Oh Man- what to say about Jordan? We love it here.
Dan and I have spent the past few days hanging out with some amazing travellers and we have realized a great pride- we are part of a well travelled few. We are now part of a community that spans the globe, that knows no limits of age or experience, a community of fun-loving, adventurous, open minded and infectious few. We often find ourselves sitting around, talking about our adventures and experiences with new friends who really understand our love and passion for travel, people and culture. The further we get into our trip the more I want to go home but it is this very thing that I will miss the most- the community. Maybe I will have to start hanging out at the airport in an effort to meet people who are on the same wave length as I am. That’s not at all lame- is it?
OK, so back to Jordan…as I said, we love it here. The people, in true Arab fashion, are so friendly and beautiful, it makes it difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that people are left with a bad taste in their mouth when they think of travelling to this part of the world. Unfortunately, due to the unrest in the area over the past 6 months, many travellers are staying away, and it’s sad to see the people here struggle to make ends meet without tourism. Sorry, but you have to be mental if you second guess a trip out here, not only are you missing a fabulous, colourful country, you are also missing a great opportunity to experience all the beauty with less tourists. I say this with a lot of sadness, knowing that our funds are dwindling and all I want to do is go see more and more and more. UGH. If you have an interest, come to Jordan- I promise you will not forget it.
Now that I have that little rant off my chest, I would like to share part of the tail end of our road trip. We had some amazing, once in a lifetime experiences in the south of Jordan- here are a few pictures…..
So, after hiking to historic sights and stopping for sweet mint tea, we eventually got to the Dana Nature Reserve. There we stayed overnight in a Bedouin style tent before waking up early for a self guided trek through the park. This shot was taken at the beginning of our hike, after asking for directions from a Bedouin man who worked at our Guest house. Here’s what he said..
“ Follow the trail to the Poplar Trees, walk past the juniper trees to the olive trees. Then take the path down where the sun meets the mountain.”
Um…OK. Needless to say, we got lost. His directions we in fact quite precise, what did us in was the criss-crossing of shepherd, goat, donkey and camel trails that are the same width as the foot paths we were meant to follow. It didn’t go well.
Dan and I have spent the past few days hanging out with some amazing travellers and we have realized a great pride- we are part of a well travelled few. We are now part of a community that spans the globe, that knows no limits of age or experience, a community of fun-loving, adventurous, open minded and infectious few. We often find ourselves sitting around, talking about our adventures and experiences with new friends who really understand our love and passion for travel, people and culture. The further we get into our trip the more I want to go home but it is this very thing that I will miss the most- the community. Maybe I will have to start hanging out at the airport in an effort to meet people who are on the same wave length as I am. That’s not at all lame- is it?
OK, so back to Jordan…as I said, we love it here. The people, in true Arab fashion, are so friendly and beautiful, it makes it difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that people are left with a bad taste in their mouth when they think of travelling to this part of the world. Unfortunately, due to the unrest in the area over the past 6 months, many travellers are staying away, and it’s sad to see the people here struggle to make ends meet without tourism. Sorry, but you have to be mental if you second guess a trip out here, not only are you missing a fabulous, colourful country, you are also missing a great opportunity to experience all the beauty with less tourists. I say this with a lot of sadness, knowing that our funds are dwindling and all I want to do is go see more and more and more. UGH. If you have an interest, come to Jordan- I promise you will not forget it.
Now that I have that little rant off my chest, I would like to share part of the tail end of our road trip. We had some amazing, once in a lifetime experiences in the south of Jordan- here are a few pictures…..
So readers…you will have to get used to seeing desert pictures- all the time. It sucks because the desert doesn’t really lend itself to photos, it looks flat and boring when in fact Dan and I have seen some of the most beautiful landscapes in our lives out here in Jordan. This is a shot of Mukawir Fortress, way off on the top of the hill, taken just before we left to hike to the top to see the ruins.
Half way up- I took this photo to help capture the feeling I was having…. I had flies buzzing around me, I was drying up and I was bound to roast to death and get eaten by vultures in the middle of the desert. Have I mentioned that I dislike hiking? :)
Actually, I have come to realize that I enjoy hiking when I have a sweet reward at the end- like cool caves, awesome ruins and a great story. We went to Mukawir because it was the famed sight of St. John the Baptists beheading and it was said to have happened in one of the caves on the side of the mountain. Gruesome.
A picture of Dan and I at the ‘ Grand Canyon’ of Jordan.
So, after hiking to historic sights and stopping for sweet mint tea, we eventually got to the Dana Nature Reserve. There we stayed overnight in a Bedouin style tent before waking up early for a self guided trek through the park. This shot was taken at the beginning of our hike, after asking for directions from a Bedouin man who worked at our Guest house. Here’s what he said..
“ Follow the trail to the Poplar Trees, walk past the juniper trees to the olive trees. Then take the path down where the sun meets the mountain.”
Um…OK. Needless to say, we got lost. His directions we in fact quite precise, what did us in was the criss-crossing of shepherd, goat, donkey and camel trails that are the same width as the foot paths we were meant to follow. It didn’t go well.
Getting lost in a huge canyon isn’t at all scary. We totally kept our cool the entire time.
After our hike through the reserve, we packed our things and headed for the town that borders Petra. On our way I read about Shobak Castle and thought we should stop off. Our guide book had mentioned that the castle boasted a secret passageway leading underground and out of the castle. Knowing that Dan loves caves, I suggested we check it out. Shit, I had no idea what we were in for.
We decided to check out the secret escape route first and we soon found out that the author of our guide book did not go down, because if they did they would have warned us of the danger. I can say now that I am happy I did it without crying but as the so called ‘375 steps’ turned into a a steep, smooth, sand covered ramp, I didn’t know if I would make it out alive. It sounds dramatic but I swear it was… I cursed my choice of foot wear- sandals, as I gripped the wall for dear life knowing full well that if I slipped I could possibly slide into the dark abyss to my right, to a terrifying, painful death. Did I mention that I am claustrophobic and I have a weird tendency to slip? I took the one and only picture I could as we saw light and level ground at the bottom, before we made our way out to the road.
Me climbing, happily- out of the tunnel. When I popped my head up, a shepherd was walking by with his herd of goats and the look on his face made me giggle. I’m sure he was asking himself what this random white girl was doing down a dark, dangerous pit of evil.
hahaha... Elise i totally remember reading your very first posts about traveling and getting lost in the cities and let me tell you girl, youve come a longg way! I cannot wait to hear all of your stories and see all of your pictures! Ive read all your blogs AND im def going to visit Jordan one day! Thank you for all these! Its great!
ReplyDelete~Amy
A dangerous pit of evil!!! These places should be more clearly labelled hey?! Too funny, I am laughing with you, because I can imagine slipping to my doom as well if i entered such a passage!
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