Jordan- Petra/Wadi Rum

I'm really hoping to not forget anything from the weekend, so this post hopefully will be extremely long.

So after we got our apartments reviewed, Marisa, Adam, and I headed to the Central Bus station in Tel Aviv. I was kinda grumpy in the morning and didn't listen to Marisa about what bus we should take... so we took the 46, which is extremely slow. Eventually I was like we need to get off this bus and take a taxi, so we did and made it in time. Though we almost missed the bus because I needed to get food for the ride. We made the bus though and then were on our way to Eilat. We got in around 4ish and were so exhausted that as soon as we got to our hostel we passed out. Charlotte and Becca got in around 7 and then we went to get money for Jordan and then went near the water to get dinner. We went to this place called Boston, Mass... I felt right at home :). Then we hung out at the beach for a little just looking out at the water and talking. Then we went back and went to sleep because we were getting picked up around 7am Friday morning to leave for Jordan.

Friday morning we got picked up in the open air jeep to take us to the border- it was a little odd that we were driving around the streets of Eilat not in a normal car. Once we got to the border we had to wait until 8am for the border to open for the day. After we went through customs and walked across to Jordan. It was so cool to be able to just walk right across to another country. We met up with our tour guide and all headed to Petra. The view on the way there was so beautiful. The landscape in Jordan is a lot like the landscape in Israel, desert in the south and less so in the north. When we got to Petra, we basically just walked through stopping about every 5-10 min to get an explaination of it. It's crazy to think that Petra used to be such a vibrant city during the Roman Empire. One of the ladies on our tour was 78 and she was talking about how she had to go now because she wouldn't be able to walk through it later in life due to her age. It made me think of Grandma Dottie- she didn't look that old, and Grandma it seems like something you would love. The most exivated place is the treasury, which our tour guide made us turn around before we got our first glimpse of it. After we got a little past the treasury the 1 day tour people turned around and our tour guide took us another kilometer to where we were having lunch. It was really good- a lot like Israeli food; meats and salads and of course watermelon. While I was there I ran into Daniel Chiat, a guy from home who used to work at Herzl when I was a camper there way back when. After lunch we walked back to the start of Petra and took lots of pictures on the way. It was so cool walking through one of the wonders of the world. After we got out we had to get to where our stuff was left earlier. We didn't really know where to go though- so we asked the tourist police and they just kept saying that way, get a cab. Instead we walked and when we turned the corner it was less than a block away. We then got a cab to the Bedouin tents where we were staying for the night. The roads were so curvey and up and down I felt like I was on a roller coaster, which for those who know me well... know I hate roller coasters with a passion and the whole ride there I felt pretty nauseous. Besides the 5 of us there was this Jewish Flemish couple who was staying at the tents with us. The tents weren't like they were when I stayed in ones in Israel. Here there were 2 beds in a room, and so we made one of them a room of 3 so no one had to sleep alone. After we got situated, one of the Bedouins took us on a short walk to see some extremely ancient carvings. After that we went and had dinner which was extremely tastey. I went exploring by myself after that just to star gaze and think a little. There are so many stars out there. I then walked back and as I was going over there one of the Bedouins was walking looking for me. Though I had only gone about 5 min from camp. After that Marisa, Adam, and I went with 2 of the Bedouins to climb a sand dune and star gaze. It was amazing and so relaxing. I saw at least 6 shooting stars. The whole time we were there they tried to teach us Arabic, because they spoke VERY little English. Communication was pretty difficult while in Jordan. After we star gazed we all rolled down the sand dunes. It was so much fun- I felt like I was little again and so care free. I have never felt as relaxed, calm, and at peace as I did that night just looking at the stars. After we went back and got tea. We were served more tea in our time at the Bedouin tents than I have drank this whole time in Isarel and I drink A LOT of tea.

The next morning we got up, had breakfast and then our driver picked us up to take us to Wadi Rum nature preserve. It was about a 2 hour drive. Once we got there the 7 of us got into a 4x4 open air jeep to head into the desert. Our first stop was a rocky ridge that we were supposed to climb and at the top was a stream where most of their water comes from. I only made it about half way up because of my fear of heights, so Charlotte went back with me and we sat in a tent just relaxing. It was so hot out though. Our next stop was a sand dune. We climbed and then just looked at the amazingness surrounding us. The colors in Wadi Rum are mindblowing. The sand changes colors so quickly from greys to oranges to reds and browns. The sand was really hot and burned our feet as we went back down, and we all basically had the desert chillen in our shoes afterwards. Our next stop was a picnic lunch, that has rice with potatoes and veggies, some of the best chicken I've ever had, salad, and flat bread. It was so good and after most of us fell asleep for a bit. We then went to this place that I think was kinda excavated, I wasn't exactly sure. Our driver basically went places and then said go explore, so we weren't really sure what we were looking at, but it was really cool none the less. Our last stop was a natural bridge and a few people went to climb up it, but Adam, Becca, and I stayed back due to the heights. We went back to the visitor center to get water and our driver got us some ice cream as well. Then was the long drive back to Aqaba to get a short tour of the city. After we got back across the border we got a ride to the central bus station. We changed our tickets so we got an earlier bus ride back and then headed to get some food. Even though it's Eilat not much was open because it was Shabbat. After some Burger Ranch we got on the bus and headed back.

It was so nice to get bcak to our apartments in Bat Yam. I was so exhausted but wound up at the same time from all the excitment of the weekend.

Today I went to work a little late so I could sleep in and get some laundry dealt with, and after work I'm going to meet up with Marisa for dinner and then we are going to watch the Holland v Spain soccer game. After tonight, I'm DONE with watching soccer!! Sorry for all you huge soccer fans our there (dad).

Tomorrow the new group arrives, so I'll have some new posts up probably Tuesday before we go on the beginning trip hike.

Sorry for the simplicity- but I could talk about this weekend for ages. And if you ever get the chance GO TO JORDAN! It's the safest of the Arab countries and so amazing. I hope I get the chance to go back sometime in the future to see more of the country.