On the Water
After a few days roaming the desert, there is no better sight than that of a giant body of water. Our quick drive to the port city of Agaba from Wadi Rum had us jacked with anticipation.
Aqaba lies at the very southern tip of Jordan, and the 17 kms of coastline on the Red Sea is Jordan’s only access to open water. Across from the port you can see Israel and Egypt, and Saudi Arabia is only a few minutes drive further south.
It carries the vibe of an energized resort town and has all the amenities to match, with the star attraction being the brilliant blue of the open sea. And as the temperature raged above 40 degrees Celsius while we drove towards the coast, we had but one combined thought:
Get. Us. In. There. Now.
After arrival at the port we quickly retreated to a shady spot, slathered on buckets of sun cream, and waited anxiously for our boat to arrive. We were joined by a small group of divers and embarked on the inviting blue.
Within minutes we were reminded how much we love being on the water. The cool sea breezes and fresh smell of salty air relaxed us immediately.
The water was as refreshing as it looked. After waiting for the divers to set out, we finally had our chance to take the plunge.
This was the first time that we have ever felt completely jealous of divers. We’ve had plenty of opportunities to learn, but never the urge to do so (figuring it to be an expensive habit we could do without). But on this day both Pete and I had many envious thoughts; each time they dove in they came back up with rave reviews.
We were relegated to the surface only. Our first stop did not display much in way of interest, but the second offered a satisfying variety of colorful coral and fish.
Truth be told, for as much as we both adore a good snorkel, none of it even mattered and our jealous thoughts didn’t last long. All we really cared about was the cool sensation of being in the water.
Or even just on the water, for most of that long, hot day. Sunbathing, feasting on delicious grilled food, or staring out at the sea and several borders in blissful wonder.
I love the multi-shot of Pete jumping in. There is NOTHING better than diving into fresh cool water! Driving through Albania, our tour stopped on both days at beaches for lunch even though they weren’t supposed to JUST to give us that refreshing stop! It was AMAZING!
Thanks Chrystal, we were messing around with our new GoPro and it was pretty cool how it can get 10 shots in 1 second.. Ooooh Albania, I want to definitely hear more about your time there.
Isn’t Aqaba wonderful?! We only stayed 3 days and it was our very last stop in Jordan, so bittersweet for several reasons.
We’ve not learned how to dive yet either but we’d really like to. I wouldn’t mind getting certified at the Red Sea. We literally snorkeled amongst walls of coral there.
The walls of coral are really beautiful aren’t they? It seems like a perfect spot to cap a vacation.
40C+ = owww! I only experienced that once before (in Turkey) but there was no cool, refreshing water to take a dip in!
Don’t believe the divers. They were trying to make you jealous. Tricky people.
This is something us Canadians are not used to seeing on a thermometer unless it has a minus sign in front of it. Haha, tricky divers, I knew it.
What a beautiful place, the water looks absolutely pristine. And just loved the multi shot image. It must really be painful to not be able to dive into the waters and just sit around it…
Thanks Arti, yes we definitely welcomed the water with open arms.
Sorry to be SO off topic, but is the flag / flag pole in the first picture absolutely enormous? I stared at it for over a minute trying to figure out the perspective.
We rarely encounter people who share our views on diving… One more reason to believe the four of us would get along swimmingly (pun intended).
Swimmingly indeed!
And your perception is correct. It was a massive flag, If my research is correct, it is one of the biggest flags in the world.
It is the Flag of Hejaz or better known as the Flag of the Arab Revolt. It was originally used in 1917 by the Arab Nationalists against the Ottoman Empire. A lot of people confuse it with the Jordanian flag, but with no star and the colors being in a different order it is easy to see it is quite different.
Sounds PERFECT! Even without the diving. That image of the water and the orange inner tube is divine. One of the best y’all have taken.
And I love the last image of Dalene. I just get, through the image, what she must have been thinking and feeling.
Thanks Kirsten. That picture really stood out to both of us as well. And that image of Dalene staring out to the Sea, it really does have a power of us and we always seem to be in a happier place when we are out on a boat…
I spent all day in hardcore desert, and that blue could not be more inviting!
I don’t know if I could live in a desert, well maybe if there was a big body of water nearby, and I owned a boat…
I’ve never gotten into diving either, but I love being on the sea and in the sea. I’ve been out with divers before, and just entertained myself with snorkelling and splashing around, and always been more than happy! My idea of paradise 😀
Yes, any day on the water is a good day in our books too!
I tried to get my dive certificate once, but due to sinus issues, it didn’t work out. I think I’m ok with that now too. Being in the water and snorkeling is fun, but diving is so expensive, and the idea of it kind of freaks me out now. Swimming and snorkeling here looks like it was wonderful. I can imagine getting in the water is all you want to do when it gets that hot!
That’s another thing about why I don’t want to dive – it does freak me out. It’s such a great unknown down there! I think I’ll stick to paddling on the surface. 🙂
Looks beautiful. I have never really gotten into the idea of diving. I only barely like swimming. Though the last few times I traveled to the sea in the summer it was nice to be in the cool water.
Did you remember to suncreme your back? I always seem to remember my face and arms and forget my neck and back. Which doesn’t react well when I am lying on my stomach on a raft.
I SO know what you mean about being near the water. I have just started a 3 month house sit that is right by the beach and I am sooo happy. (It IS only day 2, I’m sure the novelty will settle.)
The only thing that could make it better is….if the house sit was in Jordan 🙂 Awesome shots guys! What are your thoughts on the GoPro?
I saw your pictures – WOW – what a gig! Congrats on that one!
Jordan was our first time using the GoPro so we have a LOT to learn on it. It serves a very good purpose, but the video on our SLR is still much better. We also need to get the LCD screen attachment as right now we can’t see anything we are shooting so never know if it’s good! 🙂
It seems to have been a truly amazing day. I love the powerful blue of the sea… uh, I so miss the sea…
Very clever the way you pasted together the shots of Pete hitting the water. By taking a frame of each second, it feels momentous!