Still bushy-tailed as we set off along a dried river bed.

We recently went on a two day hike to St Paul’s monastery. It was fairly easy going exertion-wise (hey, I could do it!) but the night was horrible. In an attempt to carry as little as possible, I forgot to bring clothes for the night. Then I discovered my sleeping bag wasn’t thick enough for the cool night air (although, perhaps not having my usual camping pj’s was part of that) and then the new camping mats were, well, bloody useless, leaving me pockmarked with bruises the following morning.

Winding up the mountain

But you know, I’m a tough cookie and the discomfort of the night was soon overcome by the walk itself. Being away from crowds of people and the awful smog that has been hanging over the city during recent weeks to walk on clean earth was refreshing.

The last section of the walk brought us to a spot where the Red Sea could be seen in the distance. As great as it is to see where the mountains end and the sand begins, all I wanted to do was jump in!

Finally we arrived at the monastery. It is lucky enough to have a huge new church nearing completion.

New church

Apparently the monks have been disturbed by the numbers of visitors and have decided to move up the mountain. I’m assuming that a bit of Divine intervention is stopping their new building from falling down.

The monks’ home.