Day 11

As the days of this trip have gotten better and better, it was no surprise that today was ridiculous.  In a really good way.  This has been most diverse experience, ever.  From eating powerbars and hitting the road early in a bus across Jordan, seeing ancient things, talking to Rabbis, having tea with bedouins, and now a restful and lavish day at the Three Corners Resort in Taba, Egypt.  It has been go, go for a long time.  Now we get to take a break.

We started out of Petra at 6 AM this morning.  Sam, Weston, and I forgot to get up and were woken by Tim saying we had two minutes to be on the bus that was already parked outside.  We got ready to go very, very fast.  We ate oranges, bananas, and apples on the road.  The bus driver was falling asleep.  That was really scary.  My dad, Tim, and Dan were huddled around him trying to ask him questions to keep him awake, even though he didn't speak English.

He took us to Aqaba, Jordan and dropped us off.  We took 5 taxis to the Jordan/Israel border.  My driver was very friendly and animated.  He sang to us too.  I like him a lot, so decided to help tip him.  He thought the two dollars I was handing him was his entire pay, so he got mad for a second.

It was easy to get through the customs to Eilat, Israel.  A new set of taxis to us to the Israel/Egypt border only a few minutes from there.  Aqaba in Jordan, Eilat in Israel, and Taba in Egypt are close together.  All three borders are together on the Red Sea.  Within about an hour we had gone through three countries.  When we crossed into Taba, Tim's friend Elie met us at the border.  He owns two hotels in Cairo and got us an all inclusive deal for the resort in Taba, including the bus rides.  It was very cheap because the hotels and tourism industry in Egypt is hurting very badly.  People simply don't come to Egypt anymore.  We are for sure the only Americans here.  Mostly British and Polish people.  Everyone is scared of terrorism but there is great security around the perimeter of the resort area.   I have never been to a place this nice.  The staff is very happy to see us here.  They jumped up to take our bags.  Sam, Weston, and I have a room.  It is very nice room, and has a balcony overlooking the pool and the Red Sea.

Lunch was incredible.

 We decided to be lazy for a while...

..and then to go snorkeling in the Red Sea.  Sam, Weston, Amy, Rachel, Liz, and I.  It was only 10 bucks.  There were lots of Jellyfish and some blowfish.  Sam and Liz saw a stingray.

When we came back to the resort we had lots of free soda, and a dinner on the patio.  We could see the lights from Saudi Arabia on the other side of the Red Sea.

After that the entire group had a devo on the patio.  It was beautiful, and a great time of fellowship and worship.  We talked about how we have grown closer on this trip, and we shared communion.

To be having tea with a bedouin family yesterday, and then laying around at a resort today, I don't really know what to think about it.  It feels wrong in a way.  A break is really nice, though, after so much energy expenditure.  Fast paced trips are my favorite, but today was great to even things out.

I got to talk to Laura Acuff for a while tonight.  It was really cool because I have known her my whole life but never sat down and talked with her.  She is very insightful, and one of a kind.  A fantastic person.  I got to bounce ideas around about marriage and family because she wants to be a therapist.  I am very interested in that subject, so it was a good talk.  I got to talk to Weston and Lanette after that!  Yay, what a day.