Late Arrival Culminating In A Great Day!

Finally arrived in Egypt and Sharm El Sheikh well Naama Bay to be exact.

After a 4 hour delay in Manchester we touched down shortly after 12.30am local time (10.30pm UK) and I was very swiftly met by the dive center rep as I came in to the area of passport control, straight off the bus from the plane, which was great and he already had my local visa which saved me waiting in a very long queue! Managing to get into a much smaller queue for passport control I wasn't waiting too long before I was waiting to be reunited with my luggage... ha ha ha... this is where the fun began... we were the only plane to arrive and there were 3 luggage carousels and they were only using one and it was quite a small carousel. As the carousel filled up and the owners of said luggage were still in the queue getting their visas and through passport control it ground to a complete halt! It left those of us waiting, looking at each other in complete bemusement as to why they couldn't use the other carousels to keep things moving. The way they piled it all on was unreal and subsequently there were bags and suitcases going all directions. In the end to get it moving... we started taking the bags off and lining them away from the carousel... and thats how the process went, they filled it and every time it ground to a halt, we took them off and lined them up... never dreamt I would start my holiday being a baggage handler! It seamed like an age before my bag came through. Once it was it was to the bus and a 10 minute ride into Naama Bay and the dive center. By this time it was getting on for 2am and I was glad to get in sort my immediate things out and have 10 minutes letting the world catch up with a sit on the balcony with a cold drink. It was lovely and it wasn't temperature wise cold either.

It didn't take long to fall asleep and didn't seem too long before it was time to get up for breakfast and find out the days events. Yesterday I had been fearful that I would lose a days diving because of the delay but no... 2 dives booked in for, for the day and the start of my PADI Advanced Open Water. We made todays dives shore dives so that I could start later and by 10.30 I was kitted and having a briefing with Pete my instructor for the course. specialities chosen, Pete briefed me on the days dives and before I knew it we were on the house reef perfecting my bouancy and navigating in straight lines and in a square. All good fun, a gentle saunter back still with a good level of air left we had a wander around the reef spotting the largest clown fish I have seen, several lion fish and lots of others others. I really need a fish identification card so I can tick them off.

Lunch stop and surface interval and it was back in to do some fin pivots, hovering and perfecting the bouancy again. Another wander around the house reef and this time a real treat... a Moray Eel!

A great start to my week... it can only get better as my further dives will be from the boat.

Went out for dinner with the other guys in the center and it was a bit like having 5 body guards!

Absolutely shattered now though! Late arrival and my already tired state taking its toll.

Photo is of Naama Bay main strip... a very quiet main strip!