Eid Break in Dahab

Holidays on the Red Sea can be so stressful and strenuous at times.  Waking up to the waves crashing against the rocky beach then strolling down (I don’t stroll, but you get the idea) the boardwalk to our preferred Bedouin café for a hot Nescafé and a cool banana milk shake….  Pretty rough, would you say?

Every morning since Monday has begun that same way, but on the third morning I laid back against the beach pillow and thought, “Can it get much better then this?”  Suddenly, I was struck from my daze to hear Sameh, dive instructor by profession tour guide by heart, had reserved us a yacht to explore the untouched sea life Dahab and the Red Sea have to offer.  (Like I said, stress-ful!)

With our scuba gear in toe, we cruised through the Red Sea to find a far-off-land called Gaber El-Bint with a beautiful reef protected by a large cove.  The boat saddled up next to three others of the same magnitude and the games were on; scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming or reading on the upper deck- just to name a few.   All the while, the crew was busy preparing lunch for their guests to be served under the boat’s canopy, overlooking the reef and coastal mountains.

My choice of poison was scuba diving, as I had decided to take this trip as a chance to earn my diving certification.  This morning was my second day of training.  The first day was at a rocky beach and was spent primarily on the shore going over drills and discussing diving techniques.  By the end of the day, I had completed two 4-meter dives while practicing the application of those drills and techniques underwater.

I was excited to begin my second day of training because I was to have my first open water dive.  However, during my decent, I began to have troubles equalizing my ears.  Not really understanding the intensity of pain this could create I continued to descend until I reach 8 meters.  At that point, I reached my threshold of pain and had to go back up.  However, on my ascent I experienced something called a reverse block, which caused additional squeezing in my ears and provided a quick shot of vertigo sending me into a spinning whirl-wind.  As I reflect back at that moment a day later, I don’t remember if it was really that painful or just the fear that I was stuck at 5 meters under the sea and could not go up or down until my ears released some pressure.  When I finally reached the surface with the instructor by my side, I was more pissed off at myself than anything.  Every other diver was below me, why couldn’t I get down there?   Sameh sent me back to the boat and suggested I refrain from diving until we get my ears checked by the doc later that evening.  (which I was also not very pumped about….).

In the end, turns out there was swelling and bleeding in both my ears that were caused by my lack of equalization (and possibly a head cold).  I was not very pleased when the doctor scolded me for being reckless and continued to rain on my parade by ending my dive training until the swelling goes down and the bleeding stops.  So, with only two days left in our trip I am S.O.L.  However, after much consideration, I have decided because the water is so crystal clear blue, the food, beer and hotel are so incredibly cheap and the dive is already paid for, I will be back sooner than one thought… for another strenuous weekend in Dahab.