Egypt: Snorkelling at the Blue Hole

We travelled in pickup trucks for 10 min from our hotel to the Blue Hole. I got my snorkelling gear on and clambered down some rickety wooden steps. I swam out a few metres and could see coral at a depth of about 30 cm but most of it was dead.

I swam out 30m further to find live coral and hundreds of fish. Alas, till I do the PADI Advanced Open Water Naturalist course, I can't name them but can only describe them as orange, black and purple with yellow fishnet stockings.

There were divers below me. One had 2 air tanks on his back and was carrying 2 others. He obviously wanted to stay down there for hours. I could see why.

The water was especially salty, giving me a lot of buoyancy, even without a wet suit. I floated still for many minutes at a time. I swam over the reef and encountered choppier waves so I swam back to the calmer side.

After an hour I got out and rested on an ottoman. There was a row of shacks with low-slung chairs with cushions as well as a waiter service for food and drink.

In the evening, I went out with some of the tour group to see Chelsea draw against West Ham inside a restaurant that looked like a beached ship. We grabbed a BOGOF meal deal and I had noodles.