Floating in Marsa Shagra

The Coronavirus pandemic has upended our lives.

At the eve of New Year 2020, I had headed to the airport in Addis Ababa, only to be told that there was a raging storm in Mauritius and our airport was closed (this... was already a sign that 2020 was going to be special). The next day, I had the choice of either travelling (but that'd mean a shortened, and therefore expensive holiday) or cancelling the flight. After a long hungover debate, and with some encouragement from a friend, I decided to take the plunge and travel to see my family even if it meant only spending three days in Mauritius... I'm so glad I took this decision, as I would never have foreseen I'd be grounded for so long. Upon my return in Addis Ababa, the word "coronavirus" had creeped up closer to us. Before this, it was a distant terror that was only affecting people in some random provithe province of Hubei...

9 months down the line, my mental health was a wreck, as was my body. When the pandemic erupted in the rest of the world, my workload tripled. There was no rest, no cut-off time. I was on call 24/7. I cannot complain, as this is nothing compared to the workload and danger faced by everyone on the frontline. But I was physically and emotionally exhausted, and faced serious burnout and some kind of PTSD from being forced to be available all the time. My friends encouraged me to take a holiday. After much dithering, I booked my flights to Egypt, as it was one of the few countries that didn't impose a quarantine, and also because my best buddy Oliver was there...

(Ages ago, this is how Oliver had welcomed me in Brussels. #insiderjoke)

The thought of flying out was surreal. A few hours before the flight, I was on the verge of cancelling everything. What was I thinking - travelling in the middle of the pandemic? Surely mental health isn't that big a deal? Thankfully Dominique talked me out of it.

Going through the airport was nerve-wracking. I freaked out at every interaction and touch and used a gallon of hand sanitiser. I somehow made it to Hurghada airport, and from there, to Marsa Alam. At first, the place where I was supposed to be staying - the Red Sea Safari Diving resort - looked like a deserted pile of dust and bricks. But once we entered the peaceful compound...

^View from the water, while I was floating on the water above the house reef at sunrise. The white boxes are tents right by the water where you can stay; the domed building is the restaurant overlooking the beautiful bay, and the wooden shed on the left is the diving shed where the magic happens and you kit up for your dives.

My first impression was, wind, silence and space - the opposite of what I get in dusty, hectic, noisy Addis Ababa. I may have shed a tear or two at the sight of the sea. I grabbed my snorkeling gear (they don't let you dive unless you've done a "check dive" with one of their instructors, and they only do those check dives at 9am and 2pm) with the intention to get some sea action in but the moment I dipped my toes into the warm water, I felt the most intense exhaustion. All those months of relentless work felt like a huge weight in my limbs. All I could do was sit in the warm sea and watch a spectacular sunset go down beyond the domes of Marsa Shagra.

This place is a haven of peace. I woke up as early as possible the next day (someone told me dolphins sometimes come to play in the house reef) and was rewarded by a beautiful pink sunrise.

Sunrise is the best time of the day to enjoy the incredibly healthy, vibrant and colourful house reef. It's usually quiet, and I let my mind drift as I slipped into the warm Red Sea for an incredibly breathtaking, peaceful snorkel in water that was clear as glass.

Look how peaceful it is.

^I need a defog spray

After my check dive with one of the friendly instructors, I was all set to be able to dive in one of the most fabled spots in the Red Sea, the famous Elphinstone reef. 9 months of not seeing the sea brought their load of insecurity - I didn't feel I could do this dive, which is meant to be very challenging. But with the encouragement of the divemaster and other divers I attempted it and lived to tell the tale. Didn't see any shark but dropping into the big blue water was awe-inspiring. I was so fascinated by the corals, and I had missed the feeling of being in deep water so much that I may have ignored the currents and depths at some moments. Thank God for dive computers.

The day goes by in a mellow flow of diving, dipping into the water, coffee, food, more diving, conversations with the lovely community of divers and staff, and just connecting with the sea as completely as possible. One day there was simply not enough, and I hope to be back.