Miller round the world Day 18

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A blissful sleep until 9 am. We repack and go down for breakfast, a buffet that is one of the best yet and includes many Middle Eastern dishes that we've never heard of. I particularly like the chickpeas cooked like baked beans. Vi enjoys the exotic fruit, including a mangosteen.

We leave the hotel at 12:45, delayed by a member of our group who lost her wedding ring in her room. Luckily it is found by hotel staff. After another hurry-up-and-wait exercise at the airport, it's wheels up at 3 pm. A 3-hour flight to Aqaba, Jordan. The sky is completely clear and Captain Al, who used to fly for the sultans, points out Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as we fly over the Persian Gulf. Most of the terrain is either sand or mountains, all the same beige colour. But there's a bizarre exception: greenish circles that occasionally appear like some disease has infected the soil or some alien was trying crop circles in the sand. The answer is that they are irrigated areas, with water sprayed 360 degrees from the source.
 
We land in Aqaba about 6 pm local time, losing an hour. Fairly easy processing through customs. We board the bus and meet our guide, Abraham, who speaks flawless colloquial English, learned in Pittsburgh. Aqaba is an attractive city that has cared-for look and evidence of vigorous construction. Abraham points outs the lights in the hills to the east which mark an Israeli border town. It's a 15 minute ride to the hotel, the Intercontinental, which is spacious and, I'm sure, very lavish by local standards. Our room is roomy and comfortable although not in the same league as some of our previous hotels.
 
We have supper at the hotel about 8:30, then retire to our room for the night.

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