On a very basic small group trip to Egypt a few years ago, I was intimidated by two things on the itinerary. First the Nile cruise, and the possibility of sleeping on the deck of a felucca side by side with everyone else, seemed daunting, but turned out to be really fun. The second challenge was the 4,854-foot climb up to the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Katherine, that was theoretically built around the burning bush that spoke to Moses, to view the sunset. The monastery was built around 560 CE by the Roman Emperor Justinian and is the oldest Christian monastery in continuous existence. It has been a Christian pilgrimage site since the 4thCentury. I was determined to walk the entire way and not have to hire one of the ubiquitous camels to transport me. In the end both my husband and I made it up, without the help of a camel, in fine form. We made the trek back down in total darkness, holding on to each other and others the entire way. This experience, though not easy, was one of the trip’s highlights.