visual landmines

Courtney coined this very useful phrase for us during our 4-hours-turned-6-hour adventure abord the Happy Man 2 as we sailed around the Red Sea, stopping only to snorkel. (more on my latest phobia in a bit.) The landmines included: Italians' hairy armpits, Russians' insistence on wearing Speedoes (blech), and (I hate to say it) but sizable women who wore bathing suits a few sizes too small.

We were the only Americans on the boat and, in fact, may have been the only Americans ever to have *been* on that boat. One of the crew members told us he'd never seen Americans in Shark's Bay before. I guess Courtney and I are breaking some barriers for American tourists.

The waters were warm and Courtney tells me there were many fish. I'm afraid I can't report the same myself. As soon as I hit the water with that suffocating mask and mouthpiece I thought I was going to drown. Off it came and instead I enjoyed a leisurely swim around the coral reefs and hiked across the stony stretch of Tiran Island. The island is a vast expanse of nothingness, not even vegetation. We were told it is in U.N. control after Egypt and Israel battled over it. Though why anyone would fight for such a sparse natural resource is beyond me. Then again, most conflicts in the Mideast don't make much sense, do they?

We've only just returned and are dying for our first real meal of the day, so I'll keep this short. Though I should say, we had a great meal last night at Hotel Ghazala in Na'ama Bay, which looks something like Las Vegas but littered with Russian and Eurotrash tourists. Yuck. Thankfully dinner at Tam Tam was delicious. Mouttabel, fattouche and the grilled sea bass were all fantastic. Can you tell I'm starving?

On a historical note, one of the Ghazala complexes was bombed a few years ago. We saw the beginnings of the reconstruction. Don't worry, we've yet to see any sort of terrorist activity. But in two days we will be driving through Dahab on our way to the ferry. Keep your fingers crossed for us.