January 1, 2003 — Mudeif Productions

Today we headed back out to the Egyptian waters - our experience of the other day was too wonderful to pass up again. Elizabeth went out solo first while Marthame spent a little extra time in the Mt. Sinai recovery program.

After lunch, Marthame went to the dive shop for a scuba lesson - unfortunately, the teacher was apparently hung over in Sharm al-Sheikh after a late New Year's Eve (ah, Dahab). So he joined Elizabeth snorkeling instead.

It's amazing how much more you can see on a second round along basically the same route. The water was much calmer today, though, hardly a ripple across the surface. Underneath, the Red Sea teemed with life. Now we are armed with a couple of underwater cameras and a Red Sea identification guide - we're becoming pros! Here, a blue-specked deep orange boxfish darted among the plants, its wide rectangular shape its prominent feature. There, a poisonous lionfish turned its back to us as we approached, its quills pointed in our direction. Nearby, a moray eel poised menacingly under a rock. The dangerous and not so dangerous share this space together. The waist high water over the reef extends virtually from our hotel room door out about fifty yards until it drops off - corals, urchins, and fish cascading to a murky depth.

The late afternoon light came in at a spectacular angle, though it made spotting things a little more difficult. The calmness of the water gave us the chance to simply float, breathe slowly, and watch the spectacular parade pass beneath us. A surgeonfish, its whole body outlined with a magnificent neon blue stripe, swam nonchalantly nearby, knowing its beauty well enough to stop and pose for us. Not only did we marvel at the brightly colored parrotfish, but, as we came close enough, we also noted the crisp crunching sound they make as they chomp on coral. Considering how effortlessly they bit through rock-hard coral, we were glad they showed no interest in more fleshy, mammalian snacks. More butterflyfish darted here and there, as did damselfish and schools of striped sergeant majors.

The end of this glorious break has come all too soon, but it's clear that we'll be back.