We ate too much, drank too much and had a thoroughly good time!

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1 Pre Party Every good dive trip begins with a stonking slap up meal, this is usually in one of the following: Nandos or the Cyprus Mangle in Victoria. This time round because of the unusually hot weather I hosted a barbeque at my place. We ate too much, drank too much and had a thoroughly good time!

2 Marsa Alam April 18 th April 25 th 2007 While thinking about the Birthday year celebrations Richard and I came up with a cunning plan to return to Marsa Alam to host a joint 40 th party and do some diving. Having done the advanced mission in January we both agreed that there couldn t be a better place to return to. (See Marsa Alam Jan 07 report for further details). The hotel and staff ate top notch, the diving superb and Phil and his team are second to none. Marsa Alam is Southern Red Sea. I ed Philippe in Marsa Alam with our plans and expectations and he promised to organise everything. The plan was hatched and invitations sent out to friends and family. Initially we had the usual excitement and interest from all over the globe but due to pressures of work and children a lot of people couldn t make it. In the end it was down to a few good people. I set up the booking with Regal Diving and got the trip plan sorted; My brother Arun Izzy flew in from Dominica to join us on the adventure and the stage was set. I organised all of the tickets, and timetables for us all to meet up at Victoria, we caught the 7:30 train to Gatwick and the adventure was under way. We rolled up at the check-in desk to be met by a very stern looking agent who questioned us as to the contents and weight of our bags, having convinced her that we were divers (showing our log books and certification cards) she organised the seating and let us go. To be honest she was thoroughly miserable, but did we care? Hell no! We then made our way to the security check and had everything x-rayed and following passport control we were in the Air side departures lounge. Arun and Richard went off to find food to feed their worms while I sauntered around the duty free picking up some stinks and looking for a suitable replacement for my dive shades. We knew what to expect on the aircraft and were soon called to the departure gate. Once on the aircraft, and airborne we played musical chairs to be more comfortable and were soon chilling out and waiting for lunch. If you haven t been on ThomsonFly before the seats are as follows: ABC DEF Row 9 is the front exit, the loos are mid ships.

3 Sitting together includes two aisle seats so be warned! The Cabin crew are always helpful and will move you if asked. The flight was fairly uneventful, the crew were very attentive and the only thing that disturbed us was a little bit of turbulence over the Alps. Our routing took us over Germany, Austria, Greece and we commenced our descent over Alexandria, too far from Cairo to see the pyramids but never the less the excitement was building. I was reading from the book of the dead as it s now called. Rich and I have been studying Egyptian on the quiet and we were refreshing the useful phrases. We descended out of the late afternoon sky and touched down at Marsa Alam International Airport in brilliant sunshine. We were met by the Rep, and ushered through customs to be baggage hall and to our waiting bus. When the rep came to collect the visa money we gave him a burst of Egyptian (itirim nafsac, ana mifallis imshee: for those who know any Egyptian stop laughing! For those who don t it loosely translates as behave your self, I m skint, don t bother me ). We paid up and had a laugh with our rep, enquiring as to our friend and Blue Sky Rep Ramadan, he was on leave and we left a message to tell him we were back and wanted to book the Luxor trip. The Blue Sky (Regal Reps) Ramadan (Right) We were back at our hotel within 10 minutes and on arrival the staff were jubilant welcoming Richard and I back with hugs and laughter, the place erupted! Even Ibrahim the Bell Captain was shaking his head in disbelief. It was the best welcome you could ask for; honestly it felt that that we were home. Ibrahim The Bell Captain. Main Reception The Coral Beach Diving Hotel

4 Phil met us in reception and the beaming smile said it all! We Checked in and left our passports with reception, and were shown to our rooms, 336 / 337 in the shark zone, I thought how appropriate. I asked for a kettle and coffee and tea in my room and it was organised. We went to our rooms, organised our dive gear, had some dinner booked a wake up call for seven am and fell into a deep sleep. Our Itenary was as follows: Wednesday London Gatwick to Marsa Alam Thursday Dive Friday Dive Birthday bash in the evening Saturday Dive Sunday 04:00hrs 00:30 Luxor Trip Monday Dive Tuesday Dive Wednesday Pack and head home arriving 23:30hrs

5 Day One: Marsa Shouni Kebier E W We woke at seven and headed down to the restaurant for Coffee and breakfast, taking our dive gear and log books with us for the Emperor Check in procedure. At 8am we made our way to the dive centre to be greeted by Philippe and the team. Once the paperwork and formalities were complete we were issued gear boxes for the week and the shore crew delivered our kit to the Ahlam Elbher (Sea Dream). Phil looked at Arun s log book and was amazed to see in excess of 10,000 logged dives! He had also organised the services of Janice Sherriffs (course director) for Gul for the week to get her through her Open Water Certification. The Ahlam Elbher Captain Ahmed and his team made us welcome

6 We headed out of port Ghalib south along the coast line arriving at Marsa Shouni Kebier, our Dive Master, Vanessa woke us for the briefing by sounding the bell and we made our way up to the sundeck. We discussed the plan and the buddy teams as well as the boat procedures and then made our way downstairs to the wet deck to get kitted up for action. I was with Richard and Arun and We left Gul with our Janice. Vanessa Janice Arun decided to be evil and removed my red filter from my camera, trying to teach me a lesson in how to play with the white balance so I thought I will get him back one day, I fitted my new wide angle lens and slipped into my new Waterproof suit and boots that I got from at LIDS in the spring and jumped off the wet deck with 8kg for good measure. Having flooded my suit we descended along the reef drifting in 22 degree water. For a laugh I decided to do Nitrox for the week, well it would be rude not to having done the course in January. We made our way along the north flank of the reef, to the right of the dive map above and really enjoyed ourselves.

7 Jelly fish Corals Arun setting up for Action Rich Good to go! More Corals Corals In addition to the usual suspects, there were giant morays, jelly fish, lion fish and nudibranch. It was a great dive and I cracked off loads of shots. When we returned to the mooring, I found Gul and Janice having fun under the boat. They both gave me the big OK and I surfaced for lunch.

8 . Lunch on the boats is LE40 per day ( 4) and is well worth it; the chef puts on a spread to die for and fills the belly for the next dive. Its fairly informal, buffet style and the price includes all the drinks (Tea, Coffee, Water and Cocoa Cola). We had a 2 hour surface interval then Vanessa hit the bell again. This time we kitted up and hopped in the Zodiac going to the south side of the reef. Vanessa gave the 3, 2, 1 Yallah Katyusha and we were over the side. I had some grief from my ears as I descended slowly, following the guys from above. Eventually when I equalised I joined them shooting Octopus, lions and Turtles. Never smile at a Crocodile.

9 Ras El Torfa W 25.43N After a wonderful first days diving and a lovely evening meal we joined the Ahlam Elbher for another days adventure. We set off from port around 8:20 and headed to Ras El Torfa, about an hour to the South. Lion Fish Pipe Fish Turtles Dave I buddied up with Arun and Richard again and we headed out along the north side of the reef seeing all the usual suspects.

10 Reef life Stone Fish Glass Fish and Others Gul and Janice were putting the final OW dives to bed. I can t forget the plastic shark that Aladdin keeps hidden under a fan coral.

11 We did two fabulous dives here and opted for a third at Marsa Morena 35.65N 25.51W I had dived Marsa Morena in January and enjoyed it. Pretty coral Gul and Janice Blue Spotted Rays were everywhere Corals

12 Final Open Water Dives Yep I m now Qualified! Gul had now, thanks and respect to Ms Sherriffs, qualified as an open water diver! The party that evening was going to be a triple celebration. We got back on the boat for Tea, after which we were all summoned to the Sun deck for a debriefing and we gave the Students a big round of applause. We got back to the docks around 6:30 and headed off for some rest. We agreed to meet the gang in the 50 Bar for drinks around 8:30.

13 The Birthday Party: Before going back to Marsa Alam I had organised with Phil to get a joint birthday cake for Both Richard and I. We had both turned 40 in the last month and decided to mark the occasion properly. We spoke to the Guest Services Manager, Ramona, and organised a death by chocolate cake. Rich and Arun. We sat in the bar chilling out and the other group from the boat were outside in the Shisha Zone enjoying the cool evening breeze. We were joined by the Emperor Dive team and had a lovely evening. When the cake arrived with happy birthday you old Gits on it Richard and I were stunned at its size, and believe me it tasted really good. My thanks go to Ramona and the catering team for organising this. Janice Phil Rich and I cut the cake together to the sounds of Happy Birthday being sung in various languages, English, French and Egyptian (although I am not sure about that one). It was really lovely. We all retired around 11:30 as we had an early start the next morning for Abu Dabab.

14 Abu Dabab N 25.34W Our Janice being a course director wrote a distinctive specialty on Dugong s there is one resident at Abu Dabab. We had our kit put on the Alham Elbher and headed off to Abu Dabab. On route we did the course in the Galley and arrived having been infused with her passion for these gentle creatures, not knowing to expect. The plan was to surface swim 100m into the bay and descend on to the sea grass and deploy in a line doing search patterns until we found Dennis as he is affectionately known. As we reached half way into the bay I looked below me and there he was!

15 We swam with him for about 10 minutes and took some photos then he ascended effortlessly for air and was gone. It was one of those moments that I will always treasure and when he looked at me and smiled it said it all. We surfaced for lunch with smiles on our faces and prepared our kit for another search session to see if we could find him again.

16 Having had a fabulous lunch we decided on the next search pattern and went in again. Unfortunately we didn t see Dennis but we still had lots of fun Stuart from Video Bubbles recorded the adventure Gul s first Dive as Open Water certified Puffer fish We emerged from the water having had a lovely dive, and the privilege of meeting Dennis the Abu Dabab Dugong. We all congratulated ourselves having completed the dugong awareness certification. This is now my highest level of certification when I get asked next. These are beautiful creatures and I guess Janice has three more converts to their cause.

17 Luxor Karnak Having organised the trip with the local Reps we booked the Vegetarian breakfast box and a 3am wake up call. We boarded our bus for the start of our journey north. We followed the coast road to Safaga and changed coach joining Mr Mohamed Kamal on bus 10, one zero, ten. When he saw us his face dropped, he knew he was in for a comical day! We knew that at the first pit stop he would make a bee line for his chair and Shisha pipe so Richard legged it trying to beat him to it, but he sussed us and grabbed his second spot instead. It was great to see him and Rich and I were impersonating him. Mr Mohamed Kamal The best tour guide you can get. We left Safaga having been counted back on the bus and settled in for the long ride. On the bus Mohamed saw me with the book of the dead and when he found out what was in it he was fearful for my life! We arrived in Karnak at 10:30 in 38 degrees Celsius. I left the main group and crept off to take photos in the area I missed in January I am not even going to attempt to comment on these so have a look and enjoy!

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20 Yep I got him so bad he couldn t speak for five minutes, I know my Egyptian works! He will never ask that question again.

21 We Left Karnack heading for the Little Chef Habiba restaurant for a buffet lunch (again drinks not included) The food was excellent and plentiful. It was also nice to splash your face with ice cold water in the loo. Outside there is a spice shop that is well worth a visit.

22 The Valley Of the Kings. After lunch we made our way to the Necropolis, crossing the Nile over the new bridge, and as we got closer to the Valley of the King s the outside temperature was reading 45 Celsius. Mohamed gave us the drill and ESP and we headed off Taking photos in the tombs is forbidden, so you buy the cards on the way out. We did three different ones this time and they were stunning. We left the Valley having run a gauntlet of urchins that were polite for once! We headed on to the Temple of Hatchepsut, Richard was getting very dehydrated at this point.

23 The Temple of Hatchepsut. Indiana Izzy and the Temple of Hatchepsut We left the Valley of the Kings and the serious heat behind and headed for the Temple of Hatchepsut. Richard was seriously dehydrating and we put extra water in to him and the air conditioning on full blast to cool him down. He rode this visit out. We arrived on site having had the full works from Mr Mohamed and a warning not to inflame the natives by cursing them in Egyptian. Once we passed trough Security we headed off to the temple on the electric carts. The Temple is amazing but not a lot to see just the three levels and a few statues The last of the artwork is hidden in a corner, having been fleeced in January by a guide I took the gang straight there.

24 We headed off from here after an hour in the sun and a few Ice creams, on the way back to the bus it was clear that the urchins had been taught manners, either that or the security guards MP5 got them worried. We boarded the bus for a visit to a local alabaster factory.

25 The Alabaster factory Having been here before I knew what to expect. We are given a tour by the owner then told how they make the vases and trinkets and then we are shown into the shop. The stuff in there is nice but not my cup of tea, however, a certain person took nearly every penny in my pocket and got a bargain to remember! We left the Alabaster factory and drove to the statues of Agamemnon.

26 The Statues of Agamemnon It was reported by the invading Roman Generals that the states cried when the wind blew, in reality it was the wind whistling through the bricks, they attempted to repair them but failed miserably. These two statues have seen plenty of action over the millennia and are still there today whistling in the wind, a testament to time itself. I decided to do the optional 15 minute ride on the Nile while the bus went over the bridge.

27 Nile Cruise. Even in the late afternoon the temperature was roasting. We pulled up along the banks of the Nile and boarded a water taxi for a quick trip downstream to the meeting point.

28 It made a nice change to take this trip; the water although it looked foul had a cooling effect in the heat. We crossed the river and disembarked and rejoined the bus back to Safaga. At the end of the day we had a brilliant trip, there is so much to take in on a single day trip but it is definitely worth it, if you do go get on Bus 10 (ten, One Zero) with Mr Mohamed Kamal, his commentary is brilliant, informative and above all else his English is perfect and he has a great sense of humour, well he put up with us again and survived. Our thanks to Mohamed for another memorable day trip, it was the best my friend Shukran Ghazilan.

29 Marsa Shouni Kebier 36.68N 25.46E Gul and I were on the house boat today while Arun and Richard went to Elphinstone. The wind had changed direction and made the sea pretty choppy, because of the distance to Elphinstone the Biggest boat Alham Elbher took the divers, we were on the Samaha with Roberto We were moored to the south this time (on the left above). The Samaha The boat was lovely, just the right size. We discovered a split in the HP hose on the Datamax that Gul was using and replaced it with a spare analogue SPG. Following Roberto s briefing we dropped in off the back of the boat and descended to 15 m slowly, I had ear grief and didn t mind too much. We headed inshore with the reef on our left. As part of the Earth Dive day we were looking for rubbish to remove.

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31 That Evening after diving we all met up in the 50 Bar for surprises from PADI, Emperor and the Hotel. Phil made each of us choose an envelope and the prizes included discounts in the hotel and Emperor Shop. We all had a lovely time even Aladdin was seen lurking in a corner somewhere! Every diver that took part in the conservation efforts was rewarded with a certificate and a gift from either the hotel or Emperor Divers.

32 Elphinstone Reef Text and Photos A. Madisetti Leaving the dock later than expected we arrived on site to be greeted by a swarm of liveaboard boats who had taken the opportunity of a calm gorgeous day to begin the move back towards port. We all had expectations of seeing hammerheads and oceanic white tips, but it was not to be, the noise of the large generators and constant chugging of the liveaboard engines ensured that the dives were pleasurable and adrenaline free rather than the action packed point-a thon we d all anticipated. Dropping from zodiac onto the eastern side of the reef we followed the briefing and dropped to the north plateau in search of good stuff, having found none we then worked our way back up the edge of the reef and along the wall. The day was current free and having had 20 knot winds all week blissfully calm, this does nothing for soft corals as they remain in their retracted form, looking like brightly shaped lumps of misshapen latex. The dive was going swimmingly until we were beset by Italians, divers from another boat who proceeded to dive bomb every member of the group, spread out as we were, and elbow and kick us whenever possible. This also raised hackles of those taking photos as inevitably one would drop between camera and model or swim below and send bubbles up to ruin a perfectly usable shot. This happened to me more than three times and to others as well. Using universal sign language for thank you very much now please go some of the offenders went shallower and left us alone. One particular dramatic feature on the wall was a huge Sea fan reminiscent of the monster which used to grace the reef between Shark and Yolanda reefs in the late 1980-mid 1990 s. Sadly this colony has been loved to death over the years. The colony here on Elphinstone is thriving not only due to the frequent currents ripping by, but also the fact that it is thankfully remote. The remainder of the dive passed by without incident until it was time to surface. Then the troubles with Zodiacs began. On surfacing a kindly captain offered us a ride back to our boat, having surfaced essentially well clear of the reef so we could be picked up. He then began to grab equipment and made it feel like he was being paid by the head to collect. Thankfully I didn t part with my camera and our captain came to our rescue. Whilst I applaud the unwritten rule to assist other divers on this reef, one should be mindful of equipment, and, if you re on a clock, just ensure they are ok and leave them to be picked up by their own crew. This was only round one. Dive two on the southern plateau began with a huge +2.5m green moray out on the reef and looking for a hole, this was quickly followed by a host of cornet fish hanging around like mobile pick up sticks tantalizingly out of reach. There was a slight current and this had ensured some vibrant colour for the southern plateau in 28m or so. Juvenile Napoleon wrasse cruised by, whilst out in the blue a school of large jacks were hovering just beyond visibility waiting for us to leave

33 Time being short we were limited to a few quick assessments of the corals and rapid poses for images, before beginning our ascent to the western side of the reef. Keeping the reef to our rights we were fairly spread out along the wall, for the most part I couldn t see the buddy pair ahead of mine, and everyone was having a wonderful time. Then the Italians arrived. Just as before elbowing, and kicking despite the vastness of the open ocean to our left. Sadly one of their crowd sustained a fin stroke to the extreme upper leg whilst trying to barge my buddy into the reef. My buddy is not to be messed with, he fights back. After a while the horde swam by us attempting to swim the entire length of the 400metre reef formation in one go. This allowed us to enjoy our dive, viewing the incredible overhangs and coral formations along the way. The usual suspects were in attendance, Cornet fish, and Anthias. Sadly, air not time necessitated a return to the surface, and this is where the fun began. Hanging in 3 metres for our safety stop we were constantly beset by the buzzing of Zodiacs running as fast as they could along the reef for pick ups. I know it was not our boat as we had a much smaller engine and our captain thankfully was awesome when there are divers in the water. Knowing what bubbles at the surface means. The safety stop over, my buddy and I began to ascend, I unfurled my safety sausage and began blowing it up as a surface marker for our captain. My buddy was around 60 cm above me when he almost became decapitated by a twin engined zodiac. Cursing audibly as we looked at each other, assuring that we were both ok, we tried again, only to be buzzed again. As it passed we surfaced behind and shouted for the captain to stop, he did, and turned his vessel around. We asked if he knew what a safety sausage was and that he should not be passing overhead when there are bubbles below. Returning a blank look he revved his engine. We took this as a get lost, so we thanked him, and his parentage very loudly in a multitude of languages as he sped off to collect Italians. Our captain had seen what happened and went upon collecting us to talk to him also; apparently the captain of the Italian zodiac was deaf as well as clueless. Elphinstone ~ lovely reef, shame about the Italians!

34 The Coral Beach Diving Hotel. This is part of the Millennium Hotel chain and as its name suggests it is geared up for diving. The Hotel itself is run by Waleed El Guindy and his team and they will make your stay memorable. Everything is possible and his staff are a credit to the place. The hotel and its staff will make you feel welcome and a member of their family, extending traditional Egyptian Hospitality to you from the moment the bus swings into the hotel complex. Waleed and Ramona have the jewel in the crown of Upper Egypt. Mr Waleed The General Manager Ramona the Guest Services Manager Thomson and Tour operators will warn you about the construction going on around the port and hotel, and to be totally honest you will not hear it! Yes there are diggers and other heavy plant machinery in the bay but they start when the boats leave and finish before you return. The most amount of noise is from the guests. So unless you are staying on a sun chair by the pool it wont affect you.

35 The restaurant is buffet style and accommodation is on a half board basis. If you have any special requests like Jelly the Chef and his team are more than happy to accommodate you The only Extras are the drinks bill, the rooms are modern, comfortable and have a fridge, TV, walk in shower and electronic. Every room has two beds, a sofa and balcony. The house keeping staff clean the rooms to a very high standard and refresh the towels twice a day often making designs out of them as a surprise for you.

36 The Main Pool by night The Wet bar By night The Promenade The view from our room The hotel has three shops within the compound, The Emperor shop, a T-shirt and souvenirs shop and a general store selling souvenirs and sweets as well as basic toiletries.

37 Port Ghalib. I posted the story of the port in the January report so here are a few shots from around the harbour. The Port Authority Building The chap who owned this had a few Quid it was spotless and registered to the BVI, no rust, scratches or dents! Our sincerest thanks to Waleed and the Coral Beach Diving Hotel team, as they say We will be back!

38 Emperor Divers: Our visit in January was two fold, the first to check out the hotel and the second to see how Emperors Marsa Alam operation worked. In January we experienced their hospitality and it was second to none. Richard and I decided then and there to come back for our birthday bash. Philippe and his team are a credit to Emperor Divers; they are very friendly and willing to help and advise where necessary or just leave you alone to enjoy the diving. The shore crew can t do enough for you and the dive masters are relaxed in their approach but very safety conscious and do their utmost to ensure all their guests, what ever their level have a fantastic time. I had some specific requests that I put to Phil before flying out and he came up trumps, he managed to book in Janice to finish Gul s Open Water certification and he organised the cake with Ramona. I thought it was a touch that the boat crew made me a coffee when they spotted me sauntering along the docks. The boats are of a superior standard crewed by willing and attentive staff, the on board chefs cook up a storm twice a day, lunch and tea. Our Sincerest thanks to Philippe and the Emperor Team in Marsa Alam for everything. You know we will be back!

39 Further pictures have been posted to my brothers community website This report is dedicated to the professionalism of the staff of The Coral Beach Diving Hotel, Emperor Divers Marsa Alam, Philippe Natural, Janice Sherriffs, Vanessa and the Emperor Crew, the Boat captains and their Crews, the shore teams, Mohammed Kamal, Ramadan, my brother Arun and my two best friends who helped celebrate and make our 40 th birthday trip go in style. And last but not least my wife April for letting me go! I am sure its only a matter of time before one or more of us get itchy feet and go again, Phil tells me there is to be fun had in July