A week before we leave, the TV news shows a short film of a man struggling to free himself from something in the water. The man circles around in the water in a strange way, until he completely disappears into the water. He has been wrestling with a shark, and we are going to vacation to exact the same bay where this happened, in Hurghada, in Egypt.
Hurghada is both a historical and a playful place, a city known for its stunning Red Sea coast, is becoming a sought-after destination for luxury living within new gated community’s investing in time-shared-apartments. Hurghada is close to The Nile, near tracks and evidence of the world’s first high cultures, ruled by pharaohs, a civilization known for its pyramids, hieroglyphs, and strong belief in the afterlife. Death and transformation is going to be a theme for this journey, but we dont know that yet.
We live in a gated community famous for its lagoons, marinas, restaurants, private beaches, beach clubs, making it a perfect place for our vacation. We are offered a variety of activities such as boat trips down the Nile to Luxor, seeing Tutankhamun’s tomb, day trips by boat to one of the five islands and beaches nearby such as Orange Bay, stargazing at night, quad biking in the desert, camel riding and going to Cairo.
But a man has fought and been killed by a shark, so at first I forbid my husband to snorkel. Not in Hurghada. Not a chance. It doesn’t matter if it’s forty degrees Celsius. We’re just going to swim in the pool. But its forty degrees Celsius! Yes – Its hot! I tell my husband to “try to stay in the middle of the group” when we go on a snorkeling trip. We must get out into the water. We snorkel and we swim and we survive. The day trips out on the water are fantastic. The water is turquoise. The beaches are white. You can book your own luxury yacht with lunch on board. Rest in comfortable armchairs out on deck, in the shade. Read books. Listen to music. Feel the feeling of vacation.
We are having a good time. And one of the days we go on a horseback ride into the desert. It gets delayed from lunchtime to late in the afternoon. When we ride out, it’s already getting dark. We don’t have helmets. We ride down to the sea with the horses. The horses continue into the water. It’s amazing. We gallop on the way back. We are riding in the desert. We are free, wild and thrilled. We are invincible. Or maybe not.
We are going to cross the highway again. This time it is completely dark. It went well on the way there. Far away I see lights approaching. Me and my horse are last in the group, but I am also an experienced rider, I have been given the strongest and most energetic horse. A beautiful Arabian thoroughbred. A man further ahead makes a sweeping motion with his flashlight to indicate that riders and horses are on their way across the highway. The light from his flashlight signals “We have horses here. We are on our way across. We want to survive”. It least I hope that’s what he signals.
What is coming towards us is coming at a very high speed. It is because it is not a car coming towards us. It is a truck. I understand that the driver is doing everything he can to brake and stop the truck because the truck is starting to tilt. It looks as if the trailer on the truck is starting to catch up with the driver’s cab. He can see us clearly as I can see him. I urge my horse with everything I have. We fly forward at the same time as the truck approaches. I have time to think – Is this how my life will end?
As we reach the opposite side of the road, the truck thunders pass behind us. I can still hear the sound of the brakes. I have never been so close to death. My husband, who saw everything from the other side of the road, is in shock. Several in the group are in shock. I am in shock. They drive us back to the hotel. We get our money back. We are offered another activity. We have dinner at the best restaurant in the area, with delicious food. We celebrate life. We have survived. Not only the sharks, but also the horse riding.
The flight home is delayed. But that doesn’t matter.