HAVE I DIED AND GONE TO SHANGRI-LA? THREE LUXURIOUS DAYS BY THE RED SEA

No kidding! I thought I’d died and gone to Shangri-la when we drove out of the desert and entered the exotic and luxurious Kempinski Hotel at Soma Bay on the Red Sea.  For a traveler like me who usually goes budget, even back-packs and camps, this sprawling Moorish style hotel-spa was like waking in a fairy-tale dream.  The hotel occupies a beachside area spanning 150,000 sq meters offering 325 rooms designer furnished with views overlooking the hotel lagoon and creation pools to the sparkling turquoise water of the sea.

As I surveyed the luscious landscape, the waterfalls, streams, heated swimming pools and the long stretch of beach I could only gasp and say “Wow!”  No wonder the Kempinski is known as the Pearl of the Red Sea!

Welcome to My Room!

 

After our long journey across the desert, I could hardly wait to go for a swim so I donned my bathing suit and headed for the beach.  Imagine! A chance to swim in the Red Sea (called that name because of the red coral reefs), a sea that I had long-ago heard about in Bible stories. I envisioned myself drifting in the crystal clear water. 

I started to wade out and went farther and farther from shore, the water barely reaching my shins!  Now I know how Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt across the sea. They waded across! Finally I squatted down so it appeared that I was submerged and had my friend Linda take my photograph, just so I could say I ‘swam’ in the Red Sea.

 

Wading in the Red Sea

 

Pretending to Swim



 Camels on the Beach

 

 

Then I returned to shore and joined my friends by the pool side.  It is such a large pool it was almost like swimming in the sea so I spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around and lolling in the sun by pool-side.

 

There’s pool-side restaurant, Al Mar, where sunbathers can order snacks or drinks.  The hotel’s main restaurant is The View where we were served a spectacular buffet dinner later that day.

 

Some of the Luxurious Surroundings 

 It was fun just hanging out in the vast and beautifully decorated main lounge area where we lounged on comfy couches and checked our emails on our iphones and tablets.

 In the evening Markos, Linda and I sat outside on the patio, ordered glasses of Egyptian wine (my favorite was the Omar Khayyam) and smoked a water pipe of pear flavored sheesah. This is a very communal type of pastime in Egypt, relaxing and sweet-tasting and not a narcotic smoked from a tall ornate pipe with long tubes for inhaling. Even a non-smoker like me enjoyed puffing away as we chatted and watched the glorious rosy sunset over the sea.

The Soma Bay Peninsula is 10 square miles but only 2 miles are developed. The Kempinski Hotel is one of several luxurious spa-resorts on the shores of Soma Bay.  Just down the beach we visited the Residence Des Cascade Resort, another spa hotel.   

 

 

We were taken around the 18 hole championship golf-course on a golf cart. This would appeal to most golfers, a par 72 course right by the sea the lush green fairways a contrast to the distant desert landscape. 

 

 

Later we stopped at the Breakers Hotel, designed for the more laid-back adventurous folks. There’s a dive centre and  a Kite House offering  kite surfing and kite racing on the long stretch of beach.  We watched dozens of brightly coloured kite-surfers, like giant butterflies, hovering over the water. You can take a 4 day kite-surfing course as well as learn how to scuba dive at the Dive Centre. There is also a volley ball training court.

 

 

 Nearby is the Soma Bay Thalasso & Spa, said to be the best spa in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. It has 65 treatments rooms offering everything from traditional massages and beauty treatments to the latest in aesthetic treatments and hydrotherapy administered by highly trained therapists.  It’s located at the Cascades Hotel but is available to guests in the entire Soma Bay area. 

 We were invited to return for a free spa treatment.  But Markos, Linda and I had other plans: a night out in the nearby city of Hurghada. I knew I’d be too tired to enjoy the fun if I went to the spa, so I passed up the chance.  Good job too, because Yves was too tired to join us as we set off by van for a night of adventure in the city.

www.kempinksi.com/somabay

http://www.residencedescascades.com/

www.somabayspa.com

 

 

 

NEXT:  Exploring the Night-life of Hurghada.

NAXOS: ARIADNE'S ISLAND

Naxos Beach II Hotel

NAXOS, June 10 - 13, 2009
This island, the largest of the Cyclades, is one of my favorite Greek islands. This was the fourth time I've been here. Twice I came on solo camping trips, and two years ago I visited with my friend Anna Britt. I wanted my sister and niece to experience this unique island as, like all the islands in Greece, it has it own very special charm.

The island is the one where Theseus, when he was fleeing from captivity and chaos in Crete, bringing along the Cretan princess Ariadne, stopped on his way back to Athens. Somehow he 'lost' or 'abandoned' Ariadne. There are various stories. One is that she ran off with Dionysos, the god of wine and was so entranced that Theseus left her behind. At the harbour entrance there is a small island with the remains of a temple built for Apollo that was never finished. Only the portal stands. There is also a sanctuary for Ariadne near there.

No matter what Ariadne's story is, Naxos is an intriguing island. The first time I visited here I had a definite feeling of abandonment, with the many coastal villages that had been abandoned due to pirate raids. You have to take the round the island tour if you go to Naxos and you will learn all about it's fantastic history.

The Venetian ruled here for some years and at the main port of Naxos town there is a Venetian castle on the hill overlooking the harbour, and still some ruined buildings that are distinctly Venetian style, including the vaulted little cobblestone streets of the old city called Kastro.

I had wanted to stay at a beach hotel, but we were unable to get the one I had stayed in last time. Instead we had this very nice hotel which was high on a hill with a view of the beach below and the hills. We were able to take taxis down to the beach and from there catch the island bus into town. But next time I go back I would like to go to the Maragas Beach camp site again, where I camped several years ago. There are 25 kilometers of sandy beach on the Naxos coast. It's really a beautiful paradise!

Maragas Beach

The round-the-island bus tour, with an excellent tour guide on board, is an all-day tour, taking you around the whole island on winding hair-pin mountain roads giving you a panorama view of the countryside. Naxos is a fertile island, unlike barren Mykonos, producing olives, grapes, figs, citrus, corn and the best potatoes you've ever tasted. There are also emery mines on the island.
It was an important island during the Byzantine period and there are about 500 churchs and monasteries. The bus tour stops as several of the mountain villages, a ceramics workshop, and (my favorite) the distillery where they distill Kitron, a liquor brewed from the kitron, a large, lumpy lemon-like fruit once called by the Greek 'the Median apple'. Possibly the first of these fruits were brought to Greece by Alexander who sent many samples of flora and fauna back from Persia for Aristotle, his teacher.

There are three colors and strengths of this liquor: white is the strongest, yellow is medium strength and sweetness, green is more like an apertif. You can drink it straight (in a shooter glass) or mix it. The bar girl at the hotel mixed the green kitron with coconut liqueur and white rum for a drink call "Ariadne of Naxos". I brought some white kitron home with me this time and will try it myself.

The winding mountain roads

One of the interesting things you'll see on your trip around the island is this giant 7th century kouros which was cracked when carved and left in situ. It's supposed to be a statue of Apollo and is near the coast town of Apollonas where we stopped for lunch and a swim.

7th century kouros

We had purchased tickets to go to Samos Island and from there intended to go to Kusadasi Turkey. Unfortunately, we mis-read the time on the ferry and when we got to the port we discovered it had left at 1 a.m. not 1 p.m . as we thought. What to do? It happened that there was a ferry arriving at 1 p.m. for Santorini. So, after a brief discussion, we decided to hop on it and go. My sister and niece were actually delighted by this change of plans. I was disappointed about not going to Samos, but I hadn't been to Santorini for about 20 years, so I was just as pleased with our quick decision. Although I was sorry to be leaving the beautiful beaches of Naxos (which we didn't get enough time to really enjoy) I was keen to see what Santorini was like now -- it was an island I had avoided because of the heavy tourism. But it was time to return there and see for myself if it had changed from the days when I used to stay there on little Perissa beach.