Grant and Patti's Middle Eastern Vacation

We had our last day of diving. Got up to do an early morning dive, but ended up seeing no sharks. However, it was great getting there before all the other divers (we were first) so we got the freshest view and saw much more than we had seen the last time. The second dive was a bit of a challenge. We got caught in a current tunnel around a small reef so we had to fight the current, turn around, go with the current until we hit the other current, swim against that, turn around...and so it continued. Had breakfast and lunch on the boat (both better than the buffet at the hotel) and we're off to galavant in a bit. It already feels like 10pm when the sun goes down so early. Then we take off on a 9am bus to Eliat where we'll most likely spend the night and rent a car again.

Since we left Israel, we've only had instant coffee...we're almost used to it these days! Had our third day of diving today. To the dive masters we are affectionately know as simply 'the Americans.' We had to go on the local boat since we don't have visas for that part but ironically we passed the checkpoint and could have gone, but our equipment was on the local boat. Oh well...we still had some good dives plus it was warmer again today. We saw a bunch of tuna, grouper, a huge puffer fish and lots more. Tomorrow we're going on an early morning dive to look for sharks (don't worry mom...not great whites ;). Then we'll head back to the boarder and probably stay in Eliat for the night depending on what time we get there and spend our last couple of days in Israel again. Not sure of our itinerary yet, but we'll figure as we go.

Diving here is awesome! Visibility is great and the water isn't too cold. The boat rides have been good overall, just a bit choppy and although I rarely get seasick, I must say the other day I'm sure I was turning green. Thankfully took some dramimain today and was for a much more pleasant ride. We're staying here for 2 more days of diving and then heading back to Israel...wu hoo...more border fun. The weather's been beautiful. We spent the first day just relaxing on the beach and snorkeling before finding our dive shop. It's been pretty hot in the morning, but the sun starts to go down not much after 4. The hotel we're in is nice and the people here (especially at the dive shop) have been great. One of the earlier shops we stopped at told me I had to do a pool dive since I hadn't been in a while...and pay a chunk of money to do it....so we moved on. Found a great one finally and they've all been fantastic. Going local again tomorrow since our attempt to attain a visa at the airport yesterday proved in vain.

We had a bit of a long day down from Petra to Sharm - we took an early morning bus from Petra to Aqaba, then a cab to the Israeli border, then another cab to the Egyptian border and finally a 4-hour cab ride from Taba to Sharm. The weather here is great, so it has been nice to relax. We're staying right on the main strip in a nice hotel with a pool, beach access and have a nice balcony in our room. We stayed in some real dumps in Jordan, so this has been a nice change.

We're going diving starting tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the proper visa at the border, so we can't visit one of the dive sites I wanted to see. I guess we'll have to come back again.......

I think we'll hang out here for at least another few days and will then make our way back up to Israel again.

We got an early start in Aqaba today when the town loud speaker, which was right outside our window, started announcing morning prayers at 4:30 am.....

We decided to take advantage of the early start and headed up to Petra. The sites here were amazing - entire towns carved out of the side of the rock!

We're off to Egypt tomorrow to start diving. It is pretty cold here, so hopefully we won't freeze out on the dive boat.

We spent the past couple days in Israel and really enjoyed it. We rented a car, so we've been able to see some interesting parts of the country. The only problem with driving here is that the signs are frequently only in Hebrew, so it makes for some difficult navigation. Luckily, people here are really nice and have been helpful at giving us directions.

We spent the first night in Tel Aviv and the second in Masada, which was particularly interesting as we stayed in a guest house that was also housing 200 Israeli army trainees. It always catches you a bit off-guard eating dinner with a pack of 16-year-old girls that have assault rifles strapped across their backs........

We drove down along the Dead Sea this afternoon and finally made it to Eilat. We've returned our rental car and are now headed off to Jordan for a couple days.

Finding Internet access here has been a bit of a challenge...but why stray off course? Many things have been a challenge. I have officially attained celebrity status here as my name is very similar to someone on the watch list...which has unfortunatley caused detainment and added much time at border crossings. Grant has been the official driver here and I've been designated navigator which has worked out very well. We're off to Petra tomorrow and then down to Egypt. We cut our trip a little short in Israel becase of the rain and hope to pick up some time on the back end instead. The Dead Sea was amazing and although there is volatility, Israel has felt very safe and everyone has been most helpful. Will write again when we next have access.

The Journey begins on November 20, 2004!