I have never been to Egypt at this time of year before either and the heat was incredible. I was glad I was scuba diving and underwater for most of the time. The temperature was rarely below 39 and reached as high as 44 in Sharks Bay the other day.
There were 22 of us travelling with Crystal Divers and we stayed at the Sonesta Club. ( review will be posted). We dived with Emperor Divers and we had our own day boat..the Kastan Sea. I cannot praise this dive firm enough. We had 2 dive guides in Susi and Tammi and our own Divemaster wannabe Matt. Nothing was too much trouble and we visited the most amazing dive sites. We did the Fiddle Garden, Near Garden, Tower reef, Jackfish Alley, Shark and Yolanda, Dunraven, The Ras Mohammed park, Woodhouse, Ras Katy, Jackson Reef, Raas Umm Sid, Thistlegorm and many more. Although horrified at the amount of dead coral that is appearing, I experienced a turtle underwater and had the added bonus of snorkelling with one the following day when it surfaced for a quick sunblast right where I was! We also saw dolphins and encountered sharks ( although we were in the boat then on our way somewhere and they were chasing the tuna..whipping up a right frenzy!)
I encountered all the usual men trying to drag you into a shop with all the usual patter..and me and the boy encountered the taxi ride from hell that terrified him ( 16) so much that he refused to go into naama Bay again. On the sunday I had promised my son a visit to Hard Rock Cafe for tea before watching the footy final. The guard at our hotel flagged a taxi for us, I agreed the price and then saw through the window that there were 2 people in the back already..and one of them was a burkha clad person glaring at my son ( which unnerved him greatly). I then refused the taxi..but the driver said "it's ok, my brother and wife" and the guard at our hotel indicated it was ok for me to get in. I put Gav in the front as I thought this might be more comfortable to the burkha clad woman in the back and I sat next to her. Well, the driver set off at 100mph, weaving in and out of the traffic, driving down the middle of the lanes, pipping as they do and narrowly avoiding several collisions. He then pulled over at another hotel and then the 2 other passengers got out and there began a fierce arguement between the 2 men over money. me and Gav just looked at each other and had to decide whether to make a run for it..not having a clue where we were we decided to stay. He got back in and proceeded to Naama Bay but went past the drop off point for the taxi's and carried on going. Alarm bells ringing as to what to do next..he then did a U turn and went back towards Naama Bay..but then dropped us off right near the pedestrian walkway..so I figured I was happy. It came to paying and mysteriously he had "no change"..so i started arguing with him. Gav was out the car saying to me " mother just get out the car, pay him, just give him it and get out the car". I know it was only buttons but to me it was the principal..anyway, i got some of my change back and was still going to argue further whn I took one look at Gav's face and saw how upset and terrified he was and decided to back down. Well, some geezer called Mohammed appeared from nowhere..it was the taxi drivers brother and he was straight into my ribs for me to go to his shop and sign his book for english phrases..well you can guess which one I was going to put by this point! He just would not leave us and I literally had to push my hand in his face before he backed off. After that..me and the boy were pounced on rather aggressively by every crook, con man and charlatan there was going..often 4 or 5 of them swarming round us. I told Gav just to keep walking, avoid eye contact and not speak..but some of them were very intimidating. Gav was almost in tears by the time we got to Hard Rock Cafe and I really had to coax him to actually leave the place. He then did not want to watch the footy at the Camel bar as planned but wanted to return to the sanctuary of the hotel..which meant braving all the looky looky men again. Anyway, we did, but we got far less hassle this time and we got a decent driver who did not scare Gav. So much so that Gav wanted me to give him a tip!
We watched the footy back in the hotel..amongst many Germans and 122 Uruguayans who were supporting Spain. There were a few English and we were all cheering for Spain..the atmosphere was great.
The Jetties in the morning where the dive boats are are totally chaotic and there were crackdowns in place..they said due to this Conference with Mugabe there. We all had to have our passports with us at all times and had to go through several searches before we could even get onto the jetty to board our boats. One day I missed the dive bus from the hotel and had to make my own way to the jetty. To get there on time and to stop the boat from sailing without me and to jump the queue in front of some very unhappy Germans meant that I had to slip some Officials a bit of cash on the sly..but I would not call it bribery..it worked and I made the boat..but I don't think I will talk about that story here..all my mates say I have been involved in bribery and corruption of officials..and maybe that is not a good thing!
There are shops and bars galore and the place is teeming with people at night..i found it too busy but alo very entertaining watching the locals fall out. 2 guys got very animated an had a punch up right in the street outside thier shops!
One thing I would say to everyone is drink drink and drink more bottled water than you have ever drunk before. It is so hot there..stifling and dehydration can cause all sorts of problems..not least for divers as it can increase the risk of decompression illness..even if you have dived within table limits. In addition. nearly all of our party had a dose of Pharoahs Revenge...and this may have been caused by the heat..the food at our hotel or just maybe from handling the filthy cash..some of us were worse than others..but this makes you even more dehydrated.
All in all, I enjoyed the diving on certain sites..but it is heartbreaking to see how the coral is being destoyed..and lets face it..when you have idiot dive guides such as the local one who grabbed me by the scruff of the neck as i was about to take a photo of a Moray and then clamped his left hand firmly on the coral and proceeded to torment with Moray with his right hand to try and drag it our from under its reef, while at the same time beckoning his 2 divers forward for a closer look and asking me to take a photo of him doing this..well it is no wonder the coral is being destroyed. Anyway, i told him what i thought he was by way of a well known hand signal and our Emperor Dive Guide wagged his finger at him and told him no..but then amazingly..he gestured that he wanted to have a fist fight on the surface with our guide. What a tool.
To finish..Naama bay was very busy and there is something for everyone. The diving is excellent. The locals drive you nuts trying to fleece you for £ all the time. The hotel was good. I would go back.
. a brilliant and honest review of sharm and Naama bay. Reading between the lines I just know you enjoyed it .
