To the Beach!

Last weekend, the Davidson crew (plus our new British friend, Emily) took our first extended trip outside of Amman, making it to the coastal town of Aqaba in southern Jordan.  Aqaba’s position in the Middle East makes it especially interesting, as it lies only miles from Saudi Arabia and across the Red Sea from both Egypt and Israel.  I had to look at a map to understand just where we were going!

To get to Aqaba, we took the Jordanian equivalent of a Greyhound bus.  Our trip should have lasted around 4 hours, but an Atlanta-style traffic jam forced us to take an alternate route, which added some extra time.  No worries, though, as our new path wound past stunning views of the Dead Sea and through miles of arid desert.  At first, the desert landscape reminded me of many of the parks I’ve visited in the American Southwest—lots of reddish stacked stone canyons and some scattered vegetation.  However, our surroundings became more and more desolate as we traveled south along the road that my guidebook simply calls “The Desert Highway.”  Miles of dusty flatness extended as far as we could see, and the temperature climbed. 

The Desert Highway--that's not a cloud; it's dust!  Not much to see out here.

Almost in Aqaba...

By the time we arrived in Aqaba, it was still hot (daytime temperatures hover around 103), but there was finally evidence of life.  In the mid-60's, Jordan traded 6,000 square km of its desert land to Saudi Arabia for a mere 12 km of coastline on the Red Sea.  Clearly, this tiny port is a point of pride for the country, which has since poured billions of dinar into making Aqaba a top tourist destination.  While it’s no Dubai or Beirut, Aqaba’s green parks and ample shopping are evidence of the money invested there.

After a quick, overpriced cab ride to My Hotel (that was actually its name), we approached the concierge to present passports and determine whether we could save some money on the rooms.  8 students, 2 rooms, 4 double (read: glorified twin) beds, and 1 very tight budget—we could make it work, right?  Unfortunately, the man behind the desk didn’t think so, and we had to purchase an extra room after all.  In the end, we were all probably happier to have the space for our 2 nights in Aqaba.

The next day, we rose early enough to beat the heat and headed to the beach.  Most public beaches in Aqaba are not only crowded, but they also require women to be fully covered, making it impossible to get in the water in less than a burkini (burka+bikini).  As there were 3 of us girls, and none of us felt like swimming in jeans, we found a private beach down the road.  As our beach was located only 12 miles from the Saudi border and adjacent to a Jordanian naval station, security to enter was tight.  Still, a quick examination of our passports was enough to get us on our way to the sand.

In the middle of Aqaba.  That's Egypt across the water.  We could also see Israel across some points.

Fortunately, the weather on the beach was very pleasant, and we spent the entire day relaxing and exploring the coral reefs along the coast.  With the exception of some harmless purple jellyfish, the water was clear, and we were able to see expanses of colorful fish, coral, sea urchins, and more.  Definitely a change from the Gulf swimming that I’m used to!

Our beach.  The Red Sea is blue!

Some of the reefs where we snorkeled

We all agreed that this trip had exceeded our expectations, and I’m looking forward to traveling more over the next couple of months.  Next on the list, Petra and Wadi Rum!