Al Shula Aqaba

... to reach the summit. Along the whole way, there are rest areas that serve tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sweets (e.g. chocolate bars) and also have some pretty foul toilet facilities.<br><br>Camels are traveling on this route as well as we always have to give way to them. Sometimes following them can be hazardous to one&#8217;s health, particularly if they let go with wind or worse.<br><br>The elevation at St Catherine&#8217;s Monastery is about 1,525 m. (5 ...

... them in pairs for our own safety. Three women from the group decided to give them a try but were rushing back to us seconds after entering the door. I won't go into detail here, but they all agreed that they were pretty much the worst bathrooms they'd ever seen (and these were women who'd traveled in China, Vietnam, Nepal and Mexico and seen some pretty horrific bathrooms). Nothing could make them go back in there. Lucky for us the ferry was only an hour ...

... goes. The dive boat was barely sea worthy, and would never pass muster in the States. The captain, liked to play dodgem cars with a buddy of his, everyone complained. Oh well, there are lots of dive boat operators in Aqaba, just ignore their website and go for it.<br>

... and billboards of King Abdallah and his fabled father, King Hussein, were everywhere in evidence; though Jordan's Independence Day was approaching (Monday 5/25), I had a feeling these portraits never come down. This was the case both in the city of Aqaba (opposite Eilat), which we toured briefly, and in the sporadic small towns we passed through on the modern, well-maintained highway, which took us into the scrubby desert, bordered by ...

... so sticky you could walk up impossibly steep faces without slipping, even in hiking boots. And there were so many hand holds just where you needed them it was as if they were bolted. They also do guided rock climbs (we thought this might be too much to try to fit in on this trip) but for anyone who is into rock climbing this has got to be the place to go! We didn't see any rock climbers so it must not have been 'discovered' yet but it will be as it is so ...

... pictures as at every turn, there is something worth taking pictures of.  I'm not sure how many I will keep but at that moment, I have to take the picture! We walked all the way to the columns and then had lunch at a bufffet that was a good choice of local foods and some much needed water.  After lunch, we began the journey back up the hill to the hotel where I had parked the car.  I think it was around 3:00 that we got there and then had a coffee just to have a breather and good ...

... desert between iincreadible rock formations. The cliffs are huge, some stretching up 2000 vertical feet above the desert floor. The colors very from yellow to white to red and the swirling patterns of cracks and rockfalls seem like the work of a master artist rather than the random process of nature over tens of thousands of years. Many of the cliff faces are inscribed with ancient symbols that supposedly denote how far places and especially water are - like ancient ...

... was exhilarating and unlike anything else. It really makes it all worth it. <br> <br>Nick and Andrew wanted to head back to Aqaba to "dangle feet" while smoking shisha, overlooking Eilat, Israel. So it was done. While I had already spent longer than planned in the desert, I didn't want to part from this amusing group just yet. Joe felt the same; we both wanted to get to Petra but ah, what's one more day. We arrived back into Aqaba and are sleeping on ...

... the drive, up and away from the Coast to the place made famous by the exploits of T.E. Lawrence and the Bedouin Prince and fighters who fought with him against the Turks during WW I. As we drove up into the mountains from Aqaba, we could feel the air grow less hot, and humid. We passed several trains chugging up the Aqaba-Damascus Railway, which is the line that was frequently sabotaged under Lawrence's leadership. Turning off the Desert Highway we ...

... same; they don't drive like maniacs, they don't sit on the horn, and they actually use their headlights in the dark (and their cars don't look like they are one severe corner away from falling apart either). But the biggest and most obvious contrast is that the Jordanians, get this, actually stop for pedestrians at pedestrian crossings. I **** you not. We couldn't believe it this evening when cars came to a halt as we were getting ready for an Egyptian style 'take-your-life ...