Sharm 2005, Part Three: "Pow- pow- power Wheels!"
April 20, 2005
Woohoo! I just found out that I do in fact get a day off tomorrow for the Prophet�s (PBUH�shout out Ms. Dolo) birthday. It was kind of up in the air since some people will be coming in to work. But yay. No work. I�m going to spend all day tomorrow�.waiting for the OC to come on at night? (Is it really sick, or just slightly sick that I want to marry that show?)
So, day two. Sharm. Beach. Etc.
We all woke up really tired, just in time to grab some breakfast. Zenith, always the energetic bunny, was raring to go do�something. E. and I were a little more�well�exhausted. So we decided to go to the glass bottom boat thingy, pictures from which I posted last time. It was nice to be out on the water like that without having to be actually in the water. Swimming and getting tired.
Then, after getting off the boat (fresh off the boat! Ha! I kill me!) we signed up for a four-wheeler trip into the desert to hang out with the Bedouins. We had considered doing it the day before, and then decided against it. In any case, Zenith was really into it, and for the second time his insistence turned out to be a really good idea.
It was a lot of fun, being out in the desert, and driving those four-wheelers (ATVs they call them). As I�ve mentioned numerous times before, I love being out in the desert. It was my first time driving an ATV, but that was a lot of fun too. We left on the trip at 4 pm, and stayed out in the desert for about 1.5-2 hours�in time to catch the sunset. When we arrived at the place where the ATVs were parked, they started hawking kuffiyas and goggles, telling us that it would get dusty out there. At first I brushed it off as just another tourist trap thing, but then I thought about it�it was really cheap, and I�d be getting a new kuffiya out of it. I have really sensitive eyes too, so I got the goggles as well. Zenith went for the goggles and kuffiya too, while E. just bought goggles and tied a bandana around her nose. This is what I ended up looking like:
Who you calling a terrorist?
Anyway, so our team of about 15 various foreigners and Egyptians headed out at around 4:30 after they had suited us up and taught us how to use the ATVs. It was a really nice ride out into the desert, except that both Zenith and I wanted to go faster, but we had to stay in line with our group. They videotaped the whole thing and took pictures along the way to sell to us later. I thought that was really annoying, but the guy in front of me was such a camera whore. He kept mugging and like standing up on his ATV each time he passed a camera. 
The sheikhs of hazzard
So we rode for about 30 minutes, and finally stopped at a Bedouin �camp��obviously set up for our touring pleasure. They had hand woven rugs on the ground and gave us Bedouin tea, which is actually pretty famous for tasting really good (it does!) and having an�.oddly relaxing quality. (Uh, I guess). They also had shisha for sale, but we opted not to indulge because we were only staying at the camp for like 20 minutes.
The �Bedouin� �Camp�
They had a table set up where they were selling Bedouin handicrafts. It was a lot of stuff like beaded necklaces and bracelets. Zenith bought E. one of those bracelet things that goes over the hand and loops over a finger (what are they called?). It was cute, actually, he practically begged her to let him buy it for her. I was admiring the Bedouin crafts when I saw a Che Guevara wristband. The whole thing kind of amused me, and also reminded me of a story told by one of my favorite poets, so I picked up the wristband and put it on. Politely, I asked the young, cherub-faced Bedouin who was manning the table, how much it cost in Arabic. He said something along the lines of �For an Arab sister, it�s free.� This is usually a sales tactic, so then I insisted he tell me how much it was, but he refused, and really insisted that I just take it. It was actually really nice of him, and he seemed really sweet. So, even though it�s something I would have never seriously purchased or worn, I will forever cherish my Rasta-colored Che wristband.
Soon after we made our purchases, the sun began to set, and we had to leave the camp to make it back before it got too dark out. Other than the serious butt-sweat, it turned out to be a pretty awesome ride. Zenith: 2, Ladies: 0.5 (for going along with his ideas)
