“Are You Inviting Us To Lunch?” the Captain asked!
By Tala Bassam Momani
One of the most fun things I’ve ever done is kayaking off the shores of Aqaba in the South of Jordan on the Red Sea; I went there not long ago with a friend of mine. We started paddling out to sea, bobbing up and down with the waves and fighting against the current that kept trying to push us back to shore. Seeing a tour boat in the distance we decided to paddle towards it and say hello to the people on board. Easier said than done! After a back-breaking 20 mintes of non-stop paddling we arrived, too breathless to say anything! The Captain and his crew waved down to us and said ‘Are you inviting us to lunch?’. At that particluar moment I had no idea what they meant by that. But after deciding that we’d had enough of kayaking for the day, we clambered aboard the boat (with the Capatin’s permission) and dragged our kayaks on board for the trip back to terra firma. It was one of the crew that later explained to me the meaning of the Captain’s words: apparently fish have a habit of congregating around boats and ships and the fishermen in Aqaba have an agreement with the ship and boat crews there – in exchange for one third of their catch the fishermen are allowed the opportunity to fish around the ships and bigger boats. You learn something new everyday. In any case, I’m afraid lunch was on the Captain!
ya3ni el mohem akalto sea food yomeet-ha ?? haha
nothing better than fresh fish meal!!
Intresting pictures, i remember i saw this tank 10 years ago somewhere in aqaba with the tradational glass boat.
next time you could see it while you scuba dive!!