Thanks to my phone alarm, I was woken at 04:30. After checking out, I left the hotel at 05:30 and started walking to the South Terminal. I couldn't help noticing a group of guests standing outside the hotel, presumably waititng for the bus transport to the terminal; anything to save taking a short walk!

I arrived at the terminal at 05:45, knowing that those (lazy) hotel guests were probably still at the hotel, as no bus passed me while I walked to the terminal!

I was directed to the check-in desks to do the necessary (my luggage weighed 19.9 kg; maximum permitted: 20 kg) and was through security and air side by 06:20! Despite there being many other passengers, the process was very efficient!

The Thomas Cook Airlines aircraft departed on time (at 09:00) and were on our way. The route took us over Germany, some ex-Yugoslavian countries, a few(?) Greek islands, the Meditteranean Sea and on into Egypt (via El Alamein, south of Cairo, and east of Hurghada), finally landing at Marsa Alam airport; GPS co-ordinates: 25°33'20.00"N 34°35'33.00"E.

Once we had disembarked (not the American word "deplaned"!), all passengers were transferred by bus to the terminal, where several holiday representatives were waiting. I spotted the Blue O Two rep and headed for him. In his hand he had what can only be descibed as a thick wad of Egyptian Visas! About a dozen passengers (fellow divers) had also congregated around him by now, while the rest of the holiday passengers located their respective representative.

With our visas in our passports, we were 'herded' towards Passport Control [that was a joke]. I must admit, the queue moved fairly quickly. And I can reveal why: An immigration official simply stamped the visa with the date and handed the passport back to its owner. A few metres further on, another immigration official looked at the passport's photo page, but didn't seem to check whether the photo matched the owner of the passport!

Once into the sunshine again, we were directed to our respective bus, for a short journey (~20 minutes) to M/Y Blue Horizon, in Port Ghalib; GPS co-ordinates: 25°32'03.04"N 34°38'17.2"E.

On board the boat, we were requested to complete the mandatory documentation and then directed to our cabins. Even though I had been upgraded to a suite, I was slightly surprised when I got inside. Was I in the right cabin? Expecting to see a lovely natural wood finish (as seen on publicity photos of the boat), all the woodwork had been badly painted pastel blue, with white borders! Still, I had the cabin to myself!

Dinner was at 19:30, and delicious it was too; probably because I was starving, as were the other 16 guests - who were all male, (shame!) above the age of 40, except one, who was a son of one of the other divers. However, we were informed that the final guest would be arriving late, from Hurghada airport (nearly 5 hours away by bus). Rumour had it that it was a girl. Anyway, after dinner, we all relaxed on the aft deck, getting to know each other, and attempting to put the world to right!

I noticed that the Wi-Fi signal on board was very strong (the good news), but was unusable (the bad news)! One of the two Dive Guides told us that the problem was with the land-based provider, being not very reliable! As time went on, we gradually started drifting back to our respective cabins, with the thought of being woken up at 07:30 tomorrow, for breakfast at 08:00. Good night!

First (Check) Dive - Sha'ab Marsa Alam (GPS: 25°04'16.5"N 34°56'13.7"E)
This dive site is just off the coast, to the east of the town of Marsa Alam.

The boat moored just left of the word "SAND" (on the left-hand side of the map); south-west of the mouth of the valley.

After breakfast, it was time to prepare our kit, prior to the Check Dive. I had requested a Bouyancy Control Device (BCD) and regulator. The BCD seemed slightly tight, but comfortable. I said that I had 8 Kg of additional weight on my previous dive, but when in the water, I required an extra 2 Kg.

As it was our first dive, and a check dive at that, I didn't take a camera with me. Once the check dive was complete, it was off to explore. During my dive, I saw a Blue Spotted Sting Ray and what I thought was a very large (giant?) clam.

Second Dive - Shoab Sharma (GPS: 24°47'13.7"N 35°10'54.0"E)
My dive guide pointed out a Hammerhead Shark in the distance, but due to the visibility, I could only make out the long tail of the creature; not its head. So yes, my Red Sea wish was (partially) granted, but not how I wanted.

Although I did my best to control my breathing, I still consumed my air quite quickly. It was noted that I might benefit from having a larger (15 ltr) steel tank tomorrow, which I was keen to try.

We only had two dives today, as we needed to set off towards the next dive site (St. Johns), which was to the south of Egypt, close to the Sudanese border.

We were woken at 06:30, as normal, having sailed south overnight to St. Johns reef. Today, I was given a larger (steel) tank. I therefore had to adjust my bouyancy (by removing 4 Kg), due to the additional weight of steel tank over the aluminium one. I was also given a larger-sized BCD, which fitted much better. The downside of changing the equipment was that I had to familiarise myself to the new environment; i.e., readjust my bouyancy.

First Dive - St. Johns, Habili Ali (GPS: 23°24'58.2"N 35°59'14.2"E)
This dive site has steep drop offs all around it; as shown by the site map.

Second Dive - St. Johns, Om Oroug, Reef of the Pinacles (GPS: 23°25'49.1"N 35°51'52.9"E)
This dive site has many pinnacles, standing proud of the sea floor. Unfortunately, after switching on my camera (before entering the water), the power lasted a few seconds before the battery died! Therefore, I was unable to capture any of the scenery.

Third Dive - St. Johns Caves (GPS: 23°38'07.5"N 35°49'32.6"E)
This dive site had us swimming through caves and beds of coral; really exciting, as you can imagine by the map, but not before seeing a Napoleon Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) swim past us. He was a big guy; probably nearly 2 metres in length; see Video EG-002 above!

The dive itself was calm and easy; not over-energetic; as can be seen in the second and third videos. It was reasonably shallow, no deeper than about 11 metres. Because of this, I completed my dive with 90 bar still in the tank! In addition to the wrasse, other species of fish that were seen included a shoal of Blackspot Snappers (Lutjanus fulviflamma).

I didn't realise at the time, but John was behind me and had taken some video of me. Embarassing as it is, it illustrates how 'unbalanced' my swimming was. Having my camera in my right hand, I was continually using my left hand to steer; wrong! I should have had both hands in front of me, and steer with my legs. On subsequent dives, without my camera, I did keep my hands out in front!

I think five of us started this dive. That was until Peter (a orchestral violinist), etc., went to go exploring! When Tarik realised that the group was just him and me, we retraced our route back through the caves, in an attempt to try and find them.

We eventually found them (towards the end of the dive), as we were preparing for our safety stop. Once safely back onboard the boat, I'm sure Tarik had a few strong words with Peter, telling him not to stray off!

Forth Dive - St. Johns, Sernaka Island (GPS: 23°49'48.7"N 35°48'38.0"E)
This was the first night dive of the week, but I was too exhausted to participate. As it turned out, I didn't miss much.

We started entering the water just before 07:00. I can say now that this dive day was (for me) the pinnacle of the week!

First Dive - Fury Shoal Group, Sha'ab Sataya (GPS: 24°09'22.3"N 35°42'37.5"E)

Sha'ab Sataya (also known as Dolphin Reef), has steep drop offs all around it; as illustrated in the map.

Fish seen included Red Sea Bannerfish (Heniochus intermedius) and Red Sea Clownfish (Amphiprion bicinctus).

Second Dive - Fury Shoal Group, Sha'ab Claudia (GPS: 24°13'12.0"N 35°36'43.7"E)
It was mentioned during the dive briefing that this reef has beautiful coral gardens (on the west side of the reef, coloured green on the map). Thus, I decided to take my camera.

I'm not lucky with cameras, as unfortunately, just before jumping into the water, the camera's battery died again! Once under water, I was saddened that I couldn't record the dive, as the beauty of the coral gardens was (and is) out of this world! Colourful and in pristene condition!

Third Dive - Fury Shoal Group, Abu Galawa (GPS: 24°13'40.9"N 35°34'27.0"E)
For this dive, I was the only one who requested diving with a guide. So I was fortunate to have a one-to-one dive with Tarik.

One of the attractions was a wreck of the Tienstein; a Chinese tugboat that hit one of the two pinnacles in 1947. It managed to get to the main reef, but sunk from the stern. Being that it rests at an angle of approximately 45°, it is possible to swim through and under the hull; which is what we did.

After a brief explore of the wreck, we headed off to the two pinnacles just north of the wreck. Tarik saw two Clown Fish swimming in and around some coral. He pointed towards them and one of the fish came out and started attacking (well, nibbling) his forefinger; they are very territorial. I was resting on the sea bed, simple observing this amazing spectacle. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.

We swam for a total of 50 minutes in water at 29°C. I can honestly say that that was probably the most relaxing dive I have ever done! So much so, I returned to the boat with 60 bar remaining in my tank!

First Dive - Sha'ab Maksour South (GPS: 24°14'17.0"N 35°39'12.4"E)
Overnight, we had moved from Abu Galawa to Sha'ab Maksour South.

I woke up as normal (at 06:30) and prepared to go for breakfast. However, once I was on my feet, I realised that I didn't feel right; more precicely, it was my stomach that didn't feel well! It wasn't anything to do with movement of the boat, as it was hardly moving. I could only put it down to something I ate yesterday; but what?! No-one else had an upset stomach! Between visits to the 'the little boys' room, I managed to make it to breakfast, but informed the dive guides that I wouldn't be diving today.

Note: When one needs to relieve oneself of the bladder, certain muscles in the lower part of the body simply relax, to allow nature to do its thing! Sometimes, when wearing a wet suit, it is more difficult for a male to pee (as certain external parts of the male anatomy can become constricted). Well, that is what I have experienced.
However, even with the male waterworks being somewhat constricted, the solid waste' part of the body isn't affected in the same way. Therefore, having a loose stomach, I was not prepared to dive and take the risk of having to release my anal muscles underwater! It would have been very embarassing getting back onboard the boat, wearing a smelly brown-stained black wetsuit!

Second Dive - Sha'ab Maksour South (GPS: 24°13'12.0"N 35°36'43.7"E)

We didn't move away from Sha'ab Maksour. Because of the condition of my stomach, I decided not to dive for the rest of the day. Instead, I took it easy, admiring and photographing the reef from above the surface.

Third Dive - Sha'ab Maksour Small (GPS: 24°15'10.0"N 35°32'22.0"E)

Forth Dive - Sha'ab Maksour Small (GPS: 24°15'10.0"N 35°32'22.0"E)

First Dive - Shoab Sharm (GPS: 24°47'11.3"N 35°10'46.1"E)
Overnight, we had continued our return journey north, to this morning's destination: Shoab Sharm reef. The actual dive site was the southern tip of the reef.

At breakfast, I felt better, but only had two slices of dried toast and water; I didn't want to take any chances! Even so, I declined to take part in this dive.

Second Dive - Shoab Marsa Alam (GPS: 25°04'16.0"N 34°56'17.7"E)

Once everyone was back onboard (after their dive) we headed further north, for Sho'ab Marsa Alam, where we did our Check Dive last Friday.

With a fully-charged camera battery, I decided to give this dive a try; much to the delight of the other divers! I couldn't stay onboard for another full day.

I "dived and survived" with John Carroll as my buddy. Before jumping in, he suggested I try the Frog kick, as it consumes less energy, and thus saves air. Although I did try (and have tried it many times in the past), it is not easy to do with the design of fin that I have.

There was more beautiful coral to see, as well as the abundant sea life. I'm glad I made the effort.

Third Dive - Elphinstone Reef (GPS: 25°18'29.4"N 34°51'36.6"E)
After Shoab Marsa Alam, our next dive site (northwards) was the Elphinstone reef, famous for its Whitetip Sharks and Hammerhead Sharks.

After lunch, my 'trouble' was still with me! It was with regret that I had to stay onboard. However, during the briefing before the dive, it was stated that the currents around the reef can be strong; a number of divers have suffered difficulties and/or lost their lives here in the past!

When the divers returned, they said that nothing of importance was seen, so again, I didn't miss much.

Forth Dive - Abu Dabab, Reefs 2 + 3 (GPS: 25°20'50.4"N 34°46'36.6"E)
We moored between reefs 2 and 3; there are three small reefs at this location. We stayed here for the night, as the first dive tomorrow was also here.

After the last dive of the day, it was time to relax again. As this was our last night onboard, it was tradition for the crew to provide a special evening dinner, as seen in Photo EG-015, Photo EG-016 and Photo EG-017.

As hungry as I was, and the food looked delicious, I didn't have much to eat, for fear of the obvious!

As a general rule, it is strongly recommended that a Scuba diver must allow a minimum of 24 hours after his/her last dive, before flying; because of the risk of decompression sickness (nitrogen bubbles in the blood) from the aircraft's pressurised cabin. With that in mind, I had no intention of diving today. Instead, these sixteen photos (at Marsa Shura reef and Port Ghalib) were taken from above the water line.

First Dive - Abu Dabab (GPS: 25°20'50.4"N 34°46'36.6"E)
We continued our journey north overnight, towards Port Ghalib, stopping at the morning's first dive site Abu Dabab, for those that wanted to.

There are three small reefs at Abu Dabab. The boat moored between reefs 2 and 3. At the dive briefing, the divers were given a choice: swim along the side of reef 3, or swim into the coral garden in reef 2. I did neither; my equipment was drying in the sun!

Breakfast was (again) two slices of toast and some water.

Second Dive - Marsa Shura (GPS: 25°28'10.10"N 34°40'54.25"E)

The second, and final, dive location of the day (and of the week) was at Shoab Marsa Shura.

A few guests did dive (and snorkel), as they were not flying until the weekend. As with some previous dives, once back onboard, they reported that, apart from the sea grass, there was nothing of any interest to be seen.

Lunch was (again) two slices of toast, but to vary my diet, I did add a small piece of fish!

For evening dinner, we were given the choice or either going ashore and finding somewhere to eat, or eating onboard. We all chose the latter (more convenient) option! Especially me. I didn't want to aggravate my stomach.

Our last day! For the majority of us, our flight was not until late afternoon (16:00-ish). Therefore, once we were all packed and ready to disembark, we and our luggage were taken (by zodiacs) across to the opposite side of the marina, to spend approximately six hours at the Marina Lodge at Port Ghalib.

For the princely sum of €24.00 (~£20.00), we could have the use of a Standard room, in which to change, and shower before our short coach trip to the airport. [If you simply want somewhere to stay, this could be an option, but a Standard room is not the best for comfort. I cannot comment on the food because I didn't eat anything. Also, it was noticed that there was a high percentage of Germans staying there, which made us think it was probably used by the German tourist industry.]

Whist relaxing by the pool (GPS: 25°31'41.7"N 34°38'10.4"E), I was invited to play either table tennis or pool by one of the lodge's staff! I didn't like the idea of running around a table, chasing a ping-pong ball in the heat, so I chose to play pool. Thankfully, both tables (table tennis and pool) were in the shade!

I made a good start (for someone who hadn't played the game for many years), but she beat me 2-1. [I thought, by her looks and her accent at speaking English, that she was Egyptian, but she was Polish! It just goes to show how appearances can be deceiving!]

Showered and ready, we boarded the coach and set off for the 5 km journey to the airport. The flight back to Gatwick was uneventful, landing at about 22:40. My car was waiting for me on the second floor of the car park, and I arrived home at 01:30, in anticipation of a job interview (actually, a chat with a friend I used to work with) in London at 11:00!