Round Trip

Last week, my mother and little Reemo came to stay with Louis and me. They were only going to spend a week and we wanted to show them the three sites we felt one had to see if ever in Jordan: Wadi Rum, Petra and the Dead Sea. So we rented a car and, less than 24 hours after they arrived in Amman, we were off on our road trip!

Driving to Wadi Rum is really easy in the sense that you join one highway and just stay on it until you see signs to turn off to the Wadi Rum visitor centre. I'm really glad that Mama had a chance to see it. We had a good couple of hours there where we visited the Khazali Canyon, an arch naturally formed from the rocks and of course, the sand dune! 

From Wadi Rum we drove to Petra, where we stayed at Amra Palace for the night. The hotel was clean and comfortable, although a little noisy in the morning when everyone is getting up to leave. Petra is a really great day out but a lot of walking is involved. Mama and Reem did get a bit bored of the walking after a while but we managed to see the main points of interest. We even made it up to the Monastery - Mama and I on donkeys and Louis and Reem on foot (ie they had climbed over 800 steps to the top! Impressive little Reemo!). Again, really glad that we showed them Petra - it's so unique. 

We headed home after Petra to shower and rest. The next day we went to the Dead Sea for a day of sun and relaxation. Unfortunately, the weather was an absolute disappointment - sand covered the sky and we weren't even able to see the Palestinian side of the Dead Sea. It was a shame but we still enjoyed floating around (Mama was not too keen on not being able to stand in the sea!) and getting pampered in the Zara Spa. Louis and I planned the road trips in this order so that we could have a relaxing day after two days of hiking. Mama commented on this and said that if we'd done them the other way around, she probably would've refused hiking through Petra! 

We had a lot of fun during these trips. Navigating was really easy (we'd done the trips with friends/on public transport) a couple of times before but it's so straightforward that even someone who hasn't done them before could drive. I was really happy that we managed to do so much in such a short amount of time, and that Mama and Reem were able to enjoy what Jordan has to offer. The rest of their week was spent in Amman, shopping and seeing old friends. However, on one of the mornings I took Reem to the Bird Garden in Shmeisani, where we had a fun time looking at all of the random birds and commenting on hairy roosters(!). 

Here are photos of the trips we had. Really looking forward to having more visitors in Jordan!

Sx

Cheeky monkey scratching his neck on the rocks.

Inscriptions from the time of the Nabateans. Love the detail!

Walking toward the Khazali Canyon.

 

Taking a rest - sand dune climbing is really exhausting!

All that's missing is a cup of coffee!

Shadow of the arch. Those little shadows are us!

 

Where was this guy a few weeks ago?

 

Walking through the gorge at Petra.

Made it to the Treasury!

Off to the Monastery!

We made it!

There was some arranged prayer on that day at the Monastery. The praying sounded beautiful and calming.

Road back from Petra.

Coiffured chicken.

Badass, hairy rooster.

Elegant crane.

He said "Hallo" to us :)

Curious peacock.

Stunning peacocks. Shame about the cage wires ruining the photo.