Salam,
Well the plan changed a little. Gummi fell ill shortly after our arrival to Amman and so the stay there was prolonged by a day in order to avoid travelling with a fever. The next destination when Gummi had recovered was Aqaba, a coastal city in the south and what a surprise that was. After four hours of road & the same scenery, desert and desert and canyons and desert, we began our descent to Aqaba, a neon lit beach community, swarming with people our age, much more noticeable than in Damascus or Amman where children seem to turn into bearded working men overnight. We checked into a hotel of 'interesting' comfort and headed out. After having walked past a McDonalds, Quizno's and a tourist mall complex with a dozen pubs and western bars we suddenly found ourselves in what seemed to be new years out on the streets. Cars honking their horns and flags being waved left and right and after a little reflection (slower than usual because of a g & t or three) we realized that the festivities were because Ramadan has ended. It was quite a sight and within moments the streets were full of food and music. We decided to stay an extra night in Aqaba but the uncomfortable dump we were staying at was fully booked and so were nearly all the hotels we came across. We ended in a three star for 20 euros a night but didn't feel guilty, rather felt we deserved some peace after the dark oven we slept in the previous night. The following morning we took a cab to a beach south of aqaba, originally to go visit the aquarium that we both loved but then after having seen the colour of the Aqaba Guld I insisted on a little swim. After all it was between 35 and 40 degrees outside. We were dropped off at some tourist resort where we met an American man from the Peace Corps, heard some Brits order round of beer and some Germans planning whatever Germans plan in Jordan. We took a dip in the warm gulf, slouched on the beach reading a thousand and one nights and every now and then exchanged greetings with Jordanians because of their nasty habit of welcoming foreigners without hidden motives, dirty arabs! (please sense the sarcasm). Aqaba definitely gets a plus in its carnet. This morning we were meant to get on a bus to Wadi Moussa & Petra early in the morning but in stead we overslept and caught the afternoon bus. The ride was great, again nothing but desert and canyons but somewhat more fun that before. Now we have just checked in to a cozy little hostel in Wadi Moussa, Gummi is telling tales of Iceland to some Irish girls and we are going to go for a little walk when the sun begins to set. We aren't made for this heat and neither are we content with the sweating, lizard speed walking and constant drinking many litres of water.
Will report again soon, behave!
love
Rutur
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