An Extra Day That We Were Not Expecting

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We were very nervous when we settled down to get some sleep, not knowing what was likely to happen. We were easily woken up at around 2.00 in the morning due to lots of dogs barking, clearly sensitive to something that was going on. In the distance we could hear some bangs and rumbles, but they were, thankfully, a long way away. I did get up and look out of the window but I couldn't see anything, although we were facing away from the Dead Sea, Israel and The West Bank. I wasn't about the venture outside.

The only news channel we could get on the TV in our room was Aljazeera. The channels that were allegedly available included BBC World and CNN, but they didn't seem to have a signal. Aljazeera definitely has a certain bias, but not to the extent that we were would expecting and it seemed relatively objective. Most of the drones and missiles were intercepted, but, what was a little worrying, was that was most had been "before they reached Israeli airspace". I sincerely hope that doesn't mean over Jordan, who have nothing to do with it all.

Apparently Jordan had helped to shoot some of them down.

Hopefully, it's all over now and things can calm down a bit.

The office of the company we had booked through in Jordan contacted us via WhatsApp and are being fantastic. They have someone at the airport and are on top of everything that's going on. Apparently, the airspace over Joran will reopen again at 11.00 this morning and then, hopefully, the flights can start up again. It currently looks like our flight will be leaving tomorrow morning, exactly 24 hours late.

Before we went back to the pool, we thought we would go for another crazy and exciting adventure out (see We Need to Work on Our Mud Merchandising) and walk along the dusty, wind-swept, dry and desolate road, but this time to the right. It wasn't very different from the left. We walked down to the Dead Sea at a point that's open to everyone, unlike the private beach at the back of the hotel.

There was a little supermarket, but, otherwise, very little else. Just some random tables and chairs set-up by the side the road as if there was some to buy food and drink nearby. There wasn't, at least not that we could see.

We got talking to a local who, with a lot of animation and sound effects, but very little English, was telling us about how he saw all the rockets coming over in the night. Looking on a map, Jerusalem is not that far away, so it was very likely that things were going right over our heads.

We have really liked this hotel and had always wanted to visit the Dead Sea. The only thing I would say is that we had expected more of a resort feel to it. The hotel is completely on its own and the next hotel is half a mile down the road. There are a couple more being built, but it looks like work on them has stopped.

The hotel is almost deserted today and there was just a handful of us around the pool. A plane-load of Germans arrived in the afternoon, so for the hotel and Jorden's economy's sake, it looks like people are still coming out here. They may well have been out here already though.

Most of the other people around the pool were younger than us and obviously wanted a more exciting vibe, so the music got tuned up a lot louder. That's fine by us as it added a bit of atmosphere, given how quiet it would otherwise have been.

The average age had jumped up by the evening, however, when we went for something to eat. We went from feeling quite old to feeling relatively young, which doesn't happen very often now. A final dip into the humous and it was time to go to bed as we needed to be up and ready to get our lift to the airport at 4.30.

4.30 and we met the driver who was waiting for us at reception. The roads were completely empty, so the stress saved more than made up for the lack of sleep. According to Achmed, Amman's roads can be a jammed up nightmare, so this way we would get to the airport relaxed. Despite the excessively early hour, the little supermarket that we saw earlier was open, as were some others.

There were a couple of police check-points on the way, both of which asked us if we had enjoyed Jordan. We of course said that we had loved it (which we had), although I'm not sure what would have happened if we'd said we hated it? Best not risk trying to find out.

As when we arrived (see Camping Under Our Vast Universe, But With an Ensuite Obviously), we were met at the airport and guided through check in and security. The travel company we booked through has been absolutely fantastic.

Interestingly, our flight did not fly over Israel, so we needed to make a 45 minute diversion south and then back up over Egypt.

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Photos

It's A Hard Life
Well, it's another day by the pool that we didn't know we'd get.

Not Working Yet
If the worst comes to the worst, I should be able to connect and work, but I'd be more productive with a beer in place of the lemonade though.

Dusty Road
I'm not sure why there are all the tables and chairs alongside the road.

Hotel
Looking very lonely. It's very desolate once you leave the hotel.

Dead Sea Sunset
A final sunset over the Dead Sea before we leave.

Death By Chocolate
Picking all the chocolate related desserts.

Airport Sunrise
Queen Alia International Airport.