Jordan Part 3

Day 6:

Today we head to Aqaba, a coastal city on the Red Sea. The Red Sea gets its name from the reddish hue the nearby sandstone mountains cast onto the water. We’ll be getting on a boat to visit a couple of popular snorkel sights just off the coast of the city. There is a sunken ship and even an airplane, left beneath the water to encourage the coral to grow and thrive.

From Aqaba, only separated by the narrow Red Sea, it’s possible to see the Israeli town of Eilat. And further out there is a spot where you can also see a beach town in Egypt, the mountains from Saudi Arabia, and of course, Jordan. Four countries visible in one area! 

The snorkeling was fun, but the water was quite rough. I don’t love using the flippers, but today I was grateful to count on their assistance. After we finished snorkeling, we had some lunch on the boat and then the real fun began. Many of us were indulging in beer and wine, and finally the time had come for some dancing. Hatem and Darko DJ’d a bit for us, playing requests, and we did our best to dance along with the rocking boat. 😅 We also had a blast learning some Jordanian dances as well, tiring ourselves out in no time. 

After the boat trip, we had a fair amount of free time. Heather and I opted to walk around town towards the old markets and to Aqaba Castle. The castle was free to enter, and was delightful to walk around. I found a spot at the top to take a picture from, and all I could think about was the scene in Monty Python where the Frenchman is on the top of the castle shouting insults down towards the English. 🤣 I wish I posed better, lol.

Back at the hotel, we had some much needed showers, and myself and the other two women who bought fancy dresses decided to wear them for dinner. Yay Barbara and Alexandra! 🥰 We had our last briefing as a group, and the feels were starting to come out. Nobody was ready for this wonderful trip to come to an end. 🥹

We went for a dinner right across from the hotel and shared in many laughs, as was becoming customary for this group. I ordered kofte again, but this time, I got the tomato version. It was delicious, but if I had to choose, I’d go with the sesmi version:). Soon it was time to pay the bill, and before returning to the hotel, we went for a walk around town. It was so nice to walk off the large meal while enjoying the city lights.

Day 7:

It’s the last day or our trip 😭. The atmosphere felt a little heavy, knowing this was our last day together, but we carried on and were going to make the most of it. The day would require a lot of driving, but there were plenty of stops planned along the way. 

First up, Crystal Beach, which had gorgeous views of the Dead Sea. As the water receded, it left small pools of red and green, and the shore was streaked with ribbons of white salt. 

Another stop, and arguably the best stop of the day, was the Safi Kitchen for lunch. This is part of G-Adventure’s mission to give back to the local community and change lives through travel. This kitchen is a non-profit and provides work for the local village. The food comes directly from the farms they cultivate, and we got to sample their cooking. The food was fabulous! We all loved it and could tell just how fresh it was. The sautéed zucchini was to die for, and everyone licked their plates clean. The women who cook created a small cookbook with some of their recipies and if purchased, they offer a small bag of spices with it. I’d say a good majority of our group bought it. I can’t wait to try all the recipies when I get home!:)

The next stop is the Baptism Site, where John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. Talk about a momentous location. The Jordan River being the natural border between Israel and Jordan, our guide, Hatem, made us promise not to jump in and swim to the other side. As much fun as that might be, I’m also not looking to be arrested, so I think we’re good. 🤣

We begin a walk towards the baptism site, which barely has any water anymore. There was a beautiful mosaic showing how the water flowed in the past, and allegedly, this was the exact spot Jesus was baptized. There were the remains of mosaics from an old church located just above the site. 

Further down the path we came to the Jordan River. It was much thinner than I had imagined. We walked towards the water’s edge which had a lovely viewing platform, and many of us dipped our hands in the muddy river. Just across the way, not even 30 yards away, was the Israeli shore, and there was a huge group being baptized in white robes. You could just sense the significance of this place… just being here, touching the water… it felt like a holy place. 

We took our time walking back towards the entrance and looked around in the gift shop. The only thing I was really interested in were the nativity sets, but they were all so delicate, quite expensive, and definitely not travel-proof. So I left empty handed, but with a full heart.  

Before reaching Amman, we stopped at our favorite Marouf Coffee and caffeinated up for the rest of the evening. Once back at the hotel, Heather packed and took a nap, and I cracked open one of the last beers I had bought and worked diligently on my blog. I have a lot of catching up to do. 😅

Soon it was time for our last dinner as a group, and we met everyone downstairs in the lobby. We went to Next Rooftop, which was in fact a rooftop bar, but was completely enclosed due to the cooler weather. Probably for the best, but I would’ve loved to have seen it open. The menu was mostly “American” food, and I ordered a burger. Hatem assured us the food was fantastic, but I’m always weary of “American” food in other countries. Let’s see how this burger is. 

ZAKI! Arabic for delicious, that burger was huge and juicy and was well worth it. 😋

Back to the hotel, we said our goodbyes in the lobby. It was a bittersweet moment, feeling sad to say goodbye, but feeling grateful to have met everyone on the trip. After most of the group parted ways, Heather and I stayed to discuss a day trip the following day with Hatem, and off to the hotel bar we went, to share a drink with our favorite Scottish couple, Paul and Avril. 

Turns out Tarek and Alexandra were there also, and we expanded our day trip plans tomorrow to include them. So it would be myself, Heather, Barbara, Tarek and Alexandra. What a fun post-trip extension this would be! 

Well, off to bed for some rest and to rally for one more day in Jordan! 🙂

Day 8:

Today is a bonus day in Jordan, thanks to our flight back being rescheduled for the next day! Heather and I had breakfast downstairs and we ran into some of our new friends! We were able to enjoy just a little more time with them before saying a final goodbye and beginning our last adventure in Jordan.

First up: Aljoun Castle, in the northern area of Jordan. This area is in the mountains and is super green! It’s the largest forest that Jordan has and the green mountains surrounding the hill the castle was built on gave the area a fairytale vibe. King Saladin is responsible for building the castle and hired Crusader engineers to construct it. The castle was built in 1148, had a functioning moat and 12 water tanks scattered throughout to supply the castle during a siege.

The castle had a pigeon tower where messages could be sent to nearby or faraway towns and cities. There are still pigeons living there to this day. I wonder if they know their ancestors were carrier pigeons? 🤔 This tower obviously reminded me of the owlery in Harry Potter…⚡️🦉. Overall, the castle was large and extremely well intact. I think it might be the biggest I’ve seen so far! Remarkably well preservered, including a small church inside, complete with a mosaic floor! I could almost imagine people living inside, and some staircases reminded me of the Game of Thrones.

On our way to the next stop, Tarek wanted a chance to try ordering coffee roadside style with hand signals. Our awesome driver, Samir, saw a shop and pulled to the side. Barbara took our orders and did an excellent job ordering via her hands. Thank you, Barbara! Hatem shared a sweet treat with us that was delicious, and we posed for a short video for the coffee shop. I guess we’ll be famous in Jordan! 

As we were approaching the next place, As-Salt City, we asked for a bathroom. We stopped by a mosque that also had the tomb of Joshua. It was a really long tomb because they weren’t quite sure where in the ground he was buried, but they know he was buried there. A surprise stop, adding to the many historical and religious sites we’ve seen. 

Oh, and the bathrooms. They were the squat toilet style, and of course, Heather dropped her sunglasses on the floor, which was sprayed with what we hope was water, and when she bent down to pick them up, her scarf dragged through the wet yuck. I think this was only my second time using this type of toilet, but my first was on a ferry. I’ll take a stationary squat toilet anyday over that, haha. 

As-Salt City is a UNESCO heritage site because of the old and preserved Ottoman buildings. We only had a short time here, but it was a beautiful city, and we walked through the market and spent some time in the main square. While in the market, we came across a woman making flat bread, and she showed us how it was done, and invited Barbara to try her hand at the process. She did pretty well! And as such, earned a certificate for preparing the flat bread, which was a verbal recognition and the prize of her handmade bread. How fun! 

While in the main square, we saw a film crew! Hatem asked, and it was a commercial for Ramadan. I wonder if we’ll be extras in it?

Something fun our driver kept saying was “If you shy, you die!” And I’ve decided I’m going to do my best to adopt this mantra. Sometimes I do shy away from things, but what is there to lose?

We were soon on our way back to Amman, but not before stopping for my favorite, Kunafa, at the world famous Habiba. OMG that desert is so yummy! I’m so glad I got a second chance to eat it. 

Back at the hotel, Heather and I rested a bit and I drank my last beer! I did it, Paul! Cheers! 🍻

Alexandra and I decided to wear our fancy dresses to dinner, for one last time. We got ready and Hatem sent me a location for the Uber. I noticed it was just a street name, and he asked me to send the driver’s phone number to him. This is gonna be good, lol. I had a feeling we’d be dropped off in the middle of some random street, and Hatem would have to find us. I shared my location with Hatem, which ended up being super helpful, as the Uber driver’s phone number didn’t work. I had no idea you could do that in WhatsApp.

When the Uber stopped on a dark street on a steep hill, our group was like, “uhhh… are we in the right spot?” And while I obviously had no idea where we were, I had faith in Hatem. He’d find us:). Sure enough, as we’re getting out of the car, here he comes, strolling down the street. Turns out, we were on the street behind the restaurant we were going to. 

The restaurant was AMAZING! Obviously a very local spot; there was not another tourist in sight. We would be eating Mansaf, the national dish of Jordan. Lamb slow cooked in yogurt for 4 hours and served on a bed of rice. More yogurt and ghee is drizzled on the top. 

The best part? You eat it with your hands! The waiter was prepared to offer us plates, silverware and even gloves to eat it, but we all graciously declined, and wanted to try it the local way. Hatem showed us how it was done, grabbing a piece of lamb and some rice and forming a ball with it in one hand, and then eating the ball. 

This was easily the very best dish we had all week. And what a fun experience! Someone from the restaurant came over to take our picture; they hang pictures of patrons all over the walls, and Hatem promised us to take a picture of the picture the next time he goes there. Not only did we get the picture taken, we made another video for their social media! That’s twice now we’ll be famous in Jordan. 🙂

After an absolutely wonderful evening, we finally had to say goodbye to Hatem. It didn’t feel real.. surely we’ll see him and everyone else tomorrow morning at breakfast, right? Right? We were sad driving away, and I’m almost certain I could see an air of sadness overcome Hatem’s face as well. We, without a doubt, had a lovely group of people, and we sincerely enjoyed each other’s company. It’ll be strange not traveling with them from here on out. 

Travel Day:

Heather and I went to the hotel breakfast and the lack of our friends was disheartening. We had gotten so used to seeing them everyday, and now it was just us. Our driver picked us up from the hotel at 7:30 and we were off to the airport. Getting through security and passport control was easy enough, and soon we were sitting by our gate.

I ended up with a row to myself and the flight was close to 5 hours to Paris. I did some work on the blog and took a much needed nap.

When we arrived in Paris, we were waiting for the hotel shuttle for what seemed like forever. Heather was able to call and they informed us the shuttle doesn’t run for a window in the middle of the day. Welp. Uber it is! So we get an Uber and make it to our very cute hotel, Jangle.

We almost decided to stay in and order room service once we realized that the tv was about the same size as the king bed, lol. But, we rallied and Ubered to a cute town on the other side of the airport, Roissy. We walked around a bit, but it was raining and we didn’t make it too long before heading to the restaurant Heather picked out when planning this trip.

Dinner was lovely, and well worth the excursion. Soon we were back to the hotel to pack up and get some sleep before parting ways in the morning. 🥲 I’d be off on a solo adventure to Luxembourg and Belgium, and Heather would be headed home after visiting Egypt for 2 weeks, and finishing up in Jordan. What a whirlwind!