Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters

Dahab Dive 127
see all photos »

Dahab – 2-19-07

From very dry to very wet. That was the turn of events from yesterday to today. The desert is amazing, but to me hiking and sightseeing has its limits. I need to be doing something, and today it’s all about the liquid blue. After two somewhat disappointing dive performances in Sharm I needed to redeem myself and headed off to the reefs of Dahab to do so. Shore diving is de rigueur here in Dahab which had me a bit concerned. Walking through the surf on slippery rocks with 30 pounds on your back can be a bit tricky but I needn’t have worried myself at all. It was a very short walk out and a quick drop to the reef. Both dives were pretty easy and shallow but I think that’s what I needed to get my head back in the game.

Dahab Dive 008
see all photos »

As with a lot of sports diving is very mental and if you can’t keep calm at depths things can get dangerous quick. Keeping things smooth and finding your comfort level is key, and I just hadn’t found that sweet spot on all my recent dives. Today I did. One thing is certain though, I need to shave this darn moustache before I get on that liveaboard boat in Thailand in a couple of months. I fought through the leaky mask until it wasn’t a concern and by the end of dive two had my confidence well back in hand. It felt good. And I saw a lot of cool stuff too. See the pics because I’m too tired to describe a 1001 fishes.

Dahab Dive 039
see all photos »

As far as the town of Dahab goes, very cool, very laid back, very empty. I’ve been hearing about Dahab for months now and was really looking forward to it. It’s the new Goa (famous backpacker town in India) they say. Well, it seemed a bit touristy and much pricier than mainland Egypt if you ask me but still cool. There’s literally no one here though. Most restaurants are empty, as is the boardwalk. It is winter I guess. The one thing that is really cool is the Bedouin lifestyle thing they have going on. All the cafes are all styled like desert camps with rugs and pillows on the floor where you can drink tea and smoke the sheesha pipe. It seems to me though that a lot of the backpackers might be enhancing their fruit flavored tobacco. At least that remains of the old hippie culture. I didn’t partake in the sheesha smoke but I did enjoy a meal sprawled out on the pillows next to a fire with local cats trying to steal bread from the table and today watching an amazing sunset after diving. Not a bad way to find your mojo rising.

Dahab Dive 032
see all photos »

Diver Down, and out.

Bill