Aqaba on the Red Sea coast is Jordan’s only port. There is some beach for swimming and diving, but not a lot! And when we were there it was windy, and the sea was choppy with a strong current. Suffice to say I got wet, but not for long and I didn’t go snorkelling or see any fish. Never mind, the hotel was top notch and Happy Hour cocktails more than compensated.
The Dead Sea is quite different. The River Jordan flows through it, but there’s no tide, or waves, or current. The shoreline is shrinking as the sea evaporates, so the ‘beach’ (if you can call it that) is crusty and sharp. Chris went in to experience the incredible buoyancy: he actually found it hard to put his feet down on the bottom. I made do with sampling some Dead Sea skin products – the water has all kinds of mineral properties. Fountain of youth? – quite possisbly. For me the best bit was watching the sunset, then seeing the lights of Jerusalem and Jerricho twinkling on the opposite shore.
Evening clouds over the Dead Sea