People with snorkeling gear in the Red Sea near Sharm el Sheikh and the coral reefs

People with snorkeling gear in the Red Sea

These are people in the Red Sea in Egypt. Near the Egyptian tourist town of Sharm el Sheikh, there is the protected marine region of the Ras Muhammed park, which contains a number of coral formations. Tourists can reach here by ship or by the overland route, carry their snorkeling equipment. If going by ship, the ship takes them near the coral formations, close enough that you can easily swim to the coral reefs (which are at the water level, high enough that you may not be able to cross over these coral reefs); and many of these are close to the shore and you can easily get there from the shore. The photo shows people in the water, wearing their snorkeling equipment and apparently having fun.

The back of people as they look into the water and see the coral reefs and the fish near them

A view of the back of people as they are swimming over coral reefs, wearing their snorkeling gear. Since most people look down into the water and look to see the colorful fish and coral reefs, they swim in a way that their faces are into the water (and that is where the goggles they wear protect their eyes from the water). For those who have not done snorkeling, there is a tube that they wear which allows them to breathe taking air from above the water level. Wearing a life vest and flippers also help, but I saw people just using the snorkeling goggles and tubes and not using life vests or flippers.

Tourists wearing snorkeling equipment and swimming next to a guide in the Red Sea

For those who have not done snorkeling before, or have not done it for quite some time, it can take some getting used to. I had done snorkeling many years before, and stepping into the water from the ship seemed so sudden that it took quite some to get used to the water (which was deeper than 10 feet, so there was no question of my putting my foot down). So, there was a guide from the ship who was there to calm us down and provide a security for those who were looking for some support, and that is the person to the right side of the photo. And there was a person in front who did not need the services of the guide.

Person wearing a snorkeling kit and kicking their feat to swim further

Catching a person wearing a snorkeling kit and swimming near the coral reefs in the Ras Muhammed marine park near the tourist town of Sharm el Sheikh. The water during winter has an excellent temperature and one can do snorkeling in the water easily for long stretches. The person in the photo is trying to move from one place to another, and really kicking up a storm using his legs.