Aqaba or Aqua bar, the choice is yours…

We woke early to find the Coral Princess already halfway up the Aqaba Gulf.  Under the cover of darkness, we glided along. The moon was still high enough to create a golden trail toward the ship.  Up ahead were the twinkling lights of the three countries that bordered the end of the gulf. Egypt, Israel, and Jordan

Egypt, Israel and Jordan in the distance

Slowly the sun poked its head over the mountain that towers over Aqaba. Surrounded by rocky mountains, Aqaba seems so dry and arid, and yet there are man made pockets of greenery giving an oasis feel of luxury.

You couldn’t help but giggle at the constant announcements of arriving in the “Aqua” bar….  which is correctly pronounced “aka bar”

Since covid, Aqaba now has a cruise terminal…. Goodness me,  give them a terminal and now they want to do face-to-face immigration…. Its only purpose (well to us ) is to slow things down.  Benefits…. All scanning is done in the cool of the terminal.

We are now well practice in collecting tickets to be able to walk off the ship.  Just like tendering grab a ticket and wait to be called, minus any Elite priority.

This morning was simple, our tour started later than many others, which meant that by the time we were ready to disembark the wait was not long.  What also helped was that the majority of guests were on princess tours

Our tour was to spend the day at the Berenice Beach resort with a glass bottom boat trip, lunch, and use of the resort facilities for the day.

As per my previous post, we had to move as a group of 25, head into Aqaba to meet Eman and the shuttles to get us to the resort. Being a working port, it was our only option left.

Waiting for our ride where the shuttle drops you off from the ship.

Taxi drivers rushing the bus to tout for business

Berenice Resort is about 15 min along the highway back toward Saudi Arabia.  A little run down but it served our purpose well. On arrival, we paid our admission fee of 33JOD pp, which included our glass bottom boat ride, lunch, and use of the Resort up until 9 pm that night.

We were ushered straight down to the beach where our boat was waiting for us at the end of the pier.  The water looked inviting and the reef was not that far from the beach if you wanted to snorkel from the shore.

The boat was just big enough for all 25 of us.  For the first hour, the Captain maneuvered the boat over the Coral reef. 

The Jordanians being enterprising souls have sunk a yacht, plane, and army tank onto the sea bed to create an environment for the coral to grow….  Hard to capture in a moving boat, but still pretty amazing to see.

Submerged Tank

Then it was time to snorkel…. The waters looked choppy and the current seemed to swing our anchored boat around everywhere.  Not the strongest of swimmers I was really worried about being blown out to sea, never to be seen again….  I bit the bullet and decided to jump in, but never letting go of the tethered rope or Life-saving ring.   I still got to see a few fish… I was happy….  After a short time, I was back safely on the boat…..  

Garry making his signature entry into the water

As smooth as the water looks, the current was strong

When the captain returned after taking one of the other ladies for a tour of the reef…. He motioned that it was now my turn…. Apprehensive, I said no…. then oh “Just do it” … on with the flippers and back into the water…  For the next half hour, hanging onto the ring for dear life, our captain dragged me over the most amazing reefs, not great colour, but the formations were amazing and the little and big fish were just gorgeous.  He dragged me into every little nook and cranny along the reef….  I  tired but loved every minute of it… by the end, it was with welcome relief, that when I popped my head out of the water I could see our small boat just ahead…

A very happy but tired Jo being towed back to the ship.....

Arriving back at the wharf we walked back up to the resort for a delicious middle eastern lunch, of salads, dips and char-grilled meat. 

Stairs to Lunch

Lunch

 Topping it off was an amazing Jordanian version of bread and butter pudding, laced with cinnamon, sultanas, walnuts, and other culinary delights.

We spend the rest of the afternoon in and out of the pool.  Apart from all the angst, it was a very enjoyable relaxing day.

On our return to Aqaba town, we made a beeline for our favorite Kanefah store.  Two dinars or was it dollars? Can’t remember, but it got us a delicious slice of Kanefah.  Melted cheese base topped with a crumb, sprinkled with nuts, and doust with honey syrup….  Just yum..

Walking the streets just proved too hot and after a rather large juice, we ventured back to find the bottle shop. 

Shop no 1…. Big mistake by them,  would not take US$$ nor foreign credit cards, so we turned on our heel and walked straight back out, income lost....  Finding a more obliging bottollo, we manage to procure some prosecco and beer…. Along with everyone else in there from the ship….. 

Another great day!