We keep Dahab clean!

So the other week the expedition group accompanied the i-Dive crew, Daniela Diving, Sheikh Salem and the Dahab Charta Bedouin cleanup team on a mission to clear litter from the lagoon beach area of Dahab.

Dahab experiences frequent strong northerly winds which blow all manner of rubbish from the town towards the exposed lagoon. A great deal of this litter is caught by scrub bushes on the wetlands surrounding the lagoon but importantly any refuse which is blown through will end up in the reef...bad times!

The majority of the coral reefs surrounding Dahab are impacted by human activity, so anything that can be done to alleviate the strain is considered vitally important. For the task we split into two groups, the cool divers (Lydia, Jenny and Anna) and the pasty Snorkelers (Myself, Emily and Michael).

 

                            Divers getting ready to go litter picking !

                                  Cool diver and a pasty snorkeler!

The divers joined Sheikh Salem, the I-Dive team and Daniela Diving in the water clearing rubbish from the reef while the pasty snorkelers covered up and got stuck in on the scrubland with the Bedouin team  manager Mohammed and some local boys in his charge.

 

                              Just one of many loads of rubbish!

                                 Clearing the (not so) wetland

It was depressing to see how much litter was out there but it felt really good when we had loaded up the pickup trucks with trash, and of course it was great to be helping out and giving something back to the community who had made us all feel so welcome.   

 

                  The snorkelers picking rubbish caught up in scrub

We hope to help out with another clean up before our time in Dahab is over as it was clear that our work was made a difference. There is a large-scale clean-up at the Lagoon every month with the local Bedouin team scouring the coastline weekly in partnership with the Dahab Charta. The Dahab Charta are a fairly new initiative who aim to increase environmental awareness among locals and visitors while protecting coral reefs and establishing a sustainable and enduring economy for future generations. You can learn more by following the link below.

http://openoceanproject.org/?page_id=725

Guy

Dahab (Home Sweet Home!)

Dahab is a small coastal town located on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula and was a former Bedouin fishing village. Located around 80 kilometres northeast of Sharm el Sheikh it attracts thousands of tourists every year who come to experience the charm Dahab has to offer, including stunning scenery, and of course beautiful reefs. It is a world renowned diving venue and we have had the pleasure of experiencing this first hand. In this blog, we would like to introduce you to the town we have been calling home for the past four weeks.

Lagoon Beach, southern Dahab

So more about Dahab itself……

We are based in the Johwara Hotel (translated as the Jewel of Dahab) a fairly large hotel along the main road (strip as we call it) of Dahab. The hotel itself has an amazing atmosphere and certainly lives up to its name of being a jewel. Everybody good friends with the staff and owners, despite the language barriers! The hotel itself used to be a former Bedouin camp consisting of Bamboo huts but is now a family run business. 

                                           The Jewel of Dahab!

Within the grounds of the hotel is the iDive Centre which is our main hub and all preparations to go diving or snorkelling start here. 

                     The iDive Centre, set within the Johwara Hotel.

Also set within the grounds of the hotel is the lab where all the data write-up and processing happens and this is where you can find the team usually until late into the night. This is where we have our daily briefs, and it has become a second home for us: we have air conditioning, tables, a white board for notes, and all the materials we need for our work, and the wet-lab, where all the parasite work happens.

If the heat or stress of the day gets too much then a small walk down the strip will take you to the Tea Garden, a small picturesque garden that offers some of the best local Bedouin tea in the whole of Dahab. It is common for several of us to sit in there most evenings drinking Bedouin tea discussing happenings of the day and future plans, time really flies here. Time seems to be lost in the Tea Garden making it one of the best places to relax and switch of after a long day of diving and lab work.

 

                        Most chilled out area in Dahab – Tea Garden!

Walking further along the strip past the tea Garden and you pass many restaurants serving everything from Egyptian falafel, to chicken, Chinese and even Italian (although relationships with EL Capo have broken down slightly as we owe them a few knives we borrowed!). Past these there are also many local shops selling local arts and crafts, t-shirts, diving equipment, shisha’s and the odd pair of Gucci sunglasses and Louis Vuitton bags whose originality has to be questioned for a price of around a £10!

 

     One of the many local shops selling hand-made Egyptian gifts and crafts

Walking past the local shops and you emerge at the sea-front where you are greeted by dozens of tourist restaurants all offering you discounts and meal offers in an attempt to attract customers in what is clearly a tough time for tourism. You get used to just walking past and trying to ignore them as once you have stopped at one every restaurant proceeds to haggle and stop you! These restaurant run from the bridge all the way along to the Lighthouse where we do our diving for our photo mark & re-capture study!

            One of the many restaurants along the Lighthouse Sea Front

That has been a quick tour of Dahab and its most prominent areas but the pictures do not do it justice as it wonderfully vibrant and alive with character and energy. Everywhere you go you are met with a lovely smile and everybody is keen to get to know you asking you where you are from and what you are doing in Dahab. The only downside of Dahab is the number of cats that linger around when you are having dinner begging for any leftovers but they are usually disappointed as we have our own resident hoover in the form of Michael!

 

              

One of the many cats of Dahab, this one not impressed by the camera!

The news about Egypt and South Sinai at the moment would suggest that Dahab is in the middle of a crisis zone but yet this does not seem to be the case. Having spoken to locals and business owners they see Dahab as singular enclosed community content with a slow pace of life and the lovely scenery and natural beauty that surrounds them. So the message home, everything in Dahab is fine and there is no need to be worried, we most certainly are not.

Next time, we will get you guys familiar with some of our favourite shopkeepers, restaurant managers and new friends along the strip, so stay tuned of our next blog!

Michael

A day in the life of a scientist...

I don't think you could describe the day in a life of a scientist as hum drum or
'normal' and it's maybe not as exciting as jumping out of a plane 

but it's definitely not 9-5! So more specifically we'll run through the day 

in the life of a Marine Biologist on assignment in Dahab, Egypt on the 

Red Sea, that does'nt sound too regular does it?

Nothing's set in stone in terms of daily schedules. As is with life, things
can change right at the last minute but starting off with a two tier schedule
seems a balanced way to get things moving in the morning.  The start times
will rotate so that no one will be up too early everyday.

So getting up half an hour before either a 6 or 8am start is just enough
time to get ready and be in the water bang on the hour.  Sorry but no
time for breakfast! Well, maybe a cheeky wee cake snack (a 'Todo')
and some essential water.  You have to allow 10-15 mins to change into
your wetsuit/swimming gear, check off and pack into the 4x4 what
you'll need for the morning's data collection.  Watch, check.  Slate,
check. GPS tracker, check. Reel, measuring tape, quadrat, check...
and of course, more water!

A quick and bumpy 5-10 min ride hanging out the back of the 4x4 later
and you're unloading at the dive site. We have to mention the awesome
view on the way of the vast, gigantic mountain range surrounding the
Dahab area!  Without wasting any time we're quickly into the water and
under we go!  A round trip of approximately 45 dive/snorkel
time taking in views of immense reef walls, a Barracuda and a few million
tiny fish in a shoal undulating in perfect synchronicity, and that's just the
morning dive!

Back to the accomodation, a quick shower and onto a hearty breakfast
of omelette or pancakes and every scientists neccessity, coffee!
Getting the data loagged as soon as possible is also essential so that any
shared equipment can be ready for the second group heading out soon
after our return. With possibly a small power nap in between it's back
to the lab for processing data or photos recorded that morning. Logging
and organising these is essential for accurate and consistent science.

After working up an appetite from a good 3+ hours of lab work we have
lunch in the form of a few deli-style rolls from the local supermarket or a
hearty falafel from the aptly named 'Yum Yum' restaurant close by.  With
the obligatory 30 min wait for digestion for safety before swimming we
jump back into the truck to head back to the dive site for further data
collection.  Alternatively we may be scheduled to go to a second site for
 a slightly different study.

Returning from the last dive of the day you may find yourself a little tired
from fighting the currents trying to push you off course but you always
seem to be invigorated by the lush abundance of life surrounding you as
you drift through the water.

Putting in a couple of hours at the lab in the afternoon including updating
the social network relative to the expedition wraps up (most of!)
the days work nicely!  As part of an essential area of our study, on a
nightly basis we will carry out parasite work on some of the fish we
are studying on the lab. With a quick freshen up and de-brief/brief for
the following day, we head out to dinner with a pleasant walk through
the bustling market-style main streets of Dahab to our choice of
restaurant which all deliver on taste and quantity!

So don't take my word for it, if possible get out there and find one of the
many expeditions that are looking for volunteers and don't hesitate when
you find one that looks like something you have always wanted to do.