We really wanted to go home.
Finally, after a few more minutes of screaming he called it off... YIKES!We still had nearly an hour sailing back to the mainland. The cameraman and tour leader then entertained us all with some towel creations. They started with Kevin turning him into some kind of star wars-like elephant.
Queen of Hearts? Hat for Cathy- cute pose!
Some sort of Spanish soldier hat for Madison?
A Pharoh for Jeanne!
An Arab Prince for Bryce
And
Sweet, sweet Christina sweet... her eyes are sparkling and her hair is neat!
Fun day and Fun memories!Wednesday
An Egyptian Tooth Fairy!
Unlike most children, Christina hates the thought of pulling her tooth out. She prefers to let it wiggle for MONTHS! Here she shows how she slightly wiggles it...
And then finally a slice of pizza made it really loose...
Hoorah! Christina actually pulled her tooth out in Egypt!
Thursday
Bedouin camp
This excursion was advertised with a little bit of everything... First came the dune buggy rides. Madison was thrilled to be allowed to drive! So we as parents got to enjoy the first time driving us around!
Then came the 4-wheelers! FUN! This was a LONG ride out. We were very thankful for sunglasses and the checkered face cloth... deserts can be dusty!
Next came horse and donkey riding and then camel riding. I think we are starting to become experts on getting up on a camel!
Then our 45 minute journey to the Bedouin camp at the base of the mountains. Our driver took off fast at speeds in the sand of 60+ mph!
We learned a new Egyptian word... OPAH! Our jeep driver liked racing apparently. It was a bit scary with all of the bumps and sand sliding at high speed.
The Bedouin camp was across the desert 45 minutes crazy driving at the base of a mountain range. Although the camp itself wasn't much, it did bring into perspective how fortunate we are. Their house were on dirt with reed walls and a small firepit in the center of a virtually unroofed "house".
The girls enjoyed feeding the baby camel... he was cute!
Bryce tried a spot of Bedouin tea..
And then we had another frantic race back to the base camp. It gave a new meaning to wee-hills!
Our group had such a fun time giggling, laughing and holding on tight! And yes! We won both times!
Once the sun officially set, we were treated to a variety show of a whirling dervish- a guy who seriously spun rapidly in circles for 5 minutes!
And a fire eater...
and we closed the evening with a guy and a bed of nails on his stomach... OUCH!
Friday
Farewell to Egypt
We so enjoy the pampering we get at the all-inclusive hotels we've visited... especially this year! But we had to say farewell to our most luxurious and sun-filled vacation we've ever had. Sniff.
Christina asked when we were coming back again and I had to admit that it wasn't likely. Back in the US, the time for vacations from school are in the summer and that definately is NOT the time to visit Egypt! Here in the UK we've been blessed with term breaks in the fall and springtime- PERFECT for enjoying the sights and beaches! And this trip was no exception!
Funny thing (and a bit scary) is that the Egyptian security lived up yet again to its lax reputation. Last year Jordan passed through security with a gargantuan bottle of water (2 liter size) and this year Bryce came through with another bottle of sunscreen! Hmmm.
Scott is usually so cautious with passports and tickets... but once he passed through the first screening of luggage he was being so careful with his pizza lunch that he was carrying that he somehow lost our plane tickets! Thankfully, Thompson First Choice had us on their register and we were able to fly. WHEW!
Scott and his precious pizza- notice the reprinted tickets in his pocket (smile)
