Dave enjoys a dip to view the corals and clown fish. Catching up with holiday photos.
Amazingly the Wadi Rum desert cabin did cool down as the night wore on and we found ourselves reaching for the blankets at the end of the bed. Had a rather luxurious shower in the shower block though the water ran out for some of the others.
Had a minimal breakfast to be careful, just flatbread and humus. Dave went off camel riding while I packed. Apparently it was excellent - I'd called off worried about my tummy. We got back in the jeeps to return to our coach at the village, passing the camel riders on the way. Bit of a wait for the coach.
The coach took us to Aqaba and the Ayla resort for our planned snorkelling boat trip. This took up most of the afternoon.
Sea here was ridiculously blue with other boats bobbing picturesquely all around. Ours was quite a small boat, the Calypso, with seats upstairs and sunbathing areas.
We left the harbour, the sea becoming a deeper blue. We passed very close to the Jordanian palace so were told no photos were allowed until we were further out. Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were visible on the other side of the Red Sea.
The last time we'd been on a boat was in the Cinque Terre where Dave had fainted and ended up in A&E and I'd been fretting a bit about it. But he had taken seasickness pills and kept hydrated so he was okay. Free water and crisps were available all through the journey.
We sailed to a good snorkelling spot where Dave and the others went in. I couldn't snorkel because of wearing glasses, so I went for swim. The water was cold but beautiful.
After a bit of a boring wait, as we didn't know what was happening, food in the form of barbecued chicken and also vegetables for us appeared along with flatbreads and salads.
We sailed to another spot for more snorkelling and I swam again. Back on shore, we shared a coach to the hotel with another Explore! tour group. They were doing almost the same itinerary as us but with more upmarket accommodation.
Checked into the hotel and rested for a couple of hours, before meeting for a briefing and a seafood meal. A nice but oily and salty seafood mix. Some of the others were still unwell with dodgy tummies. An optional walk after but I went to bed.
Supper selfie
https://365project.org/boxplayer/extras/2023-09-29
29 September 2023
Red Sea off Aqaba, Jordan
