Driving in Jordan Take II
Trip Start
Unknown
1
29
68
Trip End
Ongoing
We were a little tired this morning but excited to head back into Petra. We got there early so we could have a chance to do one more big hike before heading out. The Siq is starting to seem shorter since this was the 5th time that we've gone through it. After passing the Treasury again, we hiked to the top of another mountain. It wasn't nearly as high as the Monastary yesterday, but it was not nearly as popular or marked as well so it was cool to explore off the beaten path a little bit. We started heading out of Petra around noon, and for only having a day and a half there, I think we did a pretty darn good job of seeing almost everything. On the way out we bought a few small souvenirs from the Indiana Jones souvenir stand right outside the gate. They push the Indiana Jones thing pretty hard here, which is great to me! We really liked Petra and were kind of bummed to leave so soon. Wadi Musa was a nice town too. Quiet but with a few decent restaurants and bakeries. We left Petra early because we wanted to get back to Amman before it got dark, and since we had a little trouble navigating the last time, we didn't want to take any chances. When we left Wadi Musa it took a little while to find the main road, but once we did it was smooth sailing all the way across the country. It was a major 4 lane highway that ran all the way from the north of the country to the south where we were. It took less than 3 hours to get back to the capital. We weren't staying directly in Amman though. We had booked a hotel in a city called Madaba since it was a little closer to the airport. Our flight to Greece was originally set to leave at 6am, so we wanted to be as close as possible. That flight was changed though, so we had plenty of time, and once we checked into the hotel we decided to try out our luck and head into Amman. On the drive into Amman I saw the most beautiful sight I'd seen in ages. A Harley store. It was on the other side of the highway and everyone was anxious to grab dinner so I kept going by...but than as luck had it there was a detour up ahead because of a closed bridge and next thing I knew we were "accidentally" heading back in the direction of the Harley dealer. It was a really nice one too. Probably the only one in the Middle East. Each level wasn't very big, but it had probably 5 stories including a service department. I think the guy working there was excited to have Americans there because he showed me around the whole place, including a closed off section of the service department where they were restoring older bikes. One cool thing, was that they were putting huge handlebars on the bikes, which is illegal for dealers in America to do. It was a fun stop, and definitely longer than expected. Jacki talked me into getting a way overpriced sweatshirt since they didn't have any t-shirts in my size. I was reluctant but it has turned out to be a lot colder then expected and I'm glad I have it! When I was finally drug out of the Harley store, after a bit of arguing about directions we found a big mall, I think it was called Mecca Mall. The parking garage was crazy, but the mall itself was great. Pretty much just like any back home. People seemed much more comfortable there. Jacki bought a new shirt from Forever 21. We really didn't get to see too much of Madaba, which is too bad since I guess it is famous for its mosaics. I did stop at a bakery across the street from our hotel to pick up a bunch of sweets. It was an assortment of baklava-like pasteries, mostly drenched with honey. For the rest of the night the four of us played euchre till we passed out. Our final impression of Jordan was great. The area around Amman is surprisingly green with lots of hills and nice houses. Jordan really was a great country. We were nervous after leaving Egypt that we were going to have to tuff it out for another 4 days, but it ended up being great. If we had any complaints, it would be about street signs, but honestly the signs were probably there but we just couldn't read them. I would have no problem recommending anyone to go to Jordan. It is plenty different than what we're used to, but still civilized, and that makes a good place to travel to. We're heading out to Europe tomorrow though, and pretty much the last leg of our trip. Probably the easy half too. It's pretty crazy to say that. We spent so long saving for this, planning everything, and getting stuff in order before we left, and now the reality is setting in that eventually we'll have to come home! We are excited about getting home right when the summer is starting, though. We are always talking about what we want to do when we get back. It will be sad to be done with our trip, but it'll be great to be home too. It looks like it'll be a pretty good summer. Since we're officially half way done I guess we should do a quick reflection on everything thats happened so far...and I think I can do it in four words. The world is huge. Maybe we can reflect some more in Greece. We'll be sitting on an island in the middle of the sea for a week so we should have time!
