Last night after I posted, we had a delicious seafood dinner just as Aqaba is famous for. I had yummy mussels, prawns, fish and calamari. Then we went for a walk around the market area. The wind just kept getting worse. By the time we got back to the hotel it whistled through the hotel’s corridors sounding like an air raid siren.
For a while, most of us hung out in Brabbyn and Harrison’s room. But at this point the cold that had been trying to get me for over a week took over and I went to bed. I’m just grateful it’s happened in between Petra and my plane ride home.
This morning we set off back to Amman, but Nadal warned us that the trip could be tricky due to poor weather conditions. Ildi had messaged me yesterday and said that a bad sandstorm had hit Cairo and meant there was virtually no visibility. We drove on for a while, and then the wind and storm found us. We kept having to stop at police checkpoints, because the police were prohibiting anything more than single file on certain sections of road. In some parts, we even had to sit and wait for a while until it improved slightly.
Even so, when we did continue it still got a bit scary. You could feel the wind pound the bus with such ferocity that we jostled from side to side, and some dust and sand came in through the windows. Huge trucks drove on in front of us, swaying from side to side. When we were stopped at checkpoints, some even tried to drive around. Natural selection at its best we all agreed. Impatience could be fatal in a situation like that!
The dust took over for a while and visibility was very poor, but thankfully the second half of the drive to Amman was much smoother. The road we were meant to take was closed due to poor weather so we couldn’t have the included cafe lunch we were meant to. Instead we had a buffet lunch at a local roadside place.
As we approached Amman though the sky was very bleak. Last night it snowed in Amman, which apparently isn’t uncommon in Amman in winter due to its high altitude. But by the time we arrived the majority of it had melted. As a nice surprise, G Adventures changed our hotel from where we stayed the other night to somewhere much more swanky and in a better location. It honestly looks like Crown at home. Kristine and I have a lovely view of the citadel and even a kettle. It's a brand new hotel which means that it hasn't yet been infected by the smell of cigarette smoke. Tomorrow I move to a hostel down the room.
Tonight we have our farewell dinner and say goodbye to some group members heading on tour to Israel tomorrow. I am here until Sunday.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
PS: The app I use for my blog is playing up and won't let me attach any photos today. I'll try again tomorrow.
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