Diving in the Red Sea

Following two intense desert nights and a few physically active days, we hit Aqaba which is known to be the beach fun area of Jordan. As they say: work hard, party hard!

Well, we really didn’t do too much of actual partying but we were thrilled to do some diving in the Red Sea and excitement levels were very high! 

We walked up to Aqaba International Dive Center and our friendly French instructor got us on a wagon and off we were to the beach!

Fully briefed and equipped we wobbled into the Red Sea and began to learn how to properly breathe and adjust the mask in the water. Guys, it is not that easy! 

The first few times I tried to put my head under water and breathe through my mouth I felt agonized and strangely phobic at the same time. On the one hand I knew it is supposed to work just fine and could rationalize the experience but on the other hand, my brain could not accept not breathing through my nose as a real option. Logic eventually prevailed but not without some mild panicking… A seemed not to have such problems and soon began floating away from me as if she was a kind of mermaid. 

Once that was settled, we started exploring near the shore and it was glorious!

So many shades of blue, so many colors of the fish! It was so much fun and we even saw a moray eel!

I can honestly say I loved the experience and was surprised by all the small details. Like how fast the water temperature changes in just a couple of meters or how unaware you become of your depth. It is like you are swallowed by a new world.

But depth also has its risks. At a certain point I got a sharp ear pain and had to surface. It turned out to not bother me again and the dive continued but I can imagine real deep sea divers need to be super careful. On the funnier side, A managed to lose a flipper, not once but twice! I guess she might not be mermaid material after all.