We are Certified!.... also......... dogs, cats, and change.....

We are back from Dahab! Home of the infamous Blue Hole fatalities... (seriously, look it up). We had no clue what getting certified as scuba divers meant but we thought OK, when in Rome do as the Romans do. (or Egypt do as the Egyptians do...) They all dive here at this school and so down to Dahab we went. Little did we know that the oldest person they ever trained was an old man of 56. Wow, OLD! (Wait a minute, I AM 56). Five days later after about eight dives we staggered out of the ocean as certified scuba open water divers. We had to learn about thirty different skills and Donna and I did our best to not embarrass and make fools out of ourselves. Here is a picture of us at the bottom and some of the fish that we saw. Can you pick us out?

Lion Fish and others....this is a small sampling and that's the truth! Amazing fish and coral everywhere. Reality trumps fantasy here.

So while in Dahab we were face to face with Egypt today. A country whose tourist trade has been decimated. Walking down the beautiful Dahab boardwalk, a mile of amazing shops, restaurants, diving shops, and hotels amidst a beautiful backdrop of mountains and surf it was sad to see the drastic drop in tourism. There were people but normally they said there was a throng of lively activity that would go deep into the night. Now, our group (24 from our school) was the biggest activity they had seen in months. We felt safe and comfortable. Friendly people. But upon leaving Dahab in our van we sat while police with automatic weapons took our passports for twenty minutes amidst high security. A reminder that all is not "back to normal" by any means in Egypt.

"Do you have correct change?" No one it seems has any change in Egypt right now. Shopkeepers dig into their own personal wallets to come up with change or go to a neighboring shop to come back with a five pound note. Small change is almost impossible to come by. It brings about some funny situations as they talk to their friends, go to their wallets, or dig into their "secret" cash reserve. It happens time and time again. It's a wonder that things get bought and sold. But somehow it all works out.

As far as the cats and dogs well.... somehow it seems to work out for them too. Zillions of cats and dogs everywhere in Dahab and in Egypt in general. At breakfast in the morning one must shoo them away constantly. At dinner I looked the other way and turned around to see a cat on the table eating my fish. Spray bottles are the general mode of repelling them but many pay little heed to water spray. They come back with a vengeance. They are for the most part friendly animals and crave attention but it does conjure up images of mass sterilization. So.... a few photos of our trip to Dahab and our horrible, crazy ride home from the airport. People thought I was a bad driver. I am a Saint. Truly. Come to Egypt and take a ride... you will see.

The Sinai with gulf of Aqaba on right

The Dahab strip at night

From our diving spot on beach. Life is tough!

My fun compadres:Donna, Lucie, and Brandy

Loading our tanks for the day

The girls replicate what the Egyptian men do daily.... ride in the back of the truck.

Dahab.... Paradise.. small sleepy magical village.

Windsurfing with Saudi Arabia in distance.

Back to airport. Would we see this at home?

Our awful ride back to Cairo with the familiar sights on the road.

Yes, isn't it great to be back in Cairo!

Let's instead hold onto our images from Dahab and the Sinai.....

Shisha, Tuktuks....., and a trip to the dentist....)-:

Today we leave for Dahab and the Blue Hole.... a few more interesting new things.... Shisha and Tuktuks!  My housemates were very interested in "doing" Shisha. Shisha is a type of tobacco that is flavored and smoked in a waterpipe or Hookah. It is a very common pastime in Egypt for social situations. They bring it to you, it sits on the floor, and the long hose has a new sterile fitting on the end. Hot coals are put on top which a waiter refills on occasion while walking through the restaurant. People then smoke the shisha at their leisure with some inhaling and others working it around their mouth and letting it go through their mouth or nose. This can be done over a long time period, an hour or more. We did it and it was very nice. Matt and Stephanie went as far as buying their own Shisha pipe which is in the picture below. A very Egyptian pastime and quite pleasant.  So we went one night with Ahmed our real estate agent and he introduced us to Shisha. Everyone gets their own pipe and picks a flavor. I chose apple which we were told was a favorite and others chose grape or other flavors.

Near Mena Garden City (our compound) is a sort of TukTuk station. Every morning when we leave our villa we pass about eight to ten of these tiny vehicles. They are not exactly a car or a motor scooter. They are a cross between a golf cart, a three wheeled scooter, and a car. They are from India and very inexpensive. There is one seat for the driver and then a bench seat behind which is covered for the elements and has a small baggage compartment in the back. These contraptions can carry as many people as can get squeezed in. They pop on the freeway and the adventure begins. If ever one would have an accident it would not be pretty. Here are a few pictures of TukTuks.

Root Canal

No this isn't a famous Nile River offshoot. This is what I needed because of a raw nerve being tickled (for want of a better word) occasionally. Nasty thing to anticipate throughout each day. I went to a dental clinic going passed the many half finished and unoccupied buildings and Ahmed (our faithful, reliable, and excellent driver) told me we were there. Right above the pharmacy I was told.  As I scanned the building in front of me I noticed a small building that said pharmacy so off I went. I walked up three flights of stairs saw a sign that said dental clinic and my anxiety multiplied. In I went, asked if they spoke English, was told "Of course" and was given two small blue pieces of plastic by a woman. I took them, and looked at her with a puzzled expression. She did not speak English so tried to explain to me through laughter from her and others that they go on my feet! I unravelled the plastic to reveal little booties. I awkwardly put them on and proceeded to my appointment with doom. My doctor then told me that I probably would not be able to go diving since it would take three visits to accomplish the root canal and new crown but then when he saw my sad expression he went and consulted with the main desk. He came back (Dr. Khalil) and told me if I was willing to hang in there for two hours he could do the whole thing in one visit! Two hours later I walked out with no pain and huge gratitude. He was in short the best dentist I had ever seen, bar none. A funny side note. He told me to get some painkillers from the pharmacy below. I tried to pay for it using a few one pound notes. (it was eighteen pounds). They laughed and said, "No, no, this money no good, it's ok, just 15 will be fine... but do you want us to sign them..." "What? I looked incredulously back, then they said,"Autographs" and laughter...
Another funny encounter... at the golf course yesterday I met some great people with whom I shared a beer. Egyptians and expats after a round of golf. Ali, an owner in the tourist industry said that the country was broke, things were a mess, and the industry was dead. He asked if I wanted to buy anything of his from the tourist business... he said, "What do you want? I can sell it to you? Do you want a Pyramid? It is yours. No one wants it.....", I said I would take a Sphinx. He laughed and said, "Of course, any size you want.... small, big, red, blue.... I will even sell you life size." Laughter around the table. So despite the hard times they laugh, smile, and are hopeful for better times ahead. They almost all feel safer today then they felt in the last year despite the troubles. They tell me," Democracy is hard but dictatorship easy.We prefer democracy but also safety so it is not so simple."  On to Dehab!