The Red Sea

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It was a couple of hours to Dahab and an experience we won't forget.  Most of us fell asleep on the bus including the driver and  it was Ree's quick observation that saved our necks.

Dahab was a pleasant place, very hippyish and laid back and it was the last stop on the tour so we had a couple more days to enjoy our friends company as Vaughan and I would be leaving the tour here and not going back to Cairo with the others. Christine and Sarah also stayed on and Christine was coming with us to Sharm and onto the Liveaboard while Sarah stayed to do her Open Water.   After checking into our hotel we collapsed by the pool for the afternoon. There wasn't much to the beaches but the atmosphere of Dahab was very chilled and there were numerous cafe's and restaurants to enjoy and not to mention shopping ! Our hotel was very nice, right on the sea front and we had a dive shop so Vaughan and I booked ourselves in for a dive for the following day. We were very much looking forward to diving Dahab's well known dive site the Blue Hole and Canyon.  Every night we were in Dahab we all went out together to a nice restaurant.

The diving is amazing

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Monday was a day of activity, Vaughan and I went diving and the others went snorkeling and some went Quad Biking aswell. The Blue Hole was a few kilometers away north of Dahab and an interesting jeep ride along the coast road squeezing through canyon overhangs was fun.  Both the blue Hole and Canyon were shore dives, the Blue Hole was literally off the beach.  All along the beach was littered with restaurants and cafe's and you didn't have far to gear up and get into the water.

The first dive was the Canyon and our first taste of Red Sea underwater life. It was wonderful, the fish and coral were very colorful. I enjoyed the dive until I got into the Canyon and panicked not something I was happy with, I will have to go back and do that dive again someday.  Our second dive we walked along a small cliff carrying all our gear and descended into a gap in some rocks which took us under a underwater arch. We were then swimming along a gorgeous wall of coral until finally we ended up in the famous Blue Hole.  Above us we could see the snorkelers and below us nutty divers that decided to brave the deep abyss ! In between dives we enjoyed lunch and relaxation in the bedouin style restaurant and caught up with the others. Vaughan decided to do his Nitrox Course so he planned that for the Tuesday before we went to Sharm on the Wednesday.  Tuesday was also the day our friends were leaving so it was sad to see them go.  Tuesday I relaxed and went shopping while Vaughan did his Nitrox course.  Christine myself and  Sarah met up and went for a nice lunch along the waterfront.  In the evening we all went out for a nice dinner at an Indian Balti Restaurant and I ended up getting very sick from it so Wednesday morning was a complete write off for me.  Wednesday was also our departure down to Sharm and we had no Kimo to help us with transport !

Tom, myself, Vaughan and Christine
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We relied on the hotel to give us details on the bus and they organised a taxi for us.  We left about 3pm in the afternoon as we were getting on the Liveaboard that evening. One of the chaps from the hotel came with us in the taxi so he could help us with tickets and getting on the right bus, but of course he wanted a kickback for it !  The bus ticket was very cheap, the ride was comfortable and scenery very nice.  On arriving at Sharm there was more checkpoints hardly suprising after the bomb attack earlier in the year. Sharm came as a surprise to us it was modern and  flower beds dominated the central reservations and roundabouts, it was so different to the rest of Egypt.  Vaughan and I didn't take to it at all as it had no character and the main centre of Sharm looked like the main street of Disneyland ! We got to our hotel which we were very impressed with, some luxury at last ! I had a nasty shock when I discovered that my dive gear (Mask,Snorkel and Dive Computer) plus my fleece jacket was missing.  I had it all in a separate bag and I must of left it back on the bus. I was devastated especially with loosing my computer as it was expensive.  The Dive shop were pretty good and helped with getting in contact with the bus company

Ree and I share a fish feast
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and stopping it at the next town to get it searched but to no avail.  So either someone stole it on the bus or I left it in the Taxi.  I dived the next three days without my computer and borrowing the Divemasters masks because the hire ones were crap.  I was fortunate that the insurance paid up when I got home and I have since got myself and new computer and new fleece jacket ! There were 10 of us on the dive boat two Ozzies (three if you count Tom !) one Norwegian, Christine (USA) and the rest were poms plus an extra one if you count me !  We all got on well and had a great time.  We did three days of good diving with the highlight being the Thistlegorm Wreck an old British War Ship sunk in Ras Mohammed National Park.  We dived the wreck twice because of its sheer size and there  was so  much to see.  The first dive we went around the ship and the second dive we went inside it and discovered that it was packed with motorbikes, jeeps and all sorts of stuff. There was alot of divers and there was often a queue to get through doorways and into other rooms, alot of clunking of tanks could be heard ! The coral and fish life especially in the morning dives was wonderful.  We were fed well on the boat and the best shower we had in Egypt so far was on that boat !  One evening we had Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate American ThanksGiving which was really nice. We left the boat as friends and met up for dinner in Naama Bay.  Sharm was a very glitzy place at night, packed with western holiday makers mainly Europeans.  Egyptians were far and few between !  Our English friends told us of this English bar to meet at - Camel Bar.  The bar was packed with British Memorabilia and even had Wales/Australia rugby match playing on the TV !  We did plenty of eating and drinking that night !   The next day we had a relaxing day lazing by the pool, Christine was heading back to Dahab late afternoon to meet up with Sarah so it was another sad farewell.  Vaughan and I met up with Jackie, Pommy Sarah and JP at a nice restaurant we had booked at Sharm Al Mayer not too far from our hotel, it was the last time we would see them as they were going to Luxor the next day.  Tuesday was our last day in Sham our flight was 7pm so we spent another day around the pool and went into Naama bay for lunch and visit to the police station so I could get a report for my insurance claim.  Being inside an Egyptian police station was an experience not too many tourists get to see !  they weren't fancy offices with airconditioning and computers it was very basic environment. On our trip back to Cairo we met a nice English couple in the airport and ended up sharing a taxi with them in Cairo.  They were both in the travel business and were staying at the 5* Raddisson at a very cheap price.  We went back to our little 3* The King Hotel where we met up with Sarah and Kimo.