Wadi Rum, is other worldly under a full moon. We slept at Bedouin camp and after dinner, walked out into the desert. While cold and windy, it was amazing to trek under the moonlight. At six the next morning, we took a drive out to watch the sunrise. This too was beautiful and beyond words. Later we drove to Lawrence of Arabia canyon. As the sun rises, the tops of the cliffs turn a red with light that eventually becomes gold. At the end of the trek, the guide showed us where The Martian was filmed, so in the end, the desert was another world.
Petra a second time is different and still impressive. There were side paths and sights I’d missed before. The small Byzantine church was paved with charming animals in mosaic, bunnies and ducks and deer and boar. The stone of Petra is art without a single touch from humans.
Jerash a second time was a lesser experience especially, under the persistent drizzle.
Here’s the rest of the Jordan story. Got home a day late and a dinner short. Was to leave Jordan at 2 am Friday and we boarded, then sat on the runway for 2 hours with a pack of screaming children. At 4 am the airport closed due to fog and we disembarked, collected our baggage and were herded to an overwhelmed airport hotel. Hotel and airline both promised rebooking phone calls in two hours. When I happen to wake up at 9 am, and went in search of information, I found a pile of papers on a desk with a completely desperate customer “service” agent trying to deal with several hundred crazy people.
Under the theory that the Lord helps those who help themselves, I dug through and found my paper. 11:20 departure on Royal Jordanian for Heathrow. Grabbed my stuff and waited, and waited for a bus to the airport. Arrived airport at 10:30 to a very long check in line. Fortunately, that flight was delayed too. And delayed, and delayed. We landed in Heathrow as my connection to Philly flew off—that flight was on time—go figure.
This time, we did not have to pick up baggage, were bussed in an orderly fashion and checked into yet another hotel that was fortunately less overwhelmed. By this point, I was jet lagged and so sleep deprived I couldn’t see straight. I headed to the bar thinking that not seeing straight is a normal condition for people in a bar…. And finally, noon London time Saturday I was on a flight to Philly. All’s well that ends well in the glamorous life of an international consultant. And I get to leave again on the 6th, oh joy oh rapture.
This weekend is dog sitting, ah beagle love.
