Aqaba and Amman

We drove to Aqaba, the Jordanian Red Sea city.

As Israel is just across the water, and the border extends in a line through the sea, it is a very sensitive area, and photos are banned until you are a certain distance out to sea. We passed one of the Jordanian Royal family holiday residences.

We went out on a boat to do some snorkelling.

The snorkelling was quite disappointing. Some of the group who had never done it before were impressed by the fish, but we have been spoiled by much better snorkelling elsewhere in the world. The snorkelling is better on the Israeli side.

On our way back past the Dead Sea to Amman, we had lunch at “Safi Kitchen”, which is a community project where they are trying to attract the tourists who normally just drive past from Amman to Aqaba.

We had our final farewell dinner at a community arts project in Amman. Ronnie recited his traditional “Purple Ronnie” poem for the group. This was the third group, and hence third poem of the trip.

Jordan

In Amman we did meet for our CEO Rim to greet
First at Jerash one of the Decapolis sites
We saw Roman architecture in all its might
In the amphitheatre standing on the spot
You could hear everything at the top
At the lowest point on earth we did halt
To float in the Dead Sea so full of salt
With the mud we did begin
To see how soft it made our skin
At Mount Nebo Moses waved his wand
To create the Promised land
At Madaba a glorious map they did make
From tiny pieces of mosaic
At Kerak castle the seat of power
They fought the enemy from every tower
At Little Petra we had a small sample
Of what big Petra had in ample
At Petra, the Treasury we did seek
And gasped in awe at our first peek
We hiked to the Monastery, a great surprise
Where the unexpected sight did greet our eyes
We admired the amphitheatre carved from rock
Uniquely not built block on block
In the desert at Wadi Rum
We sat in the 4×4 on our bum
In the tent of the Bedoin
He played a single-stringed violin
The arch of rock we did scale
Where Ronnie went a very light shade of pale
High on the cliff, the Nabateans did say it
In drawings and in Aramaic
In the camp we were very blessed
When they cooked dinner in the ground for their guests
Snorkelling at Aqaba in the Red Sea, colourful fish and coral we did see
At Safi Kitchen we tasted delicious food
Where the entrepreneurs do community good

Rim she is always so calm
Telling us the history of Jordan
With Cesar they want to share Maradona fame
They point their camera and take aim
Carol she does always yearn
With Duolingo another language to learn
From the shop Trevor he does buy
Neon treats for a sugar and E-number high
Nish likes to try the local food
But she still thinks McDonalds is very good
Michelle she really looked quite glum
When someone thought she was Isabella’s mum
Ronnie he is always glad
To tell jokes of a Dad
Sorin bought a shawl of blue
So his photos had the optimum hue
Isabella got architectural inspiration
From the Nabatean nation
Harriet the whisperer of a cat
They collapse beside her at the drop of a hat
At the sight of a dog Tanya sheds a tear
The wild pack at Wadi Rum was her greatest fear
With Karin it is strange I think
For a German no beer to drink
Mike is in touch with his feminine side
Wearing Michelle’s flowery scarf he didn’t try to hide
Discovering the rooftop bar made Pat forget
To go into the shower and get wet
For Nigel it was very unexpected
When his tooth it just ejected
Jane thinks she needs to join A.A.
As she craves wine every single day

Now upon our final night
We must say goodbye and catch our flight

Cheers!
(Purple) Ronnie

We had an extra day in Amman at the end, and so went on a bit of an explore. First stop was “Rainbow Street”.

Then we visited the impressive Roman theatre.

So this was the end of a fabulous adventure in Egypt and Jordan, visiting many world-class sites, not only the Giza pyramids and Petra, but enjoying many other experiences.