Last Days In Egypt: Exploring The Reef
It’s Good Friday at home in England. Here it’s mid Ramadan, though in Camp Sunshine both Easter and Ramadan have become somewhat abstract concepts, for us at least, although we are having chats with staff over the effects of fasting. It looks like it’s changeover time too: new faces are appearing and wandering around learning the ropes and some of our old favourites seem to have gone back home to ordinary life.
Dave Angel (eco warrior) is still here with his heavily tattooed entourage, but Tracey Emin is out of the picture and Wolfgang & Son seem to have gone back to wherever their normal food levels exist and left more here for the rest of us. Amongst the new arrivals are The Elegant Italians, who must be from either Rome or Milan, dressed to kill – or at least dressed for dinner – and gliding round Camp Sunshine in their finery as if they’d booked a posh cruise and ended up here by mistake.
Heavy Metal Man is here too, his long grey pony tail pushed backwards through the baseball cap to nestle halfway down his back. His black T-shirt sports the legend “make music not war” and we’d like to bet his metal studded leather jacket came to Egypt with him and is hanging in his hotel closet. Then there’s Herr und Frau Wagner: we’ve christened them Wagner because it’s a name we associate with intellect and these two look every inch the retired professional. The Wagners have a rather civilised pre-dinner routine which comprises cocktails and card games, and, judging by the amount of scribbling Frau Wagner is doing, some serious scorekeeping is going on.
A week may be a long time in politics but it’s even longer in suntan. Seven days ago we arrived and clocked the deep tans of those already settled in: now, a week later, we are the dark brown ones and the novice paleskins are casting approving glances at us.
Camp Sunshine (not its real name) has another way of pushing the definition of the “all” in “all-inclusive” to a different level: Ristorante Al Dente, which, apparently, doesn’t translate as “restaurant on the way to the dentist”, offers an alternative to the cafeteria. Al Dente is almost a proper restaurant save for the fact you have to choose your meal at the time of making a reservation. The “all” definition is stretched by the fact that all-inclusive guests can go there…but only once per week. Make a second visit and it’s time to reach for your wallet.
But it’s alright as it happens, and has the considerable bonus of a reasonably priced and very decent bottle of South African red. The serving staff, two in number, are so reminiscent of Basil Fawlty and Manuel that we reckon we would have giggled all night even without the Merlot. There’s nothing wrong with the food, as indeed there isn’t in the main cafeteria restaurant. We say again: mass catering on Camp Sunshine scale is never going to be mind blowing, but it is definitely very acceptable and we have had no complaints on that score.
Easter Sunday morning brings an uncharacteristic stillness and silence: the wind has gone and for the first time there is no rumble from the surf crashing over the reef. Our daily morning walk has become progressively longer day by day, and has steadily revealed more and more life in what we previously referred to as nature’s graveyard: crabs of every shape and size, starfish cunningly disguised as seaweed and colourful high-speed fish darting through the shallows. The shell collection is truly incredible, ranging from items so heavy and sculpted that they feel like moulded concrete to some which are just the most beautiful polished porcelain.
The absent wind means joy for Michaela as the red flag disappears and snorkelling is on the agenda. She comes back totally animated, describing the experience as her “best snorkelling ever”, the fish as “unbelievable” and the coral as a “riot of colour”. The beaming smile on her wet face says everything, as does the fact that she grabs multiple opportunities to see it all, now that the seas have calmed and nature’s parade is laid before her. The water is so clear, the fish life so abundant, that there’s decent spotting to be had just walking on the wooden pier even before she enters the water.
If perchance you’re wondering why it’s Michaela only, and not both of us, I seem to have a blind spot when it comes to controlled breathing techniques. Never mind snorkelling, I can’t even drink through a straw without getting in a mess.
Some sort of haze takes over Sunday afternoon. The previously scorching sun becomes fuzzy, shadows become ill-defined for the first time and the horizon vanishes into a featureless blur. It is seriously peculiar, the haze so distorting as to feel like mist, all distant views stolen by the strangely cloying stillness. An accompanying humidity replaces the dry heat – if we were anywhere other than the desert we would think a storm is coming. But of course, it isn’t.
And so we near the close of our time in Camp Sunshine and the end of our month in Egypt. We’d never done anything like this all-inclusive resort thing before and we had a pretty good idea that it wouldn’t be “us”, which has indeed proved to be the case. Nevertheless, we’re glad we’ve done it not least because you can only really have an opinion if you’ve experienced something for yourself. Now that we have, we won’t be in a hurry to repeat it.
Also, we’re not forgetting that when we entered Camp Sunshine, we felt very pleased to be getting out of the constant hassle and dishonesty which blights Egypt. We would go as far as to say that of all the many countries we’ve visited, Egypt is the least likely that we’d return to.
This interlude on the Red Sea coast has left us feeling that we haven’t really been travelling for the last ten days, not in the true sense. With five weeks touring Tunisia next, starting in the capital, we’re looking forward to getting back into that groove.
21 Comments
Gilda Baxter
I have enjoyed your tales from “Camp Sunshine”. It has been very entertaining.
I hope you enjoy your tour of Tunisia 🇹🇳
Steven and Annie Berger
We love snorkeling. So happy you got at least one day. And healthy, colorful coral is getting harder to find. Looking forward to reading about Tunisia since it’s not very high up on our list. Maybe that will change.
Phil & Michaela
We’re ready for the next bit!
Alison
I’ve really enjoyed your takes across Egypt especially Camp Sunshine. The snorkelling does look amazing. Looking forward to reading about Tunisia
Safe travels 🙂
Phil & Michaela
Thanks Ali.
Phil & Michaela
Thanks Gilda…yep, we’re looking forward to the next part of this adventure
Andrew Petcher
An excellent final few days, I enjoyed being there with you.
WanderingCanadians
I’m so happy you (or rather Michaela) were able to go snorkeling. The reef looks so healthy and full of different types of coral and fish. What a great way to end your time in Egypt. Safe travels to Tunisia.
Phil & Michaela
She was very pleased – and relieved – that the opportunity finally arose. And the results were fantastic, she’s still on a high!
Toonsarah
In a way I’m sorry you’re finally leaving Camp Sunshine – I’ve so enjoyed reading your take on the scene there! The snorkelling looks great, I’m glad you (one of you!) managed to do some before leaving the area.
I’ll be very curious to read your impressions of Tunisia. We spent a week there way back when we first started venturing out of Europe – it was only our second trip out of the continent and our first to a country with a culture so different from home. I actually found the hassling worse there than Egypt, but that may have been because I was so unused to such things. In one souk I was even partly pulled into a shop by the owner! I hope things have improved there and/or my memories of it being bad are distorted by my lack of experience at that time.
Phil & Michaela
Aww, thanks Sarah. It’s been an experience, and as you can probably tell, we’ve had some fun just being observers – and it’s certainly been fun writing about it, so I’m glad you enjoyed. Definitely ready to get travelling again now. The thing about Egypt is the dishonesty- everyone out to do you. So much more unpalatable than Morocco, so yes we’ll see how Tunisia compares. We’re not expecting it to be as bad as here.
Christie
So glad Michaela had the chance to snorkel, the reef looks amazing, even at the edge!
Safe travels to Tunisia!
Phil & Michaela
Oh Michaela is still raving about the snorkelling!
Christie
I bet she does🙂 I’m not an expert, and having troubles to breath too long under water, but this is a unique experience!
Heyjude
Camp Sunshine has been a real laugh! I love your observations of the characters you have met. People watching is such a fun sport. I’m with you (Phil) on the snorkelling, I’d probably drown myself, but it must be wonderful to eyeball those colourful fishes. I do hope Tunisia is better for you. I must admit my travels across North Africa (many years ago) made me fairly sure I wouldn’t rush to return.
Phil & Michaela
Thanks Jude..well, we had to see the funny side of it all.
wetanddustyroads
Oh well, that the South African wine had to come to the rescue 😉. Really enjoyed the photo’s of the colourful fish – almost make you forget about ‘Camp Sunshine’. Good luck on Tunisia … can’t wait to see what this country as on offer!
Phil & Michaela
It was just as well we have a sense of humour and can see the funny side of most things!
grandmisadventures
You got some amazing pictures of the reef! I just can’t get over all the bright colors. I enjoyed reading about the variety of people that you have met there at Camp Sunshine 🙂
leightontravels
Brilliantly funny! Your observations of the other guests and their nicknames had me laughing more than once. Glad Michaela got the chance to explore the abundant sea life.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you – I think you read the whole “series” of posts from that location. Well, it was an experience we never thought we’d have (not our style of travel) but it was fun to observe and I definitely had a huge amount of fun writing it up! Glad you enjoyed.