Where to start... Vacation here in Jordan was real fun and I had a blast the whole break. First day me and a classmate hired a taxi to take us to the Dead Sea. This lowest point on Earth is only about a fourty-five minute drive from Amman. We were out there at about 3:30 and were told we needed to stay for the sunset by some people who have been out there before. We did stay and it was really neat. Plus from the Dead Sea you can see the country of Israel and off in the distance there was a thunderstorm happening. So we proceeded to stay for awhile trying to get a picture of some lightning (I ended up taking about 250 pictures alone that night). Becasue we did stay watching the weather roll in we were almost stranded at the Dead Sea with no way to get back to Amman. Thankfully one of the shop owners along the beach was heading back in town and gave us a lift back to the city.
Next day I woke up and met a friend at the South Bus station and we made our way to Rum Village. Rum village is where the asphalt and the road ends before becoming beautiful desesrt. To get to Rum Village we ended up taking a ride from someone, because the fact that the buses weren't leaving for another three hours. This is because it was a Friday which is the day off for everyone because this is when Muslims attend mosques (church). First night we stayed in the Rum Village itself and simply walked some ways in the desert. That night we heard a lot of wild life such as the coyotes and camels making a lot of noise. Next day is when we started our trek through the desert. Basically this day we saw a couple fresh water springs, insriptions carved in the rocks, and the beautiful desert scenery. That night and the next night we stayed at a camp in the middle of the desert and it was named Sunset Camps. These night it was really quite and did not hear anything at night. During the daytime we walked/ hiked for hours at a time enjoying the desert and peacefullness. We did have a local guide who was only fourteen years old but he did know his way around and did not get us lost. At night we had fresh tea waiting for us in the community tent and we visited with the other travelers.
After enjoying the time relaxing in the desert we procedded onto the coastal town of Aqaba. In Aqaba we met up with some more people we know from Amman. Our hotel was located about fifteen kilometres from the city, but a lot closer to the beaches. Plus this is where the dive company we went through was located. So basically here the days consisted of waking up for breakfast around 8:30. Doing a shore dive at about 10:00. Back at the hotel to relax and eat lunch. Do another shore dive at about 3:00. Go shower and head into town in order to eat more than just hotel food and visit the city. It was a real nice set up. Overall over a four day period I ended up diving six times. Diving the Red Sea is amazing. There is colorful coral, colorful fish, angel fish, lion fish, octupus, eels, pufferfish, sea urchins, clown fish, a sea turtle, lizard fish, small seahorses, a shipwreck, a tank, and more coral. I did see everything that I have listed. Plus my fellow travellers did enjoy the diving, and for them it was there first open water dives. My dive buddy I helped out a couple different times to include switching masks while in about ten metres (everything was in metres and bar) because it kept flooding for him. I figured I would be able to handle it better because I am a more experienced diver. Once I got the mask on it worked fine for me and it was just fogging up the whole time. Good thing it worked because that is the dive that we saw the sea turtle. The shipwreck was neat to see, but compared to other shipwrecks I have dove it was just all right. The tank was an interesting dive, and in fact the tank itself is in real shallow water and we saw it at the end of the dive on our way back to shore. All the dives did include a dive master who knew where to look for the fish and the interesting creatures or plants. Can't wait to get back to Aqaba to keep diving the Red Sea. The city of Aqaba was simply another Jordanian city and nothing that special about the city. Besides the fact that most people spoke English because it is a tourist destination. One night I ate some real good fresh fish that was not that expensive. The rest of the nights we ate food that is typical to find in Jordan.
So my vacation in a quick summary was spent at the saltiest place on Earth, one of the dryest but most beautiful deserts, and than onto the very wet but gorgeous Red Sea. It was a fun vacation and I did not want to come back to the city. Now I need to get back into studying and continuing communicating in Arabic. This week I will be working on my second paper for my other Area studies class and continuing the process of grasping the language. Need to start doing homework and will write later when I have a chance. ان شاء الله
Next day I woke up and met a friend at the South Bus station and we made our way to Rum Village. Rum village is where the asphalt and the road ends before becoming beautiful desesrt. To get to Rum Village we ended up taking a ride from someone, because the fact that the buses weren't leaving for another three hours. This is because it was a Friday which is the day off for everyone because this is when Muslims attend mosques (church). First night we stayed in the Rum Village itself and simply walked some ways in the desert. That night we heard a lot of wild life such as the coyotes and camels making a lot of noise. Next day is when we started our trek through the desert. Basically this day we saw a couple fresh water springs, insriptions carved in the rocks, and the beautiful desert scenery. That night and the next night we stayed at a camp in the middle of the desert and it was named Sunset Camps. These night it was really quite and did not hear anything at night. During the daytime we walked/ hiked for hours at a time enjoying the desert and peacefullness. We did have a local guide who was only fourteen years old but he did know his way around and did not get us lost. At night we had fresh tea waiting for us in the community tent and we visited with the other travelers.
After enjoying the time relaxing in the desert we procedded onto the coastal town of Aqaba. In Aqaba we met up with some more people we know from Amman. Our hotel was located about fifteen kilometres from the city, but a lot closer to the beaches. Plus this is where the dive company we went through was located. So basically here the days consisted of waking up for breakfast around 8:30. Doing a shore dive at about 10:00. Back at the hotel to relax and eat lunch. Do another shore dive at about 3:00. Go shower and head into town in order to eat more than just hotel food and visit the city. It was a real nice set up. Overall over a four day period I ended up diving six times. Diving the Red Sea is amazing. There is colorful coral, colorful fish, angel fish, lion fish, octupus, eels, pufferfish, sea urchins, clown fish, a sea turtle, lizard fish, small seahorses, a shipwreck, a tank, and more coral. I did see everything that I have listed. Plus my fellow travellers did enjoy the diving, and for them it was there first open water dives. My dive buddy I helped out a couple different times to include switching masks while in about ten metres (everything was in metres and bar) because it kept flooding for him. I figured I would be able to handle it better because I am a more experienced diver. Once I got the mask on it worked fine for me and it was just fogging up the whole time. Good thing it worked because that is the dive that we saw the sea turtle. The shipwreck was neat to see, but compared to other shipwrecks I have dove it was just all right. The tank was an interesting dive, and in fact the tank itself is in real shallow water and we saw it at the end of the dive on our way back to shore. All the dives did include a dive master who knew where to look for the fish and the interesting creatures or plants. Can't wait to get back to Aqaba to keep diving the Red Sea. The city of Aqaba was simply another Jordanian city and nothing that special about the city. Besides the fact that most people spoke English because it is a tourist destination. One night I ate some real good fresh fish that was not that expensive. The rest of the nights we ate food that is typical to find in Jordan.
So my vacation in a quick summary was spent at the saltiest place on Earth, one of the dryest but most beautiful deserts, and than onto the very wet but gorgeous Red Sea. It was a fun vacation and I did not want to come back to the city. Now I need to get back into studying and continuing communicating in Arabic. This week I will be working on my second paper for my other Area studies class and continuing the process of grasping the language. Need to start doing homework and will write later when I have a chance. ان شاء الله
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