We took the Kings Highway south from Petra, winding down towards the sea. For such a small country covered mostly by desert the terrain varies wildly from desolate barren mountains to flat valleys and the occasional spotting of vegetation. This time, our drive was pleasant and direct. Ninety minutes later we reached the Red Sea, within a few miles radius is Egypt, Isreal, and Saudi. To get to the beach we drove the lonely port stretch from Aqaba towards Saudi, the closest we’ll likely ever be to visiting the Kingdom. 

We came here to snorkel in the Red Sea, and to relax. Our time in Jordan is very active, which is how we prefer it, but having a day off every now and then can be relaxing. Even for us, lounging-phobic types.

Once we got to our room we got our runs in on a treadmill since the temperature this weekend is gracing us with triple digits. After lunch of shawarma sandwiches we drove to the beach to snorkel on a reef just off the beach.

It was something of an odd scene, our private beach facility shares space with the public beach, so the pool and lockers are private and behind a locked gate, while the beach itself is on the other side. It was primarily local families enjoying the weekend (which is Friday-Saturday here). It didn’t look like much at first , but the reef just off shore was impressive and much larger than we expected. We snorkeled and swam as long as we could before getting cold and heading in to relax by the pool.

That, and eating would complete our time in Aqaba. It was short, simple and relaxing. Next we head to Fenyan Ecolodge, found through National geographic, with the plan of more hiking and trail running. And, hoping the absurd temperature spike over the weekend doesn’t impact us too much.