One More Dive?

Sometimes I wonder if I have time for just one more adventure before the next chapter begins. My five-year agenda in Amsterdam is waiting — business plans, new routines, bike rides along canals — but every so often, I catch myself daydreaming about the Red Sea.

August 2022 feels like a lifetime ago, but I can still taste the salt in the air. I stayed a week aboard the Snefro Love Boat out of Sharm El Sheikh, where each morning began with sun gilding the waves and divers bustling to ready their gear. The Red Sea is a world of its own — corals blooming like underwater cathedrals, schools of fish shifting like living kaleidoscopes, the sudden flash of a curious turtle drifting by.

Evenings on the boat were a different magic: stories traded over shared meals, laughter echoing under the stars, and the sea rocking us into an easy sleep. Sharm itself was a treat — that particular blend of bustle and ease, luxury resorts brushing shoulders with local rhythms. One evening at Soho Square, the outdoor mall lit up like a stage, I glanced toward the VIP section and saw none other than Peter Dinklage, the face of Tyrion Lannister himself. It was one of those surreal, am I dreaming? moments you carry like a secret gem in your memory.

Now, sitting here debating flights, I realize Egypt is only a short hop away from Amsterdam — affordable, reachable, tempting. The Red Sea still calls with its clear waters and coral thrones.

Do I go once more, before my roots settle in Dutch soil? Or do I tuck the memory of that week on the Snefro Love Boat safely away and press forward into the life I’ve been building toward?

Either way, the sea will still be there. Waiting. And so, perhaps, will I.