By far the biggest and most impressive surprise of my whole trip to Jordan ended up being the Red Sea. Whenever there’s an option to go on a boat for a day, you’ll find me on it. There’s something so perfect about being on the open water, enjoying the quiet and solitude.
There only ended up being about 6 people on this massive yacht that we went on, which was amazing. Part of the trip included snorkeling as an option, which is one of my favorite things to do, but I looked at the water, which was pretty but didn’t look like much, and reminded myself that I was very sick and it was probably best to just stay on the boat.
One of the men who worked the boat and happened to be the snorkeling guide kept trying to convince me to go, and I kept pushing back. “Well, what kind of fish are even down there?” I asked. He walked away and returned with this massive book that featured illustrations straight from the 1980s–it did nothing for me. But as he paged through more and more, he kept telling me, “and you can see this. And this. And this.” And I thought, why not? When am I going to be here again to snorkel?
So I went below deck, changed into my suit, and returned ready to go. And honestly, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I could also kick myself for not having brought my underwater camera housing. Who knew what lived under there?!
The guide took us for a quick jaunt around to see the coral and some of the fish, than free-dived down to grab a puffer fish, which was normal sized until he grabbed it, then it blew up to balloon sized as he passed it around to several people before letting it go, where it returned to its normal size. Then he got a sea urchin for us to hold as well, before returning it to its spot on the ocean floor. I was so in awe of how clear the water was and how bright everything was below the surface. I never would’ve guessed it by boating along, but it was some of the most stunning snorkeling I’ve ever done.
Back on the boat, the rest of the afternoon was spent listening to music, munching on some snacks, and enjoying the views. Were we looking at Egypt, Israel, Jordan, or Saudi Arabia? Didn’t matter–it was gorgeous. It was by far one of the best ways to end my trip to Jordan.
