Petra, Jordan

 I'm giddy just writing this post because we are really here in Petra, Jordan!

I've wanted to come here since I was a kid: in the movie "Indian Jones and the Last Crusade", Harrison Ford goes through this desert canyon to arrive at the Treasury - an amazing temple carved into the rock. 

This is my photo of the Treasury!

We purposely booked two nights staying in the town of Petra so that we could have time to explore the sites of this "Wonder of the World". In case different people in our group needed different things, we had a guide as a part of our tour package, but you don't need a guide to see this site. It's popular and safe and set up for tourists.

We arrived to Petra in the late afternoon, so Nana stayed with the kids in the hotel at night while Jason and I went in and experienced the "Petra By Night" show. It's quite peaceful as you walk the 2km along the path and through the canyon by candle light. You then sit on a blanket in front of the Treasury and it lights up in different hues as performers play traditional music and you are served tea. The stars were overhead and the whole experience was delightful. It was cool (desert weather) and we were wearing our puffy coats.

The next day, all 5 of us (including Nana) went with our guide and driver into the site. We walked the 2km through the Siq - the canyon, which is gorgeous. Then we arrived at the Treasury, which is breathtaking. There's a lot going on there - people selling things, offering guiding and hiking services, and a transport hub of camels and donkeys and electric golf carts for anyone who has difficulty with the walk.

After the Treasuy, we continued walking along toward the theatre and past the Royal Tombs area. The rock colours, the amount of cave homes and carved out rock temples/tombs was astounding. 

Nana and Ava walked to the ruins of the large temple (about 3.5-4km) and then decided to go back to the hotel. They boarded two donkeys and rode back to the Treasury. From there, they got an electric golf cart back to the Visitor Center exit. Thankfully our hotel was just another 100m or so from there. Great job Nana and Ava!

After that, Rachel, Jason and I hiked up to the Monastery. This was a legit hike up, even though it was only about 1-1.5km further than the temple. There were about 1000 stairs to get up, with beautiful rocks and canyons around. At the top, the Monastery comes into view in a similar way to the Treasury, but there weren't many people around and everything felt calm and easy. 

I can't express how lovely it was to exercise, to be hiking, and to be outside in fresh air with less people. We have been in a lot of cities in the last few weeks. I haven't felt very comfortable running and haven't felt like we've been very well set up for me (particularly as a female) to go running. So to be outside, working up a sweat, with nature all around - it felt glorious!!

We had a sandwich at the top and then hiked back down. After that, we hiked up to the top of a peak behind the temple that used to be an old crusader castle. On the top of the hike was the oldest geocache in Jordan, and it gave us a beautiful view! 

To end the day, we walked back to the Treasury via the Royal Tombs and peeked inside several of the caves. 

Overall, this was a dream come true day. We hiked about 16km or so, saw the amazing sites and histoy of the ancient city. It really was as good as I had always built it up to be, but even better that we were able to hike freely here and there. We could have hiked to other view points but we felt really satisfied with our experience and all that we saw.

Today was another reminder to me that all dreams ARE possible.