Costa Rica--Tortuguero Part 2--The End

Well, have been back from Costa Rica for  6 weeks and am now getting around to finishing blogging it.  Last night Ken asked if I had finished writing which was quite remarkable as I usually have to nag him into reading it.  I think this summer I may break down and blog while traveling--maybe or maybe not. Most likely not.

So, our time in Costa Rica ended in a taste of paradise--nature untrammeled by civilization and people.  In some ways reminiscent of the Galapagos but even though it is awesomely beautiful it is not as totally pure or as breathtaking as the innocence of the wildlife there. Our Galapagos Trip

Leaving our lodge we headed down the relatively wide Tortuguero River leading to the Tortuguero National Park. In the park, the river narrows with byways and small offshots that Ferdinando, our guide, expertly navigated, going deeper and deeper into the forest. We were surrounded by the calls of the wild--birds and mammals. It seemed as if we were often exploring little creeks with beautiful toucans floating above the jungle tops.

 

Galapagos

Costa Rica

The trees hid    colorful iguanas (quite different from those in the Galapagos)-- hidden that is until  one fell off its  perch, splashing  loudly in the water,  barely missing a very startled Casey.


We heard monkeys carrying on extended conversations as they called to each other across trees. At some point in the conversations, one would decide to jump from limb to limb, tree to tree--sometimes through the air from one river bank to the other. It was truly awesome to be in the center of this everyday life. Watching the incredible acrobatics and gymnastics became a ballet and dance form--far different from the theatrics of the Olympics. Casey, the ever patient photographer, waited for this shot, poised to press the shutter at just the right moment. Magic!

On the way back to the lodge, Ferdinando treated us to a detour to the Caribbean coast. With engines revved, we rushed along the coastline with the spray of salt water hitting us. It was fun.

That night we had another moment of magic. When we entered the open air dining area, the young woman said "Please come with me. We have a special place for you tonight." Not having a clue as to why or what was happening, we followed her to the small picturesque thatched roofed area overlooking the pool. Gas lamps and torches and candles lit the circle. There was just one table, beautifully set. We were led to it by the young man in black who became our private waiter. A large barbecue was set up next to a table spread with huge amounts of beautiful meats, vegetables fruits and breads. The lodge's chef was there cooking and preparing a most sumptuous banquet--just for us. There were beef, pork and shrimp shish kabobs, corn on the cob, several vegetables dishes, mangoes, strawberries and watermelon. To say we were stunned would be an understatement. Now we truly were on Fantasy Island. We were there 4 nights and never saw other guests receive this treatment.  Even now as I write, it seems very dreamlike. Certainly it is indelibly etched on our minds, never to be forgotten.

After dinner, Casey retrieved the guitar hanging in the guest lounge and played for Ken and I as we sipped our espresso and savored the very special evening we had spent together.

The next morning after a leisurely breakfast, we packed up for the last time and waited for the little air chariot to take us back to San Jose and our flight home. The staff lined up once again to wave good bye and wish us a return.

 As Casey said, "the hard part of traveling is the going home." I think he has the bug.

Casey the co-pilot. 

Episode 4--Costa Rica--Tortuguero

Well, yes, it is taking a while to complete this adventure. Just chalk it up to a.) being busy, b.) being lazy, c.) out-of-town, d.) other priorities, or e.) whatever. They all have the ring of truth to them. Life has a way of moving on often without much explanation.

So, on to Tortuguero--probably my favorite part of another wonderful adventure--not that the other parts lagged in the wonderful department. It was all good.


Tortuguero is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica and as such has a strong Afro-Caribbean heritage and presence in its food, its people, its life-style. It is significantly different from our other two destinations. In common with Arenal and Monteverde, though, is its exquisite beauty and nature that still remains unspoiled, providing a refuge for animals and birds of thousands of species. Because the Caribbean side and Tortuguero are much less accessible than other areas of Costa Rica it is less well-known or traveled. You feel as if you are in a special place--lucky to be there. There is a peace--a quiet solitude. It is a place where you wish for one more day--no matter how many you had. Good memories but bitter sweet.


We arrived by plane--a small plane, but at least one not held together by duct tape, as was the one in the Amazon. When the plane lands, on a little dirt strip and you see the river in front of you and the Tortuga Lodge across the river, the word "paradise" floats in the air. And then...the little water boat whisks you across the river where the staff is lined up welcoming you with fresh drinks and warm smiles and leads you to your open air table because it is lunch time. It was like being in a time lapse movie where we coud hear Tattoo announcing "ze plane, ze plane." Really there was something quite magical and other worldly about it. In many ways it reminded me of the Amazon Rain Forest, set in waterways--rivers and off-shoots, quite different from Arenal and Monteverde which were mountains and land.

After lunch and settling into our rooms, we wandered the breathtaking grounds, ran into a crocodile, listened to birds and monkeys chattering and luxuriated in our surroundings--far from bustle and hustle of the world that was somewhere far away.

We kept our distance from this guy (or gal, whatever.)

Look Closely Here--What Do You Find?

And then, before dinner, we went on a twilight nature hike which was pretty much a nightmare of momentarily huge proportions. The first unregistered clue was when we were told to don the lodge's knee high boots as our hiking boots would not be sufficient. Fortunately, I grabbed a walking stick which, along with the guide who held me up most of the way, keep me upright. 

Twilight was a misnomer--we were in the middle of the jungle and it was dark, very dark. What we had not been told was that along with being a jungle, it was a swamp--one that had just experienced two days of heavy rain. Between the two inches of water and the slimy, gooey, slurpy mud under the water, the boots were sucked up to about mid-calf with each step. And, they wanted to stay stuck! Pulling them out seriously impeded balance and falling into the mess was a most frightening thought. Thank goodness for young, strapping Juan whom I clung to like syran wrap. Needless to say, wildlife viewing was far from my thoughts; although we did see the occasional poisonous frog. Unquestionably, we had a very abbreviated hike. I should add, not surprisingly, Casey loved it and would have kept going; except, you would not want to be there without a guide. Becoming lost was a certainty. Returning not so certain.

A glass of wine with dinner never tasted so good! Time to relax and be thankful for the experience and even more thankful that it was over. Slept well that night.

Tortuguero is where the sea turtles come to nest and lay eggs each year but not at the time we were there which was disappointing but OK. There is so much more to see and do. All done by boat as there are no vehicles in Tortuguero--just boats in the waterways and bicycles in the postage stamp village down river. 

Ferdinando was our guide along the quiet river and canals of the jungle. Like safari guides, he could spot wildlife where we saw none. He could hear a muted sound and know what it was and where to look. He taught Casey many things and soon Casey often spotted things before Ferdinando. Casey may have a future with animals and wildlife as it seems to be an interest that helps define who he is.

A few glimpses of what is Tortuguero water ways.

And...will close for now and pick this up again tomorrow. I like to keep posts short so that they don't impinge on your time..after all you have more to do than read blogs--at least, I sure hope so.

Still a little left on Tortuguero, some final thoughts on Costa Rica and finally, the all time great picture taken by master photographer, Casey. All of this coming soon. 

Costa Rica Episode 3--Monteverde Cloud Forest

After a leisurely breakfast and preparations to leave Arenal and the beautiful Lost Iguana, we were picked up and taken to Lake Arenal which was just a couple minutes away--we had passed it numerous times on our excursions. A private boat and boat captain took us across the lake to the very muddy, very wet, very rustic landing place where a driver and van awaited us for the drive to Monteverde. Up until this point, we really had wondered why friends and family warned us of the mind and body numbing roads in Costa Rica. Yes, some had been a little rough but nothing to write home about. Within 30 seconds of this ride, we knew. This ride was to make the white-roads of Italy pale by comparison. There were ruts, holes-big holes, rocks, boulders and more for the next 2 hours or maybe it was 3--at the time I would have said 24. Additionally, as we went up the drop became steeper and steeper. We were thankful for a driver who clearly had made this trip many, many times and knew each boulder and hole. This was clearly more rugged territory than the more developed Arenal area. The reality is this just gave us one more colorful memory and experience; after all, we have enough freeways at home.

Finally we arrived in the town of Monteverde which is composed of restaurants, souvenir shops, excursions/tour/activity businesses, a couple banks (which was good as we needed an ATM to replenish our colónes which were about 500 to a dollar) and a very good ice cream place. Monteverde developed as a tourist area much later than Arenal and so lacks some of the rush and bustle which, truthfully, is really quite nice. It is still pretty rustic, simple  and laid back with wooden sidewalks and sometimes dusty window displays. Certainly not the nightlife that Arenal has, in which we did not participate.

We were immediately taken to our lodging the Monteverde Lodge and Gardens which architecturally is really at one with the surrounding foliage and forest. It is a mountain lodge not a glitzy hotel. At first we found ourselves comparing it with the beauty of the Lost Iguana and the lovely, large, well-appointed room we had there but we soon reminded ourselves of the difference between a resort and a lodge. The room here was rather cramped quarters for 3 people. Perhaps there were larger rooms which would have been nice. Since Casey is now man-size, we three trip over each other easily.

With that said, we did enjoy it here. The staff was helpful and accommodating--doing such things as drying our rather wet outer garments when we returned from the rather wet cloud forest. The restaurant was good and the wait staff was professional, warm and very nice.

The first night we went for a twilight, read dark, wildlife hike in the adjoining forest. Our guide was totally outstanding who, like safari guides, saw things we would never have spotted. At first I was a little concerned because Casey does not call me "queen of klutz" for nothing. There were up and down stairs and paths--some steep, reminding me that I should have listened to Ken when he told me I should exercise to get ready for this trip. Paths were slippery with wet leaves. But, in spite of these conditions, we were told not to grab any tree or foliage to steady ourselves as there might well be snakes entwined on them. This wasn't the most welcome of warnings! I did use a walking stick for the first time in my life and found that it worked wonderfully well and provided a refreshing degree of confidence and stability. The rest of the trip I used one on our hikes.

We saw several animals, sleeping birds, tarantulas, spiders, puma tracks and, I am sure, things I have forgotten. I had not known that birds perch on a limb and go to sleep for the night until dawn. We saw several doing this. It was a good walk. Dinner was in the lodge that night.

And...here is one. In bed for the night. Cute, isn't he or she?

The next day was a trip to the cloud forest in the morning. Cloud forests are higher in elevation than rain forest; however, just as wet. We actually did not see very much on this outing. Everything was in hiding. There was a tarantula or two, some birds and a millipede but that was about it--no animal life.

All and all, it was rather a dud except the forest is lush and gorgeous--sort of like nature's temple. 

That afternoon we went to a hummingbird gallery which basically was a place that had many feeders with sugar water to which humming birds flock. They were beautiful and there were a lot of them but it just seemed contrived with all the feeders.

Trio

Sofia

And, this was December 31--New Year's Eve. Not much was happening in town--in fact, I think nothing. The Lodge did have a special menu but it was turkey which didn't appeal to us. So, we went to Sofia which was recommended by the lodge. This was a very nice restaurant with an upscale menu which surprised us. It turns out that Sofia and Trio, where we ate the next night, are owned by a woman from the US who has restaurants here. The menus reflect some creative sophistication along with an acceptable wine list. We enjoyed both places.

Our last day in Monteverde, Ken and I toured the Don Juan Coffee and Chocolate Plantation while Casey had much more fun horsebacking riding. Somehow learning the ins and outs of all you ever wanted to know about coffee growing did not seem what a 14 year old would enjoy. The truth is that Ken and I didn't find it all that interesting either. I think we should have joined Casey even though I am quite certain my anatomy would feel the pain afterwards. Looking at this picture, it seems as if Casey could have used a larger animal but we weren't there so maybe they were all this size. All I know is that he had a great time, didn't fall off and said they went at a pretty good clip. He was happy.

In the afternoon we did go somewhere that we all found interesting--The Bat Jungle--which I know sounds creepy. But, it actually was very interesting in that the guy that took us around really likes bats, has studied them extensively and shares a wealth of knowledge about bats world wide. I was a little worried when they took us into the cave that bats would be flying around and into us but, happily, there was a glass wall between us and them which suited me just fine. The bat guy did go in and feed them and made himself at home and seemed to be pretty much left alone. Actually, contrary to my feelings about the coffee planation and the hummingbird garden, I would recommend going here.

The next morning we were picked up early for a three hour ride back to San Jose where we went to a small airfield and boarded our private chariot plane which took us to Tortuguero--which we all loved. Think of Fantasy Island and "zee plane, zee plane" if you are old enough to know.

This was actually bigger than the plane we had in Kenya and not held together with duct tape as was the plane in the Amazon rain forest--which was larger. Forgetting to pray is not an option on these adventures.

My Jordan Picture Book

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A Photo Book of Our Egypt Trip

Well, yes, a little late!

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Awesome, Brilliant Yosemite--Wow, God!

The inescapable truth...God Is!

Sometimes I am mightily puzzled by people who deny there is a God--God, The Creator, The Power, The Father. I understand that accepting an all powerful, unseeable, untouchable, unhearable God can be difficult but it seems so much more imponderable to believe that all that is happened by poof, that all was created out of nothing without an architect.

The underlying non-answerable question of a child who says "I don't understand. Didn't there need to be something to create something" must be difficult to answer if God is taken from the equation. All of Stephen Hawking's theories and cerebral exercises become invalid in the face of this child's question. There had to be something to "poof." Didn't there?

Anyway, for me, Yosemite offers unquestionable proof of God and puts the lie to Hawking. It is gorgeous without compare. It can only be a gift from someone who loves man--well, and woman.

So, to go back to the beginning--God can be seen, God can be touched, God can be heard. He is all around if we but look.

And--His crowning glory and achievement!

Amman--The Citadel and Jerash

Well, finally--the last installment of Christmas, 2011--Egypt and Jordan--we've been back 3 months which doesn't seem remotely possible. I would make some comment like "time flies" but that belies all sense of originality. So think I will proceed with out excuse or shame.

Our last day we were not going to be beset with boredom as we had more to do--a city tour of Amman, visiting the citadel and finally, to end our time, exploring the amazingly preserved Roman city of Gerasa known today as Jerash. I need to thank my friend Liz for encouraging us to go to Jerash as we had about decided that we would be too exhausted by the end of our trip and, having been to many ancient Roman ruins in many countries, we thought we could bypass this one. Liz, whose pictures in the link above far surpass ours, convinced us otherwise. Thank goodness.

Amman is one of the most ancient cities in the Middle East with archeological finds dating back to the Neolithic period and permanent structures appearing in 3200-2300 B.C. and fortifications beginning in 2200. In Biblical history it was Rabbath Ammon "the great city of the Ammonites." Somewhere around 250 B.C. it was renamed Philadelphia. Eventually through many upheavals, conquering and annexing, it became part of the Roman Empire--as did most of the known world.

To begin: the tour of Amman was not very detailed but interesting. The homes of the super, super (really super) wealthy are as impressive, well more so, as any we see in La Jolla or other rich American enclaves. Of course, we are talking about Middle East wealth which is rather often beyond the pale. In fact, most of these homes were summer or part time residences maintained by the housekeepers, gardeners, cooks, and such. One of the interesting features is that they all are built of white stone--very monochromatic but beautiful.

But, the west has arrived there in the form of huge, high-end malls with the same ubiquitous stores as one finds in malls anywhere. One had opened just days before we arrived and women were leaving with shopping bags sporting logos with which we are all quite familiar--the same as you find in New York, San Diego, Rome, Beijing, the world over. Of course, walking along side the road were the people leading donkeys, women wearing long burkas and trailing behind the men. The juxtaposition of life is eye opening. There is a lot of construction in areas which seem dominated by international businesses. Jordan is solvent and growing.

From the tour we headed to the ancient hill known as the citadel or acropolis which is right in the city of modern Amman.  During Roman rule, there were the typical buildings and grid layout found in Roman cities everywhere. Today there is little left of that history but some pillars and slabs except for a remarkable theater--one of the best preserved in the world. For a fleeting moment, I thought maybe we could take Casey to the opera.)

After the Romans came a Byzantine period with churches and a large cathedral, converted into a Great Mosque at the time of the Arab conquest. By the time of the middle ages, there wasn't much going on there. For me, though, more interesting than the remnants of buildings and known history was the quite small museum which had fascinating finds from neolithic tombs and buried lives. Sometimes when going to museums in the United States we see such things; however, they take on new and different meaning and understanding when they are in the land to which they belong. All of a sudden, people from millennia in the past become real.

And then finally--Jerash--a great way to close out two very exciting, wonderful, memorable weeks. It is hard to imagine all that we did in those few days. 

Gerasa was the site of the Macedonian Greek colony established by Alexander the Great when he conquered the area in 334 B.C. (a little history lesson there.) Eventually it became a strategic point in the large caravan trade and became a true urban center. In the process it morphed into several different names, including Antiochia (Antioch.) Eventually the Romans descended and made it theirs and prosperous. It was transformed into "a planned, architecturally city typical of the Roman East." (Jordan, Past and Present.) Eventually Trajan and Hadrian both left their marks until finally it became an important center for Christianity. Within the Roman ruins that dominate Jerash, there are remnants of Christian churches. 

Casey had a serendipity event in the ruins which added fun for all of us. As the three of us were exploring rooms within walls, we heard Italian. There was an Italian couple who had hired an Italian speaking guide as they entered the ruins. We sort of hung back and listened, encouraging Casey to make himself known which eventually he gathered up the courage to do (believe it or not, Casey is shy.) They were totally astounded, of course, to hear this boy who had been speaking English with his parents, suddenly start speaking to them in perfect Italian. Soon they invited Casey to walk along with them. We assured them that we did not speak the language and were not trying to piggyback on their guide. So, we went our way and they went theirs--with us always within eye sight of where the four of them were.

Casey loved it and so did the Italian man who virtually ignored his wife from then on as he focused on this amazing American lad. They all had nothing but praise for his Italian and were amazed.

Back to Jerash--it truly is worth going to. So many Roman ruins are in piles of stone. Of course, there are piles of stone at Jerash but there are still haunting clues as to what was once there.  The other interesting thing is how modern Jerash surrounds the Roman town and looks down upon it. New and old are one.

So ended our time. Bashar deposited us back at our hotel, tired, happy and overwhelmed by what we had seen and done. That night we needed to pack and prepare for an 11:00 PM pick up as our plane was leaving at 1:00 AM (as in the morning.) We decided to have an early meal at the Mexican restaurant again as we thought we would try to rest and sleep--what a bizarre thought that was. Of course, we didn't.

And so began a long, arduous, never to be repeated trip home. We had been up for 18 hours. Ahead of us were 28 more hours before arriving in San Diego--Amman, to Frankfurt, to Denver to San Diego. By the time we hit our very own bed, it had been 48 hours since getting out of bed in Amman for our last full day of adventure. Amazingly, we were up the next morning and feeling good--no jet lag then or in the days to come. But....I never, ever, ever want to repeat that trip home...then again, it is a small price to pay for adventure and seeing marvels of this world. Yep, would do it again if it were the only way. You?

The End.

Bashar Herzalla--great driver in Jordan  bashar_herzalla@yahoo.com

Moses, Crusaders and Romans--A Time Capsule

ANCIENT LANDS

Sometimes I am struck by the irony of calling things "old" in the United States. Our old is so not old in terms of recorded civilizations, history and what is known about man. Granted, there may be unknowns, unexplored treasures hidden in places not found, but where that may be is mysterious. We just don't go back very far.

As I write this post, I am awed by Jordan and what we experienced in our short 3 days there--Petra with the Nabataean civilization going back at least to the 1st century BC; the King's Highway an ancient route mentioned in the Biblical book of Numbers and traversed for centuries and centuries by travelers and traders of the ancient worlds; Mt. Nebo where Moses stood while God laid before him the Promised Land which he could not enter; the Crusaders' Fortress of Kerak built in the 12th century but a place that was historical Moab at the time of the exodus (13th or 15th century BC), the ruins of the Roman/Islamic citadel in Amman, the incredibly preserved and complete ancient Roman ruins of Jerash--one of the most comprehensive Roman ruins we have visited in our travels and, finally, Amman itself which was the home of the Old Testament Ammonites captured by David in the 10th century B.C. All of this within less than a day's drive of each other. These places are old!

We left Petra early in the morning as we wanted to take the longer route--the King's Highway--back to Amman. We were enthralled by the landscape as we tried to imprint the past on what we saw. As the picture above shows, this is desolate, desert, dry country. It is part of where Moses and his people wandered for 40 years. Now there are Bedouins eking out what to us appears to be subsistence living. The land seems no more hospitable now than it was when manna fell from the skies and yet, the Bedouins resist government efforts to dislodge them from their heritage. Their history is their DNA.

Our first stop was the crusaders' Kerak fortress, another fascinating first for us. We all know of the crusades, crusaders, atrocities and motivations of those times; however, we had never really seen a Crusador fortress and that is definitely what this was. It was large, complex, built of huge stones, situated on a hill overlooking the countryside, pretty impenetrable by enemy forces. We clamored around it for a while, climbing steep steps and exploring dark, dungy rooms.

Next, at a small village, Bashar, our driver/guide, stopped and bought sandwiches and food for a picnic. Along the road, not too long after this stop, there was a man with a small tent, table and chairs. This was our picnic setting. I will admit we were a little hesitant to eat the sandwiches as they were mostly vegetables with dressing type sauce and the shop from which they came really didn't inspire confidence; however, we knew that it would be terribly culturally impolite to refuse Bashar's offering. The reality was that the sandwiches were good and we remained quite healthy.

I am sure that this is a traditional stop for Bashar as the Bedouin had handcrafted jewelry and other items for sale which, of course, we bought. Where and when else would we have such an opportunity and they clearly would offer us good memories when back in rather mundane San Diego. This is where I took one of my all time favorite Casey pictures--one of those moments when by sheer accident the stars aligned for perfection.

MAN OF THE DESERT

From here we traveled down the King's Highway to the town of Madaba which has a very old Christian church with a famous mosaic floor. This town was the Old Testament Moabite town of Medaba. We spent a few minutes there and then traveled on to Mt.Nebo. 

I had really looked forward to this part of the trip but it was not what I had anticipated. I had in my mind's eye a high, majestic mountain looking over plains far below on all sides. It wasn't as high as I anticipated and with the construction on the churches, the fencing and other obstructions plus people (although not what it might be in better times) there was not the time for reflection nor were there the vistas that I would have liked. Because it was very hazy that day--which I understand is not unusual, we could not see Jerusalem in the distance and could barely make out Jericho which is not too far below. We could look in the direction of Jerusalem and so ended with at least a sense of the topography.

By this time we were tired--it had been a long day and we were ready for the hotel--which was an interesting experience in and of itself. For reasons I do not understand, Ahmed (remember he who planned our trip) decided we needed an end of trip treat and so had us staying at the Hotel Intercontinental--where the ritzy, jet-set, diplomates 1% stay. We didn't see what their rooms would have looked like, I might add, but I am sure ours was not one of them.

When we arrived at the hotel, there were blockades across the portico, requiring all vehicles to stop and have major security scrutiny including running detectors and mirrors under the car--reminiscent of when we crossed Checkpoint Charley in the days of the Berlin Wall. Having passed inspection, Bashar was allowed to park and help us and our luggage into the hotel.

The hotel had 3 restaurants...fancy, more fancy and Mexican. We opted for Mexican in Jordan to compliment our Italian and Indian in Egypt. Much to our surprise it was pretty good--almost like home.

Next and Finally: Roman Ruins and Home.

Bedouins, Crusaders and Where Moses Stood

At the far end of Petra, guide/photgrapher Hamad Farajat, just happened to know the owner of the donkeys waiting up on the hillside. For a small sampling of Jordanian dinar, we could ride the donkeys to the top of the hill where we would then transfer to a truck to take us to Hamad's car so that he could drive us to a Bedouin camp--for another sampling of dinar. Why not? When would we have another opportunity like this? Never!

Hamad

So we formed the donkey brigade. (aside: Hamad must have told the donkeys' owner of my horse escapade as he totally picked me up and lifted me on to the unsuspecting donkey--another embarrassing moment.) 

Happy Family Outing--in the Desert--on Donkeys

This really was another fun experience as we lurched up the hill. Below us was Petra in its splendor, surrounding us were desert hills below blue, blue skies, above us was a village built by the government when those living in ancestral caves of Petra were required to leave their cave homes.

I learned that donkey's truly are sure-footed as they step on crumbling limestone and shale. A couple of the paths were pretty uphill steep. A long the way we passed two quite pregnant camels which were the possession of our donkey owner; he had more elsewhere. As it turns out, he really appeared to be pretty wealthy by Jordanian desert standards. When we reached his village, we exchanged his donkeys for a 4 door, well-equiped truck which took us on a wild ride down the hills to Hamad's car. Obviously he had driven these paths before.

The Village above Petra

Hamad then took us on another bumpy, wild, really wild, ride in his car to two Bedouin family encampments. He offered us the opportunity to share a meal with the Bedouins which he assured us would be a memorable, fun experience; however, we who are normally quite intrepid travelers, turned him down. Once at the encampments, we knew we had made the wisest of decisions. It is very unlikely our constitutions could have handled the meal or that I would have been here to write about it.

Hamad

Hamad parked the car a ways from the first family's tent so we walked over the desert rocks to get to it. There we were met by a young boy and two young women whom I think were his sisters. Casey, who loves, loves animals loved the adorable new born goats cavorting around a water pail--and the dogs. This is a short video of our tea time at the tent of our first visit.

Across the ravine we could see a larger family hillside complex with several camels, horses, a whole bunch of goats, some lambs and dogs and a nice white truck. Checking for and getting Hamad's OK, we walked over to meet the family who were very welcoming and seemed to enjoy showing us around. The wife showed us the inside of their tent, particularly how sturdy and weather proof the top of the tent was with heavily compacted matted animal hair--I have no doubt that it was quite rain proof. At one end were many neatly rolled rough but clearly heavy blankets which would be unrolled each night on the floor. This tent was quite large with a good size "living" area which doubled as the sleeping area at night. The far end where I suppose clothes and supplies were kept was blocked from sight by the tall pile of blankets.

Watching the sure-footed goats as they moved from one rock-cropping to another occupied us for a few minutes while the father of the camp had fun introducing Casey to a tethered camel. They immediately established a close friendship as you will see. The little girl taught me how to say thank you--but now I forget it.

Well, didn't get to the crusaders fortress or, more importantly, to Moses' last mountain. But..this is long enough for one read so will continue next time. I know it is taking a very long time to finish up this short 2 week trip. So..stay with me a little while longer.

Thanks for checking in. I appreciate my readers.

Oh, this is us relaxing after the heavy Petra, Bedouin day. The hotel general areas were really lovely.

Off to Jordan

One of the first things to learn when moving from Egypt to Jordan is that it is not just a change of countries but continents, too--Africa to Asia. Casey was excited about this as he can now add a 5th continent to his travels. Not bad for a 13 year old.

We left Luxor in late morning for the flight to Cairo where we connected to a flight to Amman, Jordan, arriving somewhere around 6 pm, a little early--nice. Bashar, our driver, soon found us; we stopped at an ATM to get Jordanian dinars--another currency for the collection. In Egypt the dollar was strong--not so in Jordan. The exchange was not in our favor--significantly. But, once you plunge into travel, you surely can't get hung up on exchange rates or you sacrifice enjoyment.

From Amman we had a 3 hour or so drive to our destination, the mysterious rose colored city of Petra. Is there anyone who has not been captivated by the quintessential picture of the ancient, capital city of the Nabataeans?

Petra was a key city along the ancient Silk Road trade route which connected Asia, Africa, the Mediterrean and Europe. The Nabatean people were brilliant, not only creating this magnificent city out of stone but carving an incredible water system through this same stone--parts of this can still be seen today. Considering that this culture was centuries before the Romans remarkable feats of engineering, their accomplishments are super impressive. Often when having the privilege of seeing what previous civilizations have left behind to awe us, it is impossible not to wonder what we are leaving for those who follow us 3 and 4 millenniums away. My hunch is that most of the 20th and 21st century will crumble but that Petra will stand.

We were staying at the Movenpick Hotel which is located right at the walkway leading to the entrance of Petra--a nice place to stay. Bashar met us in the morning and took us to meet Hamad, our guide through the wonders of Petra. Hamad was an excellent, knowledgeable guide plus a professional photographer. He used our cameras to take pictures throughout the day. He knew just where to take them, how to frame, where the light was etc. We ended up with photos we would never have had. For instance:

Love the perspective in this one

Right after the gate, we elected to ride horses down the path leading to the Sig. This seemed like a brilliantly fun thing to do; forgetting that I can't remember the last time I was on a horse--I am quite certain that I was somewhere in the dim and forgotten past. Things went very well and I loved sitting high and admiring the surroundings. What an impressive sight.

The problem came as I was to dismount. As I lifted my leg over the horn on the saddle, somehow my right foot caught in the stirrup and my left leg remained high on the horse--so I dangled momentarily--surely a graceful scene. Eventually I fell on my right buttock with left leg still pointing skyward and right foot still caught--can you picture this?. The guide (horse guide not Hamed, fortunately) tried to catch me at which time he was almost knocked off the cliff. I have no idea how many people witnessed but Ken didn't (thank you, God.) Casey did as did any number of other tourists and guides. Looking at no one, I hobbled up, dusted off and went on my way as if nothing unusual had happened. I suspect, though, that the horse guides still talk about the weird American woman.

Moving on, we walked through the ancient 1200 meter entrance way called As-Sig, which is a deep, winding narrow gorge with 80 meter walls soaring skyward. Along the way are incredible colors, water channels dug by the Nabateans, agricultural terraces and votive niches. It is really awesome. And then, as if what you have now seen hasn't awed enough, you get the first peak of the Treasury--which in reality was the tomb of an important Nabataean king. There is so little history of these people that the mystery of who this person was will remain a mystery throughout time but...he must have been a big man on campus, for sure.

Can you imagine the trade caravans coming through the gorge with camels laden with treasures from east and west and this was what greeted them? Do you think they were any less awed than we?

Once through the Sig there is a wide open piazza type area in front of the Treasury with the expected vendors and guides hawking for business. From there the wide dirt path wanders through the remains of the city that was--caves that were tombs and homes, a Roman theater, temples, magnificent buildings carved into the rock, donkeys, Bedouins, camels, tourists. Amazing, amazing, amazing.

Next: A donkey ride, Visiting a Bedouin camp, and the King's Highway

Christmas in Luxor

Well, we are coming to the close of the Egypt portion of our grand Christmas adventure. Soon we will be in Jordan. By now we have seen pyramids, tombs, palaces, museums and temples. We have traveled by plane, ship and camel--well, actually, maybe 200 meters by camel, to be honest. We've eaten well, laughed, explored, people watched, drank mint tea, listened to the call to worship uncountable times and just had fun. Oh, yeah--met lots of Mohammeds.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent on the banks of the Nile at the Luxor Sherator Resort, which was really quite nice--a great way to relax and enjoy these two days that are special to us. We loved seeing the large Christmas tree in the lobby and other decorations reminding us of our heritage and beliefs. We had wondered about Christmas in a Muslim country. Once when someone wished me "Merry Christmas" I ended up asking, as I caught myself saying Merry Christmas back,: "What should I say to you?"..."Just say Happy New Year." That worked.

We had used Starwood points to stay here and I guess because Ken has residual status after having been top tier many times in his working years, we were upgraded to an incredibly large and lovely suite over looking the Nile with a balcony that stretched around two sides. It made Christmas that much nicer not to be cramped in a regular hotel room cramped with a bed for Casey.

Nice Welcome Gift from Manager

And...the commode was a masterpiece which Casey still talks about. I had heard of these Japanese innovations but hadn't seen let alone used one before. It took a manual to know what to do. Hot air/cool air/warm water/cool water/for him/ for her.... Never did get it all figured out but sure replaces the bidet.

By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were rather beat from the day's activities--see last post--and wanted to do nothing more than kick back, relax, enjoy late lunch and walk the grounds along the Nile--which we did. That night we enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner at La Mamma--one of the hotel's restaurants. It was such a good time with the three of us and we laughed at Casey's arrabiata made appropriately spicy with jalapeños.

The hotel had a large Christmas banquet type dinner that night with multiple courses and fancy dress which didn't appeal to us for many reasons, chief among which being who wants to spend an evening with people you don't know, eating more food than you want and dressing up (which we could not have done anyway.) Our way we had the entire Italian restaurant to ourselves, totally enjoying interacting with our waiter and listening to Dean Martin singing That's Amore. Who would have thought in Egypt?

That night, Santa, amazingly, found us so many miles from home, even bringing Casey's stocking and wrapped gifts. Thank goodness for reindeer who can travel so quickly. Casey was surprised in the morning and enjoyed the small gifts and candies that had nestled safely in our suitcases.

That afternoon we hired a boatman to take us across the Nile to deposit Casey to where we had arranged a horseback riding session and then on down the Nile to where Ken and I went to the quite enjoyable Luxor Museum. (This should not be confused with the less well thought of mummy museum in Luxor.) We thoroughly enjoyed this museum as it has some wonderful antiquities and yet is not so large as to overwhelm. Even then we hurried through faster than we would have preferred as we needed to get back to our little boat to return to the other side of the river to retrieve Casey. There was such a fairy tale quality to the day,

That night we opted for dinner in the every day type dining room of the hotel where there was a pretty bad buffet. We should have returned to La Mamma, I think. Maybe Dean would have been singing White Christmas with Bing.

The next day we repacked, after buying a new satchel to carry new treasures, and were whisked off to the Luxor airport for a flight to Cairo and from Cairo to Jordan and mysterious rose- colored Petra, a place I had dreamed of seeing but never thought I would. As you will see, it was wonderful and held a whole new set of adventures for us. Bedouin encampments, more horse rides donkey rides, Roman ruins and Mexican food.

Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut and Medinet Habu

Mohamed, our wonderful guide throughout the cruise, picked us up around 8 a.m., loaded our luggage into the van, and off we drove to the Valley of the Kings, final resting place of pharaohs, queens, consorts and lesser nobility.

Mohamed

The Valley of the Kings is barren, dry desert. There is nothing remotely beautiful about it if one is looking for trees, greens, water, color. It is beige, beige, beige. If you look at it as another example of earth's diversity and geological wonders, then you can find beauty--as in all things.

From Travels in Paradise.Com

It is a short drive out of Luxor, through dune colored hills and then the parking lot with little shuttle trains that take visitors to the tomb area. The downer is the huge number of men and young boys selling books, postcards and trinkets. It is so obvious that the need for money is great and the opportunity for making anything approaching a livable income is non-existent. In the best of times, it would be hard, in these times of few tourists it is impossible. 

We bought a ticket which allowed access to three tombs of our choosing. There is an extra ticket to go into Tutankhamun's which we did  not get as we had read and were told there really is nothing to see in it. It is not painted and colorful as others are and nothing remains except a large plain sarcophagus. Maybe I wish we had gone but too late now. 

The three we went into were recommended by Mohamed as being the most interesting and colorful. We were astounded by the remaining wall drawings and incredibly bright, vibrant colors. Unfortunately, it is prohibited to take pictures in the tombs so I have none. This link has some good examples but even they don't do justice to the awesome walls. Culture Focus.com. There are long entrance walls covered with many scenes and stories referring both to the life of the entombed pharaoh and the hoped for benefits of the anticipated afterlife. Gods and goddesses in myriad strange forms decorate the rooms, ceilings and walls. The workmanship boggles.

I found this on the web. Isn't it amazing?

There is nothing on the surface of the valley to indicate what lies below making it clear why finding these tombs is such a painstaking process; there are thought to be many not yet discovered.

Typical Entrance into Tomb

From here we went onto the temple of Queen Hatshepsut which is quite impressive, particularly from a distance. Much of it was destroyed by her stepson who followed her and who wasn't very fond of step-mom. He had many of her statues broken and her face defaced where ever he found it. Consequently there are just a couple physical representation of how she may have looked. It is also not clear how she died or where she was buried, not surprising leading to ideas that she may have been murdered by her stepson. Recently her mummy was found in a cache of royal mummies but where it had previously been buried seems to still be unknown.

Queen Hatshepsut, "the woman who would be pharaoh", was truly remarkable, succesfully leading Egypt for somewhere around 23 years. She often wore men's clothing-including the fake beard, successfully fought wars and had an impressive building program. Pretty impressive woman! Would have led a Fortune 500 today.

From here we had three more ancient sites before the end of our Egypt tour and being taken to our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day kickback time. I have to admit that at this point we looked forward to this as we were approaching the point of overload after a week of "seeing and experiencing."  Casey was holding up better than Ken and I--youth does have advantages.

Next stop was Medinet Habu--the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III. The pharaohs may have been buried in obscurity but they sure didn't want to be forgotten so they built beautiful, above ground testimonials to themselves. Medinet Habu is impressive in size and decoration. By now we had seen many places with colors remaining after centuries of exposure to elements; however, here the colors were particularly vibrant. It was also interesting to see the depth in the carving of figures and hieroglyphics--much deeper than any other place. You can see it in the pictures.

Our last two stops were the Tombs of the Nobles which are in a rather isolated area with very little there. We were able to enter two of them but photos were not allowed. One of them was fairly deep underground and had retained full walls of murals and drawings--quite impressive.

The last stop was at the Colossi of Memnon. These huge, gigantic statues originally stood at the entrance to the mortuary temple of Amenophis III which is no longer. The fact that they still stand is amazing. They are called Memnon because for many years (long ago) one of them emitted a strange whistling sound each morning. The Greeks, always prolific at ascribing reasons to anything unexplained, decided that it was the statue of Memnon, a warrior said to have been turned into a statue in Thebes after being killed by Achilles. The sound was his lamenting his mother, the sun, as she rose each morning. As the statue deteriorated, so did the sound. We listened--but nothing.

This was the end of our guided portion of Egypt. From here we were delivered to our hotel in Luxor--the Sheraton Resort--which was lovely. Since it was Christmas Eve, we were pleased to find a large green tree in the lobby, decorated in red and gold. It was a nice touch. We said goodbye to Mohamed and started our private Christmas time. More on that next time.