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Waymaking: an anthology. Book review

28/6/2019

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When I was little, probably around 8 years old, I didn’t mind grazed knees. I liked making mud pies and prodding ants nests and hated wearing dresses. As I grew older I proudly stepped into traditionally male roles. As an adult, my awareness of gender bias is acute and my activism is lively.


“Who did you go with?” Is a common question to me after a trip or adventure. Invariably my answer is “no-one.” If I waited for someone to go with then I would never have gone anywhere. In adventuring, as with my profession, I refuse to let my gender prevent me from doing what I want. A sentiment shared by all the contributors to Waymaking. This book is a collection of poems, stories, photos, paintings and drawings by women who experience the outdoors. It’s inspiring to read their tales - to hear that others share my restless energy - and read of challenges to aspire to. A number of the pieces are genderless - take away the pronouns and the author and the story wouldn’t gain or lose anything. Tara Kramer’s Lost in the Light - about working in Antarctica - the whiteness, the lightness - is vividly descriptive and extraordinary. Perhaps equally extraordinary had it been written by a man (although most would agree that the barriers Kramer likely encountered simply by virtue of gender make her story even more incredible).


Other stories are palpably feminine. Leslie Hsu Oh - who “rests gently [her camera] on the wispy black locks of our five-month-old” as she watches her other children learning to climb - is a very open account of mothering and being mothered. She highlights the loving education that her adoptive mother has given her about the natural world. And we watch with her as daughter Kyra takes instruction to improve her climbing. What better gift can you give your children than the confidence and knowledge to enjoy the outdoors?


Western society stands are the doors of equality. We know what’s wrong, mostly, but we haven’t fixed it yet. All the contributors to Waymaking help us step forward, normalise women’s behaviour in the outdoors, create expectations of equality and foster the next generation to accept equality as the norm. Beautiful art of all kinds demonstrating that there are no boundaries.




I have to confess that I read Waymaking on my ancient and battered Kindle while travelling. This meant that I couldn’t appreciate the visual art as it would have been intended. If anyone wants to lend me a hard copy let me know!


What did you think of the book? What do you think about women adventuring? Comment below!
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Dahab, Egypt - a diver’s paradise

10/6/2019

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Dahab, a lazy town on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, used to be booming. Hotels and restaurants jostled for position with dive shops - so many dive shops - all capitalising on the extraordinary marine environment that this part of the Red Sea has to offer. But now, as I walked the pedestrian street all along the bay, derelict buildings sit embarrassedly between shiny resorts. Construction sites are frozen in time. Direct flights from many European countries were halted following a so-called uprising in 2011, so it was with some caution that I researched my trip. I had firsthand recommendations and my googling hadn’t led to anything that ruled out my plans. A sense of adventure plus the draw of diving meant that I made Dahab the central part of my Middle East trip.
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It’s possible to exist in Dahab without ever seeing a car. My first few days involved walking the 50m between my room at the fantastic Red Sea Relax Resort, their dive centre and the ocean. When I did see a motor vehicle it was a truck to take us and our scuba gear to the famous Canyon and Blue Hole dive sites which are only a short ride away. The vibe of this place is so relaxed! The idea of it being in anyway dangerous is hard to believe - I could stay forever.


The main reason I enjoyed my stay so much was the amazing service at the resort and the incredible experience with the dive centre. I have genuinely never seen a dive centre so organised. There are numbered lockers for those diving multiple days, special racks for masks and wetsuits and a dedicated classroom with tv and aircon. Course director and manager Jordan fosters the perfect environment. Every one of the staff are friendly, helpful, inclusive and laidback. But when it comes to scuba, the highest level of professionalism is maintained. Walid my instructor was demanding, encouraging and supportive, and knows all the sites as if they were is own house. I very quickly felt like part of the team and not simply a client to please or student to push through exams, which I’ve experienced elsewhere. Check out their Facebook page for some underwater pictures too.
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Similarly, Said and the other staff at the hotel answered every question I had, whilst being friendly and generous. Diving in Dahab is incredibly good value, almost all the sites are shore dives, not boat dives, and the wealth of competition keeps prices low and standards high. You only have to stick your head underwater to meet some of the fishier residents. Red Sea Relax offer a great deal for backpackers - you can stay in the dorm for free for every day that you dive and it’s only €7 for days you aren’t diving. Dahab’s Blue Hole is famous for all the right and wrong reasons - but my dive there is one of the highlights of my scuba career.
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Selfishly, I don’t want the direct flights to start again. I want to keep Dahab for myself - chilled and slow paced, with new friends waiting to be met and dive sites waiting to be discovered. I’ll be back soon to explore the underwater world and relax in a trendy cafe.

Getting there: you can fly via several destinations including Istanbul, to Sharm al sheik which is an hour or so taxi or bus ride away. Or coming from Jordan, you can arrive to Nuweiba on the ferry. See here for more information about that.
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Jordan to Egypt by ferry: Aqaba to Nuweiba with AB Maritime

5/6/2019

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I love to fly into one city and out of another, rather than have to return to my start point. So when researching my trip to Jordan and Egypt I was delighted to read about the ferry. However, information was quite hard to come by and reviews were negative or advised tourists not to take this route.

I found a post on a Facebook group and the AB Maritime website as well as a backup plan of going overland via Israel if it didn’t work. These facts all convinced me to book my flights into Amman and out of Cairo and it worked out fine. Here’s what you need to know.

Booking

The AB Maritime office in downtown Aqaba is easy to find (search on google maps and maps.me). It’s quite near the bus stop, so me and my travel buddy went straight there when arriving in Aqaba. The staff speak perfect English and could answer all our questions. It’s $75/JOD53, you can pay in either currency. There’s an additional JOD10 to pay as an exit tax at the ferry port. Buy your ticket and it’s valid for any ferry in the next month.

The port

The ferry is scheduled to leave at 11pm but you must arrive between 8:30pm and 9pm. A taxi from downtown Aqaba should be around JOD7. When we arrived there were loads of people and baggage outside. We skipped past these people and were ushered to put our bags through the security machine ahead of others.

The next section was a bit confusing. Show your ticket and passport to the guy, then pay the exit tax (you are given a ticket). We then exchanged our last Jordanian Dinars for Egyptian Pounds. Then straight to the immigration line. There’s a line of people queuing for ‘ticket confirmation’ but you don’t need to do that.

Boarding

After immigration stamp your passport, you are led out to the ferry, showing documents along the way. Once on the ferry they will take your ticket and give you an Egyptian immigration form. Fill this in and take it to the immigration towards the back of the boat. You can skip the line here too as the process is different for tourists than for workers from either Jordan or Egypt. If you have an e-visa you give it now. They will keep your passport! Don’t freak out about that! The staff will tell you what to do if any of this is confusing.

Journey

It was just like any other big ferry. The single men seemed to go towards the back and we stayed towards the front with families and women. It wasn’t crowded. It left very late. The toilets aren’t great and there’s a cafe. I managed a couple of hours sleep.

Egyptian immigration

We were told to gather with the other tourists (5 of us in total) and were escorted by a uniformed officer. I had a pat down from a female officer and we all put our bags through a scanner. I had an e-visa but my friend didn’t. Either was fine. It’s $25 for visa on arrival (check with your country that you can get this) which you can pay in either US dollars of Egyptian pounds. They stamp your passport and then you are taken to the gate.

Nuweiba port

So it was about 3am by now (it was supposed to arrive at 1:30am and there is a time difference so maybe it was 2am?!). I had booked a pickup from the amazing Red Sea Relax Resort in Dahab where I was staying. It was $30 and worth every penny. The driver had waited even though it was so late. There were taxis there but I was glad not to have to haggle at 3am. If you’re heading to Cairo I would advise to go to Dahab anyway as the buses from there to Cairo are more frequent. It’s also the coolest place, so definitely worth a couple of days if you have time.

I was glad to have a friend for the ferry but I would have felt fine doing this on my own as a solo female. All the staff and other passengers were very helpful. The immigration officer tried to organise for us all to share a taxi and everyone was happy to show us which line and where to sit. I would recommend having a pickup waiting, just so you know that you’re not stranded. There are hotels in Nuweiba that would do this too.

Nuweiba to Aqaba

The reverse journey leaves at 11am so it is a bit less daunting as you’ll arrive in the daytime. I met some people who said their ferry left early so make sure to arrive in plenty of time.

I hope this was helpful. Any questions on my experience then just ask!
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Cedar Pride: diving in Aqaba in Jordan

3/6/2019

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Jordan has so much to offer the backpacker. Come for Petra - the ancient world wonder carved into the rose rocks - stay for the friendly people, good food and some scuba diving.


Dive Aqaba have a shop in downtown Aqaba surrounded by dozens of other shops. It’s a 15 minute drive to south beach where you can shore dive to your heart’s content. The walk from the shady kitting up area to the water is a bit rocky but not too far. Once outside of the swimming area the underwater world is teaming with life. Eels, puffer fish, parrot fish and clown fish are all actively going about their lives.

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Instructor Shammas led us along the reef towards the wreck of Cedar Pride. The giant sailing boat sits on its side across two rocks, leaving space to swim through underneath. After examining the crows nest, the party of trick of this wreck is an air pocket where you’re able to breathe and talk 12m underwater!


This is one of over 20 dive sites in the area, many of the reached from the shore. Others include a sunken army tank and the wreck of a plane. Thanks for having us Dive Aqaba!

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    Hannah the traveller

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