Dahab, Egypt - Dirty, Sexy Snorkeling...

This is the strip of seaside restaurants lining the Red Sea in Dahab. The concept, from my worldly travel experiences, is quite unique. Each restaurant is completely open except for thatched roofs overhead. Lots of xmas lights, Bob Marley tunes, Bedouin kids selling bracelets make for an interesting ambiance. Only downsides were relatively expensive food served and a monopoly on seaside space. For free beach and solitude, head south along the seawall...

First day without eyeglasses in a long time. The last time was in 1994 when I stepped on and crushed my then spectacles in Zanzibar of all places. It was my first trip to Africa and just 3 weeks into a year long trip. Could not get them fixed until I found a optical store in Harare, Zimbabwe, a month later.

[Ed. note: the optical store was not a Lenscrafter's]

I should carry an extra pair on these trips.

Somethings happened today. I know that's shocking...

First, it was a watermelon brekkie with my Aussie friends, Sally and Richard. They're really fun people. They travel somewhere ever year. They've been in Egypt for a couple of months now. I read somewhere that 99 percent of tourists see just 1 percent of the country they visit. Suffice to say, Sally and Richard have seen all of Egypt.

Anyway, they'll eventually return to Oz, work like dogs for the winter, and then take off again.

Today's breakfast topic of conversation: how to wipe your bum sans TP!

They had bought a whole watermelon fresh off the cart. I stuffed myself silly.

In the afternoon, I went snorkeling with Mo. On the way to the rental shop we met up with Joey the American and Sarah, a chick from Cowtown, of all places! Her last known address was in Lake Bonavista.

They were on their way to The Islands (sounds like a hot Brooke Shields movie, eh?), a reef that was a 30 minute walk south of Dahab. Turned out to be a great choice. The reef was 50 metres offshore. It was shallow at first (up to my knees), then the bottom just dropped off. I mean just dropped off like a cliff. The depth at first was at least 30 metres. Crystal clear waters. The most colourful corals (brain, branched, fan-like) lined the craggy wall. Schools of the most colourful fish swam about, weaving in and out of the coral. Funny, as I swam along, a pack of tetras followed me.

Had me a little stoked for a SCUBA dive...

Out of Canuckistan: A travel blog, June 20/07
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