Israel Part 5: …Jordan

After a quite tiring week of digging (see a not restful but exciting weekend), we were headed to Jordan to close the trip on a relaxing note. Good thing passport control and border crossing in this part of the world is known for its ease and relaxation…

It really wasn’t that big of a deal, it was just hot and there was a group. Travelling with a group really complicates things. But we survived and I was truly elated to be in Jordan. As a person who collects countries, I was happy to add this to my list. Straightaway we headed to the Red Sea because actually we were going to relax and the beach and the water sounded amazing. We paid for our snorkeling and some of us were SCUBA certified so we also paid to go diving, because I would hate myself if I didn’t, and went out on the boat. Because I hadn’t dove in more than 6 months, I couldn’t dive off the boat, I had to wait and go off the beach where they could do a skills refresher for 7 minutes. What this actually meant was, for the price of SCUBA diving, I got to dive and snorkel for a total of like two and a half hours. Already I like this country.

Both the snorkeling and the diving were indescribable. I mean how do you explain the feeling of flying on your own over forests and through canyons seeing all kinds of wildlife? They said they saw a whale shark the day before. I saw sea turtles, moray eels, lion fish, a sea snake, more sea urchins and anemone than you could count, and all this while flying. If I could be in love with something, this could be it. The stresses and the busyness of the previous weeks, the hotness, the worries of my life back in America before the trip, everything just dripped away and I was just under the water, me and the forest of coral. I get it. I get what people say about the ocean.

Lost inside my head, I begrudgingly made my way to the bus where everyone was waiting. I was one of the last because there were only two of us divers from the group. We headed towards our hotel in Petra. I ate more food.

The hotel was superb. It was nice to chill after a summer of hard work. Later in the weekend we went to Little Petra, which is exactly what it sounds like it would be. Made at the same time as regular Petra, it was just an extension of the ancient city but with fewer and smaller facades. It was nice though because no one was really there except us.

The day of going to Petra came with the grandeur of…literally every other day ever. I was excited though. The group told us that if we wanted to go to both the High Place (a high place where you could see forever, duh I went) and the Monastery (the coolest one), we would have to really hurry. You know how you are never supposed to challenge a Sicilian to a battle of wits? Never tell a Colorado kid raised in the mountains that the only way to see everything is if he can walk 10 miles very quickly. Needless to say I saw everything because I don’t freaking lollygag and I managed to get there with time to spare. We walked back to the hotel and sat in the blessed air conditioning for more time than the others got to. We were completely satisfied with our trip. I wished I could eat. But that would come.

Petra is one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World. It’s pretty cool. It looks just like the pictures except when I was standing there I couldn’t help but wonder if these people were giants. I mean I am no tiny human and their steps killed me. The opening to Petra is like a giant slot canyon, and much to our chagrin, it didn’t open to Indiana Jones chilling there. There was however some American playing the theme song on his phone. In a slot canyon things echo. It was great.

After Petra we sat in a bus for 4 and a half hours because someone’s bag with their passport got swiped and we were working on dealing with that. But we were headed to Wadi Rum. I had really no idea what to expect because no one from our group had been there before. This was the first time the University booked this on the trip. I knew a lot of people were jealous and I had seen An Idiot Abroad’s episode of Petra so I was expecting really anything.

It was so much beyond my wildest expectations it was so cool I don’t know how I could words oh my goodness I loved it and the food and the desert and aghh!

Freakout aside, it really was the perfect way to end a trip. We stayed in Bedouin tents that were more like mini cabins with hard fabric walls. They had their own bathrooms and showers and beds that were more comfortable than even those of the super expensive hotels. There was even wifi. I’m still not sure how I feel about that because we were in the middle of nowhere, 45 minutes straight through the desert to Saudi Arabia and where they filmed the movie The Martian. I mean, it’s desolate. But we had wifi.  Who cares it was great. And you didn’t have to use it, but I did. That night I was sure the stars were going to be amazing, and I was right. They were. I had some of the best Milky Way shots I have ever taken. Because of my late night photography session, and the fact that I could finally vacation a little, I didn’t get up for the 5am camel sunrise ride with a good portion of the rest of the group. Don’t judge, it just wasn’t as exciting for me. I’ve ridden camelids and horses and didn’t find as much hoopla in it. So I relaxed and had a good morning. The next day we were heading home and a long time on the plane would be worth this extra hour and a half of chill.

After being in the Middle East for several weeks, I have decided that I really like it there. Israel was fun but Jordan is way better. They are not pretending to be things they aren’t, they are friends with everyone (except ISIS, cause no one is friends with those knuckleheads) they are more deserty than Israel, more chill, happier, and the food is better. Still I loved both places. I want to go back. There is something about the hospitality that is genuine and the culture is different and the people are real and genuine. Though Jordan isn’t a first world country, it presents itself to you, like “Well this is me, I am not perfect, but if you love me we can have the best time, and if you choose not to, that’s okay, I understand, maybe next time. But I will be here with my arms open, ready to welcome you.” In short, the humble righteousness that is supposed to be what set apart Israel was clearer to me in Jordan. And that’s probably what surprised me the most.