I arrived at the Nuweiba customs at 08.00, and the clearing of my bike could start. Three hours and about 1.500 Egyptian Pounds later I could drive through the gates of the port authorities and into the Sinai. A free man!

At one point during the clearing procedure an official came and asked for the keys to the bike, which I handed to him thinking he was going to arrange for the Egyptian numberplate to be put on top of my Danish plate. It turns out he just wanted to take the bike for a ride in the compound. Under any circumstance - with the fully loaded bike an integral part of my journey and indispensable - I would never let a stranger drive the bike, and I totally object to this sort of practice. I was relived when he arrived back some minutes later.

I had decided to take the route across the Sinai roughly in the middle of the Peninsula, taking me past St. Catherine monastery and Mount Sinai or Mount Moses. After only 30 kilometers I had to stop at an army checkpoint, where my passport was checked and I was asked to unpack absolutely everything on the bike - sidebags, top- and tank bag. When all had been checked, I was on my way again.

The Sinai is a very dry, stark and lonely place. Only a few cars and hardly any people. Long stretches where you see nothing but desert. You have to stop your mind from wandering too far - what now if this or that happens? What will I do? Fortunately, I only did some reading about the Sinai situation, after having passed through! The northern part is a very troubled area, and only to be travelled through if absolutely necessary. My view is that the Egyptian army/police wouldn’t let me through if it wasn’t safe. I was stopped again several times, but only for passport checks. Almost through the Sinai, I was stopped one last time, asked to park the bike and enter a small airconditioned office, where I was confronted by three guys, one of them with 3 stars on his shoulder straps. He spoke good English and wanted to know my whereabouts. Where I had been, and where I was going. He then kindly explained the reason for all the checks, and how well trained all his men were in conducting these checks. He found it fascinating that I had driven all the way from Denmark, and also asked my age. After about 15 minutes I was free to go, and he asked me if I needed help of any kind. 

One of my cardinal rules is to never drive at nighttime. All the checkpoints had taken time and there was nothing but desert around, so I had no option but to continue in the fading light. Eventually I reached a small town, stopped at a shop and asked whether anyone knew of a hotel or room I could sleep in. He pointed to a building about 50 meters down the road. It turned out to be a coffee shop cum hotel, and one of the 3 young guys that ran the place spoke good English. Yes, he could let me have a room for 150 EP (€ 9,00) with a shower and free WiFi. The bike was wheeled into the hotel and parked inside. It turned out to be a great little place, clean and pleasant - I could live with fact that there were no towels or toilet paper! I promised myself not to leave it this late in the future.

Just before I nodded off there was a knock at the door. It was one of the young guys with a “welcome drink”. Red juice with some pink foam on the top, and an elegantly looped straw for drinking. Who wouldn’t sleep well after a cocktail like that. Tasted deliciously.

Tomorrow I would head for Cairo and the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx.