Dive Report - Day 1 & 2
Red Sea, Marsa Alam, Egypt.
Day 1 - Welcome to Egypt
(Wednesday, 11th of October, 2023)
We’re two hours into the stress of watching our driver push 130 mph whilst driving over the white line in the middle of the road. Flying around corners and cutting through what I think is a dual carriageway to change directions. Egyptian music bounces around us and as bad as it is, the silence is worse. Out of nowhere the driver pulls over to the right and puts on his hazard lights.
‘Does anyone want a coffee or toilet break?’
I peer through the curtains of the minibus. There are no buildings and definitely no bathrooms. The only things in sight are three or four vans pulled over, also with their hazards on. Feeling a little uncomfortable, I exhale, relieved when everyone gives a solid ‘no’, but the driver disappears from the bus anyway. Uneasy glances are shared between the group and when the driver eventually returns we inspect him in the dim light to make sure it’s the same guy. He passes us some kind of wrapped toffee and biscuits before setting off. My side of the bus begins screeching almost immediately and I brace myself for the door to swing open. The driver ignores it. Speeds up. Concerned glances are ignored by the driver who keeps accelerating. A minute later we smell burning rubber. The screeching gets louder and we glide down the road into a halt. The driver gets out in silence and we follow suit. The tyre has completely come off the back wheel, and the metal of the wheel has dug into the road. Our 2am arrival and 8am pick up are starting to look like a missed day of diving. We watch the driver search for the jack and after multiple failed attempts to lift the bus, he finally listens to Mike and Dewi who are trying to explain what to do. My hope is dwindling and it takes a while to ascertain whether the driver even has a spare tyre. He moves some of our luggage and a spare appears. He starts kicking at the wheel and then rips off the busted tyre, whilst the rest of us stand in the darkness of the desert, holding our breaths every time a bus or lorry comes flying past. This was my first time travelling with a group of divers and I was relieved not to be alone on the side of the road.
Within the hour we were back on route, silently praying that the new wheel would survive the remainder of the journey and when we did finally arrive, the relief was palpable. The seven of us hauled our luggage up marble steps and into the air-conditioned hotel where a tray of flutes with some kind of tropical juice welcomed us. We checked in and were directed to our rooms, saying little between us other than that we’d meet for breakfast in a few hours.
Day 2 - First Ever Nitrox Dive
(Thursday, 12th of October, 2023)
Four hours after arriving, we’re walking around the all-inclusive breakfast buffet searching for coffee and snacks to take on the boat. We package away cheese sandwiches, various pastries and boiled eggs, before being picked up by another mini bus that takes us to the marina.
We arrive at our boat and are given a crate each to keep our dive equipment. Then we set about preparing for the dive: towels are placed on hangers near the stairs, BCD’s are attached to cylinders and regulators are ready to be screwed on. My dive group is diving with nitrox, so a green handheld device is passed between us to measure the nitrox mix. Having never done this before, I watch my buddy as he explains that you press the nitrox analyser against the pillar valve of the cylinder, before allowing a small amount of gas to pass from the cylinder and through the device. This measures the amount of oxygen in the mix and tells you on a little screen on the top of the device. We all have 31 or 32 mixes and set our dive computers accordingly.
Nitrox benefits divers by allowing increased bottom time, reduced tiredness and a reduced risk of decompression sickness (DCI). It’s essentially a blend of oxygen and nitrogen where the percentage of oxygen is higher than 22% which in turn corresponds to a lower percentage of nitrogen. It’s also a quick hangover fix according to one of my dive friends. As part of my theory, I’m familiar with nitrox but have yet to use it for a dive.
The boat ventures out and I’m glad for the tarp that shades us on the top deck. It’s already sweltering and it's only 9am. When we arrive at Shoni Vigber, our dive site for the day, our guide pulls out a whiteboard with detailed illustrations and begins explaining the dive plan.
We kit up and one by one we step off the back of the boat and cluster on the surface. Once everyone’s in, the instructor turns his thumb downwards and the ten of us mirror him before deflating. We briefly stop at six metres to make sure everyone’s buoyancy is ok, which is when we witness an elderly lady somehow falling sideways and crashing into a large fan coral. The rest of us watch the mess of flapping arms and legs as she tries to control her buoyancy, and we grimace at the broken pieces of coral falling to the floor. The instructor takes her to the surface and we wait for them both to come down again. With everyone ready, we set off on our dive.
As a British diver, it’s always nice to dive somewhere with good visibility. I can see all of my fellow divers around me and further on into the blue. We weave between panes of sand and coral that look like broccoli-tinged blue. Someone points to a camouflaged shell that soars up to reveal a small turtle that paddles past. Later we see a Giant moray that dances along the sand. Its skin has an enchanting geometric design of grey and black and it glides with understated elegance. Me and my buddy make eye contact. Since I’ve started diving he’s always threatened to poke a moray next to me. Thankfully it disappears under a crag. I can tell that Dewi’s laughing. Small pinnacles appear and we swim towards them. Each one has a hundred Sea goldies clustered together. There’s a brilliant lilac cauliflower coral that colour contrasts with the fish. Yellow fingers mix with green maze and other abstract-shaped hard coral, creating dimension and as much variety as the miniature fishes that dance around them. We move on and see a Blue spotted stingray and then a Parrotfish. I hear clicking and I turn to see the instructor pointing up. I tilt my head and see a silver cloud of open-mouthed mackerel coming over us. There are thousands of them and they couldn’t care less that we’re here.
I think that’s one of my favourite things about the ocean. The sea life goes about their day without question of the various creatures they might encounter. Whether it be a Giant moray, shawl of fish or neoprene human. In contrast, we float in awe at their wonder and the vastness of the sea.
Continue reading… link to pt.2 here.
For visuals head over to my TikTok
This trip was taken with Emperor Divers dive centre. Website Here.
This was an annual abroad trip organised by my local dive club.
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