After leaving Wadi Dana, we took a bus to Tafila, the town closest to the reserve. We needed a bus station to shuttle us out to different places. Some of us were going to Aqaba, others to Al- Karak, and the rest back to Amman. Five of us headed on a bus to Aqaba, which was a 3 hour ride. My roommate Andrea and I had been planning to head to Palestine right after Wadi Dana, and enter Isreal through Aqaba. The problem was borders close at certain times and we still weren’t sure how it worked. So we decided to stay the night in Aqaba, go to the beach, charge our phones, and get a good nights sleep before trekking into Isreal then Palestine.
We went to a resort, right on the Red Sea called Berenice (from english translation Very Nice) and enjoyed the evening there. One of the Fulbrighters that had arrived at the resort before the Wadi Dana crew, warned us about walking into the shallow end of the beach due to sea urchins. I did not want to get pricked, so we jumped in from the dock instead and swam in the deep end. Andrea, my roommate, came into the water with some goggles she had bought just entering the resort. I didn’t think much of it, but she started swimming and offered the goggles so I could check out the water. 
To my incredible surprise, I put them on, and it was as if I was watching the Discovery Channel!!! The water was crystal clear, and you could see fish swimming underneath coral reefs, with yellows and oranges all around me. I quickly jumped up at such a surprising sight, I did not expect such a beautiful sight at all! I kept dipping my head, freaking out, and dipping my head for more. As soon as I got over the initial shock, the looked over and a school of fish were swimming elegantly near the dock. My roommate told me to swim through them, so I swam towards the fish, and they very respectfully parted so I could swim between them. It was so surreal to be swimming in the Red Sea, watching over the sunset, looking over to Israel, as I was swimming over this magnificent coral reef underneath me. I wish I had a waterproof camera to have captured the sight, but alas, I did not.
THIS IS NOT MY PHOTO, its from google. BUT, I just want to put into perspective my immense surprise of looking into the sea and seeing this….!!!!
The only downside to Aqaba was the amount of street harassment present. It was 8 of us Fulbrighters, and we kept getting yelled at by men profanity, or incessant “hello,” and just constant staring as we walked down the streets. And it was odd because Aqaba invites a lot of tourism. Imagine walking down one of the touristy streets of Virginia Beach, near the water, lots of people outside, and definitely not the first tourists they have seen. I have not experienced this in Amman, and I am so happy Amman is not like this. But overall, Aqaba’s main focus was accidentally finding a coral reef under my feet. And just with that in itself, fills me up with utter happiness.
The next morning, my roommate and I started our journey to Palestine…(to be continued in next post).