The electricity went off at the Tent Camp about 1 am. It was pitch black and the “night light” in
our bathroom didn’t work. Tim got up
about 1:30 am and looked at the stars since there was very little moon and no
natural light around. He enjoyed that. He said he could see the Milky Way.
We awoke at 5:30 am and dressed for our camel ride to see
the sun rise. Marmu was our camel
driver. He didn’t speak English but he
got us up on our camels and guided us out to a great place to watch the sunrise. It was as magical as the sunset with the
colors changing as the sun came up.
The dining tent at Sun City Tent Camp
The lounge area at Sun City Tent Camp
Our camels waiting for us to take a ride
Riding our camels through the desert at Wadi Rum
A bit blurry because of the bumpy ride on the camels. It was great fun.
It was dark out in the desert prior to sunrise
My camel - didn't give him/her a name!
The beautiful sunrise over Wadi Rum
The rocks changed colors as the sun rose.
Ali-oop!
Walking back to camp with our camel herder. He spoke no English.
Tim on his camel
At the end of our camel ride at Wadi Rum
We returned to the camp a little after 7 am and had a light
breakfast and coffee. We then showered,
dressed, and packed and left camp about 9 am for the short drive to Aqaba. Down, down, down to the sea we go.
Aqaba is a very clean city on the Red Sea, or actually the
Gulf of Aqaba. It is a somewhat typical
beach city. We found the dive shop for
Tim’s dive tomorrow. We check in at the
Kempinski Hotel, which is stunning. We
explored the hotel and then had a very leisurely lunch out by the sea. It was then nap time since we had gotten up
early.
The site of an old fort in Aqaba
The Hotel Kempinski in Aqaba - beautiful property
The view of the Gulf of Aqaba from our room at the Hotel Kempinski
After well-deserved naps, we headed out on foot to explore Aqaba. Jasmine had told me that there wasn’t much here other than the sea and old market. We walked down the main street and passed an archeological dig which was titled “The Foundings Of Islam”. There was not much there but foundations of old buildings. We continued down the beach to the old fort and then went on the beach boardwalk and walked back. It was a pretty beach and lots of people were swimming or sitting by the sea.
Nice beaches in Aqaba
We had drinks on the patio at the Kempinski for sunset. The sun set over Israel and it beautiful. It made us wonder about world peace – is it achievable? There is so much hatred and conflict in this part of the world, but I wonder if this is any different than what we have at home with so much gun violence, political dysfunction, and religious “agendas” that target people who don’t hold the same religious beliefs.
Sitting at the bar enjoying drinks as the sun sets over Israel - Going . . .
going . . .
going . . .
gone. A spectacular sunset.
We showered and dressed for dinner. We went to Fish at the Kempinski for dinner
and had great dishes. We had a table
outside and it was delightful.
It was about 10:30 when we retired for the evening. We are
both pooped!
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