Nairoukh II Aqaba

... as I was waiting for my toast to come through. I watched as it managed to get stuck and then set fire to itself before I hailed a passing waitress. I'm quite sure she thought I was responsible as the other woman did a disappearing trick!

Then I went to wander round the complex. There are 2000 sq metres of pool spread out very attractively with lots of bridges over adjoining areas and pool attendants with towels serving several distinct ...

... around to watch it then back to camp for dinner cooked in earth oven - very nice. All of us chose to sleep outside so we hit the sack pretty early and lay around watching stars and talking. We got a few spots of rain which spooked a couple inside but the rest of us stayed out all night.

Up the next morning with the sun and a 8am departure to Aqaba for our ferry to Egypt.

... no. 1), to get in to the passenger area from the parking area (no. 2), to enter the 1st floor from the ground floor (no. 3) and to enter the 2nd floor from the 1st floor (no.4 checkpoint)!!!

Arrived after a 3,5hrs ride (instead of 1 hour with speed ferry), we have proceeded through a similar procedure like in Egypt, but done in 1,5 hrs, what took 48 hrs in Egypt. Welcome to Jordan and welcome to new freedom! Camping at Aqabat.

... as ******* the lungs as I expected. Lets just hope I dont get a liking to it the way I did cigarettes way back when!! Our sleeping area was one big tent with rooms separated by blankets as well as blankets which can be pulled from the roof to create doors. Even though it can be 40 degrees in the day, it gets real cold at night and you need at the protection u can get. After an ok night sleep in the desert, we got in the back of some 4by4 jeeps and went farther ...

... was the evening. We arrived at the campsite at about 8pm, and there was a roaring fire going already. There was also a group of 10 other tourists from Turkey that had arrived earlier, as well as two guys from Canada who worked at the embassy in Amman. The Bedouin entertained us for the next two hours with music and dinner by the campfire under the stars. I've never seen so many stars at night. The next ...

... 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 ...

... what a girl will do for a shower when she's been 4 X 4ing in the desert all day!! We were thrilled to reach camp and realize that new REAL toilets had been constructed as the old desert toilet was described as "horrendous". We were also told that there was a shower but that it had no front on it so you needed someone to hold a towel up for you for a bit of privacy. After letting everyone else go for a ...

... designer. We quickly became friends and for the next 4 hours I sat in his car eating Arabic sugar crackers and watching The Da Vinci Code on his DVD player. Every 30 min. he'd drive over to the port to see if the new launch had arrived. Nothing. After being 3 hours late it finally arrived. He lined up his car but apparently "walk ons" follow a "different" procedure. I was waiting in the wrong place for the last 5 hrs. He carried my bags and we ran to the ...

... stamps and then ... we wandered around the post-security screening section of the port. It's about a quarter mile by half mile rectangle with no signs. We eventually found the Egyptian waiting area. It's a warehouse with chairs, 60 air conditioners, all non-functioning which block 60% of the light coming through the dirty windows. Diego (a guy who we met while traveling) and I went in search of other digs and found the tourist ...

... hours taking a look around down town Aqaba... and buying beer for hotel room consumption. 'We' isn't just Pat and I any more. Nope, Brandon, fellow suffering traveller we met while on the long wait for the ferry departure earlier today, has joined up with us. Brandon will, whether he likes it or not, be part of 'the honeymoon' for the next few days, turning it into a threesome in the process. Brandon looks like an Arab, he just doesn't sound like one (we mistook him for an ...