"Two Weeks in Sharm El Sheikh " a Sharm El Sheikh Travel Page by geordiebutcher

If you are going to make the most of Sharm you've got to try snorkling, although I have used a snorkle in the UK and I had heard of the cristal clear waters of the Red Sea I wasn't prepared for the fantastic underwater world of Sharm, or the delights of the Ras Mohamed National Park just a few KM from the old town of Sharm. I had bought a second hand Nikon Coolpix 5200 with an underwater case on E-Bay for under £100 and used it for the first time in Sharm, the foto's Have exceeded my expectations but the video clips are just great. So if you are into Photography try it for yourself. I spent time in the water nearly every day and have already arranged our next trip, this time to look for an apartment as I am due to retire next year. You don't need to pay for a place on a boat if you want to snorkle, just head for El Fanar beach where you can get a sundbed a towel and a bottle of water for about £5.00 and spend all day on Ras Um Sid reef, although I found about half an hour at a time in the water was enough before the cold got to me and I needed an hour in the sun before I was ready for more. Be carefull not to touch the coral as it can be very sharp and can easily cut you All the video clips were taken while snorkling with the Nicon coolpix 5200.

We took a taxi to the Ras Mohamed National Park The cost was about £28.00 for half a day, here you can swim out to the reef and enjoy some of the finest snorkling in the Red Sea. and before I had even reached the reef I disturbed Two rays, a sight I will never forget. The water is very shallow untill you reach the reef but you must not walk out too far as the coral is easily damaged. The vivid colours are seen best when the water is only 1 - 2 metres deep so are within reach of any confidant swimmer On no account are you allowed to remove anything from the park not even dead coral or shells and you must not feed the fish. As the saying goes, "Take only photographs and leave only footprints" and Ras Mohamed will remain a pristine wilderness forever

We walked around the park, keeping to the dirt roads and saw many ineresting things. A Split in the earth left by an earthquake some years ago, Mangrove Bushes which are amongst the most northerly in the world and best of all, an Osprey on a signpost that posed for my camera until I was less than Fifteen metres away and It still didn't fly away.