Day 6: Dahab - It's Been Two Years

Apologies for no pictures for the next two posts. I've spent a lot of time underwater and don't have an underwater camera.

I last went diving about two years ago in the Marshall Islands. I loved the experience and was really excited to go here, as it's reputed to be one of the best diving destinations in the world. My group consisted of two Danes and another American studying in Egypt. Our divemaster was an Egyptian named Saad.

Our first dive was a light dive designed to be a refresher course since all of us had not dived in over six months. The coral here is magnificent. Marshall Islands coral is bigger, but the coral here stands out for two reasons:

1) It abounds at shallower depths, meaning that colors are still visible before they become washed out of the spectrum due to water depth.

2) It literally grows right off the shore. Boats are unnecessary. There are no dangerous reef walls with huge waves crashing on you as you gingerly walk in with fins and gear.

The marine life is abundant, though obviously quite different from that of the Marshall Islands. Namely, it's smaller. It's a tropical fish tank, not an aquarium.

Our second dive was to a canyon a little north of where I am staying. Again, the site was literally 10 meters off the shore. We walked in and were where we wanted to be within seconds. It sure beats riding a boat for an hour and becoming cold in between dives. The coral was again gorgeous, but the highlight was seeing four octopi chilling out. They change colors when threatened, which is a very cool sight.

Evening was dedicated to what all my evenings have become dedicated to on this trip, watching the World Cup. It's a pretty surreal sensation watching it projected onto a bedsheet in a pillow room with Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea in the background. 

In news that will warm the hearts of a select few that read this blog, I met a girl today who lived in Pohnpei. Even more heartwarming? I identified her by the skirt she was wearing.