So, I haven't been blogging for a while, but there is a very good excuse for my absence. I've been taking a scuba diving course, which has been surprisingly time-consuming. Scuba diving is probably the number one weekend activity around here, not only because of the very limited entertainment options, but mainly because this part of the Red Sea is considered a prime diving location, and rightly so. Saudi waters hold perhaps as many reefs as the rest of the Red Sea combined, with flourishing aquatic life, all virtually unharmed, since only a minuscule number of divers have access to them.
After 250 pages of scuba theory and 5 interesting, yet exhausting, pool sessions, it was finally time to hit the open water. Very excited, though slightly apprehensive, I began my descent with extreme caution, gripping the rope that was meant to guide me, remembering to equalise my ears every meter, and not daring to move my gaze away from my instructor. Eventually we settled in a sandy patch and I took my first look at my surroundings. I was greeted with such breathtaking beauty, I can honestly only describe that moment as magical. Just 10 meters under the surface lies this pristine coral reef, immense, colourful and absolutely teeming with life. As we swam along, I didn't know where to turn my head first, afraid of missing out on all these amazing things: soft and hard coral in an incredible variety of colours, ranging from brown and red to vivid purple, in the most bizarre formations: spiky corals, corals that look like huge mutated mushrooms, fan-shaped corals, whip-like corals. I even noticed a type of coral that closely resembles a brain, right down to its pinkish colour.
And the fish! I've never seen such a variety of fish, even in aquariums. Thousands of underwater creatures, tiny and large, gorgeous and ugly and weird. Some seemed to be bustling about purposefully, in schools or alone, as if they had business of the utmost importance to attend to somewhere in the reef, while others lay relaxed at the bottom or peeked out of holes taking in the view (or perhaps waiting for their next meal to swim by). Moving along the reef, my instructor pointed out some of the most fascinating species, scribbling their names onto her little waterproof whiteboard. We encountered the native to the Red Sea parrotfish, absolutely stunning, with scales in shades of green, blue, yellow and purple, pretty yellow angelfish, a beautiful lionfish, lying still, spines overflowing with deadly venom, and a fat, funny-looking fish called a masked pufferfish or "Zorro", because of the black markings around its eyes. I also got great a thrill out of watching a pair of clownfish weave in and out of an anemone (big fan of Finding Nemo). There were so many creatures to see, it was impossible to take even half of it in.
I actually feel I should stop here, because I really don't have the words to convey the overwhelming beauty of this underwater world. I wish I had a waterproof camera to share my experience visually with everyone. Hopefully, I'll manage to borrow one from a fellow diver on one of my next dives, because I'm definitely doing it again as soon as possible! It's certainly the best experience I've had in Saudi Arabia so far, and it's something I would undoubtedly recommend to anyone trying to make life in the Kingdom a bit more interesting.
After 250 pages of scuba theory and 5 interesting, yet exhausting, pool sessions, it was finally time to hit the open water. Very excited, though slightly apprehensive, I began my descent with extreme caution, gripping the rope that was meant to guide me, remembering to equalise my ears every meter, and not daring to move my gaze away from my instructor. Eventually we settled in a sandy patch and I took my first look at my surroundings. I was greeted with such breathtaking beauty, I can honestly only describe that moment as magical. Just 10 meters under the surface lies this pristine coral reef, immense, colourful and absolutely teeming with life. As we swam along, I didn't know where to turn my head first, afraid of missing out on all these amazing things: soft and hard coral in an incredible variety of colours, ranging from brown and red to vivid purple, in the most bizarre formations: spiky corals, corals that look like huge mutated mushrooms, fan-shaped corals, whip-like corals. I even noticed a type of coral that closely resembles a brain, right down to its pinkish colour.
And the fish! I've never seen such a variety of fish, even in aquariums. Thousands of underwater creatures, tiny and large, gorgeous and ugly and weird. Some seemed to be bustling about purposefully, in schools or alone, as if they had business of the utmost importance to attend to somewhere in the reef, while others lay relaxed at the bottom or peeked out of holes taking in the view (or perhaps waiting for their next meal to swim by). Moving along the reef, my instructor pointed out some of the most fascinating species, scribbling their names onto her little waterproof whiteboard. We encountered the native to the Red Sea parrotfish, absolutely stunning, with scales in shades of green, blue, yellow and purple, pretty yellow angelfish, a beautiful lionfish, lying still, spines overflowing with deadly venom, and a fat, funny-looking fish called a masked pufferfish or "Zorro", because of the black markings around its eyes. I also got great a thrill out of watching a pair of clownfish weave in and out of an anemone (big fan of Finding Nemo). There were so many creatures to see, it was impossible to take even half of it in.
I actually feel I should stop here, because I really don't have the words to convey the overwhelming beauty of this underwater world. I wish I had a waterproof camera to share my experience visually with everyone. Hopefully, I'll manage to borrow one from a fellow diver on one of my next dives, because I'm definitely doing it again as soon as possible! It's certainly the best experience I've had in Saudi Arabia so far, and it's something I would undoubtedly recommend to anyone trying to make life in the Kingdom a bit more interesting.
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