Finding Nemo
After adjusting to the weather last night and spending an hour chatting on the roof (it cools down to around 30 degrees - really hot but much more manageable!), we woke up to our first orientation meeting, which happened after everyone arrived! It was really neat to see the whole group together, and especially to get excited that we were all about to start!
After the meeting, a group of 8 of us (Jake, Mike F., Mike C., Meaghan, Robin, Danielle, Erin and I) went to the beach and bargained our way into a three hour glass-bottomed boat tour, with snorkeling and swimming as well. We traveled an hour outside of Aqaba (towards Egypt), moving past HUGE freight ships and tons of blue water. Then one of the boys (I won't use names so he can keep some shred of dignity) realized he REALLY had to pee. After a few minutes of discomfort, he told the boat driver, who offered him two options: pee in a bucket and toss it over, or jump in. After a few frenzied moments, he took off his shirt and jumped overboard. It was hilarious, and we all had a good laugh at his expense, and took lots of pictures. Finally, we reached a massive coral reef filled with blues, greens, and purples, tons of brain coral, and a large variety of fish. Our favourites were some incredible angelfish and the many clownfish - I personally loved the sea urchins as well. I saw a lionfish and something that puffed up, which was pretty neat as well!
As we passed the coral reef, we found a safe spot to anchor the boat, jumped off the side and swam in the Red Sea. It's extremely salty and prefectly refreshing, so we had an amazing time floating around. Mike C, Jake, Meaghan, Robin and Danielle went to get a closer look at the nearby coral reef, but Mike F, Erin, and I decided that after seeing a few critters and corals more poisonous than we'd like, we would stay closer to the boat. We floated about and enjoyed the sunshine and freedom; we'd felt awkward going too close to shore in our shorter bathing suits.
Heading back, we had a really amazing moment where we stopped by the shore to chat with some of our captain's friends - one young girl reached out to Danielle and Robin and introduced herself - she seemed really surprised (possibly by their bright blonde and red hair) and sweet, it was really lovely. After passing that beach, we were hit by a wave of humidity - Aqaba is easily 3-4 degrees warmer than that shoreline. Quite a shock to realize how much you could sweat in the afternoon heat in Jordan! Definitely worth the money to get away from the heat.
We spent the afternoon preparing labeling tags for the dig, eating shawarma and falafel and resting - now, enjoying a fresh-squeezed mango juice for 2JD - AMAZING, while the sun starts to set over the mountains on the Israeli side. So cool.
Just a couple of notes to add on the space itself - we're staying in the Shokini apartments (sp?), not the most luxurious accomodations but we each have an apartment suite with one bedroom for 2-3 people (sometimes 2 bedrooms), a bathroom with a rickety shower and a living room with kitchenette. No fridges in the main space, but there are several in the common areas. Each room has tiled floors, which helps keep it cool on your feet. So nice.What a beautiful day, and I cannot wait to start digging!
Best wishes from Aqaba :)