Karis and I just got back from Egypt after a one week stay at a Mövenpick hotel in El Quesir. Bit of a change in temperature back here in sunny England. 4°C feels a damn sight colder than 28°C.
We arrived at night so we didnt really get to see a great deal. I could see a lot of sand surrounding the airport at Hurghada though when we came to land. It’s about a five and a half hour flight which went pretty quickly on the way there. We flew past Croatia, seemed funny looking at the islands I’d been on back in August.
A chap from the hotel came and collected us from the airport. It’s about an hour and a half from the hotel and initially what struck me was the fact he had to flash everyone that he passed so they knew he was coming. Sometimes he’d turn his lights off too and seemed to pass people either side, it didn’t matter. We didn’t feel unsafe though. The roads are pretty rough and there’s no end of crap lying alongside them. They seem to like speed bumps too, I’m pretty sure my car would get half way and get stuck. We saw a few chaps with AK-47s along the way at security checkpoints. I wonder how often they get trouble?
We got to the hotel, checked in and pretty much went straight to bed, long day. The hotel is pretty nice, a couple of pools, its own reef and several restaurants. The main thing we were here for was the reef though. From the hotel/beach it doesn’t look like much at all. It’s pretty dull looking water, doesn’t look like there’d be much to look at in there. How very, very wrong. Every day we spent in the water, teeming with marine life. A huge variety too. We even saw a moray eel and a few rays of different sorts. Box fish, puffer fish, angel fish, lion fish, parrot fish, shoals of sardines—the list goes on. All this was the best part of the holiday by far, I’d go back to Egypt for that reason alone. I think we were the only English people staying there. Everyone else there was German pretty much. The staff are surprised when you tell them that you’re from England. I had my GoPro and Karis had her compact camera in a waterproof case so we got a fair amount of footage/photos between us. My flippers were giving me problems in the first couple of days, I developed a blister before too long and I had to buy a new pair. The new pair were massive in comparison though to be fair so I could go a bit quicker. Bit of a shame, I’ve had that old yellow and blue pair since I went to Australia seven years ago! I dropped a lump of wood on my foot a few weeks ago. I’m beginning to wonder if it cracked a bone or something, every day after being in the water my toe was aching. Not a good sign really but I wasn’t going to miss any of it. Karis had some problems with her mask too so she had to get a smaller one. I was messing about with my mask at one point and got swept in to the reef which cut my leg open. I knew I’d bashed myself but I wasn’t aware it was cut. About an hour later I’m walking back from the beach bar and one of the hotel staff hunts me down with some cotton wool balls and a bottle of iodine. Just as well, apparently cuts from coral can get infected quite easily. I hadn’t realised there was blood dripping down my leg. There are a few chaps around the resort that will try and sell you stuff. One guy must have clocked me from the other end of the beach with my fairly long hair and a few days’ worth of stubble, he thought his hair cut/shaving service was quids in!
I managed to get fairly close to quite a few fish and rays. I reckon my breath holding/diving was getting better again by the end of the week. I’d been doing this in Croatia too to a degree. I suppose it’s a form of free diving but I don’t really consider myself good enough to call it that. We saw a fish that was lying on the bottom at one point but it was pretty far down, I dived to try and get a few seconds of footage with my camera. By the time I reached it my right ear was hurting so much from the pressure I had to go back up. I didn’t want to risk damaging my ear drums. Usually I swallow as I go down which seems to equalise the pressure and stops my ears hurting, not this time. I need to read about free diving and how to deal with the pressure before I go somewhere else. Certainly the trick to holding your breath underwater for as long as you can is to remain calm. If you can stay calm and relaxed you can hold your breath for longer, It’s definitely a case of mind over matter. I hope I can get better.
The hotel offers different activities, horse riding, quads, camel riding, archery etc. We went on a two hour horse ride which was excellent. It takes me back a while, I used to ride as a boy with my mum and sister. We went out in the evening as the sun set and took a loop round the hills near the hotel. Landscape like I’ve never seen up close before. The guide, Mohammad, was a nice chap. His instruction for riding was pretty simple, “kick”, “kick more” and “strong kick”. I think the horse had developed thick skin where I was kicking, there wasn’t much of a reaction. I wanted to go fast but we only got in to a trot. I don’t think Karis thought I’d be up for it which is a shame, I would have loved to got going out in the open. I think the horses were about done for anyway by this time of day. It was cool though all the same. Mohammed was keen to be on film it seemed. He saw the camera strapped to my chest and wanted Karis to lead while he was in front of me on film. We got back to his house and he was keen to show us his collection of animals. He’d got stables, a room with a load of rabbits, dogs, cats and camels—probably other animals too, who knows. He leads a simple life but I liked his little pad. I’d imagine he doesn’t see a lot of the money from the hotel for the horse riding though which is a shame. If I’d had some cash on me I would have definitely given him a bit extra. We would’ve walked back to the hotel until Mohammed’s friend (brother possibly?) flagged down a bloke in a truck to give us a lift. A bit random but another interesting experience, Arabic music on full blast.
Evenings at the hotel were nice, good food, good service. Even managed to get some free drinks at one stage for some reason. Cocktails at the bar overlooking the sea, sweet. Nice strong cocktails too, the sort that give you a warm fuzzy feeling. We spent a fair amount of time taking photos at the beach at night too as it was so clear and the moon was out. We went to the local town, Al Quesir, one night. A minibus takes you in and drops you off for an hour and a half. We step off the bus and are immediately met by a bloke trying to sell us stuff from his shop. We walk down the street and are constantly met by people trying to get us in to their shop to buy some tat. One guy even asked us if we wanted to “buy some crap” from him, at least he had a sense of humour. It’s funny, a lot of them are asking “Alles klar?” due to the number of German’s visiting, they assume you’re German. Even the little kids are asking it. You say you’re from England and you get the same old “Manchester or London?” question. Everywhere you look there’s rubbish, crumbling walls and rubble. In actual fact everywhere we went in Egypt there was loads of rubbish, rubble and hundreds of unfinished buildings dotted around. Sometimes in the middle of nowhere randomly, very weird. I get a feeling that times in this town were a lot better in the past. All the shops that once were new with marble steps and brass fittings on glass doors are really worn out, the marble is cracked and the doors are filthy. Everywhere is covered in dust. There’s power cables draped across buildings and exposed in the street where the road has worn thin. Everyone is trying to sell what they can. Some guys had a table of fish covered with flies. One guy is sat there with a stick that’s got some feathers tied on to the end to try and keep the flies away, a losing battle. The roads are made from dust pretty much and a lot of people seem to own a motorbike. All pretty much like a Honda CB 125, although I’m sure a lot of them are knock offs and cheap imitations. They’re dressed up with neon and flashing lights, turbo stickers etc. There are kids burning about on them. Fathers with two or three kids piled on, nobody wearing a helmet and it’s each man for himself round the streets. A few people with wound dressing on their faces, I wonder if that’s from stones getting kicked up while riding or something. I’m not surprised the bus doesn’t leave you there for long, it’s not that long before you’d rather be back at the hotel. The sort of place you need your wits about you, tourist = money.
I’d imagine that Al Quesir is really a reflection of the real Egypt and I’m very much aware that the Swiss Mövenpick hotel is a manufactured experience. Still, it’s a place I’m happy to go back to after being there. Friday was our last full day which happened to be perfect conditions for snorkeling. No wind and 28 degrees in the shade.
I’d definitely go back to Egypt one day. There are the pyramids and things further north that I’d like to see. That’ll have to wait until it’s calmed down up there though. The most amazing thing has been the Red Sea, I’m blown away by the marine life we saw.
I’ve played around with After Effects again for the title. Not exactly what I was after but good to play around a bit more. I’ve colour corrected the clips as best as I can too. Each day was different in the water, some clearer than others and it makes a difference how deep you are. Some clips have come out really well though. There’s probably enough footage to make a feature film, here’s ten minutes worth.