Journey to Marsa Alam
Dedicated to the blessed memory of Lera (Zhabetta)
Hello, dear friends, like-minded people and travelers!
Flew like 1 day our 10th holiday in Egypt and 2nd in Marsa Alam. The review on the Concorde Moreen hotel was written, I would like to dwell on the specifics of the rest in Marsa Alam as a whole, maybe the story will be useful to someone.
After our "failed" holiday in Safaga in 2009. we vowed to go to the remote villages of Egypt and firmly "settled" in Sharm el-Sheikh. But the soul asked for adventure and new experiences. We began to read a little reviews and stories in other places, and Marsa Alam aroused keen interest. Lera's stories and photographs had a special influence on the choice of vacation (connoisseurs of Mars Alam know what kind of person she was, who does not know, there are many of her stories and amazing photographs here). I would like to see this beauty in person.
Marsa Alam is a very specific place, it is designed for a certain tourist, it all depends on the priorities in the rest. This small fishing village south of Hurghada is located in the wild desert and consists of the village itself and about 60 hotels that stretch along the coast or in groups (2-5 hotels each) or singly (within a radius of 5 km there can only be a desert and sea). Planes do not fly to Marsa Alam from Ukraine, from Russia, in my opinion, only from Moscow and only from 1 tour operator. Transfer from Hurghada Airport to the hotel takes 3-5 hours. Far away, but worth it.
In general, around only the desert and the sea. Who would like such a holiday? First of all, true romantics and fans of the Red Sea. Wild unexplored terrain, the coral is not trampled, the fish are not frightened, the yachts do not ride on the head and the divers are not unloaded on the head, there are not many people (mainly Europe).
It is probably wonderful to spend a honeymoon or wedding anniversary in such an atmosphere. Or simply, if you have developed to such a state that phone calls cause panic, the word “work” causes hysteria, and you want to throw the computer out the window, then the nervous system simply requires solitude and enjoyment of silence and nature. Welcome to Marsa Alam!
In a word, a vacation in Marsa Alam can be described as "intelligent". The resort began to develop intensively only in recent years, the first traveling "brothers" did not get here in the 90s. In addition, for those who like to spend their entire vacation in a horizontal position on the beach, using the round-the-clock "all inclusive" this area is not of particular interest due to its remote location from the airport. Much more effective for this purpose, you can spend time in Hurghada.
Therefore, the hotels are quite quiet, the staff does not speak the “great mighty” well and is not taught how to build the famous “three-story” expressions. A good fight after drinking at this resort is also a rarity.
People come here across the sea. And it's amazing in Marsa Alam. Here, each bay is unique in its own way, but one thing unites them - not corruption (compared to Hurghada and Sharm) by a sloppy attitude of man to wildlife. I want to briefly describe what I saw with my own eyes in several bays, do not judge strictly: neither words nor photos can convey those colors and delight from what they saw.
1. Bay of Abu Dabur - hotel bay "Concorde Moreen". The bay in November is quite windy and stormy, the current can be very strong. The waves partially break on the coral, which makes it possible to swim in the bay. Right under the pontoon there are cascading coral thickets and fish. There is a northern and southern reef, both are very beautiful.
The corals are very bright and quite lively with lots of fan and fire corals. Living creatures are present: from very small dascils in orgomic quantities to whole flocks of large blue-spiked rhinos. There are rhinoceroses, surgeons, angels, zebrosomes, squirrels, soldiers, abudefduffs, lion fish, butterflies, flutes, rays, etc. , and we saw a titanium triggerfish. Sometimes dolphins swim up close. Turtle and shark, unfortunately, were not seen, but besides them there is something to see. Each meter of the reef is a separate world that lives its own life. It was not possible to swim far, there was almost always a strong current and the lifeguard asked us to return closer to the pontoon. After lunch it started to storm, and visibility deteriorated. Near the stairs lives a nice, but very poisonous lion fish, it is also a lionfish (from 1 to 3 individuals).
When you swim, she floats away from the stairs, and when you get out, she swims very close to the steps, as if showing her curiosity and friendliness, be careful.
2. Dolphin House (Samadai) by bus 1 hour south from the hotel to the port of Marsa Alam and on the yacht about 1.5 hours. Dolphins were seen, but not close, they swam around the yacht when we left the port. It is difficult to imagine more beautiful and mysterious mammals. They jumped right out of the water, providing an opportunity to admire their grace. Samadai reef itself is a horseshoe and several islands near it. The depth of the reef fluctuates, the drop is quite large. There are not very many living creatures, but people even saw a small shark. Corals are of particular value for contemplation, they are lively and colorful, they grow in cascades.
3. Bay of Abu Dabab (in the north is the "Hilton" in the south "El Maliki") is located 5 km south of the "Concorde Moreen".
We took a taxi from the hotel, we did not find another alternative except for quads. For such a meager distance they paid crazy money 30 dollars. USA for a taxi and 9 dollars. US per person for the entrance to the bay. There is no pontoon, the entrance to the bay is sandy. The bay, as it was 2 years ago, is magnificent, but only 3 turtles were seen (previously 7 were seen). Green turtles are huge (1.5 meters), very ancient, live in the wild. They peacefully pinch the grass at the bottom and periodically emerge to get some air. Each turtle is assigned 2 bright green fish-sticks, which perform all the maneuvers together with the hostess. Finding turtles is not difficult, you need to look where several people “hung” above the water, there will definitely be turtles there. 2 years ago we saw shark-tailed guitar stingrays - a transitional species between a shark and a stingray, a very beautiful and interesting creature. There are 2 reefs around the bay: northern and southern. The north reef is more lively.
2 years ago, they met moray eels, octopuses, blue-spiked rhinos, barracudas and huge flutes there. There are much fewer large living creatures on the northern reef, and much more tourists. But coral, small fish (butterflies, abudebduffs, blue cesium, dascils, squirrels, soldiers, amphiprions) and huge flutes, as before, impressed. The most interesting thing we saw in this bay 2 years ago is the dugong. A huge peace-loving cute sea cow, meeting with which is the dream of every lover of Mars Alam. This year we did not meet her, but it's a pity.
4. Sharm el Luly (this bay is called the Caribbean beach) - 1.5 hours south of the hotel. Took from a taxi service on a small bus. It is rather not a bay, but a piece of the most beautiful beach in the middle of the desert, there are no hotels nearby, there is no civilization (and for the better). The appearance struck with its colors: dunes, an endless beach with a sandy spit and an endless azure sea.
First, you walk knee-deep in water for a long time, then coral bushes gradually begin, literally at a depth of 1 m, small, but so inhabited by living creatures that you can’t even believe your eyes. Coral bushes amaze with colors, they are alive. Life is seething in every little box. I saw something large and dark near a small coral, swam closer, it turned out to be a titanium triggerfish, which began to quickly run away from us. It's strange, I used to think that triggerfish swim only at great depth along the coral walls, and then such an unexpected meeting! We saw in the shallows and several large pseudo-ballists. And there is nothing to say about small fish! All colors, all shades and all types. For lovers of amphiprions (nemo), there are a lot of them in live anemones. Gradually, the depth increases and a coral wall appears, if you swim across it, then on the other side there is a sharp cliff and an incomparable coral with fish.
Particularly impressive are the sizes and shapes of fan corals. At a great depth lay some kind of huge fish, similar to a hedgehog fish, only of incredible size. It is simply impossible to describe everything seen. The bay struck with its beauty.
I really want to go back to the fabulous underwater kingdom of Marsa Alam.
Have a good rest and new experiences!
