OUR ADVENTURES IN THE BAYS OF MARS ALAM 2 (Part 3)
5. MARSA SAMADAY
The trip to this bay took place already by the "collective farm", since by that time those fans of the Red Sea, whom we expected later in our hotel, had pulled up. In general, we went there with a team of 9 people, and one of us is a diver. Naturally, this could not but make its own adjustments - it was necessary to take into account the interests of every lover of the Sea. A minibus was ordered (for "non-divers" it turned out $ 10 from the nose, the distance from the hotel is about 30 km), which delivered us to the place on time and waited for 4 and a half hours while we enjoyed the beauties of the local underwater. With our diver there was an instructor and everything they needed, so that time we didn’t have a question what to do with things and we just left them on the “diving” rug, because no one left there.
The bay is very attractive from the outside, except for the huge amount of garbage lying on the beach - we decided that this was caused by the wind that had been walking hard in the area a few days earlier (it's always easier to live, finding justifying explanations for unpleasant moments). Having dressed in everything we needed, we began to "surf" the expanses of water with the help of flippers - cuttlefish, botuses and other lovers of the sandbar immediately caught.
As always, we started our exploration of the reefs from the south - we know from experience that usually, it is on the southern reefs in the morning that large grains come across. We were rewarded with a huge bracken, which was not at the bottom, but right below us. We sailed over it with pleasure, as much as we had the strength - what majestic these beauties are after all (unfortunately, it didn’t work out at a speed worthy of a photo)!
The southern reef itself is so-so (although a couple of urchin fish and clown koris were a real pleasure), but there are islands at a depth from it - just a miracle! We explored one - 150 meters long and 30 wide, just a paradise island. We didn’t climb further - a serious attack took place. Swim to this island from the shore for at least 1 km along the reef, then 100 meters deep from the reef, with relatively normal visibility, it can be seen in the distance, however, the currents, as I have already noted, are not weak there. To be honest, it’s not close to it, and the water situation is serious (I emphasize and please take into account), it’s not suitable for beginners, you will need experience and knowledge of how to behave in such places, or more experienced companions. But the island impressed us - gorgeous! It's just fabulous, my husband just licked his lips "here to dive! " - magnificent crevices, grottoes, wells, landscapes, thickets of acropores and the feeling of being in a soup from the amount of fish. I understand his suffering - a person obsessed with the sea and depth is suddenly squeezed into a frame and forced to understand and accept that "the eye sees, but the tooth is dumb. " It's cruel, but "selyavi"! We will look for the positive in everything - we are at sea, and this is not a little, if not called a miracle, because until quite recently we could only dream about it, not being sure of the reality of the realization of these dreams!
The northern reef is just a fairy tale for lovers of underwater landscapes, but it was modest with living creatures that day, although large specimens of fish nevertheless met (snappers, macolors, sweet lips, scars, parrots, surgeons) got real pleasure from watching the yellow- white grouper, pearl blowfish cheered, and the rest of the necessary set was also present. Of course, it’s a sin to complain - there, at a shallow depth, we also met two moray eels, moreover, one of them is truly gigantic! I don’t know what they were doing - kissing or just having a neighborly conversation, but we admired them to their heart's content! And the moray eels were really good, especially the right one (see photo). I also shot her back separately on purpose, because it didn’t fit in the whole frame - a monster. And beautiful!! ! Yes, and the hawks, as always in Mars, pleased with their presence. Ouch!! ! I'm not very "spoiled", writing that it was modest with living creatures that day ?!
One freediver from our company, in one of the crevices, saw a huge Napoleon, she said, about fifteen meters deep. So, in the end, we are not disappointed with visiting the bay. Only the presence of poacher cages in the crevices of the reef upset me - alas.
Having changed and loaded into our minibus, we returned to the hotel, happy from new impressions, looking through the windows of the area - maybe we will see another interesting place for the next marine knowledge. It was also interesting to look at the town of Marsa Alam itself - how the children return from school, how much empty and unfinished houses with signs for sale and rent cost, to see that there are salons selling branded cars there, and in general to contemplate the local flavor. How interesting it all is, even in a tired state!
It will be quite possible to repeat this bay - a very worthy place!
I must warn you right away that with the exact name of this place "ambush", if anyone is interested, I will put a mark on Wikimapia.
The idea to visit this place (I will not take the liberty of calling it a bay, since there is a huge piece of coast, which is called Sharm el Luli) has been drilling my brain since our friends told us about it, who once visited there after before we left Marsa (three years ago). After visiting this place, they told us that it was the best thing they saw in the sea. This was enough for me to visit another fix idea, because they saw, knowing this reckless (in the best sense of the word) company, of course - a lot!
We had only one possible day left for any kind of trip, and it was on that day that the main part of our group decided to go to Marsa Murena for an introdive. For us, that bay was not so interesting to join the others, since we were there a year ago - I want a new one! "Free" "from the trip to Murena, there are three team members left, and the price of the issue is 70 dollars per car, but also to go there as much as 75 km to the south. I toiled with doubts for a long time, because it’s not cheap, but what about a dream that has been haunting for more than one year? The passion of knowledge conquered me - I confess, I am weak before the temptations of the Red Sea. On the sly, in the evening I order a car for the morning and with a happy smile I tell this to my husband and our companion with the words: "I ordered a birthday present for myself. " That day really fell on my DR. I expected a "rain" of indignation on my head, at least from stones (spontaneous decisions are not always perceived "with a bang! "), but, oddly enough, both gentlemen took the news with pleasure (super! ). We must run to pack our gear and get ready to go!
At six in the morning we, like a bayonet, were waiting for the car in the usual place. 15 minutes passed, and there was no car, I calmed and persuaded myself as best I could, but at 6.20 my hand itself dialed the telephone number of the intermediary with whom we had been cooperating all this time, naturally, I woke him up, as he was calmly sleeping in confidence, that everything is ok. I won’t bore you with a description of all the ups and downs of the negotiations (I am writing this only so that everyone understands that anything can happen), at about seven in the morning a long-awaited car drove up to us, and we loaded into it with relief. On the way, we heard a hundred times the driver apologize for being late and his excuse that he overslept corny - he swore that this was nonsense for him. For the first couple of minutes, I was indignant in my soul, and then I thought that maybe it was for the better, I slept longer, which means my head is lighter, because, most likely, I worked until midnight, and the road is not easy and not close - everything has its pluses . As an apology, Moody (that's the name of the driver) even presented us all with delicious juice with pieces of fruit, bought at a gas station - my heart was completely melted, not so much by the juice itself, but by the attitude. As a result, we peacefully chatted the whole long road, which seemed not so long in the process of looking at the surroundings, accompanied by the comments of the driver, who, as we have long seen, knows his native places thoroughly.
Around eight in the morning we parked on the chic white sand beach - something unimaginable! We looked around - beauty, the entrance to the water is absolutely comfortable, on the left side there are small counters with visors. To our silent question and bulging eyes, Moody explained that later Bedouins would come here to sell souvenirs to sightseers. Got it! Rather, into the water, until these same sightseers unloaded here. No sooner said than done! We, like real soldiers, put on our equipment and entered the water. I must say that you will have to walk decently there on foot - the entrance is too gentle. Here we are already in fins and we can swim - finally!
We went to the left of the entrance, at first I was burned by a wave of fear - where did I bring the people, sheer dregs? But, in just a couple of minutes, everything fell into place. The further we sailed, the more we were amazed and absorbed by this beauty! At first I wanted to photograph every branch, and then I lost all desire to take a photo - I wanted to swim and just admire the unearthly, in the literal and figurative sense of the word, the kingdom.
I was impressed by the "coral trees" of various shapes and colors, "growing" at the bottom, multi-tiered coral tables, "tables" strung on top of each other like chanterelle mushrooms, the diversity and diversity of corals. We sailed in one direction for 2.5 hours, then we had to return - it was hard to accept this, because the farther we sailed, the more we were stunned by the magnificence we saw! My husband later admitted that for the first time in his life he was confused, did not know where to swim - here is an island, there is a clearing, here is a plateau, there is a gorgeous reef, there is a crevice! Simply stunning!! ! To be honest, it is not surprising to get lost there (in the literal sense of the word), among all this beauty - be careful. And if you get there in the tide, there is still no end of work on top of the roof !! ! And add the inner side of the reef, and you can stay there to live.
In general, El Lula - guard! The reef is fabulous! I received a royal gift from the Red Sea for my birthday. Extraordinary scenery!! ! In terms of livestock - beautiful specimens of balistodes and pseudo-balichts, teenage parrots and dark brown snappers just walk in flocks, trevally and cavallas in huge quantities, as well as in large varieties. We caught a huge ringed stingray (at first they doubted it, because it was too light, like a steel sheet, and waved its wings alternately), a huge school of mackerel circled around us for a long time in search of food, and another huge cucumber - well, just a hose from a sewage truck. Yes, and the rest in bulk.
On the way back, when I lagged behind the men, as usual stuck on one of the beautiful bumps, I came across a giant grouper, about one and a half meters long (I didn’t determine which one, but like a dolphin). Even when I went ashore, the first thing I said was: "I saw a monster (in our language it means" large ")! ". It passed very quickly at the bottom (I managed to take only five shots), and then hid under a coral tree and did not want to climb out from there. I hung over him for a long time and watched his toothy mouth - it was clearly visible that he was following me and did not plan to leave his shelter. I had to swim away, because even without him I was far behind my own and was afraid that they would start to worry.
Swimming to the shore, I was stunned by the number of people in the water, further - worse, just an invasion! She crawled out onto the beach and was stunned - it was studded with umbrellas, under which there were bedding and people lying on them, absorbing their meager belongings in bags packed in hotels. The seal rookery caused bewilderment. I looked around - people were splashing in the water, maximum to the waist, no, I’m lying - a couple of people even swam at a distance of 50 meters from the shore, supposedly they were engaged in snorkeling. Thank God that no one thought of dressing all this crowd in vests and pulling along the reef on a "water excursion", most likely, no one needed it there. It remained a mystery to me - why did this brethren (mostly Italian) come there in such a terribly screaming camp? Is it really just to lie under umbrellas on rag mats and chew on inedible sandwiches? Do they have a beach with trestle beds / sunbeds in hotels? It's all amazing!
Coming ashore, I saw that our Moody, who was waiting for us from the swim, since it made no sense for him to drive the car back and forth, kindly spread a rug for us and put an umbrella - it turns out he always has it with him. Naturally, we do not need such "devices" - we entered the water, sailed our 4-odd hours, changed clothes and immediately loaded on the way back, but such care was pleasant. True, we didn’t offend him, realizing that he would have to wait a tiringly long time for us, we prepared a “brake” and water for him in advance, in fairness I’ll say that he resisted for a long time, but it’s useless with us - the “present” was presented even before the swim .
By the time of our solemn landing on land, the local Bedouins opened a bazaar and traded their simple belongings with might and main, however, there was no excitement and queues at the counters. Having changed, we loaded into the car and drove home, diligently studying the surroundings that we passed, realizing that we would definitely return to these parts.
As I already wrote, we paid $ 70 (the impressions received justified this amount) for this trip, but then it was through an intermediary, then we got to know Moody better and got the go-ahead for "direct use" of his services (he has 4 normal cars, well knows the bays of Marsa and all the entrances to them). So, if you need, please contact, I will give the coordinates.
Here we are at home... On the day of arrival, my husband and I, despite the long and tiring road, almost until the morning, still could not calm down - everyone shared with each other the impressions of a two-week vacation.
Several days have passed, and we, as if in prostration, do not understand why we are here, what are we doing here at all? How is the SEA without us, and most importantly, how can we live without it for so long? ! Having come to our senses, we understand that time will pass quickly - until you sort out all the photos and videos, then you settle all these impressions in your head and soul, share and present them for the same lovers and fans of the SEA, dream, make plans, you see - here it is summer and the upcoming meeting with the beautiful!
Summing up the intermediate result, only one thing can be stated with certainty - we were forever dragged out by the process of exploring the bays of Mars (I generally keep quiet about the selfless and final love for the Red Sea). It's like opening a long-awaited valuable gift wrapped in a thousand wrappers - it's impossible to stop. It's like collecting unique things - you never know what the next bay will bring you, and there are dozens of them in Marsa Alam! And, basically, they are available to those who are thirsty for such knowledge - there would be a desire! And "appetite comes with eating" - my list of places we must see and explore is growing every day! And yet, the idea of "walking" on a yacht through the beauties that are not accessible from the shore is not abandoned - we do not lose hope for such a "safari" and are studying this issue. So, for fans of the Red Sea, it (the sea) is inexhaustible in its secrets and possibilities!
I will not tire of repeating that everyone who loves the SEA should make their small contribution to its preservation, at least in order not to harm it! Trust me, it will pay back! Be healthy and remember that the sea must be healthy in order to continue to please and make us happy!
P. S. I pulled with the "issuance" of the third part, as best I could, in the hope that something would be decided with the video and I would be able to show it to you. But, most likely, this will not happen so soon, therefore, I will throw the link later.
