Our last few days in Jordan were a chance to relax and enjoy some warmth before returning to unseasonably cold weather in Germany. After being dropped at the rather expensive hotel our Danish friends were staying at we hoisted our bags and headed off to find somewhere to stay. We ended up in the highly recommended My Hotel with 30% off the rack rate making it excellent value. It became even better value when we checked out and they gave us 13JD. The person giving us the money was not able to tell us why, just that it was for us. We have nice smiles maybe?
As we were eyeing off the brochure on snorkelling day trips the helpful hotelier told us there was a boat trip tomorrow going to Pharaoh Island in Egypt with snorkelling. It sounded good to us so we handed over some money and our passports with very little idea of what to expect. Having done a few boat trips in 3rd world countries we were anticipating a slightly dilapidated tinny as our home for the day. So as we were heading down the pier towards a rather magnificent yacht with the four other people going on our trip we made jokes about that actually being our boat, whilst fully expecting to see our small dodgy tin boat just behind it. We were, however, ushered aboard the yacht with a welcoming drink and quickly reassessed our expectations for the day.
It seemed rather unlikely that the 6 passengers would be enough to pay for the boat with the large number of crew on board, and sure enough a bus load of tourists arrived. Our fellow passengers hailed from a cruise ship, The Minerva, which travelled the world in 2 week bursts. As this was the changeover day, with most passengers leaving and a new group arriving, the group who were staying on for the next leg were sent on this day trip to vacate the cruise ship. We were reminded that we are not cruise or tour types as we explored the castle and the guide called "Minerva, Minerva, to me" every time someone dared break from the group formation. We didn't punch him in the head, it took great restraint.
From snorkelling in the Red Sea we went to bobbing in the Dead Sea. As we slipped off the end of the floating pier we bobbed back up, as if wearing a particularly buoyant lifevest. We engaged in the usual tourist activities of reading books whilst floating, and smothering ourselves in the Dead Sea mud.
It feels much too soon to leave Jordan. We wanted to come, but we've enjoyed our time here much more than expected.
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