Sunday, 17 November

The wind subsided overnight and stayed fairly calm all day. I was up to watch the sunrise. Nicole got her swim in early and we met for breakfast at seven fifteen. The usual assortment for breakfast. My favorites seem to be coffee and juice and then a small sample of everything else. Coffee is instant but it takes care of my caffeine fix. I did not go for eggs this morning but I still ate a little too much.

We met for the morning dive at eight thirty. It takes about thirty minutes to gather your equipment, put it all on and do your buddy check. It is great to dive with a buddy you know who is not in a hurry and safety conscious. Our dive plan was to work on my buoyancy some more and try to slow my air consumption. I am an air hog and Nicole only sips her air. We also made plans for me to use her spare regulator so we could stay down longer.

It is impossible to get lost here. There is a north reef and a south reef with shore entry for both and the resort is between the reefs. Worst case is that you come out at an entry other than the one you planned.

We went down and found the Pyramids. These are two tubular structures shaped like Pyramids, remember, I am in Egypt. One is about three feet tall, he other about six feet tall. The Pyramids help orient you to other sites of interest. We planned to visit another structure called the Garage. This is like a table about fifteen feet long and six to eight feet tall. There are all kinds of coral growing on the structure and you can swim under it. There were hundreds of fish at the Garage. It felt like being in the aquarium section of the pet store. No large fish but an incredible assortment of colors and shapes. Fun to swim under as well. From there, it was off to one of the rocks. A new assortment of fish and a medium sized moray eel. We went out the north reef and back. Buoyancy was much better. I was able to make my safety stop at five meters. Air consumption, not so good.

Spent some time in the sun on the beach trying to finish my book and taking a photo to send to Dolora. We made plans for a one o’clock afternoon dive. The dive plan continued to be working on buoyancy and air consumption.  We planned to go to the Pyramids which would orient us to the Garage and spend some time there. From there, we planned to go to one of the larger rocks and then back to the north reef. The Garage, again, did not disappoint. The small schools of different colored fish would let you swim right through them without scattering. There are many tubes attached to the structure for the coral and fish. Nicole found a shrimp in one of the tubes. He was big enough to eat but only one. It was fantastic to see the structure from the top and all sides this time. From here it was off to a medium rock. The “rocks” are not really rocks but small unattached pieces of coral reef. Along with the assortment of fish was another moray eel. The moray eels, Muräne in German, are Nicole’s favorites. The dive lasted an hour and we were both cold at the end. It is hard to believe you can get cold in 81 degree water while wearing a wetsuit. I am quickly gaining back my confidence in the water.

Had the regular drink at the bar before dinner, coffee. It seemed a little cool after the sun went down but there is no wind. We decided to do the second seating at dinner and were easily able to find an open table. Discussed our dive plan for tomorrow. The early morning and afternoon dives seemed to avoid some of the crowd.  There is plenty of room for all the divers on the reef. It does get busy at times inside the preparation area. For now, we plan to continue with the earlier times.

Talked to Dolora for a bit while she was in the car returning from her weekend excursion. Tonight, my cell service worked fine.

2019 Egypt Album