Petra was incredible to say the least and Aqaba, Jordan wasn't half as bad as I expected.  Our tour guide, who was a woman, dressed like a westerner and explained that the people in Jordan take education seriously and the girls get one in Jordan.  She gave us the political lowdown and the difference between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, who is their neighbor to the south.  Jordan, the country, came into existence just recently and Aqaba is their only port city.  The border of Israel is just a short ride away.  Aqaba had a McDonalds, a KFC and other western food joints.  The city sits at the base of a huge mountain range and exports natural resources like phosphate and shells.   The area has been settled since 4000 BC and the people were very friendly with smiles and waves right out of the port gates.

On our way to Petra, we saw large land masses called wadis which are expansive valleys created during ancient torrential deluges.  Tall mountains rising in the distance with slopes of greenery scattered down the sides and disappearing into the desert and dry river beds below.  Just awesome sights to see and MASSIVE!  The river Jordan flows just to the west of this area from Mt. Hermon to the Dead Sea.  

Bedouins abound out in the wadis and you can see their black tents set up in the distance with camels and donkeys grazing close by.  They mark their land by piling up rocks to form a small column, which is funny because I didn't think they owned land.  They move about every 4-6 weeks to 'greener' pastures so their goats have something to eat but apparently they lay claim to the land and the right to set up shop again.  The Jordanian government moved quite a few of them into housing a couple of years ago to make life easier on them but there is still a healthy population still roaming about.

Once we got out to Petra there were plenty of nice, new hotels (Movenpick/Crowne Plaza) scattered around the mountainside with the old local shops and small hotels.  Internet signs all around and the economy was booming with tourists.  Once again, there were so many foreigners here that you'd never guess you were in the Middle East.  The only thing that gave it away was the ruins, the camels, and the headscarfs.

Hiking into and around Petra was excellent and one full day is not enough to soak it all in.  We made it all the way out to the furthest point, the Monastery, and by the time we made it back to the Crowne Plaza for lunch at 3 p.m, I had salt and mineral deposits caked around my neck and the back of my neck.  It was a hot day but not too hot and we were lucky enough to have a slight overcast of clouds and a nice breeze blowing.  Even in these conditions, the sweat came out of the body but quickly evaporated.  I thought the grim on my neck was dust and sand that got kicked up by the horse chariots, donkeys and camels but Candice told me I had standing salt on my neck.  

The day I think our tour will be given water on the trip is the day they don't!  I had always taken our own water and then the tours give us bottles of water too, so this day I thought I'd take some apple juice in my bottle just to have a variety.  But that was all we had - no water, but we did buy two warm sodas up in the mountains of Petra from vendors.  We were a dehydrated, grimy mess but we were having fun!  

Now Petra is another treasure trove and you have free-range out there.  We were on the bus with the lecturer from the ship, Christine, so we had two good guides.  Jay, a dance host, had arranged to have a fast-paced people bus all to ourselves.  I heard him on the Lido Deck the day before this trip telling people to put on the running shoes because we were going to be moving through Petra fast.  I waved him over and told him that we would like to be on his bus.  He said he was going to the tour office with all 40 tickets and getting the same bus number.  I rang Candice in the room and told her to bring our tickets up.  We were number 3 and 4 on Jay's list.  

Christine had said you could find some pottery shards today that were original.  Well now, there was plenty of pottery on the footpaths and walkways but it was think and not the thin, painted pottery they were known for back in 1st century.  The Monastery is way in the back of this 20 square-mile city, so once we got up to the road less traveled, I started looking in the side crevices of the path and found two pieces of thin shard with paintings on them.  Christine told me that I probably had some original pottery.  I asked her if I could take it and she said "Yes, they don't seem to be too worried about anything."  So I did!  On the way back down I tried to find the same spot to look for some more but couldn't quite locate it, plus we had to get the move on!

There was only one guard in this entire area and he was posted at the very first building, the Treasury, after you come through the Siq, which is the high walled canyon walls of the mountain that were worn away by wind.  I think there were a few tourist police on horses but they were there for emergency help and not to guard the ruins.  Much of the place was accessible and we even climbed up into the Monastery, which was about 9 feet high.  I got a toe-hold on the base, reached up for this man's hand and Candice pushed me from the bottom.  I thought getting up was bad enough but after investigating the interior room and alter, I realized I had to get down too.   It was like jumping off the high-dive!  It took me a couple of attempts to get brave enough to jump down from a sitting down position.  I picked a spot that didn't have any rocks sticking up out of the sand and jumped hoping I wouldn't break a leg.  My left foot took the brunt of the jump and the ball of my foot was talking for quite some time afterwards.  I thought I'd have problems with it and it felt bruised but nothing developed from it, so I was happy about that.

Aqaba, Jordan and Petra were fantastic and they would be a great base camp area since there is so much to see and do in this area with it being a perfect hop off spot for Israel, the Red Sea and the Jordan River.  Four different countries, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel, in such a small area make for great sightseeing.  I felt very safe throughout our entire visit and even the hawkers in Petra had nice manners.  These people actually see their tourists as their bread and butter and seem to be thankful that you are there!

Sandy