Docked in Aqaba where most of the passengers were bussed for a visit to Petra. Since I went there last year, I chose to take a 4x4 ride into the vast desert known as Wadi Rum. So I boarded a Bedouin vehicle with five others for an exciting trip into a landscape containing huge abrupt mountainous masses arising from the valley floor. These were geologic formations of granite topped with sandstone, all of which had been part of an ocean floor eons ago. We were served mint tea brewed over an impromptu fire en route and then a cup of Turkish coffee with cardamom as our journey ended. We had a very pleasant day with a very tolerable temperature. It was one of the highlights of my cruise. There were three vehicles and 18 of us on the trip.