South of the border

I boarded a bus for Eilat, the last Israeli town before the border of Israel and Egypt. Then at Eilat I boarded another bus for the crossing, Taba crossing which is the official crossing point between Israel and Egypt. Except for 2 other people I was alone, the couple, an American and his Israeli wife were going to Dahab.I was going to Dahab, 2 hours away, look for a tour company who will then take me at 11pm to Mt Sinai and take me back the next morning. So I asked if I could follow them since the man said he's been to Dahab years ago. So we started the immigration process, I went ahead and cleared both Israeli and Egyptian immigration without a hitch. I waited for them on the Egyptian side but they never showed up. Till today I don't know what the hitch was. Anyway on the Egyptian side, I was the only traveler that time.There were a bunch of mini taxis waiting. I was approached by a lone taxi driver who spoke English. I noticed that while traveling in Egypt, the taxi drivers who could speak English have an advantage.They do end up with choicer assignments and make more money. He offered to take me straight to the St Catherine area, find me a guide to climb Mt Sinai, have me stay at the campground for a few hours before my climb, see St Catherine monastery and then take me back to Taba crossing the next day. He wanted an arm and a leg. He made sense and seeing that my companions are a no show, I decided to take up his offer.Off we went, we passed some of the the most beautiful water, the gulf of Aqaba. I've never seen water so beautiful. This is Pharoah's island and on it still stand Saladin's castle.