Dahab - loafer centrale

  Assalah (Dahab), Egypt
Monday, February 27, 2006

Greetings again from sunny Egypt.

After the 24 hour mission across the breadth of the country I'm ensconced in Dahab and as happy as Larry - possibly even happier - because this is one mellow place.

It's approaching Spring here so the weather is perfect but around the traps it's still winding up to peak season, meaning the crowds haven't quite descended yet. The snorkelling and diving is great, it's not too expensive and I'm meeting some nice people. Everything a slightly travel-weary guy could need.

I might just stay awhile...



The cheaper, less 'resorty' part of town is known as Assalah while the Hilton et als are down the road in Dahab Town. It's difficult to describe the lay of land because it's so decentralised, but I'm staying in a diver hotel called Penguin that's somewhere in between the two centres, and at the start of a finger of land that leads out to a protected marine area. I like the location - it's quieter but still has a pleasant community feel.





Beach, reefs and loungey cafes stretch all the way along the coastline, occasionally punctuated by a palm tree or three. The domed hotels add a distinct flavour to it all and if you're not in the water or climbing in the Sinai mountains then stretch out a low table and work on the blog. Nice.



That said, there's not much else to do or see here. Despite the signage you can trundle about on a horse or came through gently lapping waves, and the ruins of the old Nabataean Port (that was once a centre of trade in the Gulf of Aqaba) hold interest for a couple minutes. It beats the hell out of Sharm el Sheikh but sun, water and loafing are the still the only orders of the day.



After dark you do much the same - music drifts the breeze from open air restaurants vying for custom. Most of the food ain't great and it's a little pricey ($US5-10) but the multitude of friendly cats coming to dine makes eating an entertaining challenge. You stick to the beer and they polish off the leftovers - it's a happy coexistence that seems to work well.



I mentioned the reefs in passing before but they deserve special attention. Even the house reefs are high quality here, meaning you can walk straight out from pretty much any hotel along the coastline and be amongst some amazing marine life. The first thing I saw when I did this was the moray eel below - a talking point if seen on most dives but seemingly pretty commonplace here.



In half an hour off the 'Penguin Hotel Shelf' (the reef is situated on a 10 metre or so wall here) I'd also seen a Lionfish, a multitude of very colourful tropicals including some quite large guys (2-3 footers), a puffer fish or two and some interesting, healthy hard corals. It's high quality despite the easy accessibility and subsequent high traffic is very surprising indeed. Just watch out for the anemones in the shallows when you're getting to the shelf!



Which all bodes well for some actual diving further afield tomorrow. Bring it on!

(Later note: I'm probably being a little unfair on the food here - you can find some pretty good chow but it is still relatively expensive.)

Next entry -> more wonders of the deep at Moray Garden.

Did you know

They've just found the remains of a new (well, pretty old) Sun Temple in Cairo under a local market. Looks like the great man Ramses II built it during his 66 year reign. Details here.