Do you know what is so great about Aqaba ferry terminal ? Nothing. Its a huge, noisy concrete monstrosity with bright lights, big lorries moving 24 hours a day and a horrendous PA system. So here I am, lying in my tent next to some roadworks, deep in the heart of Aqaba ferry terminal car park enjoying the space and blog writing. Its been yet another long hard day.

Last night, after finally finding Petra, we stayed in a hotel. Well, in the car park. I pitched tent in front of the bus. All the others slept on board. The price we paid included use of swimming pool and also a large empty room. We set up the table and seats and had a proper sit down meal, a chilli con carne, washed down with a cheeky Serbian cooking wine. I don't know who bought it but I wish they had just gone with straight vinegar.

I hoped to rise early to beat the crowds in to Petra, but in the end I was woken up by others and we set off at 9am.

The site itself is a huge one. Its a 15 minute walk to the narrow gulley called 'The Siq'. After a further 15 minutes you emerge to see pillars and a collosal door carved out of the sandstone cliff. If you have watched the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you have seen The Treasury at Petra. Its an awesome sight. Charli had not been feeling good now decided to return to the bus. Bill galliantly offered to go with her.

The ruins at Petra are awesome. Well over 2000 years old and in various stages of disrepair as the ornate sandstone carvings have been weathered over time.

Just after noon we started the long, hot walk up to 'The High Place'. It is aptly named and has a 1km vertical drop and stunning desert views as well as The Monastry, another collosal carved building.

By 3pm we were back at the bus, hot, dusty and hungry.

We took the Kings Highway south and my heart sank as once more we were ascending and descending steep slopes. Luckily this didn't last for long. We had no idea when the ferry leaves Aqaba so we made our way direct to the ferry port, battling through huge queues of lorries. I left the bus in the queue to wander up to ask for some information, to be confronted by 4 men on mats in the road bowing and praying in my direction. I was flattered until I realised I was approaching from the direction of Mecca.

After discovering that the ferry leaves at 1am we nipped in to Aqaba for some money and returned. I was then told as we bought thw tickets that it will leave at 10am. Hence I'm lying here in my tent in one of the least pleasant camping spots I've ever been in. I guess the inside of the tent looks the same though wherever you put it.

The trip is not all sunshine and roses at the moment. There are a few personnel issues that I won't discuss on here but stress levels are high and we are trying to resolve them. We will need to work as a team to get the bus to Ethiopia. I hope we can do, it will be a lot of hard work down the pan if we can't.