Sharm el-Sheikh

What a difference between yesterday and today in terms of poverty and squalor versus wealth and immaculate streets.  Sharm el-Sheikh is Egypt’s resort on The Red Sea.  The City of Peace is known for its turquoise waters, long beaches, and superb snorkeling and scuba diving. 

Snorkeling is on the agenda today.  We’re only here until 2 PM.  We set out on a bus to boats.  Again, there’s a whole gang of us, but unlike at The Great Barrier Reef where we were all packed into one huge boat, here we split off into boats that carry just 30 passengers each. 

After a 20 minute cruise passing hotel after hotel, we anchor over the reef which is just offshore.  No masks with corrective lens, so I skip the snorkeling again.  Instead I paddle around in the very buoyant waters of The Red Sea.  It’s glorious.  After some time at this spot, anchors aweigh and on to another spot.  Back to the ship.  A good day.

The snorkelers say that this was better than The Great Barrier Reef, better than Goa, better than Bora Bora.  There are so many hotel rooms and Egypt is starved for tourism.  You can probably get a deal.