Another day of snorkeling. I rented the snorkel and flippers at Big Blue, and headed to a dive site called the Eel Garden. I snorkeled in several lagoons at Eel Garden. Apparently the reefs at Dahab was significantly better than the ones in Aqaba. At a depth of 3-5m, I saw an abundance of marine life including fish, sea urchins, and of course, coral of different colours. In the afternoon we snorkeled at another dive site called the Islands. The reefs and marine wildlife there were equally beautiful. At one point, I passed by an area of open water towards the beautiful coral mounts. The coral mounts were spectacular. Perhaps those mounts could be what the locals consider as the underwater “islands”.
After the “Islands”, we went to the southern tip of Dahab to do some more snorkeling. There was not much corals in the area, and the water was a lot deeper and colder, despite it was 40 to 45 degrees Celsius above water. On our way to the south beaches, we passed by dozens of resort hotels facing the sea. Perhaps due to the recently terrorist bombing, all resorts seemed extremely quiet. We didn’t see any foreign guests, but only local staff killing time with card games and gossips under the shade. In the evening we returned to Bishibishi for dinner and took some rest before departing for our tour to Mount Sinai.
Reaching the gap between coral clusters, I could feel the stream of much cooler water from the open sea.Under the 40 degree Celsius heat of early summer, it was much better to stay in the water.Snorkelling aimlessly over the reefs was one of the most relaxing thing I have experienced throughout the trip.The corals seemed pretty diverse in the waters of Dahab. In fact, according to some recent research, the coral reefs in the Red Sea have fare much better than other reefs in the world to avoid bleaching in the rising temperature. Some researchers suggest that corals in the Gulf of Aqaba actually came from the warmer tropical seas to the south. In the typically cooler water of the Gulf of Aqaba, the corals actually have inherited a much bigger tolerance of rising sea temperature than other tropical reefs around the world.At this rate, the corals in the Gult of Aqaba could be the last surviving reefs by year 2100.The fish I saw at Dahab was amazing diverse. It was just a joy to linger in the water near Dahab.In 2006, memory of Pixar’s Finding Nemo was still fresh when I snorkeled in the Red Sea. The majestic coral formations near Dahab didn’t disappoint us for even a single moment.A school of blue fish near Dahab.An even larger school of fish beneath me.It was always a curious moment when I reached the edge of a coral reef.Wandering in the maze of corals at Dahab was such a delight that hopefully I could have a chance to return there once again.
Blue Lapis Road 