Petra

 

 

Our crazy ferry and taxi ride culminated in the town of Wadi Musa, which contains the UNESCO World Heritage site of Petra.  We four guys plopped down in the not-so-romantic Valentine Hostel, joining other red-dusted travelers who had already walked around Petra that day.  We quickly made our way to our rooms for a night’s sleep before our own exploration the next morning.

We woke up early the next morning, piled into the hotel’s pickup truck bed, and were transported to the entrance of Petra.  Once there we were on our own for the rest of the day, free to explore and walk around this massive site.

We wound our way through a canyon that was reminiscent of Utah’s national parks.  Each corner was met with anticipation as we wondered just when the Treasury would appear in front of us.

 

 

 

When the Treasury did appear, it was not a let down.  The massive site was carved into the rock, and even though I have seen this place many times when watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, it still was impressive.

 

 

 

 

The Treasury is all I knew of Petra, but it is a tiny piece in this immense city, all carved out of the rock face.

 

 

 

We picked up three more members of our group.  Two more guys from Germany and another from Portugal.  Together we spent the next two days clambering over boulders, ascending hundreds of steps to vast overlooks, and exploring nooks and crannies cut into the rock.

 

 

The Monastery is almost as beautiful as the Treasury, and feels much more remote.  Our hike there on the second day took us up and around many stairs and corners, until we popped right into the site.  From there we hiked a bit further along the “End of the World” trail to an overlook where you could see back to the Monastery and then turn around and see for miles and miles around.

 

 

 

 

We took frequent breaks and tried to find what little shade was available in order to recharge ourselves before the next hike.  Jordi, our resident ladies man, befriended a girl selling postcards.  In what vaguely reminds me of a scene from Aladdin, he offers an apple to her.

 

 

We spent a bit of time with our new friend, who we nicknamed Jasmine, before continuing on our explorations.

 

 

The heat was intense, our clothes and shoes were covered with a fine red dust, but our memories of the time spent there were carved in our minds like the many  extraordinary sites dotting the desert landscape.