Kristy and Lucas @ Dead Sea

Some fun videos:

I just love Kristy's laugh in this one:

Kristy in the Dead Sea

Here's a little demonstration of how to relax dead sea style:

Prego Lady

Kristy and Lucas @ Baptismal Site

Michael and I thought this would be just another trip to the baptismal site, but we were in for a surprise.  The whole experience was almost just as new to us as it was to Kristy and Lucas.  

 The guide took us on a completely different path that first led to the Spring of John the Baptist, which I didn't even know existed. 

 There was even actually water at the baptismal site this time, thanks to the snow and extra moisture the previous weeks. 

 The River Jordan was the largest I have ever seen it, still just as murky though. 

The water here usually only reaches that pole in the upper left corner.  

It always surprises me to see how eager people are to jump in and baptize themselves.  There was a man that stripped right down to his whitie tighties and hopped right in the freezing water!  (Sorry, I wasn't brave enough to take a picture).  Kristy and Luke were satisfied with a little hand dip.  

We went to Mount Nebo after the Baptismal site and on the way back stopped to help a family with a flat tire.  

 This picture almost looks like it could be in Idaho, except that if you turned around you would see camels in the distance. :)

 Good Samaritan Lucas

The coolest part about this road-side stop was experiencing Arab hospitality.   The lady in the black and white shirt immediately went to the car and pulled out a piping hot kettle of tea, poured some in little white and gold porcelain teacups, and offered it to us on a platter.  A good Arab is always prepared to be a good host; and apparently having a flat tire in the middle of the desert is no excuse.  Kristy and I were amazed at their kindness and courtesy.  I am also surprised that people here never get offended when Michael and I refuse tea.  When we tell them that it is 'haraam' (which in Arabic literally means forbidden, especially because of religion) in our religion they completely respect and understand us.  After we told this to this cute Arab lady, she threw the tea out to the side of the road and quickly put it away, no questions asked, and no offense shown whatsoever.

"Oh hey look Kristy, it's that guy from the airplane!"

Kristy and Lucas @ Petra

We pick Kristy and Lucas up from the airport at around 9 pm and went to our hotel at the Dead Sea.   We woke them up nice and early (although, I don't think they slept because of the jet lag) and drove them to Petra.   As it turned out, we couldn't have picked a better first day for them because we wore them out so much that jet lag didn't affect them so bad anymore.  Getting to Petra was a journey in and of itself.

 Michael and I have only ever been to Petra from Amman, but this time we were starting from the Dead Sea.  How hard could it be, right?  We had an idea of where to go and didn't figure there would be any problems.  Turns out, google maps has roads that don't exist in real life, and in real life there are roads that don't exist on google maps. 

The scenery was beautiful, but the switchbacks along the mountain we climbed were almost frightening.  And we didn't always have such wonderful curbing to keep us from tumbling thousands of feet.  We figured, a little too late, that this road was not the one we were supposed to be on.

Thanks to a few kind Bedouins along the way, we learned that this road would take us to Petra, it just wasn't the most direct path. 

You would have been surprised how many people live in the middle of nowhere.  

We finally made it, about an hour after schedule, but we all agree it was worth the drive.   

  

 The siq

 The Treasury

 We took some new paths

 and saw different structures.

 Every time we come, Michael goes a little farther than the last time. 

 Climbing the 900 and something steps to the Monastery

 The Monastery 

This is about how we felt after hiking down from the Monastery. 

 So we decided to take the "desert Ferrari" back to the siq.

 I'm not sure how smart that was to do at 5 months pregnant, but it was an experience none of us will forget.  

Here are some videos:

Camel Ride in Petra

Another video of our camel ride

Take a look at those buckling legs, poor thing is struggling under the weight of my pregnant belly.