Today was pretty much a travel day... leaving our posh accommodations in Petra and heading back to the "waterless" hotel in Amman. Let me tell you, we are waking up early tomorow hoping to beat the rush for water. It's also my turn to shower first!
So the day started off early with us all piling into the van and we made our way to the Crusader Castle at Shobak. I certainly was still hurting from the day before... so tired even though I did have a very restful sleep. Once we arrived at Shobak and Aziz showed us around he gave us two options, sit for coffee or tea in the visitor center or make the uphill climb to the castle.
I so wanted to hang out for coffee... but since the jig is up regarding my blog, many of my fellow travelers convinced me saying I need both the photos and description for my blog. So I sucked it up and headed up yet another hill to the castle with most of our group. I can confirm that it was in fact worth it. While the castle is only about 800 years old (seriously, that's not old around here!) there where some awesome arches and walls. You really got a feeling for what this castle would have been like all that time ago. I found it much more amazing than seeing a lot of the restored castles I've been to in my travels.
I managed to get back in time to enjoy a tea. I use "enjoy" loosely as my tummy was a bit funny this morning and this tea and coffee place provides a bitter tea that is supposed to right tummy ailments. I can confirm both points... it's a bit bitter and resolved my tummy issues.
We then all piled back in the bus and headed the Dana Nature Preserve (which by the way doesn't even get a mention in my tour book) but it was a bit of an odd stop because generally people hike and camp there and we were doing neither. We went through a small walking museum that showed the three different climates in the nature preserve. We then got to take some shots of the preserve from a look out (which, thank god, was not uphill), shop for some silver, possibly a potty break and then we were back in the van. We saw this group of camels crossing the road on our way to the next stop. They were really nice looking camels.
We then headed to Mount Nebo. This was uphill too now that I think about it, but it was fall less so (or maybe I'm getting used to it?) This is the mountain that Moses saw the promised land just before he died. There are several churches there that were closed as they are building a roof but they have extracted a mosaic that you can see and take photos of. The museum was a tad underwhelming but it was neat to see some of the same shapes in the pottery that we had seen along the paths at Petra. But really the most stunning part was the view from behind the church. It was a fairly clear day and you could see the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Jericho, and plenty of beautiful landscape. Unfortunately, the photos are total crap because we just couldn't capture the real beauty of the view. On the way in, Aziz also pointed out Moses' Spring where he hit the rock for water.
All back in the van, a quick stop at a tourist centre that makes authentic crafts, and we were on our way back to Amman.
Sue and I were assigned that same room we had last time and we headed up, dumped our stuff and then met the group for a walk to the bank machine, money exchange, and then to Salute restaurant. Sue and I split... I had the grilled veggie pizza and she had the halloumi salad. We each ate half and then switched. Although word to the wise, I'm not sure if it's because they don't drink a lot of alcohol here but my drink (as well as the others) was STRONG! We then headed back to the hotel for a drink in the night club above our hotel. You would never know they were connected... especially as they insist that everyone use the rickety elevator to get there!
Far less to report today but I still feel exhausted! Tomorrow is an exciting day. We are going to Jerash and then to the Dead Sea! I can't wait to soak in the sea!
P.s. Mom, I thought you would be interested in what the Diet Pepsi cans look like here... it's english on the other side.
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