Scuba diving in Egypt, Marsa Alam.

Hi,

This time I won't blog about a particularly different experience I had here in Egypt. Instead I just want to re-iterate how cool the Red Sea is when it comes to scuba diving (and snorkling for that matter). It is by far the clearest sea I've been diving in. Clearer than the Maldives, which were clear. And in addition the coral is very nice, especially around Marsa Alam, where tourism seems to be limited to divers unlike Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheik. The area is great for shore dives with it's many bays with excellent reefs, which make them also great for snorkling.

But Marsa Alam is also great for boat trips.

Okay, you come here for the coral and the colors and almost guaranteed 25C temperature of the water. That is what the Red Sea is all aboutn plus some real treats in the form of ship wrecks and canyons. But 30+ meter visibility and beautiful corals are the key.
There're no guaranteed sharks, whales or manta's. That's the Maledives, South Africa or the Caribean. No fear induced adrenaline kick, but a call for tranquillity.

I've been here no the second time at the Oasis in Marsa Alam. A dive resort run by Werner Lau and Sinai Divers. Actually I believe the hotel and dive school are independend. Both hotel and dive school are top notch. Rooms are clean, spacey an geared towards divers. There's no night club, so no booming bases to keep you awake while you realize that it'll be hard to wake up at 6 AM for the 'Turtle dive.
The dive center is also very well equiped with good diving materials and very friendly staff. Staff speaks English and German. Again this time, most guests are German speaking (Germans, Swiss and Austrians). It has been a challenge and an exercise for me to pick up my German again. And oh boy, do I have an accent.

These 2 days, 5 dives, have been about nitrox. For the first time I've been using nitrox for all dives and I love it. Especially at the little ays and coves around the Oasis there's hardly a chance you'll go deeper than 30 meters, so you're save. And I have to say, I did really feel a lot fitter after the dives. Even after 3 dives of 60+ minutes on one day. Absolutely something to consider when you're thinking of coming to Marsa Alam and do mainly shore dives. But even on the Maldives, at a shark dive, it would've been beneficial as it would allow me to stay longer at 20 meters. Yup, the EAN specialty is a good one to have.

I don't know where I'll be diving next, but the Egyptian shore of the Mediteranean is definitely something I'll do this year. Now that I am in Egypt, I want to see the historical sites, above and below sea level.

Iwan

PS: I've uploaded some vids of the dive resort, The Oasis, on youtube.