Jeep Ride through Wadi Rum, Snorkeling in Aqaba, and Baptism Site of Jesus

I had a lot to fit into my final day in Jordan.  First, I took a jeep ride through the desert at Wadi Rum.

Desert

Wadi Rum

I made it to the top of the sand dune!

My shadow came along, too.

Tea at a Bedouin Camp

Fellow Tea Drinkers.
The tea is really good, it's mostly sage,.

Petroglyphs in the Desert

Lawrence of Arabia

This was where Lawrence of Arabia camped.

More Tea at Lawrence's Camp

Me at Lawrence's Camp--the rock I'm standing by is where his
picture is carved into the stone.

 After wandering through the desert all morning, it's time for a dip in the Red Sea!  I was the only person on this glass bottomed boat (other than the young pervert boat captain).

The view through the glass bottom was not that great.

The water was really clear, but with the ripples, it was still a bit hard to see anything,  so....

...I jumped in and went snorkeling!

 It took me a while to get the hang of breathing through the snorkel, but when I did, it was great!!  There were so many colorful fish and coral to enjoy as I swam along.  I wish I had an underwater camera to share them with you!  Since it was my first time to snorkel (and I really didn't know I was going to do this until I heard about it a couple of days before) I didn't come prepared.

Gulf of Aqaba

 Next I went to one of the places I had really been looking forward to, the Baptism Site of Jesus.

There are lots of different churches at the Baptism Site.

Me at John the Baptist's Spring

This is the actual site of Jesus' Baptism.  The Jordan River has changed
it's course over the years and now runs a little to the right of this photo.

This is where the Jordan runs today.

Seeing the doves there reminded me of Matthew 3:16


"And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him."

Church of John the Baptist Interior

Church of John the Baptist Exterior

 My last stop in Jordan was for a swim in the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea.  I did the mud thing again, but this time had no one to take photos, so you'll just have to trust me on this.

Goodbye, Jordan!  It's been great!