The main aim of the week was for students to learn to Scuba dive. Based near the Red Sea in the Marsa Alam region, the location also provided an invaluable experience of a country very different to our own.

The differences began on disembarking the plane into a warm, desert environment. On the bus journey to the resort, moonlight enabled glimpses of the vast desert punctuated by the town of Marsa Alam, local resorts and associated buildings, many of which stand incomplete. The crowded but green streets of South-East England had been left far behind!

Over the course of the week, the students enjoyed the weather (blistering sun), food, wildlife (although geckos were more popular than beetles) and a more relaxed pace of life than a usual college or work day. Everyone completed some level of PADI training, enabling many to dive on the house reef in pairs without an instructor.

Student Sarah Gaylard said, “The best experience of the trip was finally completing the PADI open water course and being able to dive independently and explore at your own pace. Best holiday I've ever been on!”

One evening, there was an exciting excursion into the desert to go stargazing. With little artificial light spoiling the view of the night sky, an astonishing number of stars could be seen. The astronomer entertained the group with stories about the different constellations as local tea was served and then binoculars, as well as a telescope, were used to view planets and different types of star in more detail.

It is impossible to pack all the week’s highlights into one news article. The groups’ favourite moments included the dolphins, turtles, sharks, finding Nemo, improving at diving and snorkelling, the delicious food, enjoying the sun, seeing shooting stars, watching the sun rise, learning about the local culture and making new friends.

“Dolphins!”, “Amazing!”, “In the wild; all happy and free!”…and lots of other excited screams resounded around the boat on the final day of a fantastic trip to Egypt.