2 amazing birthdays in Marsa Alam or how to make a dream come true
Hello, dear friends, like-minded people and travelers! I want to share an unusual way to enjoy the sad birthday holiday. Do not judge strictly, I do not have much experience in writing stories, this is a “test of the pen”. Emotions were just so overwhelming that I wanted to throw them out on someone.
Background: As a selfish and thrifty creature, I chose my husband so that my birthday would be nearby and I could save on holidays (just kidding of course)))). The idea was a success: my husband and I have a difference of 2 days and 4 years. Back in 2012, when harsh autumn winds menacingly reminded me of the approach of solemn dates, I felt that I was already turning back from chops, Russian salad and dancing to Serduchka. The soul asks for a real holiday, and for me there is no better holiday than a quality adventure in my second 90s (I don’t mean age). The husband supported the adventure. Since then, all age changes, both mine and my husband's, are celebrated outside the homeland. Often the holidays turn out to be enchanting and memorable, sometimes not very memorable, especially in the late afternoon)))). I even fell in love with November, it is now my 4th summer month))).
This year, too, with the approach of cold weather, the hand reached for the suitcases, and the legs for the slates. Despite the crisis, they could not refuse to buy a piece of happiness in the middle of winter. The choice fell on "Marina Lodge At Port Ghalib 4 *" (reviewed). Already by tradition, in addition to the necessary masks, fins, coats, sundresses, a piece (300 grams) of amazing bacon, 2 cans of red caviar, several cigars and 2.5 liters of "Grandmother's lagidnaya" was packed in luggage, but we are going to "all inclusive" , after all))). "Grandmother's Lagidna" is a homemade moonshine made by my grandmother from homemade grapes, about 60 degrees of strength, infused with galangal to improve health. On Friday, November 13th, we set off to meet new adventures.
Birthday #1. Upon arrival, they contacted the guide Olga (she has been living in Marsa Alam for a long time and organizes various excursions, many people praise her). We asked her to help us realize our lifelong dream of swimming with dolphins in the wild. The dream was common, we decided to realize it for my husband's birthday.
It's said and done. Not light, not dawn, we somehow woke up, put ourselves in order and trudged to the reception. A small bus arrived, already full of people, we plunged into it, and it took our sleepy faces and other parts of the body 200 km due south to the port of Hamata. In the port we were loaded onto a beautiful snow-white yacht (how I love this elegant creation of human genius). It's time to look around: absolutely everyone on the yacht was "not ours" (Western Europe), we stood out like exotic little animals)))). In addition to speech, we were strikingly different in the size of our luggage. I felt embarrassed looking at our bags, for some reason I remembered the footage of the film “The Camp Goes to the Sky” and the song “Gypsy King”. People had only towels, cameras and lunch boxes in their hands. And we have: 2 lunch boxes, a huge bag with equipment (wetsuits, masks, fins), towels, a photo and video camera, and another huge lunch box bag, assembled in order to qualitatively “cheep” her husband (dishes, water, Cola, Lagidna, rolls, butter, tomatoes and caviar).
The yacht went south to the Sataya reef, the storm was quite strong, it was difficult to move around the yacht. After 2 hours we reached our destination. The crew and Olya (she always accompanies her tourists on excursions) began to look out for the location of the dolphin flocks. The same was done on several more yachts. Finally found the dolphins. The yacht came closer to them, we changed clothes, took equipment, and moved to an inflatable motor boat. The boat came even closer to the flock, and wildlife lovers poured out of it into the open sea. Olya jumped out with us and led us on a search, skillfully dodging, and dodging us from being hit with flippers by other "naturalists".
Dolphins began to appear near us, they are perfectly visible in the water of the Red Sea, clear as a tear: here is one flock, here is the second flock, the third, large, small, far, close, very close, babies, caring females and huge males. How beautiful they are! It is difficult to imagine more graceful and majestic animals, and the joy of meeting them cannot be described in words (no language has yet come up with words to convey precisely these emotions)! We swam into flocks and swam out of them several times, there were about 70 individuals. They were mating! Are you weak to "hold a candle" to dolphins in the Red Sea? We don't! ))). And they are also amazingly graceful!!!
After swimming with the dolphins, we boarded the yacht for lunch, fed well. Then Olya released us for free swimming on the Sataya reef, giving us instructions. The reef is very beautiful, bright and colorful. The corals are just amazing (I especially like the bright blue and fiery ones). Living creatures are present both small and huge. However, my husband, under the impression of dolphins, quickly lost interest in the reef and cellared towards the sunken yacht, I followed him. The yacht has been lying there for a relatively long time and has already begun to overgrow with corals, fish are scurrying around. In the middle of the yacht, a toilet bowl majestically sticks out, probably for divers)))). We swam a little more along the reef and returned to the yacht. Emotions were overflowing. Dream come true!! ! Thanks again to the gods of the Red Sea and Olya for such beauty. The birthday boy and the dolphins were bathed with high quality by "Babushkina Lagidna" under red caviar, on a snow-white yacht, under a blue cloudless sky, on the blue Red Sea. Having lit a Cuban cigar on the bow of the yacht, we came to the conclusion that this is one of the happiest days of our lives.
It was already dark when we returned to the hotel. At dinner, the staff qualitatively knocked on the tambourine for the birthday boy, sang something funny in Arabic and traditionally “heppibezdil”. Continuation followed by cognac by the pool.
The next day we moved away from yesterday and prepared for tomorrow.
Birthday #2. Due to the fact that the family budget refuses to withstand 2 enchanting holidays, it was decided to spend the day calmly, enjoying nature and "all inclusive". But the gods of the Red Sea did not want to leave me without a gift. What surprised me in the morning was the complete absence of wind. Healthy and rare for Marsa Alam, especially in autumn! We had a dry breakfast and went to the beach. "All" started at 11-00 in the morning. Before X hour, it was decided to make a morning swim. But what happened to our reef? Our already teeming reef (she left a review of the reef) has doubled or tripled the number of inhabitants. Probably, the current brought a lot of plankton, and the living creatures gathered for a feast and called neighbors and relatives. We swam to the outer wall in the direction of the open sea and enjoyed every second: here is a family of amphiprions with a baby scurrying about in sea anemones, here a flock of blue cesium intersects with a flock of zebros, several large jacks pour into them, here are flutes, and next to them are surgeons with rhinos, angels, orchids, here are blue and green chromis circling in colored coral, here are squirrels, soldiers and cardinals, butterflies and more butterflies, but others, painted aluters, groupers and parrots. At the bottom lay a large stingray. The fan coral site will compete with the most luxurious aquarium from the most expensive designer. The domestic beauty hawksbill swam by. By the way, turtles are only slow and clumsy on land, but in the water, they rush like birds. Approaching the outer wall, we fell under an abudefdufofall, it's like a snowfall, only around you are not snowflakes, but abudefdufos. Here are several flocks of mackerels rushing straight at you, wide open square mouths. And swarms of goldfish. Suddenly, not far from the turn to the neighboring hotel, a giant gray moray eel appears, gracefully gliding among the corals and hiding in the blue abyss. She must have come to say hello. A trifle, (although no, at least 2 meters), but nice!
And here are my favorites at the exit of their bay: blue-spiked rhinoceros (I don’t know why, but I love this fish terribly, and the larger the specimen, the more I love it), as many as 3 pieces, no, 5, yes no 8! They are still pulling up, in total about 40 individuals! The shoal splits in half on either side of me, I swim between 2 shoals. Thank you Gods of the Red Sea! With such an exotic escort, we swim out to the outer reef, completely calm, the sea does not move.
I ask my husband if we can swim to the reef of the neighboring Three Corners Fayrouz Plaza hotel, since it's so calm? The adventure is supported, we sail for a long time. We meet a huge number of surgeons and other fish. The corals are very pretty. We decided to go ashore opposite the first beach from us, “Three Corners Fayrouz Plaza”, along the coral cover, without reaching the pontoon. Going out does not mean breaking the coral with your feet, and at the same time your legs, but having drawn everything into yourself, as in a famous film, to swim over the coral plateau. We swim carefully so as not to get hurt, the depth is about 50-70 cm. I see that my husband is slowing down something, sprawled over the plateau, stretched out the camera in front of him, and looks out for something. What are we slowing down, what are we looking for, the depth is 50 cm, what have we not seen and photographed here?!!! ! And then I see everything, but I do not believe my eyes. A reef shark is rushing right at us head-on, without turning… Not very big, about 1.5 meters…. I hope I’m not hungry… Life flashes before my eyes…. I remember everything I read and watched about sharks… Thoughts gallop in my head…. It won’t eat, it can only bite, we are very large prey....Still, the prospect is not encouraging. How did she get here? She shouldn't be here…. . She should - she shouldn't, but she is…. . The shark was with the baby, she just wanted to scare us so that we would get out of her possession. We didn’t force us to ask ourselves to ask twice... It turns out that I am a fast swimmer, my husband too....
We got out of the water and walked along the hot sand to our hotel. My heart was pounding, my arms and legs were shaking. Feelings were mixed from a primitive animal fear of a predator to the euphoria of a discoverer and a lucky one who came out unscathed from a serious scrape. All the way the thought was spinning: be careful what you wish for! I've watched tons of shark videos and always marveled at the strength and beauty of this ultimate killing machine. I secretly wanted to see her, but only from afar. Well, what a present! Dreams come true, although not quite as dreamed! By the way, my husband kept the camera in the water in front of the shark for defense, not for photography. He was not up to the photo then. True, 1 photo, although bad, turned out, the outlines of a shark are visible on it.
The first beer on the beach went like water))))))). In the evening there was banging on a tambourine and “hepibezdey”. The day was enchanting!
This is how we celebrated our birthdays in fabulous Marsa Alam. Thanks to the gods of the Red Sea! We were not presented with expensive gifts, but we received these priceless memories and at least for 2 days a feeling of absolute happiness. And it's worth it.
Have a good rest and bright adventures for everyone!
