El Andalous - Back to Snorkeling

Racoon Butterflyfish

Coronavirus cases here are decreasing (for now, at any rate) and things are opening up a little. I’m now able to snorkel again.

I’ve missed being able to intersperse swimming days with snorkeling days and it’s surprising how much difference just a little change in your schedule can make to helping you feel a bit more refreshed and back to normal.

So far, I’ve been twice to my “private” snorkeling spot by Paradise Gardens in Sahl Hasheesh. Their beach isn’t yet open, so only the bins are there where the sunbeds used to be. Because Sahl Hasheesh is one of the few places with operational beaches just now, it’s actually pretty busy in the publically accessible areas. The resort is definitely starting to come back to life.

It’s not too far to cycle, so even though it’s hot, it’s manageable; at least there’s a bit of a breeze as you cycle along. The second time I brought, and drank, a diet coke, but I think I could have survived easily without it. I do remember other summers where I’ve needed to stop and drink, so I’m wondering if hotter weather is yet to come.

My snorkeling place had two other couples there when I went the first time and in normal times I very often have it to myself, so that’s a sign of how it’s getting busier. Fortunately, I didn’t need to go anywhere near the others, but I always feel nervous when people are about as I’m always fretting that they’ll tread on the coral or do something else equally stupid. I’m also aware that I probably look as if I’m too close, but I’ve come to be able to judge my distance pretty well over the years and I can manoeuvre myself back and forwards without needing to put my legs down, so I’m confident that I’m not near enough to damage anything or, indeed, myself. However, I understand that I may be setting a bad example, so then I get all worried about whether I should pull back a bit. But then I won’t get such good photographs!

The sea seems to be warmer at this point of the beach than anywhere else. It must be thirty degrees, I would think, at least in the shallow area as you get in. As usual, I have to choose a day with little wind for the best experience, although nowadays my view can be obscured by the heat haze in the water.

The fish are still there. There’s a whole group of Picasso fish right at the end just now, which is pretty unusual to see and the last time I went there was also a shoal of raccoon butterflyfish. They are stunning when you see them en masse. I also saw two grey moray eels in the shallow grass area as I was walking back out of the water. There’s life everywhere you look in the sea. The sea stars’ tentacles are always waving out of the sand in the shallows.

Horrifyingly, I spotted something that looked like secateurs lying on top of one bit of coral, so I hope that isn’t someone coming out with the deliberate intention of cutting it and taking it away (which is illegal, but when did that stop people?). I feel sure some of it looks like it’s been trodden on, but maybe I’m just worrying too much.

Anyway, it’s good to be back!

El Andalous - Neti Pot

Neti Pot

I thought I’d have a bit of a change of topic this week. It’s slowly getting to summer here; daytime temperatures range between 35-42 degrees, nighttime temperatures are around 27 degrees. It’s got to the stage now where I need the air conditioning on to cool my bedroom – either before I go to sleep or as I sleep. Sometimes, I wake up and I’m too cold with the air conditioning on, so my nights can be a bit restless as I turn the air conditioning on and off throughout the night.

Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s due to the air conditioning, but my nose has been feeling blocked. I have some nose spray I use to clear my passages, but recently I needed it three nights’ running and that’s the maximum dosage. Apparently, it can be addictive, and I can see why because my nose always feels so wonderfully open after I use it and I just want to return to that state. My prohibition to use the spray any longer inspired me to go back to using my neti pot.

If you don’t know what a neti pot is, it’s a small pot, almost like a teapot, that you use to irrigate your nose. You pour salt water from the pot into one nostril and the water comes out of the other nostril. In the process, the saline solution gives your nasal passages some moisture, removes allergens and bacteria, and clears any blockage.

When I first read about using a neti pot years ago, it looked pretty crazy. I couldn’t quite believe that the water would run out your other nostril like that, but I must have been desperate enough to give it a go. I can’t even remember if I was successful when I did it before, since my memories are of the water not coming out of the other nostril and then having visions of needing to have an operation to unblock my nose or some other horrible scenario. But I also remember laughing a lot as I tried and failed. At any rate, that ceramic neti pot survived and came to Egypt with me. I have a vague memory of thinking that if I ever needed one again, it might be hard to come by. 

Anyway, all these years later I returned to giving the neti pot another try. At first, I had the same problem I had before; I couldn’t get the water to run out the other side of my nose. After quite a bit of trial and error over a few nights, I’ve found that there’s a definite angle you need. There are loads of YouTube videos, but although people report it being easy, there’s a definite knack to it. I think it was the NIH website that even had someone demonstrating it and, like me, there was no water coming out the other nostril.

On the whole (in case this is useful for anyone else), my head needed to be more upright than I was expecting (looking at myself in the mirror helps; if I can look myself in the eye, I’m getting closer to the right position). I can now identify the sensation in my nose as to when the water is likely to come through my other nostril; it’s not immediate. Although you need your head tilted for the water to pour down, your head also needs to have a slight back tilt; maybe it’s different for each individual?

However, even when I’ve got the position right and the water is successfully running out my other nostril, half-way through, the water will suddenly decide to take a different course and start dribbling down my neck. It’s not a very elegant look! I wear a bib now when I’m doing it, otherwise my clothes get soaked. I don’t know why it suddenly decides to trickle down my neck as I don’t change anything I’m doing. One website says it may be because you have an inefficient neti pot, but I don’t like to blame my little pot.

It also took me a while to realize that I needed to do one potful for one nostril and another potful for the second nostril. Before that, I was using just half a pot for each. It’s taking me a while each evening, so I’m having to prepare to get to bed much earlier, but it is doing the job of making me able to breathe at night. I’m not sure now when I will feel able not to use it anymore; it won’t be practical to use the neti pot if I go on holiday, so at some point, I’ll have to live without it again. For now, I’m just grateful that it’s working.

El Andalous - Beach Reopened

Sleeping Octopus

I’ve been very grateful to be in Sahl Hasheesh during the coronavirus. We’re relatively secluded (despite the alarming number of illegal, short-term lets in our building!) and we’ve had our private swimming pools (20m and 30m) in operation. As it’s got hotter and hotter, having a swim has become more and more of a must.

Also, it’s easy to walk around without seeing other people, so that’s another easy form of exercise in case you don’t like swimming (or just want a change of type of exercise).

Anyway, the government recently announced that although public beaches should remain closed, beaches in touristic villages (which Sahl Hasheesh is) could open due to the smaller number of people at these resorts. Hurrah! At last!

So, I’m slowly getting back to my old routine of having my afternoon on the beach. When I was swimming in the pool, it was very functional. I’d get in the water, swim my laps, get out, return to my flat. However, when I’m on the beach, it’s much nicer to lie on a sunbed to dry off and read a bit (in the shade at this time of year). It’s surprising how much difference just this small change makes. I guess it’s seeing the sea rather than the pools making me feel like I’m somewhere truly different and sitting somewhere other than my balcony. In any case, it’s almost too hot to sit on my balcony at this time of year, particularly from 11am to 3pm.

I seem to be a bit out of condition / out of practice when it comes to sea swimming. I’m finding it exhausting and am taking lots of rests; on top of this, I’m a lot slower too (but maybe the rests are being timed in with the swimming time – I’m not too sure).

The sea is warm, as warm as the pool, I would say, so approximately 27 degrees, at a guess, maybe a bit warmer. I suppose this might be giving me less incentive to swim fast versus when it was colder. I’m now wondering how I survived those colder months. I still hesitate to plunge in.

Currently, I’m combining my swimming with snorkeling as it’s been so long since I’ve seen the fish. I haven’t seen anything new, or really noticed anything different. We have a resident octopus that sleeps on a small bit of coral quite close to shore, so I’ve seen that a few times and another owner here has taken videos of it going along the sea bed and changing colour as it pretends to be a bit of coral. It’s pretty cool!

I’m swimming in the opposite direction from before as I was getting regularly stung by (I think) jellyfish spores, which are invisible but bring you out in itchy hives under your costume. It’s too hot to wear my rash vest and I’ve read that the spores get trapped in your clothes, which is why they sting, so I’m wondering whether the rash vest would trap more spores or prevent them. I really don’t know! Even though I’ve changed the direction of my swim, I’ve still been stung once, but I think it is better in this other direction. There are also more groups of coral to look at en route, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on whether I want to focus on my swimming endurance or on enjoying my time in the water.

All in all, it’s a relief to be going back to some of my old routines!

El Andalous - Buggy Trip

Turkey

There are still ways to have fun, even when the beaches are closed, restaurants and cafes aren't open, shops shut early and there’s curfew (now actually only midnight to about 4am, I think).

One thing we (four of us) did was to hire an electric buggy for a couple of hours and drive round Sahl Hasheesh. With the sun shining down, the wind going through our hair, and a constant change of scene, life finally felt like a holiday again.

We went up to the villa district to see how all the building work was progressing round there. The pier, where we like to snorkel, is closed (and even as they open up the beaches, they are still closing the pier). It’s hard to believe how hilly Sahl Hasheesh is at times; it’s somehow not what you expect in the desert.

Anyway, we continued driving past the villas (I took a few photos of the men working on the villa beside Kathryn and Stephen, so I could show it to them – however, in my fear of being spotted, I managed to put my finger over the lens), up the hill until we got to a magnificent viewpoint over Sahl Hasheesh. We stopped, took some photos, identified the major landmarks (mostly hotels).

We went past the solar farm and the ERC (resort company) headquarters.

Then back down and behind the hotels. Again, we could see a lot of building work continuing on the projects along the coast. After that, it was the best part: we progressed to the stables. I’ve never been there. Many people have said that it’s a good place to visit. One time I was even supposed to join friends on a horse riding trip along the sea (living the dream!), but something happened. Maybe I fell ill or perhaps a work meeting intervened. Anyway, this was my first visit.

I had been surprised before when people told me that it had more than three or four horses (which is what I had imagined), but somehow seeing it in real life surprised me even more. There must be about thirty stables. It seemed to go on forever. I know they do camel riding, although I didn’t spot any camels. There were quad bikes, turkeys, monkeys, chickens, dogs, cats… Normally, there’s a nice café (so I’ve heard), but it’s not open due to coronavirus. However, they were happy enough for us to come in and wander round at our leisure, petting all the animals.

Another thing I hadn’t appreciated before was that the stables take in rescue horses. I’m not sure where they are rescued from. We patted one that was so painfully thin, it was heartbreaking. One got jealous when John moved on from him to giving another horse attention and the horse started dragging up dust with his hoof to gain attention.

A group of people were just leaving to go riding on the beach, so we followed them down to the sea to watch. A dog was with them and leapt into the driving seat of our buggy. It took a while to get him out!

After that, we followed the coastline back to El Andalous. It’s really stunning to see all the blues of the sea and some of the beautiful architecture.

I was amazed at how much it felt like a proper day out, even though we hadn’t left Sahl Hasheesh. After having my sole activities as going from inside El Andalous to the pool in our gardens, and the occasional trip to shop at BestWay or Spinneys, this was a wonderful change. It has made me pine for a holiday, though!