Everything about Egypt was worlds apart from what I was used to. The dry air, camels and cars in the same traffic lanes. I expected the desert to be ‘out there’ somewhere. I thought I would like to arrange a day trip to see it. Instead, I walked out of the airport terminal straight into it!
I was going to The Red Sea Diving Safari to do my Divemaster course. I was met by Sarah O’Gorman, the marketing manager. Giving me a hand with my bags, she introduced me to the dogs at my feet, Charlie and Coco, and told me about their past lives as ‘baladi’ dogs. Baladi, meaning local, is the word used to describe the street and desert dogs of Egypt, of which there are many. In cities, the number of these stray dogs can get out of control, leading them to be seen as pests, subjected to cruelty and poisoning in an attempt to manage their population.
Sarah founded “Baladi Watch,” a program that helps humanely control dog populations through a trap-neuter-release approach, while also providing veterinary care to animals in need. She has helped and rehomed hundreds of dogs, adopting Charlie and Coco herself, who now live extremely happy lives, sunbathing, swimming, and getting lots of attention from the guests at The Red Sea Diving Safari.
I had the afternoon to settle in before my training began. I met my instructor and walked around to get my bearings. I noticed the instructors were so effortless in their briefings- speaking naturally and making jokes. I had sat through over a hundred briefings before and, to my shame, never gave them much thought. But now I was paying close attention, realising that in just a few weeks, I would be expected to do the same with such ease.
After an orientation and a dive along the house reef, I finished my first day with a game of cards with some divemasters and instructors. They shared their stories on how they each came to work in the dive industry, for many different reasons, from an array of countries and backgrounds. We sat by the beach long after sunset and I started to feel a part of the gang, and ready to take on the course and the next 3 weeks.
The Red Sea Diving Safari’s house reef is lauded as one of Egypt’s most active and diverse. ‘The full cast of Finding Nemo (1 and 2)’ as one child doing their open water course described it to me. The commitment to the protection and welfare of dogs with Baladi Watch is an extension of The Red Sea Diving Safari’s long standing conservation philosophy for the underwater world that has been a cornerstone of the centre since the very beginning. The Red Sea Diving Safari has been a pioneer in diving sustainability, not only being the first PADI ECO dive centre in Egypt but establishing an on-site, organic farm, which produces 40% of the vegetables served in the restaurants.
However, the most significant effort I witnessed was their limitation on diver numbers. Stalling accommodation expansion and forgoing extra profits in order to reduce traffic on their house reef is a very commendable feat, not only ensuring the reef will be there for divers and aquatic life to benefit from in the future, but making a much more relaxed diving experience today.
The intimate number of divers at The Red Sea Diving Safari made for stress-free diving, for which it is famous. No crowding in or out of the water, with diver’s faces and names becoming familiar. A very special place to start my journey into becoming a PADI professional.
