Under the (Red) Sea

(Guest posted by Jayanthi)

Getting scuba certified while I was in Egypt was one of the things I definitely wanted to do - it was probably number one on my list of things I HAD to do while I was here. However, the road to certification has been bumpy....I didn't have time all semester to get certified so by the time I got started it was past Thanksgiving. The first few days were all bookwork and the guys at the center were great - did their best to accomodate my schedule. However my pool practice session had to be cut short because my ears would not equalize to the change inpressure under the water(even though it was just a few feet down). I thought it was just a slight cold that would go away in a few days, but it turned into a nasty persistent ear infection that had to be treated with antibiotics.

My instructor suggested I go ahead and give the pool practice another try once I finished my antibiotics and if it didn't work that was that. However, it did work!! After taking heavy duty decongestant, nasal spray, and two other kinds of medicine I was able to spend an hour 12 feet underwater practicing skill like taking my mask off and replacing it or what to do if I lost my regulator (the device that supplies air to my mouth).

Even though the scuba center hadn't planned a trip that weekend, they decided they'd take me by myself since it was my last weekend in Egypt and thus my last weekend to finish my open water certification. We went to Hurghada which is on the Red Sea about 4 hours south of Cairo and spent Friday and Saturday diving.

Breathing underwater is really hard to get used to - there's a constant awareness that you aren't really free to inhale and exhale naturally. After awhile I stopped thinking about it, but it was always in the back of my head. But really there were so many other things to do and see underwater.

We did 4 dives, all of them around really amazing reef formations with TONS of marine life. Aside from tons of fish that I can't possible begin to identify I know I did spot a moray eel, lionfish, clownfish (Nemo!), angelfish, a spotted stingray, and an octopus. We actually played a bit of tug-of-war with the octopus with this diving rattle stick my instructor had. I pulled superhard, but the octopus and massive suction cup-covered tentacles definitely won.

When we weren't in the water, we were lying on deck napping under the sun. The winter weather was a bit cool when we first got out of the water, but the sun was strong and we warmed up quickly (with the help of some good Arabic tea of course). The Red Sea is the most amazing gorgeous shade of turquoise that I have ever seen, with the water changing to a deep azure depending on the depth and presence of coral.

Though I would have loved to spend my last weekend in Cairo with Helen and Lisa, I did have an amazing wonderful relaxing time. And though I was able to check getting scuba certified off my list, exploring the Red Sea really was an incredible first time diving experience that I'll definitely always remember.