Rasha Sadek converses with nature at Nuweiba's La Sirène I'm usually not into the idea of spending vacations in the desert with a sleeping bag rolled up my back and answering nature's call in the wilderness. Despite the amount of passion I carry in my heart for nature, I can only harmonise with it provided the adequate and sufficient basic needs are available. These include a neat bed, hot water in a tub, electricity and television. With these commodities at hand, nature and I get along very well. La Sirène in Nuweiba seemed to be the perfect place combining direct contact with the very core of the cosmos and a 70cm-above-the-ground sleep followed by a morning hot shower. Located on the ever-charming Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba, La Sirène is Spanish for siren, although many ignorant of the language of Mr Señor -- like myself, of course -- would immediately translate it as serenity. Well, at La Sirène, serenity is synonymous. Enjoying vacuity, or deriving one's identity from the surrounding nature is a concept understood only by those who can fluently converse in the language of nature; the sounds of waves which differ, if you listen carefully, in day and night; anticipating the rushing tide that occurs every six hours; the picturesque painting of the moon surrounded by ever-clear stars and the all-time favourite phenomenon of shooting stars. The vicious city forbids you to sink into these delights. How with smoke, horns and people with obnoxious attitudes can you look up the sky! La Sirène directly overlooks the Gulf of Aqaba with a beach front of 210 metres, shaded with palm fronds and loungers. You can spot the resort from Nuweiba's main road by the bundle of eight palm trees at the entrance. There are 44 rooms in the resort, spaciously separated, simplicity highly taken into consideration at the time of construction, with air conditioning, minibar and satellite television. The restaurant offers all kinds of international and Oriental plates -- no exaggeration; the best I've ever tasted. And La Sirène takes excellent care of its guests. You can just tell the cook what you want to have for lunch or dinner, even if it's not on the menu. As well, according to your mood of the day, you can have your dinner in the restaurant, at the terrace, candlelit on the beach front, in the Bedouin tent, also inches away from the sea, or just anywhere you want. La Sirène is cuddled between the Sinai mountains and the Gulf of Aqaba, which at the width of 17km banks Saudi Arabia and its mountains on the other side. The mountains are another story. During the early hours of the morning they are invisible to the extent you think you're watching an infinite open sea. Shortly before sunset, sunrays convert their colour from brown to captivating red and at night you can vaguely see their silhouette. So you have changing views the day round. Can it get any better? Take off your shoes and feel the cool particles of sand massaging your feet. You can never imagine how the simplest of nature can have a vast affect. Even the sight of the leafless "white tree" that seems to have come from the Ice Age is breathtaking. Enjoying the company of oneself, as Hussein Badrawi, owner of La Sirène, puts it, is a concept I've been running away from my entire life. But there I faced down my fear, discovering that if one is in harmony with the surrounding nature, then one is one's best and most delightful companion. The most you could do on a quiet La Sirène morning is read a book, lounge in the shade or take a sunbath. If you opt for more then get your feet wet and swim 100 metres to the house reef for snorkelling or diving. By now you all know how the Red Sea is world famous for its marvels of underwater creatures, multi-coloured corals and the infinite species of fish, and Nuweiba is no exception. You don't have to worry about your gear, for all can be arranged at La Sirène's diving centre. If you, however, decide you're in the mood for more action, La Sirène will organise for you a day trip in the Sinai desert via jeeps to perhaps watch the Coloured Canyon, or arrange overnight trips, jeeps or camels, to sleep under the blanket of stars and share authentic dinner with Bedouins, or just tailor safari trips that meet your requirements. My favourite part of La Sirène was sitting at the open air bar at the beach at night. Darkness and natural lighting provided the perfect décor complemented by the music of waves and picturesque skies, along with my new hobby -- walking barefoot. If you're in Nuweiba, or Taba to its north, don't dare miss out on the stretch that links the two resort towns. A 60km drive will get you to the mountains with their varying colours, shapes and heights on one side, and the spurred camps, resorts and hotels overlooking the gulf on the other. Halfway between Taba and Nuweiba, there's a citadel-shaped restaurant on top of the mountain and further down the road, you'll encounter Ras Shitan, or the Devil's Head. This is a resort camp named after a nearby rock shaped like the head of a demon, or an alien. Depends on the way you see it. Just like the hill close by that could look like a woman's breasts or a camel's two-humped back. The whole trip to this part of land will work wonders for your imagination. Closer to Taba, there's a place called the Fjord, which is a round pool of water from the gulf that carved its way into the mountains. Be there by noon and marvel at the different shades and colours of the shallow water. Definitely not to miss. Nuweiba is 180km north of Sharm El-Sheikh and approximately 60km south of Taba. Its very name means the bubbling spring in Arabic. What began as a 7km-long settlement of barren isolation with no infrastructure has become a promising tourist destination. The downtown area is built around the former Moshav Neviot, a Jewish settlement established during the Israeli occupation in 1971. Its significance lies in marking the tribal boundary between the Tarabin tribe in the north and the southern Muzeina tribe. Up till now Bedouin tribes of the area respect tribal territories. La Sirène, the siren, or Al-Naddaha, is a mythical woman who in Sinai has attracted men to the beauty of the peninsula. They keep returning to the place where she called out to them. In Greek mythology, sirens are probably best known for their part in Homer's Odyssey where their song was supposed to lure sailors and lead them to their death. Alternatively, the song might lull them to sleep, and then the sirens could kill them easily. Odysseus had his crew plug their ears with wax so as not to be lured by the sirens' songs. Named Parthenope, Ligea, and Leucosia, the stunningly beautiful sirens were the daughters of either the sea god Phorcys or the river god Achelous. In art, sirens are depicted as human females head to waist, and birdlike below. Before coming back to Cairo, I believed I had heard one of their songs. PRACTICAL INFORMATION: Accommodation at La Sirène is divided into A style rooms, first row on the beach, $55 for double rooms. B style rooms are $60, C rooms for $50. The prices mentioned are on bed and breakfast basis. Egyptians are charged LE180 for double rooms and LE120 for singles. A supplement of LE40 is added for lunch or dinner. For more information contact +2 069 350 0701/2. For diving courses and safaris visit [email protected] or contact +2 069 350 0705. To get to Nuweiba from Cairo, you can either take a plane to Sharm El-Sheikh and then a bus or taxi to Nuweiba, or take the Super Jet or East Delta buses to get there directly. The bonus of the latter is that about an hour before you get to Nuweiba from Al-Nekhl road, the mountain formations are unbelievably dazzling. Super Jet trips to Nuweiba cost LE70 at night and LE60 during the day. On the way back to Cairo, East Delta operates instead. Tickets cost LE50.
