The last night of bedding down in the sand, something ex-Marine was ecstatic about and I wasn’t too far behind in exulting. Done with the more adventurous side of Sinai, the day was spent swimming and snorkeling at different locations along the coast. The Red Sea is known for its fantastic snorkel and dive sites. The Straits of Tiran lie just 7km/4 miles northest of Sharm el Sheikh and is part of the African Trench making it the deepest part of the entire Red Sea.

Ras Nazrani/Nasrani was the day’s snorkeling stop on the way from Sharm el Sheikh to Dahab. We grabbed snorkel masks (the only equipment available THEN and just waded out into the sea from the stony shore to its fringing reef. NOW – Divers can go down to a depth of 30-45m/100-150′ with unbelievably clear visibility, 30m/100′. Tennis shoes on, I happily floated above the reef with a small kick every now and then to propel myself along when an excruciating pain shot through the top of my foot. (Sheila, before accident…View image…)

map of Sinai coastline
Hobbled to shore with a big, black sea urchin spine protruding through the shoe and into my toe. One foot must have kicked a little too deeply above the shallow reef. Who would have thought that a spine would have been sharp enough to penetrate canvas and if you’ve never had a run-in with a sea urchin, it is agonizing with pains radiating and throbbing throughout the foot. We couldn’t pull out the spine through the shoe without breaking it and a small fragment was visible under the skin when I finally got the shoe off and washed away most of the blood.

The reassuring guide said, “Don’t be a baby. The pain will go away in a few hours and eventually the spine piece will disintegrate.” (She was a real piece of work and equally abrupt and nasty to one and all.) I popped pain killers and lay down for a while before doing a little beach combing to get my mind off the pain. The beaches of the Sinai held the most amazing collection of sea shells I’ve ever seen and it was a real disappointment when the guide said the entire collection had to be dumped back in the sands. It is illegal to remove stones or sea shells from the Sinai.

FYI: The sharp spines of sea urchins, and starfish can easily penetrate wet suits and gloves, kill some animals and it took months for the little black crystalline fragment to completely dissolve. Recommendations for sea urchin stings range the gamut from urinating on it, making a paste with rubbing alcohol and unseasoned meat tenderizer, vinegar, and washing in sea water.

Sheila’s poor, bleeding toe from the sea urchin spine, Sinai Desert
Dahab is NOW a small town situated on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula and one of the Sinai’s most treasured diving destinations with fantastic coral reefs. THEN, Dahab was a Bedouin fishing village known in Hebrew as Di-Zahav, a place mentioned in the Exodus from Egypt. This was the Sinai Adventure’s last camping spot. A Bedouin “village” consisting of shacks on the sand beach with family camels roaming up and down.

Dahab, Sinai in 1984 

hopefully, the residents of Dahab no longer live like this, Sinai Peninsula
The Dahab Bedouin children came running to welcome our little convoy and the group immediately began distributing leftover food…not very much except stale bread…View image…and clothing. The women would probably only wear my t-shirts as an interior garment and protection against the cold nights.

handouts in the Sinai Desert 

the children weren’t going to miss any of the excitement in Dahab, Sinai Peninsula
With the children hunkered down to watch our every move…View image, we prepared for the last night of sleeping under the stars in the sands of the Sinai. Tomorrow, we’d cross the Taba-Eilat border, and drive back to Jerusalem.

excited Dahab Bedouin children, Sinai Peninsula