It came from the deep
Youssef Rakha all but balks at the sight of huge, bleeding denizens of the deep flapping their last breaths at his feet
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A hot meal of fried fish, often the unfortunate creatures caught on the same trip; fishing in the Red Sea is always rewarding
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The 45-minute drive from Hurghada Airport to the Holiday Inn Safaga Palace is a desert- flanked experience of clear horizons and dark, mist-veiled mountains. The clarity of the air improves the further you go, so much so that by the time the road winds down to the small Red Sea town in question, the atmosphere is palpably healthy -- an observation that finds support in Safaga's growing reputation as a hot-spring spa for convalescents and people suffering from skin or respiratory diseases. Overlooking a bay of remarkable translucence, the hotel is located some eight kilometres away from Safaga proper. Five- star comforts notwithstanding, perhaps the greatest appeal of a stay at the Safaga Palace is the range of water sports it offers. The Red Sea is world renowned for wind surfing and scuba diving, yet prior to the emergence of Safaga as a popular resort spot in the 1990s, deep-sea fishing remained the missing link. And it is arguably at the Holiday Inn's Ducks Aqua Centre that the holiday-maker will find the greatest opportunity to try out this relatively new and uniquely exciting pastime. Not only does the centre offer opportunities for open-water snorkelling and stationary, calamari-bait fishing, it also arranges trolling trips from as little as LE400 for Egyptians.
Trolling with a bunch of Russians (after Germans, the second largest concentration of tourists in Safaga) is the next best thing to spending time in a deep-sea daytime disco. Half-naked, boisterous, non-stop drinking punctuates the passage of time as the two-engine powered boat propels itself further and further into coral reef territory, the boat's four multi-reels supported by sturdy routs through which large, variously- coloured plastic bait trails from reinforced metal lines at predetermined depths. On hearing one of the reels catch, there is a moment of silence before the Slavic chatter crescendos as the climax approaches. The engines stop, and everyone races into position. The idea is to exhaust the fish by letting it swim with the loosened line rather than reeling it in immediately. With a particularly large catch like this one, a two-metre hook is used to mortally wound and drag the fish onto the deck. This beautiful dorado -- which due to its resemblance to the more famous barracuda was identified as such by the 21-year-old trolling guide -- was nearly lost when the line snapped as it was being landed. Miraculously, not a moment later the fish was flapping about the deck, bleeding everywhere. It takes about 10 minutes for the fish to die; the admirable fight it puts up brings to mind The Old Man and the Sea. The second catch, a larger and more colourful dolphin fish, spent even longer fighting for its life.
Trolling is interesting in that, while the critical moments require immense powers of concentration and a determined effort, most of the time the participants -- a group that ranges from four to 15 -- simply lounge about, enjoying the sun and the gorgeous turquoise expanse. The boat parallels the coral reefs, tracing out the paths of schools that live in the open sea. Aside from the seasickness that strikes when the boat stops for a fish or quick dip, the experience is pleasant and comfortable. As well as a hot meal of fried fish (often the unfortunate creatures caught on the same trip), rice and salad, hot and cold drinks, snorkelling gear and towels are provided. Amenities include a bathroom and a small, well-furnished cabin where a weary fisherman can nap free from the wind and the sun. Two fish on a four- hour trip, I was to be told by Ahmed Said, the centre's director and the owner of the boats in question, is neither too bad nor incredibly good. During the peak fishing season, which begins towards the end of the year and extends into February, fortunately coinciding with the winter vacation season, up to 10 fish can be caught on a trip of the same duration. Then again, no trolling centre on earth can guarantee that something will be caught -- and sometimes, indeed, nothing is caught at all.
Said is an affable young faculty of commerce graduate from Hawamdeya, Giza, whose interest in traditional rod fishing on the banks of the Nile eventually drove him to this unlikely career. His approach to the business of water- sports tourism is holistic, taking into account not only the quality of the service offered but also the safety and comfort of his clients, and even the attitudes of the crew towards them. "The Red Sea is all about surfing and diving, of course," he explains, "but part of my motivation for this work was to vary the range of water sports on offer. Trolling is something that people pay attention to in Europe, something that's very popular there. These waters offer some of the best trolling opportunities in the whole world -- especially Safaga, you know, because it is full of bays and because its waters are relatively free of pollution, so wildlife finds a natural sanctuary in it -- with abundant supplies of Spanish mackerel, snapper, grouper and tuna, some of the best fish you'll ever taste." Through offering competitive deals and spreading information about trolling, he tries to encourage more and more Egyptians to participate. "Of course the majority of my clients are Europeans, mainly Germans, but more and more Egyptians are coming and we try to arrange special events for them," he says. "Some, who can only stay overnight, spend the whole night on the boat, for example. It's also far cheaper for Egyptians."
Edward Chaaya, the Holiday Inn's Lebanese general manager -- a remarkably gregarious impresario whose laid back joke mongering masks a rigorous managerial discipline and an ambitious vision for the future of tourism in this part of the world -- is equally positive about drawing in Egyptians. "Safaga has the purest air and water," he begins, "the best fish and birds, and the best views of the stars. It's a pure environment that attracts wildlife, and there is no reason why it shouldn't attract Cairo-dwellers as well. It's definitely one of the things we're working on by offering companies that organise incentive trips for their employees or agents, special packages that include team building exercises." Examples of such companies include the National Bank of Egypt, and the Egyptian branches of multinationals like ProService and Procter and Gamble. "One of the exercises we offer is a fishing competition, so if we have a group of 40 holiday-makers, for example, we'll divide them into four groups of 10 who go out fishing. They will compete in fishing and cooking afterwards, so those who don't catch any fish have something else for lunch. That's one among hopefully many ways to attract Egyptians to this incomparably beautiful part of their country," he says.
Safaga undoubtedly is beautiful. "Have you ever seen the sun rising out of the water and setting into the mountains?" I was asked prior to my arrival as a means of persuasion. Reality surpassed all expectations. The Eastern Desert is the closest you are likely to get to received conceptions of Arabian majesty: rocks, sand and vast open spaces punctuated by the irregular geometry of distant mountains; the clear waters of the sea exhibiting every shade of blue and purple, glittering ceaselessly in the changing angle of the sun's light. Water sports seem particularly appropriate in the absence of hustle and bustle. Safaga -- a working port -- does offer opportunities to visit the docks or sail to one of two destinations: Tobya Island or Mons Claudianus. The ancient monasteries of St Anthony and St Paul are also nearby. Sea life offers all the mind-boggling variety of, say, Sharm El- Sheikh, while the warmer, more humid climate makes for better windsurfing opportunities and a far healthier lifestyle. Fish restaurants (Antar's is the most famous among these) offer reasonably priced delicacies unlikely to be encountered elsewhere in Egypt, and were you to require variety, Qusseir and Hurghada are just an easy taxi ride away.
