A Journey of 150,000 Steps

This evening the curtain came down on a magnificent trip. In just thirteen days we experienced history, religion, culture and geography on an amazing scale. And we made 30 new friends.

Some people don’t like group tours. We have found that one of the delightful, unexpected consequences of this type of travel is the variety of people you meet. Not all groups gel the way this one did. We found our new friends from all over the U.S. and one couple from Australia to be open, caring, well-traveled, inclusive and interesting. The further along the trip went, the more fun we had. Tonight, twenty of the thirty-two met for dinner and laughed and talked about how remarkable our experiences together were, and it was hugs and handshakes all around as dinner wound down.

This was not a trip for slackers. With help from my iPhone, I calculated that we walked about 150,000 steps over these thirteen days which translates into about sixty miles. Not flat miles either. Up hills, down hills, up staircases and down staircases. We were fortunate that the weather cooperated most of the time. We had a couple of very hot days, but even those included some shade and a few breezes.

We departed Petra this morning and had a couple of stops along the way to Amman. The first stop was at Moses’ Spring just outside of Petra. This was the spring that was created when Moses struck the rock at God’s command. I did a bit or research and learned that striking the rock was what got Moses banned from the Promised Land. According to what I read, he was supposed to speak to the rock, not strike it. If Moses had trouble following instructions, how are we mere mortals supposed to succeed? I guess we have to count on forgiveness.

Moses' Spring

Another interesting fact about this spring is that it was the source of drinking water for Petra. It flowed from this location through those aqueducts along the Siq walls pictured in yesterday’s blog post. I consider that to be a major feat of engineering.

Our next stop was for a photo op of a Crusader fortress. I’ve reached that point in a trip like this where fortress fatigue sets in. So the name of this fortress went in one ear and out the other. From the distance, it looked like a nice fortress, one that any crusader would be proud to call home. Other than that I can’t tell you much. It’s a fortress, ok?

Fortress to be named later

The remainder of our trip to Amman was uneventful and we are comfortably ensconced in a lovely high-rise hotel in downtown Amman. Most of our new friends are leaving for the airport around 3 am tomorrow morning so we wished them Godspeed and quick sleep. For us, flying on “points” provided less options so we don’t leave until tomorrow afternoon. The Lady, who has an event back at home later this week, is a bit nervous about getting home on Tuesday since our routing takes us from Amman to Beirut (and only a one-hour layover) to London and then to Atlanta. May the gods of airline travel smile on our connections.

Always at the end of this type of trip I have some odds and ends I want to mention -- just passing along interesting observations.

First up, beef bacon. In Israel, as expected, the pork specialty I’m used to was not to be found. However, in Jordan, bacon of the beef variety was offered. It was kind of like Canadian Bacon but thinner sliced and baked, not fried. I found it quite acceptable.

On the transportation front, in Jordan we experienced speed humps along the highways. I’m accustomed to these in residential neighborhoods but not on main thoroughfares. In every town we passed through there were several of these on the main road. It was very effective at slowing the traffic down.

Cell phones. It was not unusual to find a guy standing on the side of the road out in the middle of the desert taking on a cell phone. It was a jarring combination of the desolate and the new.

Solar collection sites. It made sense in this land of much sunshine to see these but was still surprising to see fenced areas along the highway about the size of an electric sub-station containing several dozen solar panels. We also saw at least one windmill farm.

French fries. We had wonderful midday meals whose first course usually included a dozen different types of salads . . . and French fries. The consensus at dinner tonight was that the people here believe that Americans expect French fries at every meal.

Upper left shows fries with the salads. Center was with main course

Unfinished houses. In every village we passed, most of the housing units we saw had a finished first floor with unfinished concrete and rebar poking above the roof. The explanation we received is that these houses are classified as unfinished and therefore are not taxed at the full rate. Our friends from Australia said they had seen this in Italy as well. Everyone in the world is looking for a loophole.

City and country differences. There is a stark contract in Jordan between Amman (modern, clean, very up-to-date) and the countryside we passed on our way from Petra (littered, disorganized, seemingly poor). We understand the King of Jordan is attempting to change the culture first by cleaning up cities like Amman and then working on the smaller communities. By all accounts, he is a savvy ruler who is trying to raise the standard of living for everyone in the country.

And lastly, elevators. What could be simpler? Square or rectangular car with buttons for each floor. Well, where there is an engineer or architect, there is always another way. Our hotel in Jerusalem had the new kind of elevator where you press the floor you want outside before you enter the car. The system directs you to either Car A, B, C, or D and once you are inside, it takes you to the floor you requested. I felt a bit out of control without buttons inside the car.

In Amman, the elevators at this new hotel had buttons inside but not for each floor. There were buttons 0 through 9 and to choose a floor you had to punch your floor number in sequence. Strange. But probably no more strange than people felt the first time they got into an elevator that had no operator. Time and technology marches on. Coming soon, elevators you enter and just speak the floor you want?

What was not all that unusual were the people we encountered. They were all kind, friendly and accommodating to us as visitors to their countries. I’m sad if you feel afraid to venture to this part of the world. You are missing an enriching experience with people that are more like you than they are different. The differences, encountered and experienced, make me a better person, I think.

Thanks for joining us on this journey. Next January, the Lady, who always has her eye on the next place to go, and I will be venturing to the remaining continent we have yet to visit. It’s cold down there and the WiFi may not be available every day, but I’ll write our experiences daily and post them as soon as radio waves can reach you.

Bye for now.