We are travelers on vacation

(by Annie) Those of you who are loyal facebook supporters will notice that Rachael has changed her profession to world traveler. Sure, it might be a bit of a joke, but there is always an element of work to traveling. Dahab, which means “gold” in Arabic, is the traveler’s vacation. There is absolutely nothing work-like in this amazing man made holiday resort.

I have seen, stayed, and even lived on beaches, but this is something completely different. If it wasn’t for the scuba community who knows what form Dahab would take, who knows what it even looked like five years prior.

Since we arrived at night we were looking forward to seeing the sea and the boardwalk in daytime. Well at 7a.m. there was not a soul to see. Apparently we had missed the memo that nobody gets up until almost 11 a.m. So, we took a calming waltz down to one of the farthest restaurants and had some breakfast. Now, I guess I should explain there is literally restaurant after dive shop, after hotel that just continues until the towering hillsides come into the shores.

After our breakfast we went into town to look for food and supplies. It is always cheaper to find water, fruit, and even Pepsi away from the tourist places. About ten minutes later we were in the Egyptian part of Dahab and loaded up on supplies. We always think that the bread, water, and fruit we buy will last us days. That hasn’t happened yet, oh well. We took a random side street and found ourselves back on the Dahab strip to see one of the more famous diving and snorkeling spots – the Eel Garden. Guess what that area is famous for?

We made our way back to the hotel and struck up a conversation with Mohamed – who was our hotel’s dive master. A Jordanian Venezuelan navy brat made scuba sound awesome. Rachael needed no convincing and in the end I guess I didn’t either. Before I knew it I was signing my life away and trying on wet suits. After a quick orientation we were in the water for our beginner dive. I have never really fallen in love with snorkeling and frankly spending time in any body of water that is not a pool scares me. But, I gave it the college try. It was very apparent that Rachael’s level and mine were very different. So, Arvie “Harvey” our instructor took her for a go around the coral reef and then he took me for a spin in shallower water.

Scuba diving is like a passport into a completely different world. The amazingly beautiful colors of the coral combined with fishes and eels only told in storybooks. I never thought the process of breathing would be so tiring. The compressed air makes it a little more laborious and by the time our 30 minute swim was done, I was fairly exhausted. Did I actually scuba dive, no, but I was a kick ass snorkeling scuba diver who now has a partner in crime who LOVES scuba.

We love Dahab, the beer and sheesha are the icing on the cake. Plus, we have discovered a restaurant that has free humus. Dinner anyone? We are travelers on vacation. Life is hard, 9 days down and 96 to go.