We were up early again because although today’s flying was much shorter than yesterdays, we were keen to see something of Rhodes so planned to stay overnight there with more sightseeing planned for the following morning. Of course as we moved westwards, we also gained an extra hour each day.
The flight Aqaba to Rhodes went smoothly; initially there was the dog leg to avoid Israeli airspace but this time shortened usefully by Cairo ATC, then a long track over the Sinai peninsular followed by an even longer track over the Mediterranean, talking first to Cairo, then Nicosia and finally Athenae ATC. Listening to the ‘Today” programme on Radio 4 shortly after my return, I learnt that at ground level, Sinai was largely lawless and any wandering Europeans there would be captured and held for ransom or even worse! Fortunately Juliet B’s engine did not miss a beat.
As usual Phil beat us to it but unlike on the way out, Phil tended to cruise at our flight levels (usually FL120) as the headwinds increased the higher he went. We refuelled and took a taxi into town for a relaxed wander around and a search for a good restaurant for the evening – not so easy in the quiet season when nearly everything is shut.
Aqaba to Rhodes: 557 nm in 4 hours 20 min.