The Puffer Forum

yayyyyyyyyyyyyy, hope you didnt miss me

Were you in Egypt?

Pufferpunk wrote:Were you in Egypt?

yes I went for a week to Sharm El Sheik, I was free diving in the reefs without any diving gear just a snorkel and flippers, down to depths of 10+ Metres was amazzzzzzzzzing . Saw lots of Panda Puffers, Titan Triggers and other stuff

welcome back!

whats a panda puffer?

Hubby & I were supposed to go diving there for our 20th wedding anniversary but he thought it wouldn't be safe for Americans in Egypt now.

hadla wrote:welcome back!

whats a panda puffer?

Panda Puffer - Arothron Diadematus: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Arothr ... =firefox-a only found in the Red Sea

Pufferpunk wrote:Hubby & I were supposed to go diving there for our 20th wedding anniversary but he thought it wouldn't be safe for Americans in Egypt now.

Its very safe, the Red Sea bay area is 6 hours drive from Cairo and everything is great, tourism is up people are happy. When I was there I saw Russians, Europeans and lots of Brits (like me) they were even quite a few americans there.

We went to the Hilton Sharm Waterfalls Resort which is the best 5* hotel in Sharm el Sheikh according to Internet Reviews, we got a deal for £500 each which included Return Flights ( to UK ), Hotel and Food all inclusive for 7 days.

Lots of excursions and stuff you can do AND this Hotel has its own DIVE SHOP and HOUSE REEF. Yes just 2 secs from your hotel room is a Large Private Reef full of fish and coral for Hilton guests to Snorkel / Dive in or you can take a boat out to other places. While we there we did 2 excursions: 1. in a submarine boat thingy and we got to see lots of reefs and fish and the other 2. was a Jeep Safari through the desert which was cool since we rode on Camels , rest of the time I spent Free Diving and chasing Panda Puffers all over the place .

The food in the hotel was goooooooood with 7 restaurants and bars, and when we left the hotel was Fully Booked. so PP I think your fellow americans know something you dont

No sign of unrest there at all? T5hey'll be holding elections around the time we wanted to go. Were you able to visit the pyramids, Sphinx, etc?

No pictures? *pouts*

Walrus Head wrote:

Pufferpunk wrote:Were you in Egypt?

yes I went for a week to Sharm El Sheik, I was free diving in the reefs without any diving gear just a snorkel and flippers, down to depths of 10+ Metres was amazzzzzzzzzing . Saw lots of Panda Puffers, Titan Triggers and other stuff

isnt free diving the best?! I am originally from Hawaii and we use to do that all the time. Its easier to swim cause your not loaded down with equipment, doesn't spook the fish as easy, and it allows you to sneak up on unsuspecting fish to get a close up.

I hate holding my breath. I even swim laps with my mask & snorkel on.

Walrus Head wrote:

hadla wrote:welcome back!

whats a panda puffer?

Panda Puffer - Arothron Diadematus: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Arothr ... =firefox-a only found in the Red Sea

did you get any pics of them?

Pufferpunk wrote:No sign of unrest there at all? T5hey'll be holding elections around the time we wanted to go. Were you able to visit the pyramids, Sphinx, etc?

I didnt have enough money to go on excursions to the Pyramids or Luxor etc, word form the Locals is that Tourism in Cairo itself has completely Collapsed thus I dont think there alot of people going to visit the Sphinx etc etc.
But where the Red Sea is Tourism is booming to be honest I am the kinda tourist that is only interested in the Diving side of things anyway so I had a great holiday. The pyramids would be interesting for like a day then after I would get bored as I am a water baby and love being in the sea 24/7 hence why this time IU spent most of my time Free Diving .

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:No pictures? *pouts*

Ill put up what pics I took on holiday soon

puffykid wrote: isnt free diving the best?! I am originally from Hawaii and we use to do that all the time. Its easier to swim cause your not loaded down with equipment, doesn't spook the fish as easy, and it allows you to sneak up on unsuspecting fish to get a close up.

Yeh Free Diving I love it more than normal diving as it tests my ability to hold my breath for long periods of time under pressure, in the Red Sea I just had a Snorkel n Flippers and I'd hold my breath and dive down. While I was there I got free dive training from an ex Egyptian Navy Seal who can go down to 15+ metres free diving he was helping me practice my FD technique and I managed to get down to about 12 Metres , wow I love it

hadla wrote: did you get any pics of them?

only 1 pic will post soon

Hi,

I was in Egypt (liveaboard out of Hurghada) when everything was a bit loopy in Feb - in fact, he resigned while I was in the airport waiting to get my flight back. Mind you, I was on a boat the whole time instead of being land based. Although Hurghada was a ghost town on our last night and they were taking Sterling and Dollars as nowhere was open to exchange and cash machines were all down.

Many people I know out there say that things are very tight but tourists are welcome in the Red Sea resorts. The only negative I've heard is some of the vendors being a bit pushier than usual. Oh, and the prices are better than usual, pelagics are returning with the decrease in tourists and the dive sites are much less congested.

I'd be happy going back again this year but have already used all my holiday days so can't.

Oh, masked puffers (panda puffers) are so cute! They're one of my faves!

Hubby still says no.