16th March 2008
Today, I decided to go snorkelling at the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is about 10 minutes up the road from Dahab and it is an 80m deep abyss in the middle of a reef. I was loaded onto the back of a Ute, well I chose to sit in the back, and Mostafa (my guide) sat in the front. It was a bumpy ride and if I had known it was going to be a little off road, I may have chosen the front, who am I kidding no I wouldn’t have. We drove along the beach and around corners of cliffs, where there were no roads, just camels coming in the opposite direction.
We finally got there, and after checking that I was still alive, I got out of the tray and went down to the blue hole to grab some snorkelling gear. It was unreal, the water wasn’t too cold, and I swam right to the edge of the abyss, it’s a just big blue that goes on forever.
The reef is spectacular, I saw lots of fish, including more Nemos. I actually swam right to the other side of the Blue Hole without even realizing. I followed this parrot fish trying to get a good picture of him and I looked up and I was really far from the shore. I swam back pretty quick. You don’t even realize, when you can breathe underwater and you have flippers, swimming is as effortless as walking.
We drove back from the Blue Hole, and I went for lunch at Mostafa’s Restaurant, “Chill Out”. I had Calamari, sea food soup, salad, bread, a coke and two cups of Egyptian tea for around $10, although, I think Mostafa has a bit of a crush on me and was giving me stuff for free, but who am I to complain. I was also surrounded by about four cats who decided it would be fun to take my food off me! After I had finished, one curled up on my lap and went to sleep in the sun, cheeky bugger, can’t blame him, I almost did too. It was lovely sitting basically on the beach, drinking tea and eating my lunch. Dahab is so peaceful and so laid back.