Egypt - Christmas on the Red Sea

On December 23, Don and I left for Egypt for a week of liveaboard scuba diving on the Red Sea. We flew into Marsa Alam and boarded the Hurricane at Port Ghalib. The first evening was spent in port and consisted off unpacking, getting our dive gear ready, and having a briefing about the week to come. Don and I were given one of the 2 cabins right in the front of the boat - the best on the boat. Other than the one foot by one foot shower (although I later found that this was actually an advantage as the close walls ensured you stayed standing while showering when the boat was moving), the cabin was actually pretty decent. We had a TV, DVD player, fridge, safe, storage space to spare, and two beds (one of which was their idea of a double but wasn't all that much bigger than a twin). It was cozy, but it would do!

The Hurricane

Our cabin

Paddington Bear - picked up at Gatwick Airport - he enjoyed the trip immensely and even got his Open Water certification

Paddington Bear - filling in for the boat captain

OK, we didn't escape Christmas completely
This is the bar/living room/entertainment room on the upper deck, down the stairs is the dining area

Irish Dave

Breakfast

Listening intently to Jo and Karin (the guides)

Despite the decorations, Christmas came and went without event. It was much the same as every other day on the boat - which was pretty much like being in boot camp! At 6:00 am, one of the guides, Karin, would bang on our door and yell "Morning!" We had about 10-15 minutes to get up, get the cameras ready, get the contacts in the eyes, go to the bathroom, and get changed for diving. A bell would announce that it was dive briefing time. Then it was dive 1. After dive 1 the bell would announce that it was breakfast time. You may or may not have time to get changed depending on whether you were first or last in the water. Nearly all the diving that we did required that we get into a Zodiac and roll off for the start of the dive. Getting into the Zodiac proved to be interesting at times because of the rough water. Sometimes we got picked up by a Zodiac, sometimes we made our way back to the boat. After breakfast we would have some time to relax then the bell would ring to tell us that it was the briefing for the next dive. The next bell was for lunch. Then the next one was for the briefing for dive 3. The next bell announced dinner. It was rather regimented! I was sick of the bell by about day 2! Did I really pay THAT much money for this?!

"Schedule" aside, the diving was good. Some of the best dives were just hanging off the rope at the back of the boat while Oceanic White Tip Sharks circled around. We also spent a lot of time watching an Oceanic from the deck of the boat as he really enjoyed it when the boat dumped the sewage in the evening. We also saw Grey Reef Sharks and Silky Sharks. After Dave and Dave claimed that they had seen Hammerheads on one dive, I was determined to find some also. I wasn't sure whether or not to believe them... after all, Irish Dave was a bit of a prankster, having "kidnapped" Paddington Bear from the reef when I had left him for a minute to chase a giant moray eel. But Don and I were persistent and were rewarded - we were the only other people on the trip to see Hammerheads. I was too excited to think to be afraid! Some of the other highlights were creatures that were new to me - dolphins!, lionfish, guitar sharks (actually rays), and black masked pufferfish. I also really enjoyed "Anemone Wall" which had tons of goofy "clown" fish. All in all it was different diving than I had done before and I really enjoyed it.

The "downside" to the trip was that Don and I were sick for most of it. 1/3 of the people on the boat suffered from "Egyptian belly" during the week. It was brutal!! Fever, nausea, cramps, and diarrhea. For a couple of days I am not even sure how I moved let alone dove! A lot of drugs and determination not to miss out I suppose. We found out after the trip that there was a "problem" with the water purification system on the boat and were given vouchers for money off on another trip. Little consolation after the fact!!

Underwater photos and more trip details to come...