Day 63

Saturday March 22nd,

Last night I decided to sleep covering my body from head to toe. I used my hoodie, long pants, and socks. I then covered my face with my hands. The mosquitoes still annoyed me all night, waking me up and buzzing in or around my ears. I hated that hostel. When I woke up my hands were covered in bites at least 10 to a hand. It was very annoying.

We woke up at 7:00, unable to sleep anymore in the heat. We then waited around till about 9:00 for breakfast. The breakfast was simple Mediterranean food complete with the sweet tea, which i consumed in large quantities. After breakfast we went down to beach again to cool off. I forgot to mention, but on Thursday when we went down to the beach, JP happened to step on on some sea urchins. These are some very unfriendly creatures to step on as their long spikes hurt like hell. We weren't sure what to do, but this guy came along with his flute and bagged cotton candy and told us that we have to put cigarettes out on them, or else he has to go to the hospital. We thought he was shitting us, put he insisted on it, and even performed the process himself. I have video of it. Its actually hilarious. The guy wouldn't accept any payment and said that Allah would pay him. Nice guy.

Well at about 1 or so, Jameel showed us to take us to Wadi Rum desert. This is Jordan's other big attraction in the South and we spent the rest of the afternoon until sunset riding around in the back of a Toyota truck soaking in the sights, sun, and sand. It made me really miss my truck from back home. The Wadi Rum desert is where Lawrence of Arabia fought the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. The guide showed us where he kept his horses and where he stayed. Pretty sweet.

We got back for dinner and got dropped off in Akaba. We had eaten at the same restaurant for the last two nights and decided to change up to something new. However, the new experience we got wasn't the food but the ride back. Taxi's are pretty expensive and when you are traveling with 8 people you need more than one. So we went looking for a mini-bus which is the way to get around. However, the mini-bus driver we got was not what we expected when we got in. He seemed pretty nice at first, but then he offered us a cigarette that turned out to not be a the normal kind of cigarette. Luckily, none of us smoke, as this high was clearly smoking hash while driving. He was really having a good time and when we made it back to the hostel we wanted to break-dance on the beach. We gave him a fake-phone number and told him we would call him. He was one crazy guy, and I am happy that the car couldn't go to fast up the hills because of us.