Snorkeling in the Red Sea, Hurghada

Hurghada is a world-class scuba and snorkeling destination. My brother had told us that he had an Egyptian-Canadian friend who described the waters of the Red Sea as “crystal clear”. Our last snorkeling experience in Kenya wasn’t the best with most of us getting seasick (see my blog post about Watamu Marine National Park). This time, we wouldn’t be caught unprepared so we each took a motion sickness pill an hour before getting on the boat.

We rented a private boat to take us out into the Red Sea for a day of snorkeling and hopefully see a few dolphins. Our guide Mohammed was a young, fun-loving guy who told us that his passion was scuba diving and snorkeling but confessed that he wasn’t a professionally trained marine guide. This was a little worrisome but we were already on the water and there wasn’t much we could do at that point. He explained that we would go to several snorkeling spots, have lunch and enjoy the open water. That sounded like a good plan.

The boat was great and we immediately made ourselves comfortable on the upper level. There was lots of space for us to sit and get comfy. They even had a checkers set which kept us entertained for a while. It was the first time since we have been in Egypt that we felt a little cold and it was windier than we hoped, but the ever-dependable Egyptian sun kept us warm. I was concerned the water would be too cold but Mohammed assured us that the water was warmer than the air temperature and we would feel warm once we were in the water. The captain helped RY set up a fishing rod at the back of the boat to see if he could get any bites. A few times, we spotted dolphins jumping through the waves about 50 meters from the boat, but they vanished as quickly as they appeared.

We arrived at our first scuba spot and the water was turquoise blue and crystal clear. Besides Wai Gong and Wai Po who waited for us on the boat, we were all eager to go in. We hit the water and Mohammed was right, the water was surprisingly warm. We had a lifesaver so the younger kids could hang onto it without getting caught in the current. Visibility was excellent and without even being near corals, we could see lots of fish swimming around us. Mohammed led us to a coral reef and we swam around the corals observing the marine life.

Back on the boat, it was lunch time. The cook prepared huge portions of spaghetti, rice, tagine, chicken wings, kofta and salad. It was a delicious meal that could have easily served 20 people. Our favorite was the fried chicken wings. We have found the fried chicken in Egypt to be consistently delicious with tender meat encased by a crispy breaded crust.

Mohammed told us he knew of another great snorkeling site where the current was gentle and the water was so shallow that we could stand. When we arrived, it looked nothing like he described. There were no other tourist boats around and the current looked strong. The boat anchored in an area where the water was a deep cobalt color. About 50 meters away in the turquoise waters, we could see a coral reef.

After taking a long time to get dry and warm, some of us didn’t feel like going in the water again. Only Jiu Jiu, Leo and RY wanted to go in. Mohammed commented that the water looked choppy. He told Jiu Jiu, who is visibly athletic and a strong swimmer, to jump in and test the water. Obligingly, Jiu Jiu jumped in and swam around a bit. RY jumped in moments after him, followed by Leo. Jiu Jiu was in the middle of telling Mohammed, who was still on the boat, that the current was pretty strong when Leo shouted, “There is a phone!”

From the boat, we saw Leo dive deeper into the water to retrieve the phone, which turned out to be Jiu Jiu’s phone. A few seconds later, Leo’s head emerged from the water about 30 meters from the boat waving a phone above his head. He got it! A lot happened in the next few minutes, but that is Leo’s story to tell in another blog post.

We were all ready for the boat to head back to shore. The sun was going down and the wind was picking up. By the time we got back to our airbnb, all we could think of was jumping in the jacuzzi for a nice hot soak. When we first got in, we were all feeling great. After our bodies acclimated to the hot water, it just didn’t feel hot enough anymore. The crazy kids, well RY and DY, figured that jumping in the cold swimming pool first would make the jacuzzi water feel plenty hot. It was painful to watch but I guess it’s true, everything is relative.