Minimal sleep last night ? -I guess the silver lining is that everybody was complaining about the loud call to prayer at 5 AM whereas I was already awake. ?After breakfast at the hotel and loading the bus we wandered through Madabbah to see some famous mosaic Tiles. We noted that our guide is very good at distilling the essence of the information and were able to skip In and out expeditiously Before the crowds got crazy. Very touristy town selling Arab Barbie dolls but we all noted that they had blue eyes and fair skin.
Then it was onto our bikes to climb a little up to Mount Nebo where we had a Look around- this is a Francescan Monastery dedicated to Moses. Back on the bikes and a lovely fly down from the Heights to the Dead Sea level, then an undulating pedal along the shores of the Dead Sea to our final destination. Again little up hill to hinder our fun today ?? No disasters either despite the steepness and we all went at our comfort speeds -though in the back of my mind I kept wondering at what speed Etienne would be doing this ….
We had buffet lunch at a beach resort on the Dead Sea looking across a lovely clean swimming pool towards Israel ( West Bank). After lunch we scrambled into Our swimming gear and hiked down to the beach Which is receding yearly. Most weird. Thankfully I had the advice to wear sandals into the water which was very useful as the shore consisted of crusted solid salt About 3 inches thick. It is a weird feeling being suspended and 33% salinity and not having to work to stay upright. The downside is that every little cut you might have feels like salt in the wound, literally. So the girl in our group with the acne came out with a stinging red face that was really uncomfortable and I have to say I was glad to rinse in the top pool as my bruised nether regions from the bike in the morning were definitely noticeable. A unique experience for sure.
Bikes were loaded and we set off for Petra about 3 1/2 hours away but made longer by highway construction. There was a spattering of rain at the Dead Sea and it started to rain in earnest over the plains So our guide suggested we pre-order local dishes at a restaurant other than our hotel and Wadi Musa, the town outside of Petra site. We arrived in the dark to find a very busy town and decanted happily from the bus to dinner. The carnivores got some kind of local chicken dish while the vegetarians were served what looked and tasted like a minestrone Soup with rice. At least the salad bar was good. Another tour group staying at the hotel eating at another table Turned out to have some Canadians so we compared notes-using a different group and doing the trip in reverse Order in other words Egypt first and Jordan second. All agreed that Petra is spectacular so looking forward to it tomorrow.
Raining in earnest when we came out from dinner with Streams running down the street. This hotel actually turns out to be the best so far despite warnings from our tour guide and the poor Reviews online. Perhaps my standards have just readjusted-just happy that the toilet doesn’t rock, there’s no bad drain smells, The hairdryer works and amazingly, the sink stopper actually works. The AC doesn’t but there’s a window and it’s cool outside with predictions for a high of 16 to 18 C tomorrow so no worries. Cycling today was perfect temperature even down in the warm Dead Sea pocket where it was predicted To be 27 to 28C. It should be pleasant walking tomorrow.
Helen Laity
20/05/2019 at 4:47 AMAre there tv reception dishes and cell phone towers for the Bedouin tent encampments?
karen hossack
20/05/2019 at 8:30 AMno tv reception or dishes, really a traditional unplugged existence when in the desert. Probably little signal where most of them set up, though they likely do have cell phones. On another note, satellite tv service costs next to nothing in Egypt, and I’ve never ever seen such a collection of satellite dishes as in Cairo, even in the poorest looking neighbourhoods. And seemingly hundreds of arabic channels….