GOA SUPER CUP

G.O.A SUPER CUP

ASSUMPTION DSA MEMORIAL 7 A SIDE TOURNAMENT

In a fitting tribute to a man who contributed most of his life to promoting soccer in Kuwait,  Goan Overseas Association conducted an one day football seven a side extravaganza in memory of late Assumption Dsa, one of the founder members of the club in Kuwait. The open tournament played on 29^th September at Al-Bayan grounds featured 24 teams and was won by Pasha Boys when they edged mighty Soccer Kerala 1-0 in the final.  Earlier, AVC B defeated Raia Boys 2-0 in the tie breaker to claim the third and fourth place respectively.

On a warm sunny day, Goan Overseas Association set the benchmark for organizing one day tournaments in Kuwait with all matches played on schedule with the support of IFRA (Indian Football Referees Association) and the participating team.  The 24 participating teams in the tournament were FC Dynamos, Soccer Kerala, Salcette United Goa, Don Bosco Oratory Blue, GOA Yellow, Xavierian Boys, Outcasts, Santos United M. P. Boys, 3 Kings Nagoa Verna, FC Mishreef, AVC A, AVC B, Pasha Boys, S.S.C, Amigos De Jardine, Don Bosco Oratory Red, Knight FC, Al Shabab FC, Raia Tigers, GOA Maroons, T.S.F.C, Capxem Boys and Curtorcares United.  

The tournament featured for the first time in Kuwait ‘Tie Breaker Shoot-out’ with teams having to use their skills to score from the center directly or with one bounce into the goal without a goalkeeper. Kick-in instead of throw-in also helped to make the games more competitive.  During a break after the quarter final matches, a Konkani comedy film CD of well-known Goan stage artiste Jose Fernandes ‘Mughe Zanvoim Tughe Sunn’ was released with the ribbon being cut by widely known personalities of the Goan Community in Kuwait.  A housie was also conducted and was won by Aveson Pereira.

On their way to the finals, eventual champions Pasha Boys the dark horses in this tournament overcame S.S.C, Amigos De Jardine, AVC A and Raia Tigers.  Joaquim who was the star player in the team was declared ‘Man of the Match’ and received his award from the hands of Raymond D’Sa the brother of late Assumption D’Sa, who flew in from Goa to grace the tournament.  The third and fourth place medals and trophies were given away by B M Viegas, Fidelis Fernandes, Suzan Pinto, Cleta Rodrigues and Rosario D’Sa.  The highest scorer of the tournament was won by Sarath of Soccer Kerala and he received his award from Michelle D’Souza.  Runners Up individual and team trophies were given away by Reji Rodrigues, Joe Pereira, Roland and Coretta D’Sa, while Zina Cardoso and Derrick Gomindes gave away the winners individual trophies.  The winner’s trophy was collected by the Captain of Pasha Boys, Datta from the hands of Julio Cardoso, Ian D’Souza, Joe Pereira and Steven Rodrigues, the executive committee members of G.O.A.

 

In his closing address, the president of Goan Overseas Association Julio Cardoso paid glowing tributes to late Assumption D’Sa and spoke about his dedication and love of the game.  He thanked the participating teams, the many sponsors, special invitees including the children and close family and friends of Assumption D’Sa who all graced the occasion, IFRA, the G.O.A Managing Committee and the ladies who managed the canteen. He also thanked the day’s   compere Remmie D’Souza who hosted the event brilliantly.

GOA MAROONS BID FAREWELL TO RAYMOND DSA

GOA MAROONS BID FAREWELL TO RAYMOND DSA

Goan Overseas Association – Kuwait (Goa Maroons) recently organized a farewell for our long serving president Raymond D’Sa at the Royal Terrasse Restaurant in Salmiya to felicitate and bid goodbye to an icon of the club as well as an important member of the Goan Community in Kuwait.

The well attended get-together with club members and their families, patrons, well-wishers of the club, and affiliates of Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF) featured farewell speeches by Ex KIFF presidents Fidelis Fernandes, and V. K Vohra.   Tony Alphonso the president of United Goans Center spoke about Raymond’s contribution to soccer and ended with a beautiful rendition of ‘May the good Lord bless and keep you’.

Others who spoke and paid glowing tributes to Raymond were his daughter Ivy Correa who traveled all the way from the US along with her daughter Megan, Charles D’Sa a local business man and patron of the club and Steven Correia the captain of Goa Maroons.  While receiving a memento from the Club, an emotional Raymond thanked the club and all his well-wishers for the support he received over the years.   In his farewell speech he remembered the good old days when he first came to Kuwait many many years ago…. 58 years to be precise.  He recalled the good times and the bad times and hoped that the Association would continue to be in the forefront of sports and social activities. 

They say parting is such sweet sorrow and although we will surely cross paths in Goa, where he plans to settle down with occasional trips to the United States to visit his children, I feel it is important to chronicle the timeline of this simple yet very influential and important man who contributed to the well-being of his family as well as others in Kuwait.

Kuwait 1958 - 2017

Those days, after the discovery of oil, Kuwait was just opening up and many Goans had already moved here.  Working in the Middle East was considered an achievement during that time and Raymond remembers distantly the well dressed, perfume smelling, foreign cigarette smoking neighbors and friends who came back on holidays and the decision to work in Kuwait was made quite easily.  Assumption used his influence with the Company he was working in, to get his visa and it arrived soon after by mail.  The journey to Kuwait took almost a month with Raymond first having to travel to Daman, Diu and then to Karachi by steamer to get an endorsement (term used those days), on the passport by a Political Agent as was required then.  The initial journey took seven days and he spent a further seven days in Karachi to get his visa formalities for Kuwait done.  The sea route to Kuwait lasted 14 days with ports of call in Muscat and Bahrain, and finally on the 7^th of October 1958 he arrived in Kuwait.

Staying with his brother Assumption, Raymond immediately got a job with Albert Abela Supermarket as an accountant thanks to a fellow Goan, Raymond D’Souza from Tivim.  He met D’Souza while playing soccer close to where they were staying near the Kharafi compound in Kuwait city. Reminiscing those good old days, he informed me that his starting salary was Rs.550/-(the currency in Kuwait those days was Rupees) and considered pretty good during that time.   Sports being one of his passions, having won quite a few accolades in school in athletics and soccer, Raymond remember the little mud ground they played on.  Incidentally, I too after my arrival to Kuwait in 1977 started playing football in Kuwait on the Kharafi grounds.

With not much else happening in Kuwait those days and having spare time in the evenings, Raymond who always wanted to do better, a trait he carries until today,  started sending out applications to different companies and Banks hoping to improve on his job position.  Working in a bank was always his dream even as a little child, and he remembers how he used to go with his mother to the Banco Nacional (Portuguese Bank)  and  look in awe at the employees working in the bank cashing out  bundles of notes to people.  His persistence to better his life instead of being stuck in one job, got him his big break and he was called for an interview at the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).   Those days, there were only two reputed banks in Kuwait, NBK and The British Bank of ME.  Under a mostly British management, Raymond was able to answer the interview and written test successfully and was called to work from the next day itself.  Starting salary was Rs.500/- plus 30% bonus paid every three months.  When I asked what did with his first salary?  “Sent it to my mother of course”  was his immediate response. 

Mary D’Sa and children

The greatest tragedy in Raymond’s life was the death of his wife Mary who passed away in 2012.  A very elegant and friendly person, Mary took ill all of a sudden in 2001 and although she did recover temporarily, she finally succumbed to cancer.  It was during these difficult times that the character of Raymond really came to the fore.  From countless trips to the hospital to follow up on her treatment to taking care of her when she was completely bedridden for over a year in his house.  This would have been a test for anyone, but Raymond handled it with great dignity and patience.  The love he shared with his wife and his family really shone during those testing times.

Where did you first meet Mary I inquired?  ‘Ours was a childhood friendship’ he informed me sheepishly.  Fair, observant and good looking, he went on to tell me how beautiful Mary was. They grew up in the same village, went to the same school as children, and their friendship grew and continued over the years.  They were married in 1964 and she joined him in Kuwait within a few months.

Their first child, Ivy was born in 1966 and after completing her schooling in Kuwait, she continued further studies in USA.  She is now happily married to Vincent Correia and they are blessed with three children and living in Portland.  Reynold was born in 1969 and he too pursued his studies in the US and today is doing well for himself and living close to Ivy.  Married to an American, they have one child.  Melanie the youngest and Raymond says with a twinkle in his eye, the naughty one who bears a striking resemblance to her mother, is also in Austin Texas and is married with two children.

Invasion of Kuwait and thereafter

When Kuwait was invaded on 2^nd August 1990, Ivy and her husband Vincent were in the US on their honeymoon and Reynold was studying in New York.  Melanie remained with them in Kuwait and the three of them took the long hazardous journey to India via Baghdad, no man’s land and Amman like most other Indians in Kuwait that time.  Recalling one of his most frightful incidents while in Kuwait during the invasion, Raymond informed me that he and Mary had been to a friend’s house in Jabriya, when some men surrounded them and one of them put a gun to his chest and told him to leave his car and go.  Without arguing, he left the car in their possession and hastily left the place with Mary.  I was startled when he informed me that he continued to work in the Bank during the invasion until the day they quietly left without informing along with the rest of their close family members.

In November 1990, after spending a couple of months in Goa where Melanie went to St. Mary’s Convent in Mapusa, Raymond got a call from the bank to travel to New York to work in the NBK branch there.  Already having a US visa as his children studied there,  he departed immediately and worked for six months in New York and a month in London,  until his return to Kuwait in June 1991 after liberation.  One of the reasons, NBK valued his service was the fact that he had a very strong memory and was aware of many functions of his department which was an asset to the management.  Since then, he continued working in the bank until the day he retired, 30^th March 2017, holding the position of Asst. General Manager in the department he worked.

Goan Overseas Association / Goa Maroons and the community

Goan Overseas Association was founded in 1979 when the first United Goans Tournament was organized.  A few like-minded Goans from Bardez (mostly ex-students from St. Joseph’s Arpora)  including Dominic Correia, Assumption D’Sa, Peter D’Souza, Pascoal Soares, John Felix, Gabrial Soares  and Veronica Fernandes who was part of the Salmiya Youth team  decided to form their own soccer team and  Raymond remembers that it was Veronica who proposed the name of G.O.A (Goan Overseas Association) for the team.  Raymond was elected President and the team was made up of mostly players from the Salmiya Youth team and others.  G.O.A had so many players, that the club fielded three teams, Goa Maroons, Goa White and Goa Green, with Goa Maroons having the most senior and valuable players.  The first major trophy won by G.O.A was the famous ‘Forest of Dean’ trophy organized by Hubara Club and featuring teams from different nationalities and played in Ahmadi.

G.O.A played United Goans Centre in the finals of this prestigious tournament after beating Jabriya Aces (mostly Britishers), while United Goans Centre also beat the powerful Hubara Club (Britishers & Kuwaitis) in the semifinals.  Incidentally, I played in this tournament for United Goans Centre and so distinctly remember that it was easily the best attended final by two Indian teams in Kuwait.  G.O.A went on to lift the Forest of Dean trophy winning the final in the tie breaker.

In 1983 Kuwait Indian Football Federation  (KIFF) was formed, and G.O.A’s senior team ‘Goa Maroons’ went on to win numerous tournaments under his president-ship of Raymond and today is considered one of the best Indian soccer teams in Kuwait. 

Over the years he has been a great champion of Indian Soccer in Kuwait and in his usual demeanor he has financially helped other clubs, people in distress and the community whenever the need arose. 

 

Moving on

77 now, and in sound health, Raymond is a health freak.   Regularly visiting the doctor and following up on his diet and exercise, he has maintained good health and fitness.  When I inquired what will be his future plans, he replied ‘No plans as such’ but certainly will not venture into any business.  He plans to spend this time shuttling to the States to visit his children and doing community service in his village in Nagoa where he hopes to support youngsters and promote soccer.

After living 58 fruitful years in Kuwait and having done his bit to the community, the next part of his journey I am sure will be as fulfilling,  Here’s wishing him all the very best in life.

Julio Cardoso

Kuwait

12/6/2017

JORDAN HOLIDAY

JORDAN HOLIDAY 

23^rd February to 26^th February 2017

When the thought of doing something during the three days National and Liberation day weekend came to my mind, the first place I thought of was Dubai.  When I put it up to the family in the comfort of our living room, two other names came up, Georgia which is located somewhere between Turkey, Armenia and Russia and quite a hot destination and the other one being  Jordan.  Yesssssss Jordan!!!!!

Having been already on my bucket list for some time, it was easy selling Jordan to my adventurous family and everyone was unanimous in wanting to swim in the Dead Sea, exploring Wadi Rum and of course visiting Petra which is listed as one of the 7 wonders of the modern world. 

The next step was doing research on flights, weather, visas, hotels and sightseeing and we decided that instead of breaking our heads over  it we should contact a travel agency in Kuwait to prepare an itinerary for us, keeping our requirements in mind.  I am so very glad we made this decision, as we were able to get an extremely affordable package through  Connel Fernandes, who is a Business Travel Executive with Jumbo Travels (Tel: 22581609 connel.fernandes@jumbotravels.com.)  Connel is a good friend of my friend Everest, and after exchanging like a hundred emails,  flooding him with inquiries, questions and add-ons which he graciously provided without complaining, we finalized our itinerary as below:-

23/2/2017 (Thu) Day One – Arrive in Amman by Royal Jordanian (evening 6:00pm flight from Kuwait) – check into hotel (3/4 star)

24/2/2017 (Fri) Day Two – Sightseeing in Amman – day tour pre-arranged to cover important places in Amman.  Travel to Petra in the evening by road.  Check into Petra hotel (4 star) close to monuments.

25/2/ 2017 (Sat) Day Three – Sightseeing in Petra – day tour pre-arranged – including dinner desert safari to Wadi Rum.

26/2/2017 (Sun) Day Four – Check out of hotel and travel to Dead Sea.  Spend some time at Dead Sea and travel to airport for late night return flight to Kuwait by Royal Jordanian Airlines.

Cost of the above trip including air fares, transportation from and to Airport, hotels with breakfast, sightseeing with an English speaking guide on all days, assistance at airport upon arrival, and sightseeing tickets,  worked out to KD.208/- (USD.685/-) per head which seemed relatively reasonable and we immediately confirmed the package.

My friend, Everest (Evra), his wife Larissa, sister in law Lydia, my daughter’s friend Alzeena and a close friend  Bernard (Bernie) from Qatar  decided to join us as well and including the five of us ( my wife Zinia, my daughter Valerie and Amanda and her husband Mikhail)  we were a total of ten  in the traveling party.

Our Group

 23/2/2017 (Thu) Day One

Traveling for the first time on Royal Jordanian, check in at Kuwait Airport was quick and we were pleasantly surprised on boarding the well maintained Royal Jordanian aircraft with good legroom, friendly flight attendants, decent meal and on-board entertainment.  The flight to Amman takes about 2 hours and we arrived right on schedule.

Indian passport holders are eligible for visa on arrival in  Jordan provided they carry all the necessary documents.  Visa at the airport costs JD.40/- but we did not have to buy the visas as we traveled on a tourist collective visa prepared by our tour agent United Travel Agency www.uta.com.jo in Jordan and it also meant visa fees were waved off.  This is a special feature Jordan has for guests arriving on tours through their own agents in Jordan.  Also we did not have to stand in queue for immigration, rather our meet and assist person collected our Passports and instructed us to go directly to the baggage claims and he did the immigration formalities on our behalf.  After the mandatory stop at the Amman Duty Free where we could choose from a reasonable selection of alcohol (of course not like Dubai),  we decided to greedily fill our trolleys with Grey Goose, Chivas, Bacardi , some wines and beers and then  breezed through customs  without a hitch.  As per Jordanian custom regulations, each person is allowed to carry only 1 liter of alcohol into the Country.    Once outside, we were quickly bundled into a waiting mini bus and driven to our hotel ‘Belle Vue  Amman’  http://www.bellevue-hotels.com/  which is in the heart of the city.  Upon arrival at the hotel, we were informed that dinner was complimentary the first night, courtesy our tour company.  While waiting for our meal to be laid out, they even let us open our duty free booty and enjoy a few ‘one for the way’ shots.

Since it was only about 10:00pm and nobody in the mood to hit the pillow, we decided to take a walk on Rainbow Street which was just about 10 minutes walking distance from our hotel and a popular place for locals and tourists to hang out.   Rainbow Street is full of restaurants and shops and on the weekends it’s the place to be.  Since it was late and most of the restaurants and shops were already closing, we treated ourselves to some ice-cream and the best knefah (from Nafisa Sweets) we had ever eaten. 

Monkeying around on Rainbow Street

24/2/2017 (Fri) Day Two

We got to meet our guide Ali for the first time today.  After a decent breakfast, we assembled in the lobby and he introduced himself to us as our guide and friend  for the rest of our trip.  Ali and our group hit it off almost immediately from the very moment we set eyes on him.  A Jordanian national with an excellent command of the English language, Ali reminded me of Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and as he  told us later,  one of the Indiana Jones movies was in fact filmed in Al Khazneh in Petra.   Six feet one, medium built and good looking, Ali became such a friend that parting at Amman Airport while departing Jordan was pretty sentimental for all of us, but more about that later.

There are two sides to Amman as Ali explained to us, the modern city and the old town.  There are also the well to do urban Jordanians who live on the hillside (they call it the Beverley Hills of Amman) and downtown where the poorer class live.  Jordan he explained to us is mostly dependent on tourism, medical facilities, colleges and other service industries.   Although an Arab Country, Jordan felt like any pretty European city, clean and well maintained.  Tourism is their mainstay, but as Ali informed us, after the Arab Spring revolution, it’s only a trickle now and hurting the economy. 

   

Our first stop was to see the King Abdulla Mosque which is only a stone throw away from an Orthodox church, and perfectly justifying the peaceful coexistence of Muslims and other religions in this wonderful country.    Next stop, Amman’s Roman Theatre built in the 2^nd century and truly a beautiful landmark.  Ali explained how in olden days without the use of microphones the romans used architecture to echo what was spoken for audience sitting far away to hear.  After a quick stop at the Jordan Archaeological Museum to see artifacts from prehistoric times, we trudged to the Amman Citadel.  This hilltop location boasted of ancient civilizations including the Romans and offered a classic and panoramic view of Amman city.

King Abdulla Mosque with church in background

The Roman theater

At the Citadel 

We then got into our mini bus for the journey to the historical city of Petra which is approximately 230 km from Amman and takes about 3 hours with a stopover for lunch in between.  A word about our chubby and friendly driver Mohammed who was very accommodating and never got  irritated to stop and  allow us loo breaks, pit stops for picking up groceries and local Jordanian Arak.   While in the mountains, he even stopped the bus and watched in amusement as some of us got to touch snow for the very first time.  Being February, the weather was quite chilly and the snow had just started melting in the mountains making it  a sight to behold.

snow in the mountains

We arrived into Petra at around 4:00pm and immediately checked into Edom Hotel http://www.edomhotelpetra.com/  which is just about five minutes’ walk away from the Ancient city.  Petra is the most visited tourist attraction in Jordan and considered one of the places in the world to see before you die.  For dinner, Ali took us to a local restaurant where we got to try the famous Jordanian dish ‘Mansaf’.  Mansaf is a traditional dish made of lamb cooked in yogurt and served with rice.  Needless to say, the dish was delicious with the restaurant owner himself waiting on us and explaining the history and the etiquette of eating it.  The meat was soft, tender and falling off the bone and served on a large tray with everyone sharing from it.  The restaurant owner explained to us that it is the national dish of Jordan and served at all important events and functions.  

Mansaf Dinner

After dinner, we spend some time shopping for gifts  in the little souvenir shops that dot the area and after a night cap, settled in for the night expectantly looking forward to the next day when we would finally see the Khazneh (Treasury) and the unique rock formations  leading to it.

25/2/2017 (Sat) Day Three

Everyone was up early, as Ali had informed us the previous evening that visiting the Khazneh involved a lot of walking and the earlier we left, the better it would be to beat the sun.  Since our trip cost included tickets to all important sites, entry was quick and we had a choice of either riding a donkey to the site or walking.  We preferred the latter, not only to take  in the views, but out of respect for the donkeys as well. 

The entrance to the ancient city of Petra is an awe-inspiring, jaw dropping experience that none of us will ever forget.  The place has to be seen to be believed, and with Ali giving us a full running commentary, the 40 minutes’ walk through the narrow gorge, flanked on either side by huge soaring cliffs (known as the Siq) was truly breath taking.  Petra he informed us was an important stop over for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and other European countries and the civilization was over 2000 years old.  The Khazneh (Treasury) itself is a huge red/pink architectural wonder that has been carved from a single rock and one can keep gazing at this monument in awe.  Other interesting sights here were the tombs in the rocks, the roman style theatre, obelisks, temples and sacrificial alters.  There is also a Monastery which the younger members in our group ventured as it meant climbing about 800 steps.

The walk back to the entrance (starting point) can be quite tiring, but we had the choice of either taking a horse chariot or riding a donkey for a small fee.   The weather being quite pleasant, we decided to walk back.  For anyone planning a trip to Petra between May and August, the summer heat may not be as forgiving.  Tired, we stopped by a local restaurant close to our hotel for a light afternoon meal as Ali had specifically instructed us to remain starved for the grand buffet dinner at Wadi Rum which we would be traveling to in the evening.

Lunch at Sand Stone Restaurant

If you have seen the movie ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ or the  recently released ‘The Martian’ The movie was filmed almost entirely in Wadi Rum depicting the great landscape of this magnificent valley as the surface of Mars  with its classic red cliffs and vast deserts.  The drive from Petra to Wadi Rum takes about one and half hour (105km) and as part of our tour itinerary we had a dinner reservation at the Sun City Camp  www.suncitycamp.com   which is located in the heart of the Valley and surrounded with majestic sandstone and granite mountain carvings.  We arrived there at 6:00pm and the highlight of the evening was a Bedouin dinner of rice, lamb, chicken and vegetables cooked in an underground oven .  The ceremony of unearthing the sand covered oven and getting the first whiff of tenderly cooked lamb was something we will never forget.    After dinner we spent a couple of hours under the stars having Arabic coffee and shisha, and then it was back to the hotel.

Dinner at Sun City Camp , Wadi Rum

26/2/2017 (Sun) Day Four

Today we got up feeling sad and excited, sad that it was our last day in Jordan, but excited that we will be visiting the Dead Sea before leaving for the airport.     The previous evening while googling  the route to the dead sea from Petra  which is approximately 137 km (about 2 hours journey) I noticed that the baptism site of Jesus was only about 18km from the dead sea and  immediately discussed with Ali and Mohammed if they would be able to take a diversion for us to visit this important site in our religion.  Since it was not originally included in our itinerary, Ali said he would check with the Tour Company and advise us the additional cost the next day.  The first thing Ali informed us after we met him in the lobby after breakfast was that the Tour Company had given the go ahead for the detour to Baptismal site and the good news was that it would not cost us anything extra.  This we found was something extraordinary and it was an experience we felt during the entire trip.  Nobody ever tried to fleece us, be it at the hotels we stayed, the restaurants we ate at or the souvenir shops.    Ali had further good news for us that we could have a buffet lunch at the Holiday Inn Dead Sea Resort where we were to spend the afternoon as day guests, for just an additional sum of USD.8/- per head, which we immediately agreed to.

We left at 9:00am sharp for the Baptismal site and Dead Sea and on our way passed through wonderful Jordanian countryside with pretty picturesque landscapes, vast valleys and scattered little homes dotting the road on either side but hardly any crowded towns.

A deep sense of peace and quiet greeted us as we passed through the Jordanian checkpoint to enter the Baptismal site.  After getting our entry tickets, and as we trudged through the sand and mud cobbled pathway, we realized that we were actually walking through the land Jesus walked and was baptized.  New churches and the ruins of old ones greeted us, demonstrating how every sect of Christianity wanted to make their presence felt here.  The baptismal site itself is a little spring with the River Jordan having changed its course over the years and we spent some quality time here reminiscing and praying.  The river Jordan itself felt a little disappointing as we had imagined it to be a large flowing river, but what it actually is a little rivulet with Jordan on the east side and Israel on opposite.  It was strange to see Jordan and Israel divided by a little river and tourists from this side of the river greeting Israelis on the other.  The visit to the baptismal site is indeed a moving experience, not to be missed when planning your tour of Jordan.  

the place where Jesus was baptized 

Dipping our feet in the river Jordan

The other side is israel

We then continued our journey to the Holiday Inn Dead Sea Resort, www.holidayinnresorts.com/DeadSea  which was about 20 minutes away.   As day guests at the hotel, our itinerary included  use of  their facilities including changing rooms, towels , pool and a private dead sea swimming area.  Since it was already around 1:30pm we decided to have lunch first before venturing into the sea.   All the staff at the resort were friendly and welcoming and even assisted us with the mud body mask.   The Dead Sea our guide explained to us is different from other seas due to its high concentrations of salts and minerals and it is known to have numerous health benefits.  Floating in the Dead Sea is a unique experience owing to the fact that it’s impossible to sink.  Being February the water was very cold, but none of us wanted to miss this once in a lifetime experience.  As per the hotel staff recommendations, one has to spend 10 minutes in the water, than cover yourself  in mud and stay out of the water until it dries and then wash off for another 10 minutes.  The water is so salty, that if it gets in your eyes, they will burn.

floating in the Dead Sea

glorious sunset in the dead sea

Since our return flight to Kuwait was at 10pm in the night, we spent the rest of our time relaxing by the beautiful hotel pool overlooking the Dead Sea, and enjoyed one of the  most beautiful sunset, and as it slowly got dark and we realized it was time to leave.

The distance from the Dead Sea to Queen Alia airport was about 52 km and we covered it in about 40 minutes.   Saying goodbye to our new friends Mohammed the driver and Ali our guide was not easy.  Somehow during the three days we spent in their company, we all had become  close, sharing jokes, family life, discussing politics, religion, and just bonding.  Ali too shared the same sentiments, and felt that ours was a unique family group he handled as a guide in his many years as a tour facilitator.

Farewell time... with Ali and Mohammad (second from right)

Yes indeed, ours was a special group.  When Evra, his wife Larissa and her sister Lydia first decided to join us, we were not sure how things would work out as although they are good friends, we had never done an overseas trip together.  However, things just worked out perfect, and the group jelled right from the word go.  Evra, was of course our man Friday, taking care of all the little nitty gritty requirements, preparing the mixes we enjoyed in the hotel and bus, cracking the silliest of jokes and keeping everyone entertained throughout the trip.  During the long journeys from Amman to Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, he made sure the refills kept coming to keep us in high spirits.  Larissa his wife, is such an unassuming person, and was game for whatever we wanted to do.  Lydia was our part time navigator, and although not a chatter box, she was great company. 

Lydia

Evra and Larissa

When Amanda told me that her friend Alzeena would also like to join us on the trip, I was a bit apprehensive as she is such a fun and witty person but would she be able to keep up with the early morning schedules?  Well, she did keep up and was super company, keeping us entertained with her wit and constant badgering with our driver Mohammad.

Alzeena (right.. duh)

Last but not the least, Bernie our friend from Qatar who has been with us on numerous adventures before, is a gem of a person.  Kind, friendly and patient, he is game for any adventure, and was our live entertainer during the entire trip.  His rendition of ‘I did it my way’ echoing in the Siq at Petra amidst the gorge still gives me Goosebumps. 

Captain Bernie

Over the years I have traveled to many parts of the world and have had some wonderful holidays, and I can confidently say, the trip to Jordan is right up there among the best.

As the words of the song Bernie sang in the Petra Valley still ring in my ear…

I planned each charted course

Each careful step along the byway

And more, much more than this

I did it mmmyyyyyyyy way.

Julio Cardoso

Kuwait

ghatki@yahoo.com

Tel: 00965 99519439