Saved the best for last

thanks Wikipedia for the image


We finally made our way to the Rose City of Petra in Jordan. We've been wanting to do this trip ever since we got here, but wanted to make sure to plan it well. The trip was amazing and despite kicking ourselves for not having a good camera, we are so glad we went. Our good friend Karla joined us in this whirlwind adventure and we were glad for her companionship.

Originally our plan had been to take a bus, but luckily things didn't work out at the last minute and we had to rent a car. Good thing too, because we would have never made it back in time to catch the bus back home. Plus, the weather was scorching hot and parking right next to the Israel/Jordanian border was definitely a plus.


We stayed in a small hostel named Petra Gate, where the owner went all out in helping us get the most out of our time there. This is the view from our little room.


Because of our little mishap with the bus in the morning, we got into Wadi Musa (the name of the town next to Petra)a bit later than planned. Naser (the hostel owner) suggested we visit Little Petra since Petra was already closed by then. I must say, if you ever visit Petra, Little Petra is well worth the trip, especially if you end up signing up for a dinner package (which we didn't have time for since we were signed up for the night hike into Petra later that evening).



Anabelle loved Little Petra, especially because there was no hiking involved. The entire sight is pretty flat, and the only strenuous activity was going up stairs to look into the one temple that had a pretty well preserved Fresco still visible on the ceiling.




After about an hour in LP we headed back to Wadi Musa and had a very quick but delicious Jordanian dinner of Mandi at the El Siwani Restaurant. It was delicious and much better priced than most of the other restaurants. It came with three different types of rice, salad and pita on the side.

(picture owned by oldstock.blogspot.com)
We ate so fast I didn't even have time to take a picture.

Our helpful cab driver picked us up at the restaurant and drove us over to Petra five minutes before the night tour began. The 1/2 hour trail into Petra was lighted by candles and it was super quiet, leaving us with feelings of wonderment and reverence.



Once we arrived at the Treasury there were hundred of candles surrounding a makeshift stage area where we were entertained by two talented local musicians playing traditional music and later enjoyed a passionate rendition of a well known poem about Petra.



Nathan spend most of the time fiddling with the camera, trying to create wine out of water(it really was a miracle that we got any decent pictures out of that camera), and had great results in my opinion. Thank you Nate!!!

We were also very grateful to the friendly staff who gave us a ride back to the main gate since baby Lewis decided to give Mom cramps and make it near impossible to hike back out. I guess she didn't like being up past 11:00 pm. Go figure!

Stay tune for pics from our second day in Petra, coming soon.
-posted by Maria