October 22

Up for breakfast, then down to the dive center. My dive master, Patrick, is German, and learned to dive in Grand Cayman, where his uncle, Martin, has managed the Grand Old House restaurant for twenty-five years. I told Patrick that we'd tell Uncle Martin that he'd said that we'd get special attention in December, if we mentioned his name.


Patrick proposes that we do our first dive off the shore at the hotel, but I nix that, telling him that, after 30 years of diving, I don't need a check-out dive. He inquires, and says that we can go out in a zodiac, but we'll have to share with some other people, though he and I will dive together, alone. This is fine with me and, after I'm outfitted with gear, we bounce over waves at high speed, our rubber boat propelled by two 200-horsepower motors.


Rolling backwards into the sea at wood house Reef, I find that the current and inadequate weight on my belt requires some adjustment, but within a few minutes, with Patrick's help, I'm fine. Our second dive, at Ras Nasrani, it's just me, Patrick and the boat driver. The first dive had a maximum depth of 68' for 52 minutes, the second, 84' for 55 minutes. Diving was terrific, the water clear and warm. The reefs of hard coral were vibrantly colorful and in great condition.


Among the creatures we saw (not divided by dive) were mushroom coral, red amenome (sp?), clownfish, checkerboard wrasse; crown, exquisite and threadfin butterfly fish; regal and yellow bar angelfish; peppered and giant morays; fluted and common clams (which were beautiful), lion fish,Red Sea bannerfish, common reef squids, varicose wart slug, pajama chromodroids (sp?), and Picasso triggerfish. In short, the experience lived up to expectations, and I wish I could have done a few more days of diving.


Came back to the room and lost two of three games of gin rummy, despite wearing the ring I'd been given by the monk at St. Catherine's. Disappointing. After a rest, we went down to the lovely pool area and lay on some lounges, an experience marred somewhat by loud children, egged on and uncontrolled by a grandfather in the pool. A great relief not to have to deal with the excessive heat we've encountered elsewhere in Egypt. Hope that Cairo will not be oppressively hot. Took the funicular up to the room and relaxed a bit before dinner.

Excellent Indian dinner outside by the pool, cool breeze and nearly full moon. Back to the room to prepare for tomorrow's departure to Cairo, our last stop, and something that's likely to be dramatically different from anything we've experienced on the trip.