Two kids, two adults, one small apartment: Petra and Eilat

Two weeks ago, I had a vacation! My beloved husband watched our small kids for four days while I toured Petra, with stops in Eilat on the way there and back. I travelled with a friend from Jerusalem, Rachel, and we had a WONDERFUL time. I have to say, in retrospect, I have always had great traveling experiences with "new" friends, and this experience was one that also formed a foundation for a nice friendship to come, as well. Rachel and I met each other one day after a Tot Shabbat service she led, and we both talked about wanting to visit Petra. This was a fortuitous meeting, and a month later we were on our way to Eilat and Petra. We both left our children behind with supportive spouses, and looked forward to a "real" vacation.

We arrived by plane from Tel Aviv on Tuesday and found ourselves gobsmacked by this amazing pool that runs through the center of the hotel we had booked, the Isrotel Agamim. After a short debate, we decided to spend the day....at the pool. Why not??!
God it was wonderful to just sit, read, and relax. Later, we walked to town and had a fish dinner. This is the view of the pool from our balcony!

The next morning, the tour company picked us up at our hotel in Eilat, and took us through customs and into Jordan, arriving about 3 hours later in Petra.

ONE DAY IS NOT ENOUGH TO SEE PETRA!!

We basically walked into the ancient city, saw some of the most common "highlights," ate lunch and, if we had stayed with the tour, would have spent only about 6 hours in Petra and seen only 1/4 of it. However, we arranged to leave the tour and stay the night in Petra, so we had time to return to some sights and tombs that interested us, and leisurely make our way to our hotel in Petra.

That night, we treated ourselves ice cream at the 5-star Movenpick hotel in town -- not where we stayed! Let me state that say is that this was unequivocally the best ice cream I've had since I left the United States. And after a hot, dusty day in Petra, it was absolute fantasia.

The main road as you (and hundreds of other tourists) enter Petra:

This is coming out of the canyon/main road, just as it opens up into the wide open spaces, and the Treasury.

The Treasury (where they filmed the final scene of the original Raiders of the Lost Ark...)

These are what they think were Royal tombs, and their scale is enormous. Below that is a close-up of just one of the entrances. Notice the amazing sandstone coloring on the ceiling of that entrance. The whole city is carved out of this multi-colored sandstone.

The second day, we decided to hike to the High Place of Sacrifice, and walk through an entirely different area of this city. It was absolutely worth the short hike up, as the view was spectacular, and the High Place of Sacrifice the perfect place to sit and relax. We made our way back, taking our time. Honestly, every 5 minutes, we'd say to ourselves, "look at THIS!" or "THIS is amazing." We passed ancient water cisterns, more burial sites, sculptures and ancient garden sites.

Relaxing at the top of the High Place. How do you like the Tourist Hat?

Rachel posing during the descent down. We passed so many amazing sights; it was hard not to take a photo every step.

The tricky part, having left the tour, was returning to Eilat. I won't get into how the company promised us a ride back with a tour bus the next day and never came through...but we prepared an alternate plan: the bus. We kept wondering, "if everyone says to take a taxi to the border for about $45, why don't more people take the bus for $3?" Honestly, we wondered that.

So, we headed to the bus stop to catch the last bus of the day back to the border town, Acqaba, at 3pm. There were two waiting areas on the side of a parking lot: one for men, and one for women. Several women told us to wait for the bus, but about 2:45, they started telling us, "the bus isn't coming." No, we thought, "how can you say that? It comes at 3pm." We waited. The men told us, "the bus isn't coming." We didn't really believe them, since it was only 3pm. Then, a nice woman told us, "here's a bus to such-and-such town. If you take this, with me, then there are plenty of buses from there to Acqaba." We almost did this, but honestly, where was this town? Was it really on the way? So we waited.

About 3:15, a small bus arrived. Men and women said, "THIS is the bus to Acqaba!" Now, mind, you, it's not a bus as you'd imagine it. It is an 18-seater large van. And lots of young men headed for the bus and piled on. No women. Rachel said to me, "there are only men getting on this bus!" So I said, "OK, let's not go then." As we backed off and headed toward the waiting bench, a woman we had been speaking with said, "this is the bus to Acqaba. You should take it. It will be o.k." I asked her why there were no women getting onto this bus, and she said, "take it. It will be fine." I trusted her; she seemed sincere and kind. So, I said, "let's take it." We get on, cramped, negotiated a price with someone (who did not get on the bus nor drive it) and sat and waited for a driver to show.

A driver arrived, and off we rode, probably on our way to Acqaba. I read the signs, and we were definitely heading in the right direction. There was one young man on the bus studying hotel management, and he spoke English. He told me we were on the "transfer bus." "Transfer bus? What's that?" After much explanation, I understood. The 3pm bus never showed because the last bus was actually at 2pm. These guys are all friends, and attend university in Petra. They wanted to go to Acqaba for the weekend, and since the bus never showed, one of them called a cousin/friend/someone who drives a bus to come and take them to Acqaba. When I finally understood the phrase "transfer bus," I said, "OHHHHH...!" To which the whole bus erupted in claps, shouts and laughter. After that, they played their music, clapped and sang, and I must add, were more than a little amused by our presence on the bus. The rest of the ride was uneventful for us, and we made our way across the border, and back to Israel.

One thing I'd like to mention here is how amazingly nice, and even generous, the Jordanians were that we encountered. One guy stored our bags at his shop all day and won't take a tip for doing it. The kids on the bus. The people at the hotels, and even the Jordanian middle-school kids who were also touring Petra. I was surprised, yes, since Israel has not the greatest service mentality. I am happy to recommend Petra, and its citizens, for your travel plans!

The "Transfer Bus."

Our friend, the interpreter, is on the far right.

Our traveling companions back to Acqaba, Jordan.

And finally, I spent my last vacation morning on the beach in Eilat. I can't believe that I swam in the Red Sea in the morning, and was in Jerusalem having Shabbat dinner with my family that evening. How awesome!