Seven of Seven

We’ve been very busy since we last blogged, even though we had to deal with the extremes of the Egyptian way!

After a very long and cramped bus ride overnight we arrived in the port town of Nuwieba at 7am. From here our task was simple – get over to Aqaba, Jordan, and then up to Wadi Musa where we would set up for Petra in the morrow. Sounds easy right? Well…… getting the tickets was easy, even waiting until 3pm for the ferry departure was relatively easy, the rest was not. After a long hot day sitting at a café we went to board the ferry, only to be kept waiting and waiting. And of course when we were finally able to board (45mins late) it was an absolute nightmare of tour groups and generally oblivious people! Next was the journey, despite paying for the fast boat AND being assured we were on it, the trip was not 1hr, it was 3. The pain did not even stop here! When we finally arrived at the other side we had to go through immigration, and despite being the 1st people there, this honour is reserved for the tour groups, however long it takes them…. All of them!! Of course, by this time we were seeing red and being told to “take a seat” in a room full of people where there were no seats, was not a great way to stem the flames of anger. At least from here it was just a short cab ride to town, albeit 3 ½ hours later than planned. Yet our luck had not turned and our cabbie did not intend to drop us off at ouyr hotel so we hopped out in town and here we were told where we were – but we weren’t! So a little wander led us to find a hotel and we were able to settle in for the night, FINALLY!

With no intention of staying in Aqaba, but also no intent to haul ass to Petra, we allowed ourselves to sleep in and casually grab some food before getting into a share taxi to Wadi Musa. The trip was under 2 hrs and we arrived in time to get a nice room and find some more delicious Middle Eastern food before retiring for the night. After a nice sleep, with great anticipation, we awoke at 7 for breakfast and hustled out to get to Petra for the day – and what a day it was!

We got our tickets to the site and started the trek in to the heart of it all. On the way we were given little tasters of what was to come as with carved facades and caves in the face of the sandstone rock around us. After a short time we entered ‘the siq’ a narrow gorge forged from the tectonic plates separating. At time the light was almost cut out as we ventured deeper inside and the anticipation rose as we got nearer to the end and the figure-head of Petra, The Treasury.

When we did arrive we were able to see how so many people fall in love with Petra right there. It was astonishing. The detail and the craftsmanship involved and then the natural beauty of the lined and swirled sandstone. Also, Indiana Jones connect helps! Despite the throngs of tourists we were able to enjoy our time here with smiles on our faces as we had reached our final of the 7 Wonders of the World.

From the Treasury we strolled down the ‘Street of Facades’, a narrow road with carved tomb fronts on either side. This led us out into an opening, from which we could gauge the enormity of the site. A large amphitheatre stood in front of us with carved tombs on either side, rising up the valley walls. We could also see the wide valley in front of us with more and more ruins to explore.
We continued our trek and went to explore some of the huge tombs that we could see, all ornately adorned and carved from the sandstone. As we walked to go and view them we saw that a guy that had shared in our ferry agony was sat with some local Bedouins, sipping tea at their trinket stall. We joined them and spent the next half hour sipping Bedouin tea and taking in the scenery. With brief goodbyes we started our hike to a secluded overlook of the treasury. This entailed us picking our way through crevices, climbing/scrabbling up worn out carved steps and pushing our way through bushes past the carcasses of donkeys! Not another person the entire time.

We arrived finally, feeling pretty hardcore, at the top of the cliff, with just a few minutes left until the overlook. It was here that we met some people finally, who had chosen the route we decided against. The view from the outcrop was fantastic; we sat and had our hiking snacks looking down on the Treasury and the bustling crowd below. We descended via the ‘proper’ route and decided that ours was much more fun then the hundreds of restored steps that lead us down, back to the valley floor.

We still had tons to see so we hurried on to explore the very Roman city centre, with it’s colonnades and free standing buildings. We stopped here for another rest before a long and strenuous hike up the Monastery. Although we soon found that it wasn’t as bad as people seemed to think and was a very nice, yet step-y, trek and we were once again rewarded heavily. The Monastery was as impressive as the Treasury, not as ornate, but larger, and of the same design – these guys were serious!

By the time we had returned to the valley we had only one thing left to do before the day was out – a hike recommended by our guidebook that a renowned US rambler claimed as being in his top 6. Well, as usual LP didn’t fail to provide a crappy part of the map at a vital point! We set off under my direction. We were having a lovely tie, with beautiful scenery when we happened upon a group of guys who wanted to check our map. This was when, after consulting our compass, we were on the wrong trail heading nowhere except for a 2 day hike to a village!! Needless to say, we pulled a U-y and went back the other way, forgoing our hike, my head bowed in shame! We did make it to the final destination, well I did. Jen, still fighting off a nasty cold, decided to wait at the bottom of the rock face and the staircase that lead to the top. So I left on my own, on weary legs to finish the day at the ‘High Place of Sacrifice’.

I was a rewarding hike up and, after forcing myself to quicken the pace, I was up in 20 minutes. The view was astonishing, as were the 2 obelisks, carved from the sandstone, yet being the only 2 objects on a flat topped pinnacle! With a little exploration I managed to find the 10 x 20 ft shallow pool, presumably there to catch whatever the ‘sacrifice’ ‘leaked’!

I arrived back down to find Jen, surprised to see me so quickly (Yes, I’m gloating – the book said 40mins each way, I was up and down in 45) and we took a leisurely walk back to the end of the siq, to take one final look a the Treasury before departing. We were even able to get a quick piccie with no one else in it! After a very long, hot, dust, sweaty, up & down, 9hr day we decided that we had better relax a little before going back to the hotel. So we had a nice cold beer in the Worlds oldest bar (Thank you Ranch Kids)!

So there we are, we have seen all of the 7 New Wonders and what remains of the Ancients. We even managed to finish on a favourite, Petra is a beautiful blend of natural beauty in the amazingly patterned sandstone and the natural landscape, mixed with the truly magnificent feat of the civilization that once lived here in constructing such an awe inspiring city. Magical.

Nothing left to do on our trip but relax – and so we shall!

We left Jordan the next day, much more smoothly than before, although we did have to wait a few hours for the ferry to leave, and, once back on Egyptian soil, Jen haggled a VERY good price for a ride down to Dahab, where we are now. For months this has been a place we have been looking forward to, a sea-side paradise of lazy days, sheesha pipes, great food, cold beers and wonderful diving. So far it has not disappointed. We have found a nice little ocean front hotel with a great bar/dining area on the water that looks over the glassy blue waters of the Gulf of Aqaba ( the Red Sea) to Saudi Arabia. And furthermore, we have had 2 days of fantastic diving and plan to have 3 or 4 more!

Unfortunately, we can’t get these computers to load Picasa and therefore we cannot post the pictures yet…. So you will have to wait! Sorry!

Bye, time for food, beer and another sheesha before bed!