Cleaner streets and more modern buildings gave Jordan a more Western feel than Egypt. Strolling along the Aqaba waterfront on a crisp spring morning, the water on Jordan's only beach was amazingly clear. As island-dwellers, we found it a novelty to see Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt from Jordanian sand.
Our Jordanian tour leader Ibrahim seemed nice, but less personable than our Egyptian leader Michael, so I think we all had a few days of missing Michael as we got to know Ibrahim. We spent an afternoon in Wadi Rum, a desert valley with rock pinnacles and mountains, where we drove around the desert on the back of pickup trucks and saw a fiery orange-red sunset. Goathair tents in a Bedouin camp were our rooms for the evening. The peace of the starry desert night was spoiled a little by the campowners insisting on playing music for us at an ear-piercing volume - that and the massive group of loud Dutch tourists who were also staying in the camp. Not quite the desert experience I'd envisaged!
Petra was a highlight of our time in Jordan. A narrow passage through towering rock led to the Treasury, just one of the stunning buildings carved into the cliffsides. We made the steep climb to a clifftop monastery, dodging tourist-carrying donkeys along the way. As we came back down, I twisted my ankle and was helped by a nearby stallholder who led me to a seat and kindly made me a cup of tea. We purchased some postcards from her daughter as a way of thanking her and I continued down the path a little slower than before, resting up while Michael, Tom and Caitlyn climbed fallen pillars in the beautiful Roman ruins.
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