2019 Egypt – Day Thirteen – Deep Dive

Lionfish.

Sunday, 24 November

I did find this photo of the Lionfish online. My little camera would not take a photo this good and I am not sure I want to get that close! So the reef here is noted for it’s many Lionfish. It was quite a treat to see one during day dives. They are pretty well camouflaged and are usually in or near cracks and crevices. During the night dives, four or five large Lionfish follow each diver around. The dive instructor told us the underwater flashlights momentarily blind some of the small fish. The Lionfish follow the divers looking for an easy meal, the blinded fish. After being followed by so many Lionfish at night, I no longer look forward to seeing one during the day!

Back to today’s story. The weather forecast for today was more strong winds like yesterday. The surprise was awaking to a calm morning. I wandered to the beach about seven, and met Nicole there.  We looked at the waves and wind and decided we could get an early dive in.  Off for and early breakfast and then the north reef. This morning, we followed the north reef out for a while and then took our time coming back. When you slow down, you notice lots of little things. Some of the fish are less than a half inch long. There are little fish cleaning larger fish. You see fish pushing the sand around to find food. Sometimes you try to stay in one spot and watch the habits of some of the fish. This relaxed dive was really enjoyable.

It was a bit cooler today, mid seventies. It was enough to really get you moving quickly to get that hot shower after getting out of the water. Some of the usual sun and reading after the dive. Around one we headed over for the second dive. Nicole wanted to go out to a rock (really a small piece of reef) in 30 meters, 100 feet, of water. One hundred feet is the limit of my Advanced Open Water dive certification. We planned to swim out at around 10-12 meters, find the rock and drop down. Once we dropped down, visibility improved. There is a tire sitting on the side of the rock and there were a couple of shrimp in it. Because of the pressure at 100 feet, my dive limit was about 15 minutes. We hung out and saw some different fish and then came back up to about 12 meters and headed to the main reef. From there, it was another leisurely swim back towards shore. We saw a large stonefish and a lot of other fish. 

Then after another hot shower, more sun and reading. Coffee and cappuccino before dinner. We made the early shift. It will be an early bedtime for me. Over two hours underwater today has me a little tired. It is really calm tonight so we are planning an early morning dive. Then we will see what the weather (wind) is like before deciding on a second dive. 

2019 Egypt Album

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