Crossing the Red Sea

If anyone reading this is planning to travel from Egypt to Jordan, I offer this advice: TAKE A PLANE.

There are two boats that connect Nuweiba, Egypt to Aqaba, Jordan. The fast, passenger-only ferry leaves every afternoon at 3:30, and (reportedly) takes an hour. The slower car ferry leaves every afternoon at 3:00, and (reportedly) takes two and a half hours. The fast ferry costs about $10 more.

I arrived at the ticket office with the amount that my guidebook, the sign in the ticket office, and multiple individuals had told me I needed to buy a ticket for the fast ferry. Apparently, the price had recently increased, and I was stuck with a ticket for the slow ferry. I insisted that I would go get more money, but the clerk refused to exchange my ticket. "Is just as good as fast ferry, gets in same time." I met two cool women who would also be taking the slow ferry, and I resigned myself to the extra hour of travel. I wolfed down some lunch and began my own epic journey across the Red Sea:

12:00 pm: Entered departure complex terminal for customs

1:00: Exited terminal, boarded bus to dock

1:45: Left bus, boarded boat

5:00: Boat left port (ahead of the fast ferry)

10:00: Boat docked in Aqaba

11:00: Left Jordan customs

I don't know how long it took my ancestors to cross the Red Sea by foot, but I'm pretty sure I could have walked or swam faster than that ferry.

The journey would have been completely unbearable if I hadn't met two amazing women on the dock who allowed me to hang out with them on the boat. Sarah, 30, is a former marine captain who has lived in Japan and Thailand and is the toughest negotiator I have ever seen. Friedl, 21, was born in South Africa and had traveled extensively throughout Asia and South America. We hit it off immediately and had a great chat between out intermittent wails of "Are we there yet?"