Day 14: From Eilat (Israel) to Aqaba (Jordan) (June 25)
Today was most spent mostly in transit to start our trip to Petra. We had to get ourselves to Eilat in southern Israel and needed to get on a 10 am bus for the 4-5 hour trip to arrive in time. Julia and Rachel got up early to go on a run and even at that early hour it seemed the sweat factor was super high. After getting packed up we didn't have time to go to breakfast before walking to the bus station so we said goodbye to Julia (who went back to work). We made it time for the bus and after some confusion about on which bus we actually had tickets, we set out on our way. The route took us down the length of the Dead Sea and through mostly desolate desert landscape.
I drifted off at some point and woke when the bus stopped to the image of a McDonald's in the middle of nowhere. Dream? Nightmare? Although I have pretty strict rules against such things (buying American when traveling), it seemed necessary to get an order of fries for the road trip. Rachel more admirably got a delicious falafel wrap from the other little place in the rest stop and it made her very happy.
During the rest of the trip to Eilat,Rachel and I watched a documentary she had downloaded about the significance of Jerusalem and its history. Something we should have watched already? Probably. But it is really nice to see now given that we are returning for our full exploration of Jerusalem in a few days.
We got to Eilat with three hours to kill before being picked up to start our tour. The place to store luggage was closed so we walked across the street to a nice-looking hotel and asked if they would let us leave our bags there. I didn't actually have any idea what to do in Eilat but it is a beach town on the Red Sea and I remembered having noticed a Dolphin Reef on the map. We took a taxi there not knowing what we were getting into. I didn't realize it was a whole entertainment place with admission fee and everything and we didn't even have bathing suits with us. We went in anyway. They had a sign up saying that they were viewing the World Cup games in the bar and asking people to join them but when we went to the bar to see the afternoon game, it seems that people who are playing with dolphins in Israel in the middle of the day don't really care about watching soccer.
We weren't sure if we were supporting an organization that was harmful to the animals but felt better knowing that the dolphins are not trained to perform nor are there any shows of any kind.
But, it is super cool that you can just go swim near them and interact with them. We sat on a pier in the water for as long as I could handle that and then went into the top floors of the hut that are restricted to 18 and older guests. It is the first time I've lied about Rachel's age - I tried once for Julia to get her into Burke Williams early but they required ID. We had lemonade and some popsicles; not sure it was worth the lie but it was lovely and breezy up there. We sat on chairs with our feet in the water and got a little wetter than we hoped we would.
Rachel has been on the look out for a shirt that will protect her from the sun more fully and also keep her cool. To accomplish this goal she brought my very old flannel that she has taken to wearing. I tried to convince her that flannel, no matter how thin she felt it was, was not a desert material. So, we swung by the mall on the way back to our bags and finally found something that should be perfect for these coming days in the deep desert.
Eilat is a border town from which you can see Aqaba, Jordan directly across the Red Sea,Saudi Arabia down the sea to the south, and Egypt directly to the west. The four countries come together right here. Our tour company suggests spending the night in Aqaba instead of Eilat because hotels are cheaper and if you spend two nights or more in Jordan you aren't charged a $65 fee per person for staying for no or one night. So, they picked us up from the bus station and drove us 5 minutes to the border. On the way he pointed out the desalinization plant that they rely on for water since it never rains here and the date palm trees where all the dates we have been eating come from. One guy helped us get out of Israel, another guy met us on the Jordan side, and a third took us to our hotel - a much nicer place than I would have chosen on my own. When we entered the lobby, the Egypt Saudi Arabia World Cup game was on and it was really cool to be watching the game in a place where we could practically see the two countries playing. (Saudi Arabia scored an amazing 95th minute goal to win.) We were supposed to do a 45-minute Nike Training but Rachel asked if I'd mind skipping it and I was more than happy to comply. A delicious dinner buffet was part of our tour and it was perfect to get to try so many different dishes at once. Trying to get to sleep early for our big two-day adventure starting tomorrow!
I drifted off at some point and woke when the bus stopped to the image of a McDonald's in the middle of nowhere. Dream? Nightmare? Although I have pretty strict rules against such things (buying American when traveling), it seemed necessary to get an order of fries for the road trip. Rachel more admirably got a delicious falafel wrap from the other little place in the rest stop and it made her very happy.During the rest of the trip to Eilat,Rachel and I watched a documentary she had downloaded about the significance of Jerusalem and its history. Something we should have watched already? Probably. But it is really nice to see now given that we are returning for our full exploration of Jerusalem in a few days.
We got to Eilat with three hours to kill before being picked up to start our tour. The place to store luggage was closed so we walked across the street to a nice-looking hotel and asked if they would let us leave our bags there. I didn't actually have any idea what to do in Eilat but it is a beach town on the Red Sea and I remembered having noticed a Dolphin Reef on the map. We took a taxi there not knowing what we were getting into. I didn't realize it was a whole entertainment place with admission fee and everything and we didn't even have bathing suits with us. We went in anyway. They had a sign up saying that they were viewing the World Cup games in the bar and asking people to join them but when we went to the bar to see the afternoon game, it seems that people who are playing with dolphins in Israel in the middle of the day don't really care about watching soccer.
We weren't sure if we were supporting an organization that was harmful to the animals but felt better knowing that the dolphins are not trained to perform nor are there any shows of any kind.
But, it is super cool that you can just go swim near them and interact with them. We sat on a pier in the water for as long as I could handle that and then went into the top floors of the hut that are restricted to 18 and older guests. It is the first time I've lied about Rachel's age - I tried once for Julia to get her into Burke Williams early but they required ID. We had lemonade and some popsicles; not sure it was worth the lie but it was lovely and breezy up there. We sat on chairs with our feet in the water and got a little wetter than we hoped we would.
Rachel has been on the look out for a shirt that will protect her from the sun more fully and also keep her cool. To accomplish this goal she brought my very old flannel that she has taken to wearing. I tried to convince her that flannel, no matter how thin she felt it was, was not a desert material. So, we swung by the mall on the way back to our bags and finally found something that should be perfect for these coming days in the deep desert.
Eilat is a border town from which you can see Aqaba, Jordan directly across the Red Sea,Saudi Arabia down the sea to the south, and Egypt directly to the west. The four countries come together right here. Our tour company suggests spending the night in Aqaba instead of Eilat because hotels are cheaper and if you spend two nights or more in Jordan you aren't charged a $65 fee per person for staying for no or one night. So, they picked us up from the bus station and drove us 5 minutes to the border. On the way he pointed out the desalinization plant that they rely on for water since it never rains here and the date palm trees where all the dates we have been eating come from. One guy helped us get out of Israel, another guy met us on the Jordan side, and a third took us to our hotel - a much nicer place than I would have chosen on my own. When we entered the lobby, the Egypt Saudi Arabia World Cup game was on and it was really cool to be watching the game in a place where we could practically see the two countries playing. (Saudi Arabia scored an amazing 95th minute goal to win.) We were supposed to do a 45-minute Nike Training but Rachel asked if I'd mind skipping it and I was more than happy to comply. A delicious dinner buffet was part of our tour and it was perfect to get to try so many different dishes at once. Trying to get to sleep early for our big two-day adventure starting tomorrow!
I am so happy you are getting this trip with your girls! It's awesome to read.
ReplyDeleteYour comments always come at the right time! I am tired from our time in Petra but now three days behind...you have inspired me to get the stories down!
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