Aqaba- Day 2

This is our second day in Aqaba, Jordan. The sun is blazing, the lovely mountain view is hazy and 22 buses rolled out of the port early today taking guests from our ship to Petra and to Wadi Rum Shore Excursions. 

Not the Barnetts- we chose to stay aboard, relax and read. 

We are docked in the Gulf of Aqaba.

Ketut, the butler, delivered our breakfast to the suite. Still seems strange to have this cheerful and efficient man ready to bring whatever we need or attend to whatever needs attention. He

is from Bali and has a wife and children plus one grandchild at home. The other day he had “talked” with his 6 month old grandson via SKYPE and was so thrilled to share that story with us.

Here is Jim with our breakfast- and NO he is not asleep. Just  anticipating the delicious food!

Reflecting back on the journey through Aqaba yesterday, it seems to me this city is just about to explode with an air of newness and hope. The Passages newsletter says today, “Aqaba may be on the precipice of rediscovery.” Jordan is about 85% desert, but Aqaba is a town that looks to the sea for commerce and for recreation. There are more than 30 dive sites for snorkeling and scuba enthusiasts. Many of those sites are located in the Aqaba Marine Park, created as a joint venture with Israel to preserve its import marine environment. All along the public beaches were vendors selling swim floats for children. The array of creatures depicted in the floats looked exactly like what you’d see on Anna Maria Island beaches. There was even a giraffe- reminding us of Ella and her love of giraffes.

Israel is across the way

Passages said “Aqaba is very close to becoming an Arab version of Miami Beach- the climate is similar (hot in summer and warm in winter), the tourists are coming and celebrities are moving in (Jordan’s King Abdullah II has a vacation palace in Aqaba). And it has the same international vibe- from the center of town the borders of Israel, Egypt’s Sinai and Saudi Arabia are all within a 30 minute drive- on a clear day you can get a glimpse of them all.” Wonder when there is a clear and not hazy day? Although yesterday we did see Israel across the way- the reverse of the view we saw when we were in Jerusalem and could see Jordan across the Sea of Galilee.

In the town we saw the ever-present McDonalds and also a Safeway Grocery. Our guide said more and

more people were using the convenience of a large store like that rather than the many small stalls and shops we saw in town. Jordan appears to be a poor country. It does not have any oil as many of its surrounding neighbors do. As we rode we saw lots of litter around. Seems to be a relationship we have notices- the fewer financial resources a country has the greater amount of litter is about the roadside and empty lots.
Progress and change is all around and hope abounds in the amount of new construction seen.

The port is very busy. Yesterday Jim saw the huge cranes outside our window lift and deposit a very heavy object onto a trailer that has somewhere between 24 and 30 wheels. We saw something like that slowly making its way out of the port and up the hill to the International Desert Highway. Today is Saturday and there does not seem to be the same level of activity.

There is a rail line just outside the port. It is a line that belongs to a phosphate company. This morning I have seen at least two trains go back loaded with phosphate. The mine must be off to the east somewhere. There is no passenger travel by train- mostly camels for the Bedouins and cars for the other people.

Today there was an emergency drill for crew and staff. Ketut told us they do this every 7 days and all must be present. The captain was careful to say "for the purpose of the drill" before whatever announcement he made. It was amazing to see the entire staff and crew march off the ship onto the dock. There were white, orange, green, and yellow hats- some of them hard hats and some of them baseball caps. We decided it had to do with what responsibilities each person had in case of a real emergency. They formed a half-square and the captain spoke to them for a moment. Nice to know they are prepared in case of a real ANYTHING!

Last evening we saw our “new friend” Paul Goodenough, Chief Purser, as we sat in Horizon lounge and he was going to meet friends.  We had been discussing how many nationalities were aboard the Voyager at the moment. He didn’t know the answer but called and declared there are 27 different nationalities floating along together.

We are having a grand time seeing this part of the world. Traveling with good friends, seeing new sights, hearing different stories and being pampered by Regent Seven Seas Cruises- doesn’t get any better than this!!!