\n Israel

Mt Sinai
Indiana Johnes (sic), a mountain guru and me. The reason we're so dressed was out of sheer necessity rather than vanity. Climbing Mt Sinai by night boasts the most beautiful night skies I've ever seen in my life. There were like, zillions of stars and we made wishes every five minutes because that was the frequency of shooting-star sightings. It was, however, bitterly, bitterly cold. I'd reckon it was sub-10 degrees and we were practically naked in our sweater, t-shirt and jeans combo. It wasn't long before looking cool gave way looking cold and we were putting on everything we brought along in our backpacks. 

And it wasn't a pleasant climb to the top. It was pitch black but for a half-moon, our torchlights were running out of battery power, one of us had a twisted ankle, we didn't bring enough water, if we stopped the sweat stung our skins in the frosty wind, our dear mountain guide deserted us before reaching the top, all of us were panting heavily, and when we reached the top, all the little huts were already filled with sleeping hikers so we had to sleep on bare rock. 

By morning though, we were treated to one of the most awe-inspiring sunrises ever and our pains evaporated with the lifting of the mist.

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