It is surprising how quickly the desert gets cold once the sun goes down.
I’d heard this said many times before, but never been able to personally put it to the test – till now. Fortunately, Sytze had warned the group to come prepared with extra layers, and his team of Bedouin were already lighting a fire to cook dinner. But before that, we had a yoga session to do, with the disappearing sun to our west, and the rising full moon to the east. It was one of those moments that makes you give thanks for being alive.
And not just because of the perfect peace coupled with the splendour of the sunset and moonrise. The complete half day’s experience with Sytze Boomsma’s El Gouna Mountain Goats – driving up a sandy wadi into the Red Sea mountains in a fleet of Landcruisers, hiking into the desert for an hour, plus dinner – had cost just £28. Particularly good value for an exotic, invigorating and inspirational adventure.
El Gouna Mountain Goats experience is great value
(Andrew Eames)
Even if yoga in the desert isn’t your thing, Egypt’s Hurghada coast represents good value for money when it comes to winter sun. Skies are blue and temperatures are in the mid 20s, although you do need to stay out of the stiff breeze that the kite surfers adore in order to experience full warmth.
Hurghada is the key town on the section of the Red Sea coast which is part of the Egyptian mainland (as opposed to Sharm El Sheikh, which is more isolated out on the Sinai Peninsula). Unlike Sharm, the town is within driving distance of the Nile and is more a part of normal Egyptian life, with prices to match. Plus it has beaches, islands, and self-contained resorts.
I was staying in El Gouna, a purpose-built and hugely well-organised resort enclave about 15 miles north of Hurghada. Here, some 18 hotels and several thousand villas sit on an elaborate network of artificial lagoons, along with a couple of marinas, a football stadium, a university faculty and several beaches, many directly accessed from the hotels.
The town is within driving distance of the Nile and is more a part of normal Egyptian life, with prices to match
El Gouna is a huge and well-conceived endeavour, and it has attracted a big semi-resident population of expat villa owners, some of whom were on the Mountain Goats hike with me. And although it has restaurants by the marinas, most…
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