22nd to 25th June 2006 – Overland to Al Aqaba in Jordan

Posted at 5:24 AM, Monday, June 26, 2006

We decided to make this visit as it’s unlikely we’ll get to the Red Sea for a few years, and we wanted to investigate facilities possibly for the future.  We can confirm there is a single marina in Aqaba – The Royal Yacht Club – and although modern it is empty.  Looks to be inhabited by only four yachts – two up on the hard-standing - two in the water.

You’ll find it located in the top right hand side of the Gulf, with two large hotels and the Jordanian Kings Seaside Palace on its western edge, and a line of beachside restaurants to the east.  It is made up of two small harbours – the western one is the marina, the eastern one is the hard-standing area.  There is a tammy lift – but could not get close enough to see its rating.

Beware in summer.  It’s HOT.  We were out on a small boat and even with the winds cooled by the water – it would have been unbearable if we could not have swum.  I’m guessing – but suggest it was around 45 degrees C.

Also suggest you do not approach the town side any closer than 100 metres offshore.  The glass bottomed boat we were on got great pleasure showing us a sunken ship and an almost perfectly preserved WW1 Turkish Tank sitting on the bottom in 5 metres of water.

We’d added the visit to Aqaba to the end of a four day / three night trip a small group of us organised from Israel before sailing back north to Turkey.

Thursday, day one in our tour, involved bussing the three hours from Herzliya to the Israel / Jordan northern border crossing at Bisan.  Spending two hours exiting Israel and around five minutes getting into Jordan, meeting our tour guide and driver of the smaller Jordanian bus we used, and heading off south.

Here’s a shot of Samer (guide) and Musharaff (driver) alongside at the border crossing being hugged by John off Spirit of Solent.  The border procedures were as bad as anything I’ve experienced in the old eastern Europe.

We then spent another three hours driving in low gear up and down windy hilly roads across mountains to the Jordanian capital Amman.  A nice lazy lunch for a few hours and then on right down the length of this narrow country to Wadi Musa – a village close by the sites at Petra.

This drive southward exposed the Jordanian desert in all its glory.  Stunning scenery for which a camera hardly does justice.

Samer had already organised the hotel in Wadi Musa.  We here to visit the Valley of the Tombs at Petra – but could not actually stay there as a tri-nation conference twix Jordan, Israel and Palestine was rated more important then we were.  Lots of roadblocks and plice or army checkpoints on the drive – Samer says it’s normal.

The hotel was good.  Working aircon.  Nice pool.  A happy hour that they stretched to three!  Nice Margaritas. We got to know the small group of 10 other sailors we were travelling with a bit better – great bunch.

Friday day two, saw us up early and bussed down to Petra.  This is the place used in several movies - Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones etc – with temples carved into the solid cliff face.

The valley in which it’s located is in a real bad-lands type area.  Arid craggy mountains with little or no vegetation. 

One ‘de-busses’ at a visitor centre and either walk down into the valley – or do as we did and pick up some horses.

It was also getting hot early on – so purchased some local headwear colour co-ordinated to go with my shirt!

The horse ride was not quite as ‘Indianinsh Jonsey’ as I’d hoped.  I found it hard to crack a whip and gallop when a little Arab chappie is walking along sedately, securely holding your reins.  

You get off the horses after 10 minutes as the valley narrows to a gorge which runs deeper down with sheer rock faces rising on either side.  It narrows in parts to 20 feet wide, and the stone walls have many small carvings dating back to 1,000 or more BC. 

But when you get perhaps the 2 km down to an open area – the view of the largest carved temple simply blows you away. 

It’s huge - and carved (admittedly over ten years) in one job.  No building blocks at all – just carved into the solid rock.

The rest of the valley of the tombs rolls down for a further three km and we spent all morning exploring and climbing in and out of the sites.

Lunch again in the comfort of a Crown Plaza air-conned restaurant strategically placed at the base of the valley – and then we picked up a mob of donkeys to carry us back up out of the valley.  We aimed to climb out towards the local Bedouin village which was perched on the hillside some 3 km along.  Apparently these guys used to live in the temples at Petra before the government persuaded them to move on by building the village complex for them – and their kids are hard to refuse when selling you trinkets.

I bought these bracelets for my nieces but as they claimed to have no change, told them to share 8 or my 10 Dinar note between the group of sellers.  Made me real popular and the jungle drums sent every kid on the block to see me! 

My donkey ride out was luckily on the biggest beast.  He knew where he was going and there was little I could do would stop him getting there.  One distraction when he tried to take a shortcut up a sheer rock face led to me using a switch pulled from a bush to turn him around.  The decent down the rock face made me wish I’d left him to it.

Some of the other donkeys were smaller than mine, and some of our people were taller than me.  So you could not help but feel sorry seeing them labour under the loads as they trudged up the long hill road.

Some partially sore bottoms being rubbed once we got off – a forewarning of what was to come later with the camels.

The bus was waiting for us and we then headed further south towards the Saudi border and a Bedouin encampment at Wadi Rum, where we were booked to spend the night.

The encampment had small tents laid out boot camp fashion – but the sunset, evening meal of lamb roasted underground, and the unexpected bonus of a Bedouin pre nuptial party for an engaged couple with their young lady pals, all combined to make it a great night of drinking and dancing.  Some where western dress complete with dare midriffs, others wear veils - but ALL can dance in a very sexy way and were soon dragging us all up to dance with them.

We staggered back to the tents by oil lamp whilst the girls party all slept out under the stars on cushions and blankets.  The camp beds felt a bit hard – but we slept on long enough to miss the sunrise – so could not have been too bad.

By 0900 Saturday after a quick open air breakfast together, bade our farewells, and were back on the road heading out into the desert proper for some serious fun.  Samur had organised four wheel driving out over the dunes in some old Bedouin open trucks.  We all bounced around trying to take pictures.

Eventually arrived at something that did resemble a Bedouin tent.  It was at Lawrance Springs (yup that’s El Orance of WW1 days etc) for a midmorning tea break.  Its clear Samer really knows his English culture!

And then the ultimate for me – a two hour camel trek back across open desert back to the township.

Of course this whole bit was OTT touristy – but an enjoyable experience I’ll remember for some time.

Once off the camels and a cold beer whilst we discussed bum damage, back on the small bus and away.  It took another hour or so to get from Wadi Rum to Aqaba and into the cooling air-con of the hotel.  Aqaba is a duty free area developed recently by the young King Abdulla and it is a very modern, very pumpy place.  A magnet for Jordanians and Saudis alike.  We met up again with the Bedouin girls who were also visting for the day.

One hour later we all jumped into a glass bottomed fishing boat to see some coral, have a swim, see Aquaba from the shore side, and try to get into the local marina. 

Sadly the boat owner would not take his boat in past the entrance  saying he would get into trouble even with us as passengers.  Even slowing off its entrance saw a police boat roaring towards us to investigate.  It’s a mark of how used to this security we’ve become – it seemed almost acceptable to have a machine gun toting boat alongside!

The last day saw us complete a four hour drive up the west bank of the Jordan River, seeing the Dead Sea from Jordan side, and on to the midpoint crossing at the Allenby Bridge halfway up the country.  Again – five minutes to get out of Jordan, but two hours to get into Israel! 

I’d like to be able to report this was due to the tight security – but it wasn’t.  Just hopelessly disorganised and so insecure with bags left all over the place. 

Finally arrived back on board at Herzliya around sunset after a stopover at a local supermarket.  Have also had the engine serviced whilst we were away so nothing now, apart from a new tank load of diesel and emigration procedures, to stop us heading back to Turkey.

We will definitely do that in one two day hit possibly leaving tomorrow.  Earlier plans to possibly stop in S.Cyprus are off the agenda.  Some other rally boats went there whilst we were away and we hear have been harassed by the authorities for taking part in the rally visit to N.Cyprus – which of course is still seen by S.Cyprus as being there’s. 

So for us its now a longish leg 330 mile leg aiming to clear into Turkey at Finneke and then on to chill for a week at anchor 50 miles along the Turkish coast at Kekova Roads.

I’ll update you when we arrive – and I’ll not be surprised if we find half the rally fleet there doing the same thing!

Cheers

JOHN

PS  If any future rally participants need a guide or someone to organise a Jordanian tour consider using this chap Samer.  He’s a genuine bloke who knows his stuff and does what is asked of him without fuss.  And by dealing direct you’ll save a lot over the Israeli middlemen.  Tel home in Amman 06 5865857 or mobile 0777 741981.