Aqaba – Friday 4th November 2016
(Distance walked today: 15.4km)
Photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/ffnord/albums/72157675251190510
We left the hotel in Petra after breakfast on Friday morning and boarded the bus to head down the country to Aqaba on the shore of the Red Sea. This was our last full day in Jordan and was much more low key than the preceding days. We got in to Aqaba and dropped out luggage off at the hotel, some of us had booked a boat tour and snorkelling trip so we headed out to the marina whilst the others checked in to their rooms and explored the town.
The boat was rather snazzy and it turned out we had it to ourselves, we pulled out of the dock and sailed out along the Red Sea, it became clear that this was a very international area. Aqaba sits on the border with Israel, sharing the Sea until the border with Egypt and at the other side Saudi Arabia.
After about an hour of relaxing on the boat we reached our first dive location. We all donned flippers, mask and snorkel and jumped off the back of the boat. The current was quite strong so we had to hold on to a rope to avoid being dragged away. It was at this point that I started having problems. On hitting the water I went to take a breath only to find my nose blocked by the mask, thrashing with my legs panicked me because of the unusual feel of the flippers. I just couldn’t hack it, the feeling of sheer panic was too much and I climbed back on to the boat and resigned myself to watch my fellow travellers swim. The captain was having none of this, he asked what was wrong and went and got changed and took me in to the water with him. We swam without any of the gear to the shallows where I could stand up, and then instructed me to put my mask on and get used to breathing through the snorkel. Then put my head in the water and got used to that, then laid down in the water holding a life ring whilst the captain moved me around the coral reefs. The view was great and I was getting the hang of it, we then swam back to the boat and headed on to our next dive site. This time I got in with the others and paddled along with flippers on, although I was guided by one of the ships crew. Looking at the coral and the schools of fish swimming past through the crystal clear water was fantastic, it was such a shame to see dumps of bottles and other rubbish littering the sea bed.
We returned to the boat and got changed before having our lunch as we headed back to the port. It was a shame for it to finish what turned out to be one of the most enjoyable experiences of the trip. Back at the hotel we checked in and a few of us went for a swim in the rooftop pool, before showering and meeting up with the rest of the group and Saleh to go and explore the town. Aqaba is a much more westernised city, lots of hotels and shops, the ever present traffic and noise of Amman, but with more money pumped in to it. We explored the markets which open late in to the night and were treated to a sales pitch from one of the spice and tea sellers who let us sample the variety of his wares.
We all went for dinner and thanked Saleh for his fantastic work as our guide before presenting him with a card and some money to express our gratitude. Some then went in search of ice cream whilst the rest of us went to a bar, which turned out to be Coronation Street themed which was a little odd, but it was nice enough sitting outside and having a drink with friends. We made our way back to the hotel and said goodnight for our last night in Jordan, a country we had all enjoyed and I certainly would recommend to anyone. The people were friendly and welcoming everywhere we went and there is plenty to see and do. The following day we would be saying goodbye to Saleh and meeting our new guide when we got over the border to Israel.
When I booked the holiday I was most looking forward to the time I would be spending in Israel, other than Petra, Jordan was pretty much a nice bonus. The reality was very much the other way around, I found Jordan to be a much nicer destination, but no spoilers for Israel just yet.