Given that we are on a windy bus ride (on route to the Dead Sea for yes, another buffet lunch and then a swim), brevity is in order.
We arrived via a hydrofoil service from Egypt (Nuweiba, where I experienced the worst toilet on this trip) to Jordan (Aqaba). The sea sickness tablet completely knocked me out so I can't give you any insights about the hydrofoil or the journey. After a buffet dinner, we headed out to Petra By Night. Petra, also referred to as the rose-red city is located deep inside a narrow desert gorge and holds the remains of the once lost Nabataean city. Most people will recognise Petra from the last scene of 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', specifically the Treasury (see photos 1 and 2). To get to the Treasury, you must walk through the towering siq walls. The siq was formed as a result of tectonic plate movement - the massive boulders on either side of the siq path actually match up like a jig-saw puzzle. The siq is about 2kms and leads you to the Treasury. However, Petra is much more than the siq and the Treasury. In ancient times, Petra was a city admired for its refined culture, incredible architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels. We spent all of yesterday exploring Petra. There was a lot of walking and a lot of sun and sweating. We covered around 10kms and managed to see the Monastery (see picture 3) and the tombs (carved into the mountain sides). There were still more things to explore but by 3.30pm (we started at 8am), our feet/legs went on strike.
The reward for a long tiring day was at turkish bath - sauna, a full body scrub and a bit of a massage.
We also did some snorkeling in the Red Sea (not to be confused with the Dead Sea) at Aqaba a few days ago. The corals started very close to the shoreline so most of us are sporting some nice coral cuts/gashes. My left calf looks like I've had a run in with Wolverine. There sea floor was also littered with sea urchins (spiky little suckers). Our Canadian friend managed to stand on one 5 minutes into the snorkel. He now has 8 urchin spikes on his foot. They are supposed to dissolve with time, but walking with spikes in your foot is not fun - I had a few on my heel.
Wadi rum was also on our itinerary, but I'm feeling car sick so I'm gonna stop.
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