diving | Blue Lapis Road

SECOND DIP IN THE RED SEA, Dahab, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

2006.05.26.

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.

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.

October 11, 2020 | Categories: Africa: Middle East, Egypt, Middle East 2006, Sinai | Tags: Aqaba, coral, Dahab, diving, Eel Garden, Egypt, fish, Gulf, Islands, reef, sea | Leave a comment

A DIP IN THE RED SEA & FERRY TO EGYPT, Aqaba, Jordan

2006.05.24.

After the legendary lost city of Petra and epic desert of Wadi Rum, we finally arrived in Aqaba, Jordan’s only coastal city right by the Gulf of Aqaba at the northern end of the Red Sea. Serving as an essential port for the Middle East, Aqaba is also popular among tourists, thanks to its regular ferry services to Egypt and the world famous Red Sea coral reefs in the area. Before heading over to the land of pharaohs, we decided to spend a relaxing day in Aqaba.

In the morning, we took a shuttle bus from Crystal Hotel to the Royal Diving Centre. After paying a 10 JD entrance fee, my friend and I, who had never dived before, went for an introductory session. Then we spent the afternoon snorkeling with a disposable underwater camera. We saw some nice corals and a lot of colourful fish. We snorkeled for a few hours and returned to the diving centre. Upon leaving we tried to get the refund of the entrance fee. Their policy was that whoever diving at the centre would not require to pay the admission. The staff hesitated for a while and told us the cashier was closed for the day. We had no choice but to return the next morning. The next morning we returned to the Royal Diving Centre for our refund. The staff tried to avoid us. We expressed our discontent and at last a manager came out with a big smile and gave us the refund. Leaving the diving club behind, our hired taxi took us to the passenger ferry terminal. It took us over an hour to go through the customs and deal with the departure tax. At last we were led to board a shuttle bus that drove onto the ferry along with the passengers.

Once on board, we found the Egyptian custom officer to stamp our passports. The ferry didn’t leave the dock until way over 11:30, over two hours since we got to the terminal. At last, the ferry sailed slowly southwest towards the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, with Saudi Arabia to our east. At around 14:30 we arrived at the Egyptian port of Nuweiba. The hectic scene of Nuweiba was our first impression on Egypt. At the minbus station we met three Australians. The six of us hired a minivan to Dahab, the popular backpacker resort at the Egyptian side of the Gulf of Aqaba.

Dahab seemed pretty quiet to us, probably because of the recent terrorist bombing a month ago on April 24th, which claimed 23 lives in total. The town looked very young and causal. At the station we met Alex, a staff from Bishibishi Garden Village, a relatively new hotel in Dahab. We met Jimmy the owner and decided to stay at one of their air conditioned triple rooms. After dinner, we strolled around Dahab, dropped by an internet cafe, and bought another disposable underwater camera for the following day.