Hurghada, Egypt

[ 2 ] January 10, 2012 |

Hurghada, Egypt was our last stopover on our tour of Egypt.  After many days of non-stop go-go see-see travel we were actually ready for a couple days of beach relaxation.  Situated on the Red Sea, this former fishing village exploded over the past ten years and become a very popular beach and diving destination.  Most surprising to me was the overwhelming number of Russian tourists there.  After talking to a few fellow chatty travelers, there are apparently there are a number of Russian travel agencies that offer ridiculously cheap all-inclusive trips to both Hurghada – were talking $500 USD for an all inclusive week including flight from Moscow.  How can this be, well it turns out (or so the story goes) that a few Russian Mafioso types have been “laundering” some of their not-so legitimate business earning through these trans Russian-Egyptian travel arrangements.   Long story short the Russians were in Hurghada in TROVES – I would say outnumbering every other tourist ethnicity 5 to 1.  Memphis Tours put us up at the Continental Resort Hotel, which was a lovely hotel right on the beach.

Hurghada Resort

Hurghada Coast Line

Other than laying on the beach and reading John Grisham’s latest book for the better part of three days I did manage to squeeze in enough SCUBA diving to get my Advanced Open Water certification.  The water was amazing warm and while visibility wasn’t the greatest the day I went out I was able to do my first wreck dive and deep-water dive all in one blow.  Swimming fully geared up 40 meters (120 feet) under the sea through the belly of a 50’s era Egyptian navel vessel was a bit scary at first but the excitement of the moment quickly took over as a ran into an entire school of Lion Fish peacocking around in full glory.  It was a pretty awesome site.  My default diving buddy Yuri, was equally impressed.  Not that we could have communicated the fact above water since he didn’t speak a lick of English.  Nonetheless, it was a fantastic diving trip and the photos speak for themselves.

Wreck Dive

Wreck Dive 2

Wreck Dive 3

Lion Fish

Deep Water Dive

Scuba Time

Dolphins

Swimming with Dolphins

Attack of the Killer Eels

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Category: Blog, Destinations, Egypt, Pat's Blog

Comments (2)

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  1. mama says:

    Good to see a new blog entry and to know you and Al are still on this planet! The scuba diving experience looks pretty awesome- Am at Leslie’s right now babysitting- Matt and Les are on a Cruise to the Bahamas- Email me when you have time- Love YA! Mama

  2. Russ Porter says:

    Hey Pat and Al, what an amazing resort area. When you return to Rockwall, you can help me get my scuba certification in Lake Ray Hubbard….not quite as exotic of a place as Egypt huh?
    So glad all is going well for the two of you. Thanks for staying in touch.
    Russ

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