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Swimming with the Fishes

Friday, April 28th, 2006

Aqaba doesn’t have the historical draw of much of the region. History happenned here, but it’s left relatively little trace. However, there is excellent diving, in the limited available coastline between the port and the Saudi border.

So we went scuba diving today. It was something we’d intended to do in Dahab, but kind of missed out on. I haven’t gone in a long time (probably close to 8 years, shortly after I learned to dive), and Kathy had never gone before, so we just did a shallow dive from the shore. There was still some amazing coral to be seen, and lots of colourful fishes. My only other diving experience has been in the Jasper lakes (where there is almost no life), and among the Gulf Islands off of Vancouver, where there is tons of life, but it’s all ugly and dull colours. So the tropical view was a pleasant change. Kathy saw a couple of octopi that I missed, but there were fish everywhere, as we saw a few eels as well. There was also a fair bit of coral around.

We’re off to Wadi Rum tomorrow morning, 10 am, so we’ll be out of touch for a few days, until we get to Petra.

– Neil

Welcome to Jordan!

Thursday, April 27th, 2006

We have arrived safely in Aqaba, Jordan, and so far we have noticed quite a difference from Egypt. The cab driver that brought us to our hotel took us straight there, without trying to sell us on a different hotel, and he was quite adamant that Jordan is different than Egypt. He appeared to be quite proud of his country, something that we noted was lacking in Egypt.

Immigration was remarkably easy, hassle free, and the agents were quite friendly. So far our experience has been, “Canadian? Ok, you go.” A smile and a wave, and barely a glance at our documents or bags. They had us unlock and open our bags at the port, to ask about my shampoo and then send us on our way. (A mere formality, I suspect)

Internet is more expensive here, so we will try to limit it a bit, at least until we can find something a bit cheaper.

We are in Aqaba for 3 nights (including last night), as we plan our route through Jordan. We’ll post the plans once we have something figured out. Today we are heading to Aqaba Castle and the tourist office, to get some information (hopefully it’s better than Egypt, where the tourist offices simply pointed you in the direction of their favoured travel agency, or so we were told – we didn’t actually investigate for ourselves).

Stay tuned for more from Jordan!

-Kathy

Update from Dahab

Tuesday, April 25th, 2006

No To Terrorism
No To Terrorism

Now that the original shock has worn off slightly, we have decided to try and catch the bus to Nuweiba, and then the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Shocked, but we’re alright

Tuesday, April 25th, 2006

Just a quick note to everyone to let you know that we're all right. We were on the overnight bus to Dahab when 3 bombs went off at our destination. We were wondering why they started having passport ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Newer Parts are 3000 years old

Monday, April 24th, 2006

Hipostyle at Karnak Temple
Hipostyle at Karnak Temple

We're leaving Luxor this afternoon for Dahab. An extra-fun 14 hour bus ride. Very much looking forward to ... [Continue reading this entry]

Aswan

Saturday, April 22nd, 2006

Temple of Ramses
Temple of Ramses

It's been a bit hectic lately. Our time in Aswan seemed to have lts of spare time built in, but it all ... [Continue reading this entry]

And into the Desert

Sunday, April 16th, 2006

White Desert at Night
The White Desert at Night

We've just returned to Cairo after a three night, four day stint in Bahariya Oasis. The trip out ... [Continue reading this entry]

Sand, Sun and Pyramids

Tuesday, April 11th, 2006

Zosser's Pyramid
Zosser's Pyramid

Today was certainly a packed day. We got up earlyish (okay, so around 8 am) to head out and see the pyramids. Our ... [Continue reading this entry]

Arrival in Cairo

Monday, April 10th, 2006

We've now finished our first day in Cairo. It is definately different from anywhere I've been before. Somewhat intimidating, and yet also very interesting. We're staying in the downtown area, just a couple of blocks from Midan ... [Continue reading this entry]

Malta

Friday, April 7th, 2006

Cathedral of St. Paul
Cathedral of St. Paul

Kathy has already covered some of the annoyances of Malta (mainly the traffic), but I must admit that I rather ... [Continue reading this entry]