Adventures in Siwa - Part II

Previously in Siwa: George and Ali both have open wounds and are in need of stitches. No hospital is in sight.

Once both Jeeps were back in commission, Ali drove with one hand (not an easy feat while romping through sand dunes) until the sun began to set. At that point we stopped on a plateau, watched the sun set, and shared a bottle of Coca Cola. If it weren’t for the two bleeding men it would’ve made for a nice Coke commercial. After the sun disappeared behind the horizon we were dropped off at a desert campsite where we would spend the night. The men left in their Jeeps so they could visit a hospital and get all stitched up. Later that night Ali returned with four stitches in his wrist. George also received four stitches beside his eye, but he didn’t join us in the desert that night.

I should back up a bit and tell you about our experiences of sandboarding now. It’s actually not as cool as it sounds. Driving through the dunes is actually the sport of the whole event. Sandboarding is just an excuse for all the driving. The problem with the sport of sandboarding is that sand has a lot more friction than, say, snow or ice. So, when you strap the sandboard onto your feet and push off down a steep sand dune, you enjoy about five seconds of movement before coming to a complete stop. If you try carving during this time, you really only get three seconds of movement. After this not-so-exhilarating ride down the hill, you get to enjoy a good five minute trudge back up the sand dune… in 40 degree heat… wearing snowboard boots… in sand. After successfully hiking to the top of the dune and experiencing a hypoglycemia attack, I decided snowboarding was a much more enjoyable sport. Although sandboarding is a really cool experience, and few people can say they’ve done it, I think I will stick to snowboarding. At least until the technology for sandboarding is improved. Frictionless boards coupled with tow-ropes will make sandboarding a much more popular sport.

Now, before I finish off my adventures in Siwa, I would like to tell you a few things I learned about the town of Siwa while I was there. First of all, Siwa actually has its own language. All of the locals speak not only Arabic, but Siwan as well. Also, the women dress a bit differently than women in the rest of Egypt. They have a veil over their entire face (without holes for eyes) and then a hood or scarf or something that goes over top of that. They look quite a bit like the Dark Riders (or whatever you call them) from The Lord of the Rings. Very freaky. The town of Siwa is also heavily involved in witchcraft, or has a rich history of involvement with it. During our stay in Siwa we also noticed a few albino Egyptians walking around the town. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of them in Cairo, but there were more than one of them in the town of Siwa. While we were in Siwa we also got to go to a Bedouin music and dance performance. All in all, Siwa was a very interesting place to spend a weekend. Click here to check out some of the pictures I took on our trip to and from Siwa.