Jordan April 4

A mind is a wonderful thing to lose. I'm back to the basics, days of the week and time. My hotel, In Petra, informed me last Thursday that daylight savings time started that midnight. I thought that's a weird day to change the clocks, but I found out that weekends aren't Saturday and Sunday, but Friday and Saturday. There is no school Friday and Saturday, but there is Sunday to Thursday. Ever since I have to check my calendar to make sure I am making reservations on the right day.

I also thought that the time difference was 5 hours. I didn't realize that mistake until I woke up Sandy at 5 am, thinking it was 7am.

Aqaba is very different from Madaba and Wadi Musa. I didn't see a lot of tourists in either, which is funny, because Wadi Musa is only a kilometre or so from Petra. I did spend some time there, but didn't see any tourists. A lot of tourists do Petra on a day tour, arrive by tour bus, spend 4 hours at the site, and leave. There are several hotels close to the entrance, and that's where I stayed. There are also several large fancy hotels on the road from Aqaba. On my drive to Aqaba we met a dozen or so tour buses heading to Petra.

Aqaba is another story. Very westernized, I saw my first Big Mac in Jordan, and a lot more western tourists on the street. There are some fancy resorts on the beach. Israel's city of Eilat is right next door. It's like one city, with a border running down the middle. There are a lot of one or two day tours from Israel to Petra.

Aqaba at night is also very different. It's the first place with a nightlife. Last night was a pleasant evening and the place was busy. Lots of restaurants, and people walking along the promenade. Jordan is very liberal when it comes to alcohol. I was surprised to see quite a few liquor stores in Madaba. There was a little plaza across from the hotel where I was staying. It was the "Hangover Mini Market and Liquor Store". Good name, covers all the possibilities.

This afternoon I took a boat cruise on the Bay of Aqaba. This bay is at one end of the Red Sea, which connects to the Arabian Sea, great for shipping. There are four countries at this tip of the bay. Israel is on the west side, and has just enough room for Eilat. Immediately south is Egypt. On the east side Jordan has about 20 km of shoreline, and then borders Saudi Arabia. On our little trip we saw all four countries. Not that there was much to see. The only settlements are Aqaba and Eilat.

The Red Sea is know for coral reefs, and there are a lot of diving and snorkelling sites. Our tour was on a glass bottom boat, and we drifted over some of the coral. We were also able to get in the water and snorkel.

I have to admit this was a let-down. This is NOT the Great Barrier Reef. The only advantage was that the ride was very smooth. On the way back we had a very good dinner.

The scenery, especially on the way back was beautiful. Aqaba has a rugged mountain range right behind it and the evening sun hit it just right.

On the way back to my hotel I walked along the beach. It was very lively, all locals, families and groups of women and teens enjoying the swimming and gorgeous weather.

A lovely way to remember Aqaba.