THE RED SEA IS RUBBISH

Forty-five minutes into yesterday’s dive and I’m floating on my back, blowing bubble rings to the surface. To my left Joe has both his arms outstretched. He’s pretending to be an aeroplane. We are surrounded by some of the most diverse aquatic life on the planet. Islands of coral the size of three story buildings rise out of the sea bed beneath us. Each outcrop is smothered in brightly coloured coral. Over, around and in it float thousands – probably hundreds of thousands – of the most brightly coloured and beautiful creatures on the planet. A school of barracuda circles above, clown fish peak out at us from between the toxic fronds of their protective sea anemonies, cornetfish – close enough to touch – play in the bubbles that percolate from our regulators and a giant puffer fish, as bit as a kettle BBQ, sizes us up with its grapefruit eyes. We are 15 metres underwater, breathing air from a tank on our backs. We are experiencing something which sixty years ago would have been almost inconceivable. A hundred years ago it would have been impossible. Few have ever seen what we are seeing now. Few will ever get to see it. We are incredibly fortunate and we are incredibly bored. Then Joe swims over, taps me on the shoulder and executes half a dozen vigorous pelvic thrusts in the direction of a lionfish.

You know you’ve become spoilt when your predominant thought as you negotiate the submerged islands to the south of Dahab is; “I wonder what you taste like”. But that’s the way things are, familiarity going hand in hand, as it does, with contempt. I guess that’s a good thing, otherwise you’d just end up doing the same thing over and over again, like an imbecile or a child gymnast.

Anyway, I think I’ve solved the formatting issues which blighted yesterday’s posting. I’ve uploaded a few more images from the days when diving still held my interest.

We’re scheduled to take the ferry to Jordan tomorrow. It could prove an interesting experience as we’re in the middle of Ramadan. The Red Sea crossing is the main gateway from Egypt into Jordan, the first stepping-stone on the pilgrims’ road to Saudi Arabia and, ultimately, Mecca. Apparently they sell 2,000 unreserved tickets but only let 600 on the vessel. So, sharp elbows time.

I might be out of contact for a few days.

That is all,

The Coolest Thing I Saw Today!

The coolest thing I saw today I actually saw last night; my freshly laundered t-shirts. Omo-cool.