Beauty in Sinai

Now that we are certified to scuba dive in the open water, Ann Marie and I could join Matt, Alex, his wife Navah, and a few others on a boat trip in the Sinai. For three days all we did was eat, sleep, and dive. The diving was incredible. The coral and fish were even more numerous and stunning than in Eliat. Our underwater camera developed completely empty so Romel sent me some of his pictures - we didn't actually get to see the shark (and the squid was for dinner!). The colors underwater were unbelievable. Bright colors covered the fish in intricate designs and patterns. I could have spent all day just looking at the detail that both decorated and camouflaged them.


Underwater wasn't the only place we were able to see beautiful sea creatures. Early in the evening, the boat was gliding over the waves to our new dive site when a pod of dolphins surfaced around us. They jumped and raced as the crew whistled encouragingly. The cutest of the 30(ish) dolphins were the mom and baby that jumped and raced nose to nose with the boat. They held us mesmerized for a few minutes and then disappeared as silently as they had come. The next day we had anchored near a huge column of coral that rose over 30 meters from the sea floor to make a shallow coral reef. About 10 other day-trip, dive boats were anchored near us when we heard shouts and saw people pointing at the water. A sea turtle had surfaced and was making its way through the maze of boats and divers. A few people swam after it, but they were warned not to touch or "ride" it.