So it begins

Happy Birthday to Me!

Published Date : November 19, 2004

No special privileges for the birthday girl.  It was another early start for another 0830 dive.  Open Water Dive #3 was at the Moray Gardens.  We finished the last of our skills then spent a great 30 minutes simply enjoying the dive.  Starting over the bare sand at 18m, we passed over a beautiful reef before finishing off over the lagoon and long grasses favoured by the moray eels.  Alas, we didn’t see any eels on this dive, but we did see an incredible variety of other aquatic life.  I can sense a marine life course in my future – it’s so much more enjoyable when you actually know what you’re looking at!

After almost an hour of bottom time, we reluctantly returned to dry land.  Back in the jeep and out to our second dive site, we enjoyed a bit of a rest soaking up some sunshine.  Our 4^th and final Open Water dive was at The Islands.  With no skills left to learn or practice, we had 45 minutes of playing in the currents and admiring the marine life.  Walking in from shore, we swam around the three coral islands and rode the current back to our starting point.  Among the critters on this dive was a school of barracuda!  Along the way we also had the opportunity to see and feel a thermocline.  It looked like oil in water where the cold current and the warm surrounding water met, and the temperature difference was quite surprising.  Finally getting the opportunity to make use of the underwater housing I bought for my camera, I took way too many pictures.  Being a complete newbie at underwater photography I’ll be happy if even a couple of them turned out. Our dive would have been longer, but Tris nearly ran out of air, leading to hasty return to shore.  Tris spent the last 10 minutes or so on Sam’s alternate regulator!

Returning to Dahab to sort out our gear, a few of us wrangled Orca Dive Club into lending us snorkels and fins and a ride to head out to the Blue Hole.  The rest of our group went out there yesterday, but we missed out because of our diving.  It was mid-afternoon by the time we got there and the light was fading, but we (Matt, Dee, Amy and I) made the most of it.  We snorkelled all the way around and across the hole before eventually succumbing to the cold and heading back.

We made it back to the hotel with just enough time to shower and pack before heading out to the Furry Cup to meet Sam for farewell drinks and completing our certification paperwork.  After an hour of watching the newest Dive Master in town go through the local hazing rituals and occasionally filling out cards and log books we are all now certified Open Water Divers.  Yes!

Making a mad dash to El Fanar, I arrived at my birthday dinner 45 minutes late.  Oops!  I had a delicious peppercorn steak.  My appetite appears to have come back again.  One of my presents included a touristy belly dancing outfit, which I immediately threw on before being “persuaded” to jump on the table and do a belly dance.  I was also given a couple of bracelets and a carved wooden camel.

We finished off the night at Tota with more drinks and dancing, but I just wasn’t up for it.  Very tired after a long week and missing Greg, I was in bed by midnight.

Leaving paradise

Published Date : November 20, 2004

Today was a very long day on the bus.  I was sad to be saying goodbye to Dahab.  Apart from being a fantastic place to visit, it was nice to pause and stay in one location for more than a day or two.  We left the Sinai via the tunnel under the Suez Canal, then continued on to the capital.  After passing through a frustratingly huge number of checkpoints, we arrived in Cairo about 20:30, just in time for dinner at Hotel Bostan.  I have no idea what it was that we ate, but I know that I liked it!  The consensus is that it was some type of bean and rice dish, but nobody is too sure beyond that.

After dinner I wandered into town with 10 or so people.  The traffic is absolutely crazy in this city!  The pedestrian most certainly does not have the right of way.  Crossing the street basically involves scurrying across a lane at a time with cars passing within inches of you on either side.  And I use the term “lane” very loosely.  They’re more just a suggestion than a rule.  Honestly though, I love it.  I’ve never been one to take crosswalks too seriously, so this style of pedestrian travel works perfectly for me!

We spent some time wandering around Tahrir Square, before heading back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.  There will be plenty of time to explore tomorrow.

OH YEAH!!!  I’ve been forgetting to get to the gossip for days now.  While we were still in Jordan, word came in that the Overland Club group that we had camped with in Eceabat, Turkey had run into some problems.  The early word on the street was the driver had done a runner with the bus and everybody’s money.  The drivers/leaders on all the groups were all atwitter with the gossip all the way to Dahab until we got the final story. The driver didn’t take the bus, but he did make off with about US$10,000 of the group’s money.  The worst part is that he’s done it before with another company as well.  So the lesson: don’t use Overland Club!

Pleasantly Surprised

Published Date : November 21, 2004

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Cairo. I was expecting it to be more like the crowded chaos of Aleppo, Syria, but Cairo is a modern city with all the comforts of home.  I feel totally at ease here walking around on my own day or night.

I enjoyed a bit of lie in today, before heading out to explore with Andi.  Heading over to the General Post Office (GPO) to see about costs for shipping souvenirs home, we found a 4-day express courier that’s very reasonably priced and includes insurance.

After that we set about finding a chemist or anywhere that had first aid supplies.  My left foot is still giving me grief after that incident in Turkey when I felt something pop.  Whenever I walk over uneven terrain in just sandals, I can feel things moving around and occasionally it pops again.  My self-diagnosis is that I dislocated one of my metatarsals and stretched/strained the connective tissue in the process.  Until I can strengthen the muscles around that joint it’s going to keep dislocating.  So our mission was to find a tensor bandage that I could use to wrap the foot until it heals.  It took a while, but eventually I found one.  Hopefully, it helps!

Andi headed back to the hotel for lunch with the group, but I was feeling the need for some crap food, so off to Pizza Hut for me.  I was rewarded with the most disgusting pepperoni pizza I’ve ever had in my life.  That oughta learn me.

After lunch I just had time to scoot over to the Egyptian Museum to meet the rest of the group.  Our tour of the museum was long and boring.  I would have much preferred to explore it on my own with a guide book.  That said, the museum is fantastic with the highlights most definitely being Tut Ankh Amun’s treasures and the Mummy Room.  The security entering the museum was quite surprising, having to pass through metal detectors on arrival.  Plus, no photography is allowed within the museum.  They won’t even allow you to bring a camera inside.

The afternoon was free to relax and explore at our leisure.  I took the opportunity to catch up on some emails.  I also tracked down a photo store to transfer my photos to CDs and clear my memory cards.  I’ve made it almost 6 weeks with two 512 Mb cards – so far so good!

Meeting up with the rest of the group again, we enjoyed an evening on the water with a dinner cruise on the Nile.  It was a great way to end the day.  Tomorrow, it’s off to see the pyramids!!!