Post Pandemic Petra and Pyramids

 After further testing, we headed across the bridge to the airport. Despite being a bit confused about where to check in, things went well and we boarded our plane on time. Our departure was delayed by an hour. The pilot came on the intercom twice to say that it was not Egypt Air's fault because they were loading a lot of luggage. We saw how many bags most passengers had and I am not surprised, but really? An extra hour? I asked a flight attendant about the probability that we would miss our connection in London, as we only had a two hour layover. She assured me that Air Canada would wait for us. Of course, when we got to Heathrow and ran through the airport, the plane door was closed and we missed our flight. There was a nice Air Canada representative who explained that Air Egypt would rebook us and provide us with accommodation if we had to stay overnight. She then walked us over to an Air Egypt counter- which was not the right one, as we had to exit the Arrivals level and find t...

early morning over the Suez Canal Although we loved (most of) our time in Jordan, we were excited to be going to Egypt to visit Cairo, with the Pyramids and the Sphinx, and Alexandria, with its library and Mediterranean seashore. We deliberately built in "days of leisure" so that we would have time to relax rather than continue to have days packed with sightseeing in crowds of other travelers. We were thrilled to get to the Egyptian Museum and Giza.  This whole trip was based upon my desire to see the Pyramids and they did not disappoint. I was also more impressed by the Sphinx than I expected to be. Then ended up having many days of "leisure", as first Barry and then I got covid. Although it was not required, we self-isolated so as not to be a danger to others and also to ensure that we were safe to travel home. Cairo hotel room view- Nile River traffic is constant- maybe not as bad as Amman,  but very noisy as horn-honking seems to be a national pastime Alexandria...

 We had talked about going back for a short visit but the weather changed and it was very windy with rainclouds over Petra. We were so happy that we had great, sunny skies for our days there. We were also happy that we had packed some clothes for cold weather. We checked out of our lovely hotel and headed back to Amman. It was a smooth ride- interesting to watch the landscape change and to note the contrasts in the countryside.  Bedouin shepherd and flock in foreground; energy generating windmills in the distance We returned to the same hotel as when we first arrived in Amman and made good use of the guest laundry.                                                                       one more Amman hotel room view We also went for a special meal at a neighbouring restaur...

 After much discussion with our guide and with Barry yesterday, I decided the give another hike a try. Our driver had told us it was a much more difficult hike than the one that had defeated me, but Rock said no, the path was renovated and not too scary. They both promised to hold my hand when/if my fear of heights came into play. So, off we went. We arrived at the Visitor Centre at the main entrance to Petra and requested that Rock would be our guide again. Luckily, he was available, although we had to wait about 20 minutes because he was not scheduled to work and was still at home in bed! When he arrived, we took a shuttle to Little Petra, the base of the Back Door to the Monastery Trail. There we had a choice to take another bumpy truck bed ride to cut off a couple of kilometers. It was a no brainer for me.  Soon we were on the 2.5 kilometer path to the Monastery. It was usually wide and had lots of berms along the sharpest drop offs, which gave me a lot of comfort.  T...

We were looking forward to Petra as a highlight of our trip and were surprised to be even more impressed than we anticipated. From the entrance (where tour buses abound), it's just a bunch of rocks. Quite attractive rocks, but ones that give no hint to what is behind them. Our driver excorted us to the ticket booth and arranged for a certified local guide. Sakher recognized that we would have problems pronouncing his name, so he told us we could call him Rock, as that is what Sakher means. It was a good start. As we walked along the narrow 1.2 km pathway from the entrance into the lost city, Rock explained the known history of the city built and eventually abandoned by the Nabateans. It's believed to have been home to about 30,000 people. I asked Rock about the current number of inhabitants of the town around Petra- it's about 30,000.              Although it flourished for the first centuries BC to AD as a vital trading centre because of its idea...