Dahab to Tarabin

1st January 2004
Rising at 8.30am, we had our last breakfast at Aladdin before fronting the tour agency. Poor man - he knew we (and many other irate tourists apparently) were coming and he was cringing. Apparently, one of his tour guides hadn't turned up the previous day so he had taken a tour himself. This left the office unattended and the drivers took full advantage. Many tourists had been left stranded at various points and he had no option but to refund their money. We only asked that he refund us the EP30 we had paid to Samir's driver to bring us back from the Blue Hole. He was very grateful - apparently, quite a few tourists had demanded full refunds which was a bit mean.
Then it was time to get a ride to Tarabin via Nuweiba. We had missed the service taxi, which left at 9.30am so we decided to price hiring a taxi for the one hour trip. We eventually departed on the Big Yellow Taxi at a cost of EP120.00 for the trip.

We had no problems on the drive to Nuweiba - so surprising, as we always seem to end up with dodgy transport. Tarabin is the "beach" scene of Nuweiba - similar to Dahab about twenty years ago. We loved it on sight! Lovely sandy beaches stretched along the shore as we pulled up at the Blue Duck Camp. The owner was delighted to see us and showed us a variety of rooms. Basic but clean, they ranged from EP25 (shared shower) to EP40 with shower and a "big room" with 2 double beds and shower for EP60. We chose two doubles with showers and settled down for our "welcome drink" of tea. And our welcome yelp, lick and wriggle from an enchanting white puppy called Seko.
Tarabin was so quiet after Dahab! Only one lady shared our hotel (shown on the left) and as we walked up the street, it appeared most hotels were empty. A few Russian tourists were staying in a hotel at the other end of the beach but times were hard, we could see.
We explored a local bar and were taken aback to find a large pelican in residence. Named Samira, she had total control. We watched in amusement as she approached a couple trying to have a meal. Casting a beady eye over the proceeds, she swept her beak across the table and calmly helped herself. Loud cries of protest were to no avail - she stood tall, flapping her wings and snapping that big beak.
Two little kittens playing under the table came in for scrutiny too but I managed to remove them before they ended up as an extra snack for Samira.
We spent two days in Tarabin, eating at Blue Bus in the evenings and enjoying the peace and quiet. Doug was due to leave for Taba and his journey through Israel and back to London on 3rd January and we would then continue our journey to mainland Egypt.
Tarabin is a lovely, peaceful spot and can be reached easily from Nuweiba. I would thoroughly recommend spending a few days there for anyone who enjoys the simple life. Tours to the Rainbow Canyon and St Catherine's Monastery can be arranged by the hotels and there are several small shops which offer the usual tourist traps - ie jewellery, cheap T-shirts and Bedouin handicrafts.