I return to Egypt for my second look; diving the Red Sea again. Having enjoyed a previous visit here years ago with my sons,,,,,the timing seems right for my return.
Always chasing an adventure..and Egypt definitely delivers !!
Istanbul to Cario was an easy quick flight. As I land at the airport I’m reminded of just how Brown everything is here in Egypt. Brown desert sands and Brown buildings are the rule!
The Cairo airport is empty, a shock. Nothing like Istanbul, nothing like my experience here in Egypt years ago,,wow, Egypt doesn’t seem have tourist’s as they have to Turkiye. Curious. No PCR or Antigen test required, they never asked for my vacation proof…optional masks around the Cario airport - So it’s not due to Rona restrictions,,just the ongoing fear of safety. A problem Egypt continues to battle for sure.
Onto Hurghada, a small city on the Red Sea (160k people). My live aboard dive boat departs from there.
But a surprise awaits me in Hurghada. The local airport ‘police’ decide to have a chat. Somehow, I am targeted. I never figure the reason out. After 4-5 x-rays to even get to Hurghada, passing thru Cairo immigration, the Egyptian Visa process,,,it seems I’m suspicious. My passport and visa are examined by 5-6 different agents.
Every single item of my luggage is touched, examined. I answer questions about much of it. Yes, I travel with all my dive gear … but how can that be unusual in Egypt? …. Where diving the Red Sea is a main attraction.
Clearly this is not about catching the bad guys,,,, maybe just using me as practice? Bored? Or someone targeted me for some unknown reason. I’ll never know.
After several hours, I’m released into the darkness surrounding the small regional airport. No taxi’s,,, and I’m thinking my arranged transfer is long gone!! But, with a good change of fortuna, my ride has waited. Good karma hasn’t abandoned me completely!!! I get to my hotel … yeah!
Unfortunately I’ve selected the wrong hotel!! Ahh, that happens sometimes jumping around the planet. This hotel is designed for European families, with young children, spending the day on the lazy river and water slide, eating nonstop and drinking until their drunk at the open bar. Live n learn!!
But, I escape the hotel and manage to explore Hurghada one evening. Visiting a beautiful Mosque, meeting a precious little girl and her mother there! – that photo is the best!!
Stopping at a local roadside Café and sharing Shisha with my Taxi driver. Asking about life here, about the chaos of no tourism for 2 years, of no money, no job, no help from the government,,, he knows of NO ONE that even got sick from Rona,,and is resentful of the Lockdown. Forever distrustful of the West. Real people, real experiences. Makes you wonder.
Out of the tourist hotel finally!! It’s Time to dive. A week on the Red Sea, aboard the Aggressor II. I’m back in my element, and it’s my motivation to be in Egypt.
Although my first few days in Egypt didn’t go to plan,, the dive adventure more than compensates!! 16 wrecks, so many I lost track. I had to ask for a list. 😊
The famous wreck - ‘Thistlegorm’ is the highlight. I do four dives on this giant,,I could have done 100. Night diving of deep wrecks are intense adventures….Watch that No DeCo time!!! I love it.
Photography of wrecks fails for me,, but I keep trying. Without a wide angle lens and better equipment,,the limitations of my camera are magnified. But always, a few turn out.. Typically, the dives finish on a nearby reef and I find plenty of marine life to photo,,,including diving with dolphins – definitely a treat!!
The dive boat has a mix of European’s and Americans. A few advanced divers, with a few novices. Somehow the dive crew accommodates, and everyone fits in.
The winds and rolling sea make several of the dives challenging… I love that! Handling a camera, a pointer, a SMB,,,timing the zodiac boarding after the dive. Rolling 6-8ft seas, handing up you weights and tank and fins,,, climbing the ladder. Time to get your shit together!! This is diving😊
The water was much colder than expected,, 72-74F on many of the dives.. I layered up everything I travel with,,but I’m still cold.. I switch to a rented 5m wet suit to manage. Apparently, the water doesn’t get warm until August. :( I’ll need to remember that!!
With my dive adventure complete, I book a different Hurghada hotel.. This time I get it right,,an adult only resort. And it is perfect, Meraki Resort.. Worth it’s price in gold as the saying goes. Quality rooms, food, views,, Shisha outside my room in a Bedouin tent. How cool is that? Just wished I had booked longer here… resting up after a dive adventure, before onward travel is my go-to travel plan. But, I do have a few days here. Onward travel planning, another PCR test, blogging, upload photos to my website, transfer arrangements. Doing the dirty work of travel.
As everywhere it seems, Benjamin’s are the preferred method of payment. If you don’t have them,,,they will accept Euro’s. Interestingly, here in Egypt, it is law,,,,foreigners must pay their bills in non-Egyption currency. Local currency in the 3ed world is almost worthless. Just useful for small transactions on the street.
I leave Egypt without a new patch for my collection,,I already have one of the Sphinx on my backpack! I only explore Hurghada while off the Red Sea during this adventure, adding another night out for dinner at the Marina tourist district and the nearby main streets. On my next visit, I need to explore Egypt further south on the Red Sea – and a trip to Sudan. Always another corner of the planet to explore!
One final Egyptian experience to share. My transfer back thru Cairo (from Hurghada) was a chaotic event…more like the Cairo I remember!! I had to bribe an officer and two separate porters to ‘assist’ my navigation thru multiple airport terminals, bus transfers, baggage recheck....and another 4-5 security checkpoints. Somehow I made my connection with just minutes to spare.
Solo unscripted travel thru Egypt can be a challenge! Just relax and be prepared for anything…nothing goes to plan here!
I absolutely love the cultural experiences of Egypt, but they don’t make it easy!
Life under an Orange Sky. Onward. Onward.
The Wrecks:
- Thistlegorm ( 4 dives )
- Salem Express
- Ulysses
- Rosalie Moller
- Dunraven
- Kingston
- Giannis D
- Kimon M
- Carnatic
- Russian minesweeper in Hurghada
- Fishing boat in Hurghada
- The Barge
- El Khafain
- El Mina
- Sha’ab Sheer
- Shaab Mahmoud
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