6/6/2006 - Diving with Alexandria Dive – Alexandria, Egypt.
I have been putting off writing this for a while, as each time I try, I get pissy with the whole thing.
Certainly some moments were good, and I was pleased I did this, but the majority is pretty poor.
Broken Column
Let’s start off with my comments from my dive log.
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Insitu pieces heavily interfered with making them worthless for a history lover.
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Gotta love someone taking a stone or a knife point and “going over” a fantastic carving to make it more dive tourist friendly
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Dive marker? Guess that was optional
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Coming up with 110 air sucked arse.
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Interesting to see the blocks from the Light House – pity interfered with.
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No respect for their dive environment
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Hello no visibility
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Stop fucking with the artefacts
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Cool to swim down the street
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Ummm - where is the non-broken stuff from the brochure?
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Italian Air Plane my arse
Amphora
Getting the picture?
Don’t get me wrong, there were some moments, but they were few and far between. I did love swimming in and around the columns of Cleopatra’s Temple and the massive blocks from the Lighthouse, but the lack of safety concerns and their complete disregard of their own dive environment put a huge downer on the event.
I had wanted to do this dive for ages…. Since I saw a doco on Nat Geo years ago. Then, when I was going to Egypt, and learnt to dive to dive in the Red Sea at Dahab I decided I was going to dive in Alexandria. All the stories could not put me off – so upon arriving in Alexandria, I jumped a cab and booked to dive the next day. I was the only person diving mind you on this HUGE boat. But I get ahead of myself.
I go to the dive centre, and get hit on and slimed by some guy who works there. Yeah yeah, it is Egypt, but please – no touching. I confirm prices etc and set a time for the next day.
I turn up, put my gear bag down and go in to a little office to fill in the paperwork. I come out, and my bag has been opened and all my gear and clothes are out and they are putting my stuff together. Not happy was I. I tell them not to put my gear together, I can do that. I am ignored and told that they are a 5 star operation, I just dive and relax. Personally, I won’t dive if I haven’t put my gear together. I am continued to be ignored. Really annoying me now. I go to pay, and they try to sell the option of using the hire underwater camera. I explain I have one, and get hit up for $20US for a camera tax. Yeah right. Mish mumkin (not correct spelling but if you have been to the Middle East you prolly know what that means).
Winepress
I go back out to my bag to get my water and take some sea sickness tabs just incase (even though it is as flat as a tack) and my bag is nowhere to be seen – it has been put away apparently, and my gear is down by the water. Did I mention I was annoyed? My bag has now been locked away and the person with the key is not about, so they “give” me a bottle of water, I am also asked what I would like for lunch as lunch is included. I am asked if I want Fish or Chicken – I say chicken. I grab my wettie, hood, booties and towel and go to the ladies change room. This just happens to have some well placed holes in the door and wall and has a door that won’t shut properly and attentive staff who kept checking to see if I was ok. Riiiight.
I go to the water’s edge, pull my gear apart and put it back together.
We get in this teeny rowboat and row out to the huge boat and start the journey through the harbour, past the bar (if you can call it that) and up next to the Fort (original position of Lighthouse). They start to gear up, and I ask where the dive flag is. “Don’t need one, only us here.” I ask if there where the buoy is. “Don’t need one, boat here.” Ummm Ok. Soon as we are in the water, the boat leaves. It gets worse. Now, I know my EXACT weight to dive in MY gear, but they decide I need to have another 2kg, and shove it into my BC. Needless to say I sink like a brick the whole 8m to the bottom. So we do the less than spectacular dive.
Sure there was some interesting stuff, but ummm, it was all broken or tampered with. So disappointing.
We surface and the boat is over 100m away. So we drift around on the surface away from the dive site getting closer and closer to the rock wall. Feeling really good! We get on board, they take my gear off me even though I kept saying “STOP” and in the process of their 5 star service they fuck up my reg (which I don’t find out till I jump in for the second dive - letting in gobs of water).
Column base - near Lighthouse site
We then dive the site of the Fighter plane and the palace area. Hello 2m visability. And WHY did the dive master persist in dragging things out of the silt, murking up the water even more so I could take a photo? I motioned for him to stop this multiple times, but naturally I was ignored. In the process of allowing the silt to settle back around an amphora so I could take the photo I was planning to before he pulled it up, my divemaster (and I use the term loosely) swam off. Granted I am only in 5.2m of water, but really. I knew the direction of the boat, and made my way back to the plane (boat was on top of it). I surface, clamber on board and head back to land. A very disappointing dive, though I did like the “street” that I finned down.
Back on dry land, I go through the same changing process as earlier and then, when I go to write up my dives I am presented with lunch – which is kosherie… which I can’t stand! So much for fish or chicken. I drink the Sprite and tell them to eat the rest themselves. I pack my gear up wet and leave.
Fallen Collonade
Was it worth it? Hell no.
Am I pleased I did it? Hell yes – because I would have regretted not experiencing diving the Lighthouse and the Temple.
Would I recommend it to anyone? Hell no.
http://www.alexandra-dive.com/
Photos coming tomorrow.
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