We’ve done it – we are now qualified open water divers.  We had a few problems along the way, Sam had trouble removing, replacing and emptying her mask  and was very nervous about having to complete this at 15m.  I literally shat my my pants when when I looked at my gauge and it read 15m, then looked up and saw nothing but the abyss, got into a bit of a panic.  Nonetheless, we practiced over and over again and overcame our fears and were ready for our open water dives.

Our dives were at Fiddle Garden and Temple, two pretty standard and somewhat boring dives according to other divers we met in the dive club bar.  To us, they were a dream, the visibility was amazing, approximately 30m or so – you will see from the selection of photos below.

We set off at 8:40 and headed for ‘Hooligan’ our dive boat. When we descended, all the nerves drifted away, literally, it was breathtaking.  The photos don’t do it any justice – the colours and reefs were so beautiful. 

Many of the divers we met over the past few days have all said that Egypt is one of the best dive locations in the world and is why many have competed over 100 dives in the red sea alone. 

Now qualified, we can schedule a dive on any of Oonas’s five dive boats.  Having completed the course, we decided to have a day of rest and take it from there.  Its funny, we’ve been here four days and today was our first trip to the beach, apart from walk down with our scuba equipment. The touts were trying to sell us all sorts – being so white and thinking it was our first day :-)

All the photos will be uploaded here once we find a half decent Internet connection.  Just in case, Sam is wearing the pink fins :-)

It’s been a few days since we’ve had a chance to provide you with an update on our diving.  The course is spread over 4 days, four confined dives learning all the basic skills and 2 open water dives and an exam at the end.

It’s a bit difficult to concentrate in 38 degrees, having to read a book, complete chapter revisions and mini quizzes.  Although so far, it’s going really well and we’re thoroughly enjoying it – but we are bush whacked come 9pm.

We’ve been up for breakfast most morning at 7am, all kitted out at 8/8:30 and in the water for 9.  The afternoon is scheduled for further dives, study and revision etc. We normally finish at 6/7pm, then off to the bar for a beer with all the other divers.

Some pictures of us grasping the basic skills such as neutral buoyancy.  Visibility is poor, as the confined shore dives are completed in an area where boats are whizzing by constantly. No doubt there will be many more photos to follow.