Snorkeling in the Red Sea
October 7th, 2007 by stolisano
We got up early to soak up the special, calm atmosphere before the smelling of sunscreen crowd woke up and populated the beaches. The sea was calm and looked like a mirror, there was a gentle, warm (not hot) breeze and I was reminded and compared it to the calmness when floating down the Nile river on a felucca.
We had an exciting day ahead of us…
A tour guide picked us up at the hotel and drove with us to a “diving school”, where we were outfitted with snorkels, goggles and fins. Together with a couple from Denmark and a man from England (who was living currently in Kuwait), we drove to a marina. Hundreds of boats were waiting to take tourists to the diverse diving and snorkeling spots of the coast of Sharm El Sheikh. We climbed onto our boat “Empro II” and off we took to the Red Sea.
The deep blue water was an amazing contrast to the rugged coastline. We enjoyed almost an hour of riding through the breeze as it took us to our first diving spot in Ras Mohammed. The majority of people on the boat got into their diving gear and one by one jumped into the water. Mrs. Menger and I slipped into our fins and put our goggles on to jump in after the divers.
What an exhilarating feeling to be swimming in the middle of the Red Sea. We wondered if we were at the same spot where Moses parted the Red Sea? Were we swimming above the grounds where Moses let his people out of Egypt?
Once we lowered our faces into the water, it was breathtaking… The crystal clear water and the colors we saw gave justice to what we heard all along: that Sharm El Sheikh had one of the BEST diving spots in the world comparable only to the Great Barrier Reef off of Australia.
We felt like we were flying like birds in the sky, while watching the incredible amount of life below us. It almost seemed unreal to see the human divers descending further and further to the bottom while we were floating above. The bubbles that were floating from the divers’ oxygen tanks created a dream like glimpse into a different universe. Some of the bubbles were tiny and sparkling like diamonds, while others reached the size of a dinner plate. Mrs. Menger and I had a wonderful time playing “pop the bubble”.
The fish that were swimming alone or in large groups reminded us of the movie “Finding Nemo”. The creators of Nemo, must have spent hours diving, since they were able to captured the view underwater so accurately.
We swam and floated among the flora and fauna, careful as not to disturb any of it. It was incredible to be so easily accepted into their environment. The fish did not seem to be bothered by those strange looking individual that seemed so out of their element. At one moment, we were swimming what seemed like a very busy intersection. Tons of different schools of fish were swimming busily around, when they all stopped, one next to the other, as if in front of an invisible traffic light and let us pass by, as they were looking on to us, and then continued on their merry way.
We observed so many different kinds of fish, swimming as if late for an important appointment or lazily hanging out stationary with a group of friends. Some fish swam in large schools, while others seemed to be alone. The coral reef seemed to be a large condominium complex, with many restaurants behind windows, where the fish went to eat.
The sounds under water ranged from hearing the metal clinking of divers’ signals to the waves crushing above our heads and the horns of several boats nearby calling to the divers.
The diving guide, Yahia, told us to stay clear from touching a certain kind of corals by accident. They are called fire corals and, as the name implies, will sting/burn you, when you touch them. He continued explaining that in case we did get stung, we needed to make sure to use one of three treatments immediatly:
- Vinegar
- Lemon Juice
- Human water
We were very careful in not getting too close to the corals.
What and incredible amazing day we had, when we returned tired and exhausted in the late afternoon to our hotel. This excursion was definitely one of the highlights of our Egypt trip. It reminded us of all the hidden wonders of our world and that it is up to us to protect these natural treasures for future generations.
9 Responses to “Snorkeling in the Red Sea”
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What beautiful pictures! I know you enjoyed a relaxing day floating and watching the amazing sights underwater.
It seems like you’ve been gone forever! I look forward to seeing you in person again!
Amazing photographs…so great to see the beauty of the sea in that part of the world…so often…only see images of sand…will be blogging this a.m. with 5th graders re: marine life. We miss you all…enjoyed all the photos!! Natalie
Beautiful Photos of the Coral Reef….you look like you are in a National Geographic Magazine! The students loved the photos!
Questions/comments from Students:
Mia: “Who took the photos of the teachers together?” (also from Mrs. B.)
Maggie: “What was your favorite fish?”
Paola: “Did any one get stung by the coral?”
Nick: “Was anyone fishing in the Red Sea?”
Ryan: “How deep was the water?”
Olivia: “What was the temp. of the water?”
Audrey: “Were you nervous before jumping in?”
Jimmy: “Did you see any sharks?”
Another Science Class…We loved the beautiful photos of the environment!
Questions:
Mrs. Inclan: “Was there literature or any propaganda regarding the preservation of the coral reef among the people of Egypt in that area? Any laws posted or rules/regulations to follow to keep it as pristine as it looks now?”
Brittany: “Was the water cold like the Pacific or warmer like our ocean?”
Christian: “Did you see any “disguised” fish that look like coral hiding?”
Jessica: “How deep was the water?”
Alex: “Did you see any clown fish?”
Ryan: “Did you see any poisonous fish?”
Amazing! The pictures you are posting are just beautiful.
Can’t wait to have you back with us and hear even more!
Wow! Those fish are just beatiful! Did you happen to see any fish that were very different than the ones over here? Were there any squids/octopusses too? Looking foward to seeing you back here safely and soon!
Mia: Our diving guide took the photo of the two of us. He took a very deep breath and dove down a few meters. He took the shot as he was coming back up.
Maggie: Mrs.Tolisano’s favorite fish was a huge Rainbow fish. Mrs. Menger liked them ALL.
Paola: Thank goodness, neither one of us got stung by the fire coral.
Nick: We did not see anyone fish, since we were snorkeling in a National Preserve.
Ryan: The depth varied in the different snorkeling spots we went. The first spot was the deepest with the divers going down to 35 meters. The others were only about 5-10 meters deep.
Olivia: The temperature of the water was very comfortable for us. We did get a little chilly towards the end of afternoon.
Audrey: It was a little scary the first time we jumped into the “big blue sea”, but the anxiety disappeared immediately once we emerged into the water and saw the beautiful world underneath the surface.
Jimmy: We did not see any sharks.
Mrs. Inclan: We did not see any information about the preservation of the coral reefs. Although while listening to our diving guides, it was made clear to the divers to respect the reefs and not disturb the life under water.
Brittany: The waters were nice and warm, similar to the ones in the Golf of Mexico in the summer.
Christian: We did not see any disguised fish or they were so disguised that we did not notice them
Jessica: See our response to Ryan in the previous comment regarding the depth of the water.
Alex: I think we saw some clown fish. We will have to double check our fish chart of the Red Sea, when we get back.
Ryan: We were not aware of any poisonous fish.
Dear P4,
I can’t compare the fish from the Red Sea to the ones that we have around here, since I never went snorkeling here.
We are bringing back a fish chart that are common to the Red Sea and maybe you can tell us, if the fish species are similar to the ones here in the Atlantic. We did not see any octopus nor squids. I was watching out for dolphins and turtles, since they are supposed to be common in the Red Sea, but did not see any that day.
Can’t wait to see all of you soon.