In the desert, one wakes up early, willing or not ;) We want to do as much as possible before it gets too hot but the tent is turning into a sauna anyway. Our guide will drive us around the desert to show us a bunch of interesting places. The first stop is a natural bridge. We climb all the way up to enjoy the view. On the way down, I follow the guide’s example and I run down then jump for the last few meters and land in the soft sand. It’s a fast and efficient technique and of course I like it having some goat and monkey blood. The 2nd stop is also a natural bridge but not as impressive as the first one.
Indiana Jones
After the amazing day we had yesterday, getting up is a little bit more difficult and we’re finally ready a little later than expected. The plan today is to do Petra by day. It’s very different by day. The shades we were seing yesterday night are in fact tombs. In the Siq itself, we can see the water “pipes” on either side, dug in the rock. With the daylight we’re loosing a bit of the mistery but we get to see a lot more details ;) The treasury is as impressibe by day as it is by night. The plaza is buzzing with activity with merchants, camels, donkeys (not tourists), tourists (not donkeys). The city is very much alive.
Pedo mellon a minno *
Last day of class ! To enjoy longer weekends, the two students negotiated with their teacher to have extra hours each day in exchange for a 4 days week (Sunday to Wednesday). I follow the Lonely Planet’s advice to make the most of my last free morning in Amman. Not too far from home, there’s a center for modern art built on hillside on the ruins of an ancient church and ever more ancient pagan temple. The church was in fact built on top of the ruins of the temple. The place is extremely quiet with gardens, fountains,… super relaxing in the hectic city that is Amman.
Lawrence of Arabia
I’m back on the crime scene but this time at the bottom of the hill. The amphitheater leans against another hill and is extremely steep. Getting all the way up is quite the work-out but the view is sick. Just next to the amphitheater is the much smaller Odeon, also a very nice piece of roman architecture. I stop by the nearby souk on the way back to by fruits and because it’s always fun to visit local markets. As expected I stand out and I end up leaving the market with more than expected ;) It was very animated with lots of things begging for attention whether it was people, odors or sights. I walk back home with just the lonely planet map and my phone’s compass.
Ben-Hur
Two weeks after Burma and freshly recovered from jet lag, it’s time for me to head to a new vacation. I have a very good reason to be on vacation again and an even better one to go to Jordan. First, I’ve got a bunch of days to take before they expire (no carry over…) at the end of June. Why Jordan? Because a very cute brunette is spending a month there to take some advanced Arabic classes and I’ve got to visit here there… a month is an awful lot of days afterall ;)