Diving with Dolphins

June 28^th, 2014

I was interested in scuba diving as I had heard that the Red Sea was teeming with colourful fish and is considered one of the best spots in the world for diving.  It had been over five years since my last dive back in Canada (mainly thanks to being stuck in India for so long) and we soon learned that Israel is more stringent with their regulations than most holiday places I had visited so I was going to have to either do a refresher course or only be able to dive to 6 meters.  Naomi suggested that we go to the Dolphin Reef and I could do a meagre 6 meter dive…but with dolphins!  And better yet, she was also interested in taking a plunge with the cetaceans.

Located about one kilometre north of our hotel towards the centre of Eilat, we took a quick taxi ride to get there as the temperature was still in the high 30s.  Naomi had reserved a dive at 1pm and so after paying our various fees (yes we got suckered into the photo and video package...but you’ll soon see it was well worth it) we were suiting up in our thin wetsuits and receiving a briefing from our designated dive masters.  The normal policy, since participants don’t have to have their open water certification, is that the dive master holds hands with the tourist and controls their buoyancy.  Thankfully after I explained to my guy that I had about fifty dives under my belt and have of them in the frigid 5 C degree water in Canada he offered that I didn’t need to hold his hand during the dive but that we should remain close at all times...and don’t try to touch the dolphins!

Dolphin Reef:

A trainer with the dolphins:

Chillin' on the pier:

I had a bit of a moral dilemma with this kind of place.  I surely don’t like the idea of caging a wild animal for human pleasure but this place was definitely different than your stereotypical “Sea World”.  Six dolphins were resident in the large round enclosure that bordered a crescent shaped strip of beach.  A few of them had been born while at the Dolphin Reef.  The policy or ethos of the place is to try and keep the environment as close to the real thing as possible by following practices such as not requiring the dolphin to do tricks for food and to even minimize any tactile interaction during the feeding.  They claimed that once a month they open the gates and the dolphins to swim free if they so desire but a few times the dolphins return later full of bruises and scrapes from the dangers in the big sea.  This proclamation didn’t sit well with me but I also come from the belief that sometimes having a few animals live a semi-domestic life which fosters better understanding and respect for these creatures may mean that their species will be better off in the future.

All suited up, we hit the water.  I have to admit that my dive master got us in and going almost a bit too quickly for me.  Being my first dive in a long time I was a bit rusty and my breathing and heart rate were both racing at the start.  I soon settled down and began to soak in what I was witnessing.  Every now and then a light grey figure darted by in the surrounding water.  The speed and seemingly effortless gliding of the dolphins was impressive to watch.  Occasionally I got a glimpse of Naomi and her dive master as they had close interactions with one of the cetaceans.  We eventually reached the large semi-rigid net of the enclosure and there was a large ball of mackerel darting around on the other side.  One dolphin kept charging up to the net only to realize that he could not catch the tasty prize.

Ready to dive:

Everything's A-Okay:

Towards the end of the dive I was motioned by the dive masters to swim up and hold Naomi’s free hand as the underwater photographer was in front of us.  As I grabbed her hand, unbeknownst to both of us, a dolphin had spiralled underneath us and then appeared right beside me just in time for a great pic!  I put out my hand towards him, not intending to touch, but just thinking “Well look who just showed up in time!”  Not surprisingly my dive master thought I was about to break one of the golden rules and pushed my hand back towards my chest.  Oh well, no harm no foul.

Okay, grab Naomi's hand:

Got it...

Okay, look at the camera:

Give the A-okay:

Whoa!!! There he is! (and no, this wasn't Photoshopped)

Now I seem to have become a strange sea creature with no limbs:

A synopsis of the dive:

What an amazing experience I have to say.  Incredible creatures and they do deserve our best efforts in not mucking up their world.

The next day we checked out of the hotel, after a quick snorkel and paddle on a kayak, and headed back to Kfar Saba.  We passed by the Ramon Crater again and lucked out to snap a few pics of some cute ibexes by the side of a lookout. 

On the highway from Eilat:

Knuffle Bunny at the Ramon Crater:

Mama Ibex:

And Baby:

So cute:

Even more cute...

Tanks a lot!

Within a few hours we were back at Naomi’s apartment, which felt like a whole world away.  I have to say that for a small country, Israel sure has some diversity.