- Winter Escape 2017 - Sea Princess, Regal Princess, Hurtigruten Polarys: Aqaba

Aqaba, Jordan - Part 1

We arrived into Aqaba just before sunrise. I was awake at 5.30 and up and on deck just after 6am. Our meeting time for our tour with Via Jordan was 7am in the lobby. We were a group of 8 and we're heading for a day in the Wadi Rum. Temps were predicted to be in the early 40's so we were prepared with wet washers, sun cream and hats.

Our tour guide, Mahommed was there to greet us with an air conditioned bus that was big enough for us to have a seat each.

We set off on the 45 minute drive to the Visitor's Centre where we got out tickets and were transferred into two open air 4wd open air vehicles for our cross country adventure through the desert.

Once in our "trucks" we explored many parts of Wadi Rum. The rock formations are amazing and devoid of very little plant or animal life. We did see a couple of camels, the odd bird and a few goats.... oh and some domestic cats.

We made numerous stops to checkout what would have been a beautiful waterfall after rain, a pile of rocks that was rumoured to be one of TJ Lawrence's house but was probably just a checkpoint to swap camels on the trek through the desert. These treks were often done at night to avoid the heat and so that they could use the stars for navigation!

We found a shady spot to stop for lunch and a good flat rock so that the guides could have their siesta! Lunch was delicious and the break welcomed..... well until the ladies started to feel the need to find a bathroom! Mahommed's solution was to do what the Victorian women did in the old days our answer was we are not old Victorian women! Anyway they got the hint and they packed up their mattresses and we were off to discover more rocks! The guys didn't need much convincing that they "needed a sleep"!!

After exploring various rock formations including natural bridges Mahommed took us back to the city centre of Aqaba (via the bathrooms at the Visitor's Centre) for a wander through the streets. It was now around 7pm and not a lot of shops were open due to Ramadan but as the sun was sinking quickly activity was picking up as their fasting stops for the day at sunset. Ramadan lasts for approximately 30 days depending on the moon and no food or drink (including water) can be consumed from sunrise to sunset. This makes it very hard when visiting these areas because you (us) are not allowed to eat or drink in public. Some (very few and mainly up market hotels) serve food behind curtained off areas. No chance to buy any alcohol to top up our waning supplies.

All in all we had a very enjoyable day in Aqaba and the Wadi Rum. A few sayings come to mind... "shaken and not stirred" and "eat my dust"! I don't think those jalopies had any shock absorbers and as we were the second car we got all the dust from the first car!

We were back on board by 7.30pm... ditched our shoes and got a stash of cold drinks and headed for deck 11 where we stayed with friends till after sail away which was around 11pm. A loooong day but very enjoyable and shared with good company. It was nice to have a shower and rest the weary body. Thankfully the clocks go back one hour so an extra hour sleep!!.... if only my brain new that!!! zzzzzz

Next port Santorini after we transit the Suez Canal.

The Seven Pillars of Wisdom in the background and a couple of old relics in the front!

Our jalopies await.... ours was the first one with no number plate and the steering wheel was held together with electrical tape and the passenger door kept coming open....

He looks comfortable!

Rum Village.... we had to wait for the shopkeeper to open up so we could get our water. Because it was Ramadan the shops usually don't open till late afternoon.