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Colleen & Tom's Explorations
Awoke at 3.30am!!!! Not surprising. By the time the faithful had been called to prayer at 5am (through loudspeakers attached to the top of minarets adjoining their mosques) we were shaved, showered and shampooed!! We had a leisurely breakfast of the usual spanish omelete, pancakes and maple syrup, toast and local black coffee. Then we went back upstairs and Tom had a nap. When he awoke we wandered up the street and bought another phone card and rang our girls. It was great to talk to them all - we miss them.
After our chat we happily wandered off to the P.O. to post our 10 postcards and search for a liquor store. Couldn't find it. Not many Europeans on the streets. We wandered along past the little shops and a nice souvenir but the man wouldn't lower the price so we didn't buy more. We walked back up to the shop where we bought the girls bracelets (the little man recognised us and thought we'd forgotten him, we told him no, we'd bought the bracelets). I chose some bags for the girls and then admired a shawl - he immediately took 2d off the price and had to go out of the shop to get some change. When he eventually came back he offered us a seat and coffee, so we sat and chatted and drank their coffee (delivered by another man). It was lovely. When we emerged we could see that the QE2 was in - the passengers had descended upon the streets!! As we walked back to our hotel we stopped and chatted to some. The shuttle buses had dropped them at the Pizza Hut and some could barely walk.
We finished our packing and left our room at about 11.30am and then waited in the foyer. Jill (the owner) told us that the taxis were not allowed onto the dock area and that it was a long walk down from the front gates. We noticed that the shuttle buses were regular so at about 2.40 we left the Alcazar with the porter trundling our bags up the street. We boarded the shuttle bus and the driver unlocked the luggage doors so our porter could stow our bags. The bus took us all the way to the gangway.
We were an hour early but the crew didn't mind. They organised our luggage and our security passes immediately, then broke the news that our cabin had been reallocated. We hoped it would be as good as the one we had chosen. When we finally found it there was a bottle of champagne to welcome us, a note to apologise for the change of cabin, and a porthole to the outside world (we paupers had paid for an inside cabin!!). Our dinner sitting was still as 8.30 as originally requested. We had paid for an M4 cabin and were upgraded to an M1!! Wow!!! I immediately wanted to ring the girls but at $US12.50/min Tom said "No, tomorrow in Safaga". By now it was nearly 4pm so we put on a load of washing in the laundry and found afternoon tea in the Queen's lounge. Salmon sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, chocolate and coffee cake!! We then put our washing in the drier and got our life-jackets and proceeded to the yacht club with the 40 or so other people who had embarked at Aqaba (mostly Japanese) for our mandatory safety drill. Then to the pursers office to swap our 25 dinar for pounds.
Dinner tonight was informal - suit for Tom, evening slacks outfit for me, but first we watched our departure from Aqaba - we could see 3 countries as we left, and another was around the corner. Dinner was lovely - staff as caring and attentive as ever.
After our chat we happily wandered off to the P.O. to post our 10 postcards and search for a liquor store. Couldn't find it. Not many Europeans on the streets. We wandered along past the little shops and a nice souvenir but the man wouldn't lower the price so we didn't buy more. We walked back up to the shop where we bought the girls bracelets (the little man recognised us and thought we'd forgotten him, we told him no, we'd bought the bracelets). I chose some bags for the girls and then admired a shawl - he immediately took 2d off the price and had to go out of the shop to get some change. When he eventually came back he offered us a seat and coffee, so we sat and chatted and drank their coffee (delivered by another man). It was lovely. When we emerged we could see that the QE2 was in - the passengers had descended upon the streets!! As we walked back to our hotel we stopped and chatted to some. The shuttle buses had dropped them at the Pizza Hut and some could barely walk.
We finished our packing and left our room at about 11.30am and then waited in the foyer. Jill (the owner) told us that the taxis were not allowed onto the dock area and that it was a long walk down from the front gates. We noticed that the shuttle buses were regular so at about 2.40 we left the Alcazar with the porter trundling our bags up the street. We boarded the shuttle bus and the driver unlocked the luggage doors so our porter could stow our bags. The bus took us all the way to the gangway.
We were an hour early but the crew didn't mind. They organised our luggage and our security passes immediately, then broke the news that our cabin had been reallocated. We hoped it would be as good as the one we had chosen. When we finally found it there was a bottle of champagne to welcome us, a note to apologise for the change of cabin, and a porthole to the outside world (we paupers had paid for an inside cabin!!). Our dinner sitting was still as 8.30 as originally requested. We had paid for an M4 cabin and were upgraded to an M1!! Wow!!! I immediately wanted to ring the girls but at $US12.50/min Tom said "No, tomorrow in Safaga". By now it was nearly 4pm so we put on a load of washing in the laundry and found afternoon tea in the Queen's lounge. Salmon sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, chocolate and coffee cake!! We then put our washing in the drier and got our life-jackets and proceeded to the yacht club with the 40 or so other people who had embarked at Aqaba (mostly Japanese) for our mandatory safety drill. Then to the pursers office to swap our 25 dinar for pounds.
Dinner tonight was informal - suit for Tom, evening slacks outfit for me, but first we watched our departure from Aqaba - we could see 3 countries as we left, and another was around the corner. Dinner was lovely - staff as caring and attentive as ever.
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