Travel Day: Athens, Greece to Aqaba, Jordan

Ty was working on uploading the Covid documents to the Jordan website, when I went to sleep. Apparently that was quite the process and took him a few hours. Then he slept for a couple hours before waking up again. The kids and I managed 7 hours of sleep before we had to get up at 3am for our early flight out of Athens. Also, R woke up with a bit of a drippy nose, but otherwise she seems fine.

It was back to regular traveling for us. Waiting in lines for ticket agents, and all the lounges were closed since we were there so early. We were flying Ryan Air which is a bottom dollar airlines. So there were no snacks, no drinks, not even water on the flight. But it was only 2 hours so we watched a few shows, and then we were landing in Aqaba, Jordan!

The rental car situation was pretty unique. You walked to the parking lot and there some guys were hanging out. The company signs were just propped up on top of a tall vehicle. You walk up and they just ask who you’re with. Of course the Budget guy wasn’t there for us. But the other company guys called for us, and pretty soon the Budget worker showed up. We got a really dinged up car, with a quarter tank of gas, and the guy didn’t have any way to process our credit card. It’s good to be reminded how different things are in other parts of the world.

We got to our hotel quickly and decided to have lunch by the pool. Not surprisingly we were the only ones swimming. Even Ty said it was pretty chilly.

After lunch we got our swimsuits and snorkel gear together. Ty had arranged for us to meet our guides at a local shipwreck. Ty was going diving, and the kids and I were going to snorkel. After we had left the hotel R mentions that her throat is really sore, and her nose is definitely running by this point. Ugh, all my medicine was back at the hotel. So she had to just tough it out till we got back.

We arrive in a parking lot at the beach. Our guide meets us and takes us to their van full of gear. They pull Ty aside and start getting him all set up for his dive, wet suit, tanks, reviewing his safety signals, and the route. Meanwhile, no one is talking to us about snorkeling. The kids are melting down, L wants to get into the water RIGHT NOW, there are flys landing on us, and driving everyone nuts. It was a weirdly stressful 30 minutes. Till finally we manage to talk them into giving the kids and I wetsuits. R needs help getting hers on. L is in the water and these two areas aren’t close. I call L back to us, he’s still upset, trips and scraps his chest up on some concrete. He comes back to me, chin trembling and really struggling. Poor kid, thank goodness this guide finally recognizes I’m having a hard time. He helps clean the sand off L, and gets him into two wetsuits, while R and I get ours on. I take the kids down to the water, not really sure where we are going but know we just have to get them moving. R is too cold, and doesn’t want to snorkel now. L’s snorkel is leaking into his mouth. UGH!!

Just when I’m starting to lose it, the same guy comes out and he’s going to guide us in the water. THANK YOU LORD! He helps L with his snorkel, ends up giving L his and then fixes L’s and uses it himself. I convince R to give it a chance and off we go to see the big ship wreck. Ty is already diving by this point.

The greatest thing was both our guides took photos of us while we were in the water!

We finished our snorkeling and met Ty and L on a nearby pier. The kids took turns jumping off into a school of tiny fish. By this time Ty was looking pretty miserable so we rinsed off and headed back to the hotel. R’s throat was hurting, and her nose was running. Ty had to pull over twice to ‘pull the trigger’. It was only an 8 minute drive to the hotel too!

We got back, Ty took a warm shower and tucked himself into bed. I was finally able to give R some cold medicine, and tucked her into bed with her Kindle and a box of Kleenex beside her. Then L and I relaxed and watched some shows ourselves. By 5pm I was waking Ty up. L was falling asleep, and everyone was getting hungry. We made the smart decision to order room service, and keep things low key.

After getting some food in her, R was asleep by 7pm. She was out before Ty could even get her teeth brushed. We have two adjoining rooms, so I put Ty in with R. Quarantining the sick as best we can! He was out shortly after R. Then L and I stayed up till the late bedtime of 8:30! Here’s hoping a solid chunk of sleep will get everyone feeling better tomorrow.