Dec 17 - Stay in Dahab today, exploring the area. While the town has avoided any pretense of being a beach resort destination, it has fully exploited the budget tourist scene. It may have been saved from the former designation because the coast along the town is rocky with only minor stretches of beach. There is also a curious indurated crust that has formed at the waterline. Based on the quantity of plant matter accumulated along the shore at the north end of town, there must be areas of sea grasses offshore. The reef wall varies from 20 meters to 100 meters away from the beach, and even in the middle of town there are entry points for divers. The water is very clear and colorful fish come right up to the shore, suggesting that the water quality is decent. We walk north and find that the ramshackle cafes and hotels keep going for a long distance. I thought I would see more tourists here (it being mid-December), but it feels quiet. Our hotel is certainly quiet, I’m guessing it is no more than 20% occupied. Eat some quasi-Thai food at a place where we look over the water and see three lionfish patrolling the rocks. The tiny fish also sheltering in this shallow zone give them a wide berth. Also see some mudskippers, small guppy-like fish that use their fins to jump across the rocks, fully adept at both air and water environments.
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Have decent wifi in the dining room of the hotel, so use this evening to reduce the backlog on this site. Also look ahead and collect some info on where we will be in January.
Egypt