Do Not Bend

I'm having a great time in Dahab. The weather's beautiful, staying in a gorgeous hotel and with good company. The Cow and I went diving yesterday - only an introductory dive but it was definitely an interesting experience, if not pure unalloyed joy to begin with. Having recklessly committed ourselves, we donned our wetsuits (wrapping something round for modesty) and then put on a hood - a loathsome fishy smelling object which is apparently easier to put on when wet. Then one at a time, we took the plunge with our instructor. She didn't seem to believe in taking things slowly. The first time we went under was a bit stressful - I didn't feel like I was sucking in enough water, and also my ears weren't 'equalising' - so the pressure as we went further down was getting painful..eventually I had a panic and started flailing about and pointing to the distant surface, and she slowly led me back up - if you go to fast you end up having bubbles of gas in your bloodstream, i.e. the bends. After a minute of calming down and deep breaths, we went back under, and despite ear pain it became more fun. I saw schools of bright blue fish, stripey black and yellow fish and coral reefs. The Cow wants to go off and ride bikes now, so will continue later.