sharm

Located on the southern tip of Egypt's Sinai peninsula, Sharm el Sheikh overlooks the Straits of Tiran in the Red Sea. It's well known for it's diving and snorkelling and is home to a number of hotels and resorts.  From Europe, at this time of year, there aren't as many choices for hot weather destinations without committing to long haul flights and time changes.  The Sinai, however, fits the bill with 5 hours flying time from Geneva (through Cairo) and daily temperatures in the high 20s.  I was almost desperate to go. I needed a break from the sometimes frantic pace of skiing and a winter of the dizzying cycle of packing and unpacking all the equipment.  I needed to feel true heat and hear the birds sing.  I wanted to see these trees...

I thought I had my work really cut out for me as we already had plans to go to Lech, Austria after Kitzbühel and then back to Saanen for more spring skiing.   However, the I-can't-go-on-a-holiday-without-lots-of-activities-to-do angels were on my side.  As soon as Jeff discovered there was a kiteboarding school in Sharm, run by a couple of Aussies and appropriately called "Kite Junkies", he was in.

The resort was beautiful and the service amazing.  For 6 days, the kinds of  difficult choices we had to make were whether to sit by the pool or on the beach and what kind of omelette to have for breakfast!  

view to the Red Sea and the island of Tiran in the background

The kids had a blast swimming, snorkelling and they all did some scuba diving.  They each did an introductory dive, one-on-one with a dive master and then the boys were able to go on and do a "discover scuba diving" 4-hour course where they did some theory, a pool dive and a sea dive to 12m.

esmee on the descent

graydy + eli after their dive

Jeff took the boys for three full mornings to Kite Junkies where they learned how to kite board.  They loved it and did really well.  Two of the three days were windy enough for Jeff to get out on his own.  He was in heaven...

the scene at Kite Junkies beach

eli 

graydon

As for me, I did not dive or kite board.  I swam with my kids, but mostly sat on my ass by the pool.  I spent some quality time with the likes of Raymond Carver + Ernest Hemingway, among others...   

It was a wonderful break, a true holiday where parents and kids alike were happily at ease.  It was not a cultural adventure, there were no tourist excursions, just pure fun + relaxation in the sun.  It's embarrassing to admit, but I'm not even entirely sure where the Pyramids are.  We'll save them for our next trip....