We decided to dive instead of climbing Mt. Sinai Thursday night because we were told by a girl who had climbed it a couple of days ago that the monastery was closed on Friday. We decided to do one dive in the morning and rest in the afternoon then climb Friday night so we could see the monastery on Sat.
We walked over to the dive shop without Mark, who decided he needed more relaxation in his vacation. Joe had gone over earlier and told them we were going to be diving with them again, and that he was going to do two dives (he decided to maximize diving and give up Mt. Sinai) and the others were going to do one dive (so they wouldn't be too tired to climb Mt. Sinai). So when we arrived, all our gear was ready and our dive master, Anne from Switzerland, was waiting.She suggested that we go to a spot North of Dahab in a marine sanctuary where Kim and Brie could relax while Joe did his second dive. But she said that they were bringing along a second tank for Kim and Brie, "just in case". We agreed.
The first spot was called Moray Gardens, because it is common to see moray eels there. We loaded up all the SCUBA gear into the back of a small pickup truck and climbed into the back of a very old ratty jeep and took off. We were stopped at three checkpoints along the way by the Tourism & Antiquities Police. At the major checkpoint, they needed to see our dive master's certification card. The ride was on sand, dirt, rocks and a little pavement--very bumpy! The engine oil light would come on whenever we would slow down, speed up, turn right, turn left, go downhill, or go uphill! Joe urged them to get some oil (where in the middle of the desert?!?!?) and add it before our trip back.
It's so striking with the blue, teal water of the Red Sea on one side and stark desert leading up to craggy mountains on the other. We stopped at a great casual thatched roof restaurant on the sand in front of the entry, put on our gear, and walked into the water.
Within minutes, we were euphoric. It was like swimming inside a fabulous aquarium!
After the first dive, Kim and Brie decided to skip Mt. Sinai also, and dive a second time (after a relaxing lunch of felafel, hummus and foul. Our second dive was 5 minute jeep ride away, Om Sid. The jeep was nowhere to be seen, so we rode in the back of the pickup truck, amongst the SCUBA gear. We would get airborne from time to time, even though the driver was driving slowly and carefully. But, no one fell out :-)
We saw a couple of grey moray eels, lots of lion fish, a split-tail ray, a crocodile fish, a cleaner shrimp, wrasse of all different colors, sizes and shapes, unicorn fish, grouper, puffer fish (including one really cute one who was sleeping), clown fish, pipe fish, angelfish, sergeant fish (who swam out to greet us even before we put our fins on), scorpionfish, etc., etc. We saw a couple of octopi, including one large one who swam through the water while we were watching him. He landed on a rock of different color than the one where he started, and re-camouflaged himself perfectly within seconds--amazing! We saw some giant clams whose insides looked like the large octopus--an interesting brown pattern with a huge siphon.
The variety of coral was amazing. We particularly liked the table coral, which looks like a tree wherein all the branches are horizontal at the same height, providing a "table" look. There were always interesting fish lurking below, in the "shade".
Our consensus was that the Red Sea rivals the Great Barrier Reef and is a "must dive" location for all SCUBA divers.
The jeep was waiting for us when we returned to the restaurant to get our stuff and pay our lunch bill. So we crossed our fingers, hopped in, and made it back to the hotel without incident.
We reunited with Mark and had our afternoon swim and beer :). We all agreed to skip the climb up Mt Sinai--Joe has a weird, very tender blister and large bruise on the bottom of one foot and Brie has a tender toe--plus we learned that we had misinformation and the monastery is closed Saturday, not Friday.
We opted for a leisurely dinner out at a nice seafood restaurant, Sea Bride, and a bit of bargaining with the shop keepers. Another great day in Dahab-really like this place!
