Snorkeling the Red Sea

In the morning we headed to the beachside of Hurghada for some relaxing time on the water. I’ll admit it felt so nice to get a break from all the history, tombs and scorching heat. We decided to go snorkeling in the Red Sea! Sherif rented us a yacht named “El Shady.” It felt amazing to be out on the water and swimming in the sea. It had been such a hot, hot trip so far. The water was pretty choppy, but as I’m an excellent swimmer, I had no troubles snorkeling in it. A few others couldn’t swim very well, (in particular the Australians which I found very surprising), and had to wear life jackets or be pulled around by the guide.

I had never been snorkeling before, so I was very excited! My Aussie friend Josh gave me his underwater camera to put my memory card in so I could take my own underwater photos! I saw an eel and a blow fish while swimming in a colourful tornado of tropical fish. I kept feeling fish flop against my skin as they were everywhere in the masses. Our snorkeling guide would take our cameras and swim down really deep to get a good photo for us, (of the eel, for instance). I had a great time chasing a blow fish that would occasionally turn around and look at me as if to say “Eff off.”

There was a cook on board in the teeny tiny kitchen, and he made us a very tasty lunch of chicken and rice. A bunch of people were in recovery from being sick so we had been sticking to simple meals lately. It took me about a day to recover when I got sick, but some others took a lot longer.

The guide caught himself his very own conch shell for lunch. He left the shell out on the deck in the sun to kill the little guy inside, and I saw him sticking his long slimy arms and legs out. It made me sad and I was tempted to throw him back in the water when the guide wasn’t looking.

I’m so glad I recovered before my last day because I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate this last slice of Egypt on the water as much. Soon after dinner I have to make my way to the airport, and start my journey home to Canada. I’m writing this on the top deck on our way back to shore. The giant red sun is beginning to set. The air is so much cooler out on the water and the breeze feels so nice blowing through my hair and up my cover-up. My cheeks feel tight from the saltwater and my lips feel chapped, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt this refreshed.

Snorkeling the Red Sea