Snakebite

Okay so this is immensely random but 100% true...I arrived full of enthusiasm (heavey on the sarcasm yet again- when will blogger get round to adding tone of voice?) for another night shift last night. During handover I was surmarily advised that one of our residents, who happens to have a teeney,tiny alcohol problemo had been bitten by a snake!!! it transpires that whilst under the influence at a friends house he had been handlng their pet snake, which just so happens to be an illegally imported member of the viper family. The snake appears to have taken umbrage and he has 2 he-uge fang marks on his arm!!!! An ambulnace was called and he was deposied on the pavement outside (since the pet snake is illegal...smart cookies eh?)
Fortunately he arrived at hospital within 7 minutes of the bite and had anti-venom administered which was just as well as he was informed it would have killed him otherwise!!! The bite made his right arm swell up massively and due to the venom being sunk directly into his vein he immediatley passed out....anyway the point I'm meandering slowly towards is that on coming round in the hospital his response was " that's not quite what I expect when I order a snakebite" hahahahahahahaha!!!! HONESTLY..this really is not a joke!!! Sometimes my job fills me with joy peeps:)

Sharm-ing in general

Clare and I apres-dive chillaxing

Over the last year more than a few farang (westerners) in both Thailand and now Egypt believe on first sight that Clare and I are sisters...flattering, but neither of us really see it...This holiday Clare, Twila and I decided that for ease and comfort we were Leo's 3 wives (lucky bugger eh?hehehe) obviously with Twila being wife number 1. Now please accept this as my purely personal opinion from subjective experience over the 3 times I've visited Egypt, but I find myself in a constant state of discomfort, defensiveness and agitiation around egyptian men. Perhaps it's because they repress their own women so much but they pretty much look at you and treat you as if you are a whore there for their amusement and are damn rude with it-yuck!

I generally disliked Na'ama Bay, except for the dive college. It is very touristy, with a main strip akin to my imaginary vision of Benidorm or some other such delight (being heavy on the sarcastic tone). Neon lights, a Hard Rock Cafe, TGI Fridays, Pacha, Pizza Hut, KFC...getting the picture? And the inability to walk further than about 4 steps without someone trying to sell you something, pull you into their full of tourist-tat shop or get you an extortionately priced taxi.

I would defo. return to Egypt for a diving holiday but only if it were a liveaboard trip (which would also allow me to dive the Thistlegorm again as a night dive...oooo, eerie)

Sharm el Sheikh: 3rd-10th June (The divey bit)

A few pics still to be added, but getting there:)


Leo, Me, Clare and Twila (My girls from Phi Phi, and Leo;))


Alrighty then, Leo had booked a dive package with Red Sea Diving College, Na'ama Bay, since Twila and him had worked in Honduras with one of the instructors working there. I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone considering diving around Sharm, and wish in particular to express big thanks to Angela and Hooch.


Monday 4th June
Local Diving, Sharm El Sheikh
Dive Site: Ras Umm Sid
Max. Depth:21.3m
Average Depth:12.5m
Duration/Bottom Time:55mins
Beautiful viz., fabulous gorgonian sea fan forest.

Surface Interval: 2.30
Dive Site: Far Garden
Max. Depth:21.3m
Ave. Depth:14.6m
Bottom Time: 55 mins.

Ras Mohammed

Tuesday June 5th
Ras Mohammed














Dive Site:Raz Ghozlani
Max. Depth: 30.1m
Ave. Depth: 17m
Bottom Time: 51mins

S.I.:1.16
Dive Site:Shark Reef & Yolanda
Max. Depth: 27.4m
Ave. Depth: 12.5m
B.T.: 66mins

Met Dave the turtle, quite a celebrity in those there parts!!!Dave is hawksbill turtle and regular sight to divers in this area. In January this year, an instructor from Red Sea Diving College was contacted by Sinai Protectorate Wildlife Unit as Dave had suffered injuries to his shell, caused by a boat propeller at the end of last year, and was becoming progressively unhealthier despite efforts to keep his wound dry and clean. With the permission of the National Park the staff at the diving college erected a stone-walled base enclosure topped with heavy plastic netting and rope, within his natural habitat; warm, clean water continuously flowing. Although weak Dave could float and breathe unaided, and the staff started a daily ritual of initially tube-feeding, and then hand feeding Dave. Turtles must eat with their head at a 45 degree angle, and maintain this position for 5 mins. after feeding, so a few staff were needed!!! Along with vitamin and antibiotic injections, and proper wound care Dave quickly regained his strength. A fibreglass cast of his shell was then made, covering but not directly applied to the wound so that Dave can heal from within...the fibreglass should at some point come free. He has now been released back to his old stomping grounds where we came across the plucky chap...aaaah!!


As for the Yolanda part of the name...this is wreck for tec-divers...but it's cargo of toilets, baths, tiles and lino are at around the 20m-ish mark, stacked together and now artificial reefs covered in such delights as fire coral, home to scorpionfish, stonefish and lionfish, and a convenient resting place for blue-spotted rays. This is a wicked dive site, espcially hanging out in the azure blue...

S.S. Thistlegorm

Wednesday 6th June (Clare and I)
EARLY start, 4.30am pick-up!!!! Sweet Baby Je-he-sus we're a dedicated bunch eh? Clare and I were sensible enough to take Angela's advice and bring a blanket, so as soon as we'd set up our equipment we laid down on the bow under the blanket as the sun came up, approx. 3.5 -4 hours rest prior to reaching the Thistlegorm...mmm, zzz...

Okay so the history, The S.S. Thistlegorm was constructed as a Merchant Navy Vessel for the war efforts in 1940. 126m in length she was to carry munitions and supplies out to allied troops, the 8th Army, in Alexandria. Due to ze germans occupying a large portion of the Med. she had to sail around the Cape to the Red Sea. Along with her escort she, and approx. 9 other ships, were told to wait at Shag Rock for further instructions since there had been a collision at the mouth to the Suez. On october 5 1941, 2 german bomber aircraft were sent out on a mission from Crete to locate and bomb a large troop carrier, the Queen Mary, however she was not within their fuel range. As such, the pilots were told to fire on the largest allied target they came across; the Thistlegorm. 2 bombs were released hitting hold 4, detonnating much of the ammunition on board. Sadly 9 men lost their lives.

Dive Site: S.S. Thistlegorm(exterior)
Wreck Dive
Max. Depth:27.4m
Ave. Depth:17.3m
B.T.: 42mins
24 degrees


A great dive, the blast zone was very apparent. Anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, the caterpillar tracks for tanks, the locomotive engines that were blasted either side of the wreck, some of the shells you could even make out the manufacturers date still...



























S.I.: 1.10
Dive Site: S.S.Thistlegorm (interior, penetration)
Wreck Dive
Max. Depth:24.3m
Ave. Depth:17.3m
B.T.: 41mins
WOW!!! Very,very cool dive...left thigh-high wellies, motorbikes lined up in row after row, bedford trucks by the tens...the tread still clear on the tyres, merely a layer of silt atop it all. You could peer through some of the smashed and absent windscreens through to the gauges inside...Truly amazing!! As if time just stood still...

S.I.:2.56
Dive Site: Shark Reef & Yolanda
Max. Depth:23.7m
Average Depth:13.4m
B.T.: 51mins.

Saw Dave the turtle again,(along with a further 2 hawksbill turtles) so Clare and I stopped off to pose with the wee fighter;) This was defo. the right time of day to hit this site (about 5.30pm), well now, or a dawn dive at a guess. Immense schools of fish, batfish and travellies, and again he-uge 5ft napolean wrasse...their eyes are bigger than mine!!

Straits of Tiran

Thursday 7th June
Straits of Tiran
Dive Site:Thomas Reef
Max. Depth:28.3m
Ave. Depth:14m
B.T.:47mins
24 degrees
Oops and Ouch poorly crackly ears for me!
Bluefin tuna chasing around a school of thousands of fusiliers/rainbow runners. I love massive schools, especially when they adjust to you and you're just hanging there right in the center of them. Lots of Blue Triggerfish too and a curious lil turtle who decided to swim along with us for a good 10 mins of the dive.

SI:1.10
Dive Site:Gordon Reef
Max. Depth:24m
Ave. Depth:13.4m
B.T.: 53mins
Moses Sole, Picasso Triggerfish, Giant moray eel, Octopuses, The ClareWesticus Nudibranch(an amazing find Clare!)...super lovely dive





Friday 8th June
Straits of Tiran

Dive Site:Woodhouse Reef
Max. Depth:31.4m
Ave. Depth:17.3m
B.T.:42mins
23degrees
FREEZING!!!OUCH!!! I was unaware that my nipples could hurt quite sooo much through even 3 layers of neoprene...forget crossing your arms, my hands were firmly on each breasty-dumpling...hahaha! No, this was pretty painful, I became cold and shivery quickly, then felt my back tensing up, the muscles going rigid:( I could have done with some fat insulation, or bioprene!

SI:1.31
Dive Site:Jackson Reef
Max. Depth:25.9m
Ave. Depth:14.3m
B.T.:44mins

Na'ama Bay: House Reef

Saturday 9th June (Twila and me)
Dive Site:Angela/Marlena's House Reef Na'ama Bay
Shore Dive



Ahoy Me Hearties...


















Max. Depth:15.8m
Ave. Depth:7.6m
B.T.:79mins
26degrees

Dragonfish, feathertailed ray, blue-spotted ray, eagle ray, reef cuttlefish, ghost pipefish, turtle grass...Loved this dive, didn't want to come up! Even posed for a couple of silly pictures in a rowing boat at 12metres;)



Dragonfish


























Reef Cuttlefish

















White-spotted Eagle Ray



This feisty little clownfish took a slight dislike to me...I was taking a closer look at a pipefish approx. a metre above his host anemone when I received quite a thump, initially I figured I'd been kicked in the heeeead by a fin until I saw Angela and Twila laughing as this fella swam at my head full-pelt again to warn me off his territory!!! Hahaha...About a minute later Twila made the same mistake...strong chap!!!








Blue-spotted Ray

What kids have to say about the sea...divers check out no. 12;)

1) This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly age 6)
2) Oysters' balls are called pearls. (James age 6)
3) If you are surrounded by sea you are an Island. If you don't have sea all round you, you are incontinent. (Wayne age 7)
4) Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson. She's not my friend no more. (Kylie age 6)
5) A dolphin breaths through an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy age 8)
6) My uncle goes out in his boat with pots, and comes back with crabs. (Millie age 6)
7) When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes, when the wind didn't blow, the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William age 7)
8) I like mermaids. They are beautiful, and I like their shiny tails. And how on earth do mermaids get pregnant? Like, really? (Helen age 6)
9) I'm not going to write about the sea. My baby brother is always screaming and being sick, my Dad keeps shouting at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant, so I can't think what to write. (Amy age 6)
10) Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves into chargers. (Christopher age 7)
11) When you go swimming in the sea, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin age 6)
12) Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Two divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other. (Becky age 8)
13) On holidays my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her fat ass. (Jule age 7)

Diving Holiday: Sharm Baby, wo-hoo!!!!

Okay just a teaser whilst I get round to doing a proper entry, but in essence Leo,Twila, Clare and I, who had all worked and lived on Phi Phi together but are currently in Blighty decided a dive holiday was in order, so 3rd June-10th we hopped on over to Sharm El Sheikh to see what the buzz about diving the Red Sea was all about.


We stayed in the Hilton Waterfalls Resort, a rather lush and luxurious 5* number with 7 pools, and even a funicular to take you from reception down to your rooms or the varying layers of pool-age!! We did find the top pool which included a pool bar and a no children rule to be a most pleasant locale for apres-diving drinkies. The weather was fabulous, over 42 degrees each day...and I have to give kudos to the egyptians for the local beer, Sakara...pretty tasty.








Diving was twice to three times daily, in crystal clear very blue water...albeit a tad chilly for us girlies at between 23 and 26 degrees. I was in a long 5mm wetsuit, a short 5mm, and a thermal rash vest with a hood!!! Muchos fun was had.
I miss diving soooooo much:(

Here I am being King/Queen of the World...Titanic stylie!