Sports Events in Egypt

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Well - everyone who's been there knows. Take it easy anyway - it is quite hard, depends on the weather of course. But remember, U'll be in the dark, camels everywhere, hundreds of people making their "pilgrimage"... To arrive it takes ab 2.5 hrs. I've made it in 1 hr 40 min. once, but believe me - it' s not worth it. U'll have many small bedouin teahouses where to relax and have a cup of tea. Way up there is about 7 km's. Difference of heights is ca 700 m. U can calculate ca 3 hrs before sunset to arrive on time. Depends of course on Ur physical appearance. For children under 12, adults who have some heart, bloodpressure problems, rheuma, not reccommended!!! Think twice before to go. BUT - I've been up there with an 74 year old lady. It took ca 4 hrs but she made it (we made it:)). Just slowly and carefully, step by step and someone for help in this case. But once U'll be up there and see this maarrrvelllooouus sunrise - U'll forget how hard it was (if it was).

Equipment: Depends on weather. If U'll go up there May - Oct. It can be quite warm. Remember that up there will be colder anyway - even in the summertime when in desert will be over 40 C, before sunset there can be 18 C. Nov.- April, specially Dec.- Feb. there's only 5 - 6 C. Some extra T - shirt could be in bag, U'll find out why when U'll arrive :). Specially when it's colder, U'll sweat anyway on Ur way up. Gloves, scarf and cap wintertime. Comfortable footwear!!!

Hi again.
After the long training my instructor TINA felt confident I was good enough to face the open waters of the Red Sea.
I wasn't at all, and passed a troubled night thinking at myself lost in the dark and mysterious depths of the sea. No testament left, moreover.

---continues---

Well!
After the intriguing theory lesson, the new appointment was at the pool again for the first dive with all the necessary equipment.
There have been a few slight differences between this phase and the trial the day before, such as:
I'll have to wear the terrifying suit...
...and a nice 10 kgs belt too...
...I had to prepare the cylinder and everything else and I learned it is about 15 kgs heavy

It was 2 PM again, after a light meal and a bit sleepy, I started working after the funny african sun.
I prepared the equipment and then I faced THE SUIT!
That terrifying torture instrument is among the most complicated things I have had on.
Wearing it is so hard, especially if nobody tells you how but only stares at you laughing...
The refreshment when entering the pool repaid me for everything.
The lesson went on for about two hours when:
1) I rotated on myself one hundred times
2) I found myself upside down another hundred
3) I drank about 5 liters of chlorine water
4) I made Tina angry a thousand times

BUT NOTHING COULD STOP ME! Tomorrow, the reef will face me!

Ante scriptum: I'll explain later the real meaning of the pictures I'm showing you in this thread. And now:
PHASE 1: THEORY
A really intriguing phase indeed!
I discovered the day before that my instructor will not be the egyptian barracuda, but a german woman who lived (and she still does, I think) there in El Quseir together with her husband from Sicily (who wasn't there that week). That was why she talked a decent italian.
Her name was (and is) Tina, and she explaind me that I would have gained the SSI first level certificate, otherwise called SSI Scuba Diver. The SSI certification is cheaper than the PADI one because no books or other things were mandatory to be bought.
The Theory Phase consisted then in a three hours movie to watch, where the most important things to know were explained.
The question was: I'm on my holiday, so my brain is not properly functioning.
How could I keep all the informations that the movie was teaching me?
The mystery would have been solved the day after.

This is what happened:
DAY 1: trial at the pool.
We arrived at 2 PM at the pool where some other people were trying the thrill to dive into the dark, 2 meters deep waters of the pool.
I did it already years ago and so I went there happily.
The oxygen cylinder was already in the water, floating thanks to the inflatable jacket, otherwise called GAV (as I will do in the future because it is shorter and less boring than "inflatable jacket") so its real weight was "hidden" to me as it has been years ago.
I dived with a strange egyptian guy called "barracuda" (!) and making a real mess underwater.
The barracuda has been patient with me.
Happily ended the trial, I decided to go for the course.
The morning after at 8.30 (!), theory lesson!

I decided to ruin my holiday, and fight the growing belly, doing a fierce scuba course.
I had been pressed by my brother who is also doing that at home. I obviously couldn't do less, regardless my questionable physical condition and the ton of cigarettes I daily smoke.
My companions at the resolt glanced at me in compassion when I told them my intention.

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I made two dives in Alexandria and it was absolutely a different experience. The first dive was at Pharos Island, just outside the fort. It was very wavy and we entered the water two and two and descended along a line.
In the water we could see what is thought to be ruins of the famous Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. There were big blocks, pieces of columns, a few sphinxes without heads, a stone relief of a man and a woman and a winepress (or something for water). I also saw a few fishes and deep waves in the sand.
It was a shallow dive (max 8 metres) and we moved with the waves a lot. In the end of the dive I started to feel seasick and I definitely did back on the boat, where I quickly laid down without moving until we came to the second dive spot. Three of the divers threw up and did not want to continue. A small boat came to pick them up.
We made the second dive inside the Eastern Harbour at Cleopatra’s City (Lovers Island). It was very bad visibility and you could only see the fins of the diver in front of you. When we descended we first saw what was left of an Italian airplane from the Second World War. In the plane was the mask of the pilot. We also saw pieces of some amphora and columns from what is said to be Mark Anthony’s summer palace.

Alexandra Dive Centre is situated in Eastern Harbour, next to Tikka Grill. It is just by the sea and there are tables were you can sit down to have something to drink. When you dive lunch is included in the price and it is served after the two dives.

Two dives, rental of full equipment and lunch were 628 pounds.

Click on the link below to be directed to a site that has a chart of the water and air temperatures for diving in Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, Egypt. They are organized by month.

This is also useful if you want to know temps for swimming from the beach as well.

Average daily temperatures for several top tourist destinations are included.