الأردن (Jordan)

01 May 2023 - Stuttgart to the Dead Sea

I hopped on a flight from Stuttgart to Amman via Istanbul. Despite the requisite visa-on-arrival nonsense typical of some countries it was a pretty easy arrival and I found Pickles without issue waiting for me at a coffee shop at the airport. Luckily, she already rented the car so we hopped in and headed off for the 90-minute or so drive to the اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ (Dead Sea). We settled into the Kempinski Hotel and enjoyed the sunset with drinks and snacks.




02 May 2023 - Dead Sea

The next day it was a "relax by the pool" situation with some great scenery.




We eventually made our way down to the "beach" to immerse in Dead Sea traditions.


Another wonderful dinner by the sea.


03 May 2023 - Dead Sea to Aqaba

We left the Dead Sea and headed south to الْعَقَبَة (Aqaba). After checking in at the Al Manara we took a little jaunt to خليج تالا (Tala Bay) south of town to plan a dive and try some Red Sea kitesurfing with H and S Watersports. We took a ski boat up the coast and I have never seen people launch a kite and then fly it off of the boat while driving (second photo). We drove around the bend to a better spot and while the conditions were a bit light and I did okay, I could not get the turns down. Pickles opted to enjoy the beach instead of being stuck on a boat with two Jordanian men and being my personal photographer which probably saved me some embarrassment.



After the kiting, we took a little walk around the Tala Bay marina back to the car. If there is no longer a threat of pirates outside the Gulf of Aden, this would be a nice place to sail back to some day.


We spent the evening by the hotel pool and were treated to some ariel acrobatics!



Moonrise over the mountains surrounding Aqaba.


View from the hotel room balcony. The lights in the distance are Eilat, Israel which is precariously situated between Egypt and Jordan with only 10km of shoreline on the Red Sea.


04 May 2023 - Aqaba

In the morning we headed back south to Berenice Beach for some diving (for me) with Sindbad Dive Club and some beach reading (for Pickles). She did "discover" scuba diving before but did not enjoy it much. No worries, the dive shop had a nice spot right on the beach and she did some snorkeling instead.


Meanwhile, I was the only advanced diver booked at the shop (most were doing the beginner course) so we hopped in the truck for the short drive south to a couple of shore dive spots. The Jordanians are making all kinds of artificial reefs in addition to the natural reefs and wrecks, but apparently global warming is killing off most of the underwater scenery. Anywho, the first dive took us to the Rainbow Reef and to the Cedar Pride wreck. The divemaster did not take any pictures of the second dive to the submerged C-130 aircraft and battle tank. NOTE: any poses made were at the direction of the divemaster, which must be adhered to at all times.







After the diving and snorkeling, it was back to the hotel for sunset on the hotel's private beach.





Sometimes it is nice to just stay in and have some room service.


05 May 2023 - Aqaba to Wadi Rum

The next morning we headed back north and into the desert for وادي رم (Wadi Rum). We were nearly able to find our campsite among the dozens of others but eventually had to call them to bring us around one last dune. Pickles signed us up for a tour through the desert but in the confusion of talking with the receiptionist from Mexico (oddly enough), we forefitted our private tour for a group one. Joining us were a young Italian couple and three generations of seven Bozniaks, the youngest of which talked and sang the whole time, which really added to the experience. Obviously, I was pretty stoked about the exchange we made!


Despite the constant noise, the visual stimuli was still quite remarkable.




Here is an example of the dome tents that allow "glampers" to view the stars which Pickles had done before. However this time she had something different in mind...


View from on top of what apparently was a temporary home of Lawrence of Arabia while he galavanted around the Middle East during World War I.


The spot offered some fun, yet safe, climbing opportunties.




And the reward...




Of course the four hour tour was running behind so we did not have time to climb up to this natural bridge. Although the view was probably better from the bottom and there was a small queue waiting to take the pictures destined for social media.


We continued on to yet another odd rock formation.


Of course we had to smear red dust on all the ladies as is tradition.


Dusk was approaching so we started heading back to camp.


But it would not be an Arabian desert tour without tea.


Also obvious was how ready I was for the tour to finish. Those little Bozniak girls wore me out!


Luckily a storm was sweeping across the desert so if the sunset failed to put an end to things, surely the rain would.


One of the locals working at the camp was kind enough to play us some music while we waited for dinner.


I failed to get a video of the staff pulling the food out of the underground oven, but this is what it looked like after coming out of the barrel sand pit.



The camp dinner was not bad for being in the middle of the desert and the evening was quite nice despite the lack of alcoholic beverages.



Finally it was time for Pickles and I to head to bed which meant a night time truck ride further into the desert where the staff set up our own private campfire and tent. On the way we needed to deflate the tires to make it through the deeper sand.



When all was said and done it was a cute little setup and probably our highlight of Wadi Rum.


One of Pickles' friends was running in an overnight race that was planned during the full moon. Unfortunately for us, that meant no stargazing.

06 May 2023 - Wadi Rum to Amman

صباح الخير (Good Morning)!




We had a long day ahead of us so we good bye to the camels and got on the road to ٱلْبَتْراء (Petra).


Petra was a pretty amazing place and much bigger than I expected. There is a long walk from the parking lot and main gate through beautiful canyons.





While busy as all get out as Jordan's main tourist attraction, there were still opportunties to get a good view of the famous Treasury.



If you took up one of the pirate-looking guides on their offer, they took you on a short hike/climb up to even better viewpoints.




Of course they served tea...


...and Instagram-worthy videos.


From the main attraction of the Treasury, we continued on through the valley to the ampitheatre. While not as impressive as the ancient architecture surrounding it, I could not help but think how cool it was to think that similar monuments were built throughout the Mediterranean by long lost civilizations.


We then decided to hike up to the highest point to take in a view of the land from above. The hike up was not as bad as I would have thought given the heat and steep incline.


Better yet, when we got to the top, I found a place to dispose of Pickles if she gave me any lip.


It even comes complete with drainage for all the blood.


Pickles having thoughts about sacrificing me instead.


Pretty good view from up there.



Pickles taking the hard way down so gracefully.


After much exploring, we stopped for a bite and a Petra beer before continuing our way back through the complex.



We then continued back to Amman for our final night at the Ritz-Carlton. After speeding my way through Jordan for a week I was finally caught just outside of Amman. Pickles had to pay for my transgression through the rental car company but I do not think it was more than USD $30 or so. We enjoyed a nice dinner before heading our separate ways the next morning.