Climbing Sinai with Canucks

This post comes long overdue, since this actually took place back in late February. Considering the time of year, and that once on top of Mount Sinai (before dawn) we were well above 6,000 feet with a biting wind, is why we look so cold in some of these pictures! I was not expecting to be going on this overnight trip, but was lucky enough to tag along with a volunteer team from a Bible college in Calgary. They were here helping in some of our ministry projects for about two weeks. One of our friends from last year, Ryan, who was a youth intern at our church in Cairo in 'o5-'06, was one of them and it was great to catch up with him again. Here you go...

Kerry and I tagging along with the team on their sunset ride on a Falucca (a sail boat with large sitting area, basically).

Is this what everyone pictures the Nile to be like?

The team and I distributing materials at our offices

The hotel grounds in foreground of Mt. Sinai

This gives you a good idea of one of the "bungalow" rooms we stayed in overnight. Pretty neat, huh!

St. Katherine's Monastery at the base of Mt. Sinai

We know...we're hunks.

Within the grounds of St. Katherine's Monastery, the alleged burning bush, in all its glory!

Also inside of the Monastery, chatting outside their small museum.

Dinner at the hotel dinning room. Decorated very funky, but they did have a neat fireplace in the middle.

2 A.M. or so, right before the big climb begins

There are dozens of camels that you can choose to ride up about 3/4 of the way up

So c-c-c-cold!

Blankets! Brilliant! Much happier now. But who forgot to bring the hot chocolate?

Ryan and I during snuggle time. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for paying for my straight teeth. Straight-ish, at least.

Sunrise and my bundled-up silhouette.

The view from the top was just... amazing!

Beginning to descend the stairs that go all the way down the mountain to the Monastery. They are basically strategically placed flat rocks placed atop others. Tradition has it that one of the first monks of the monastery constructed the stairs as his penitence. He did a wonderful job!

Trying to decide what our band name should be for this album cover...Ryan and the Renegades, Marcus and the Mountaineers, or John Jarvie Jive and the Uptown Five?

Pensive contemplation on the crags of Mt. Sinai

I promise you that after hoofing it up this mountain and fighting the cold, this was not nearly as uncomfortable as it looks!

Chad and I warming up in the sun. Don't ask us how we got up to this spot...our mothers wouldn't approve!

Looking down on the Monastery from high above on the "stairs"