Stacey’s Mini-Extravaganza to the Middle East

The Canyon

 The divers are supposed to enter the water in the light blue section…I didn’t see anyone accomplish this feat because of the wind and currents.

As I mentioned yesterday, Red Sea diving got bagged for nasal congestion which is actually OK as far as underwater pictures go as they are often best taken when snorkeling and nearer to the surface for light. The snorkeling right in Dahab is predictably mediocre but a few sites just outside of Dahab are really nice. On my first snorkeling adventure I headed out to the popular dive sites (that are also great for snorkeling) of the Canyon and the Blue Hole. The Canyon was a bit of a drag as the weather was horrendous and the currents strong. I didn’t even try to snorkel here after I watched about 20 divers get in the water and then get sucked down the beach where they got right back out again.

The Blue Hole

 I wasn’t sure if this guy was the stinging kind or not…you can’t quite tell but he was lavender-colored.

 Clam

 Long, skinny fish

 Divers below me

 Next, we headed to the Blue Hole which fortunately enjoys a more protected position than the Canyon plus the winds were starting to die down a bit so we were able to snorkel here.  The Blue Hole is a very famous and very dangerous dive site if one chooses to dive recklesslessly.  The hole is more than 250 feet deep (recreational diving stops at 100 feet) and at about 180 there is an arch that leads to the other side of the hole.  It’s very tricky and very dangerous and even extremely experienced divers have died here.  In fact, there are many plaques and memorials affixed to a cliff near the site with the names of people who have perished at this site.  Of course it is possible to dive the Blue Hole safely by not attempting the arch and merely going straight down the wall of the hole to your maximum safe depth.  Most of the first pictures you see are from the Blue Hole.

The second snorkeling trip was to Moray Gardens and the Three Pools.  Thankfully the weather had calmed considerably by the end of the week and the snorkeling was a dream here.  I got caught in several schools of fish which was fun and saw lots of other great tropical fish and healthy coral.  The latter set of photos you see are mostly from my adventure at the Three Pools.

I’m fairly light on content and heavy on photos today so I’ll call it quits for now.  St. Katherine’s Monastery is tomorrow and then I’m headed to Jordan for Petra and the desert among other, no doubt, fantastic locales.  Type to you soon!

 Reflection of the waves on the sand at the bottom

Sea slug