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Family time in Fujairah – Part 1
First in a three-part blog from regular Dive Travel Adventures contributor Sean Chinn about finding time for both family and scuba diving on a trip to Fujairah and Dubai in the UAE…
It had come to that point in the year where it was time to look for a holiday with my girlfriend and our 2 year old daughter. While searching through different holiday destinations and ideas, by chance a holiday flashed up as an alternative to an unmatched search I’d typed in. It was a holiday to the U.A.E stopping 7 nights in Fujairah and a couple of nights in Dubai.
The price was very inviting and with travelling with a 2 year old we didn’t fancy a long travel with connecting flights. This seemed perfect and I hadn’t heard of Fujairah as a holiday destination before but after some research I also found out the diving’s not so bad there either! So we took the plunge and our holiday took us to the desert in the Middle East.
It was the longest flight journey we have been on with our young daughter and were a little apprehensive as to how she would cope for 7 hours stuck on the plane. Thankfully when flying with Emirates there’s plenty of room on the new Airbus, as well as entertainment to choose from on the screens for each seat. And Relax! With an overnight flight our daughter managed to sleep pretty much the whole journey. I don’t know what we were worried about and soon enough we were at our first hotel of the trip – Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort in Fujairah.
It’s hot here, like, seriously hot. So where better to be than a hotel with an array of pools to choose from to keep cool from the desert sun. Including the world’s biggest pool – our beautiful ocean. Situated on Al Aqah beach at the foot of the Hajar Mountains, the hotel offered great sea views, a choice of bars and restaurants, a lovely outside pool area and friendly helpful staff. It’s ideal for the holiday we were looking for with our 2 year old daughter. The icing on the cake being Al Boom Dive Centre located on site.
Al Boom Dive Centre is your one stop water sports adventure shop. Providing many activities such as parasailing, kayaking, snorkelling e.t.c. While also boasting a retail shop onsite with an array of the latest dive equipment on offer. The main reason for my visit to Al Boom would be the diving in the area. Regarded as the best diving in the U.A.E, you are a stones throw away from the Gulf of Oman in the Indian Ocean. With sites easily reachable no more than a 20 minute boat ride away, it’s not long before you’re cooling down from the hot desert sun.
Check back for Part 2 tomorrow…
Find out more about Sean, his photography and his hosted trips at: www.greatwhitesean.com
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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