You can't hide forever - Chris

The two Jordan posts were a heavy lift. Fun to write, good to be able to share with you all, and great mementos for the family in the future. But they took a long time to write. And the funny thing about Semester at Sea is that even though you're sitting on a ship for half the time, you are always busy. A million activities, opportunities, cool people to hang with, lectures, movie nights, game nights. It's fun, but it's not like we ever have any long periods of quiet time. And then you get to port and you want to soak up every minute off the ship. Sights, food, experiences. The day after a port everyone is exhausted. Then you wake up and do it all again. 

So how did anyone find the time to write and organize all that stuff about Jordan? 

Well. I brought back an extra souvenir from Jordan than no one else on Semester at Sea did. 

Covid. I think it's appropriate to say Fucking Covid at this point. 

I was fine until the end of the first full day back on the ship after Jordan. I woke up with a raging fever and body aches. I went and tested at the med clinic and it took all of 3 minutes to get the results. So I hung out in the clinic while the rest of the family came down to get tests of there own. Thank goodness. Every other JL was negative. 

So here are the rules for Covid on the ship. I had to be moved to an isolation room. And I had to stay there for 6 full days. As long as Jen and the kids tested negative every morning for 5 days, they could wander the ship freely with masks on. 

So for 6 days I was to have meals dropped off at my door and I could only go outside for 30 minutes three times each day. 

People called the room, dropped off cards and treats, and tried and help keep my spirits up. 

Day 1: I didn't really want to do anything except lay in bed anyways. I had that fever for two full, LONG, days. Today was the day we went through the Suez Canal. From the bed, through my port hole, it looked like a sandy shore that was closer to the ship than normal. That's really all I have to say about an amazing achievement of humankind. This technically counted as Day 0 for me, but that makes it confusing so I'm calling it Day 1. 

Day 2: Still feeling pretty bad. I could start getting fresh air though. Three times a day, someone from security would call me and ask if I wanted to "take fresh air." Then they would come down to my room to get me and escort me up to Deck 6 to a part of the ship that is outside and where mostly no one goes. By the life boats. And I could walk back and forth until it was time to come inside. I listened to podcasts and it was the best part of every day. Security would stand by the door and make sure no one came out there while I was there. It did give the impression that I was a very dangerous man and security was there to keep me in line. 

Day 3: I felt a little better. I also really started watching shows and movies. Quick side note about movies and shows: I have a laptop for work that gets internet most of the time. I also could log in to Netflix and Disney+ from this laptop as well. And Disney+ has a whole bunch of different things available outside the US. So I finally got to watch two shows I had always wanted to see but never had the chance; The Bear, and Reservation Dogs. Both shows lived up to the hype and are amazing. They both deal a lot with suicide and I also watched the Anthony Bourdain documentary so things were getting pretty dark in there.

Day 4: Continuing to feel better. I also started taking COVID tests. If I tested negative twice with 24 hours in between I could be released immediately. My test was positive, but that's to be expected. This was also the first day with the ship docked in Cyprus. My window faced the side with the terminal where everyone was disembarking. Ouch. The whole ship was getting off to go explore and have fun but me. It was also Carnival and Fat Tuesday so there were parades and music and food all over the city. Or so I'm told...

Day 5: Today I tested negative! If I can take another negative test tomorrow I can get out a day early. Jen and the kids left town to go to Paphos. It's near the birth place of Aphrodite and has some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe. The bus leaves at 9am the next morning so I need my test done by 7:30 to I can get a quick change of clothes, throw some stuff in a backpack and make it to the bus for fun. It will be really nice to get at least two days in Cyprus. Jen and the kids tested in the morning. Negative 5 days in a row. It's a minor miracle. 

Day 6: I set my alarm to get up early and pack up the room. I had everything set by the door when they came to put that stick up my nose one last time. Pretty soon I would be bolting upstairs and hopping on a bus. It took a looooong time for the phone call to come with my results. Positive. Not going anywhere. I didn't even unpack. I just went back to bed. This was the hardest day by far. Six full days of isolation. Three days in a port I could only see through the window. Jen and the kids came back late after a day of hiking and snuck me some McDonalds on the ship. Traveling isn't all adventures with sunshine and lollipops. It'll break your heart sometimes. 

Day 7: No need to test. Just get up and get off the ship. Freedom! And socialization! We spent the whole day wandering the city of Limassol. Walked the beach for hours. Ate amazing food. It was an easy and wonderful day. Back on the ship just in time. Back to sea.

A lot of people feel pretty bad for me and have expressed their condolences. Some people are impressed that a human could survive the isolation. A lot of people really liked this port and felt sad that I missed out. All of these feelings are valid. But the truth is, until the last day, I really did just fine. I made the best of it and the days went by pretty easily. Jen was the one juggling three kids alone both at sea and in a port. I think she had it way harder than I did. I'm kinda built for isolation. I'm pretty happy alone and doing my own thing. If Jen and I could have been together I probably could have done a few months like that. 

I do feel bad about missing a lot of the port. The city of Limassol is kind of like ancient Greece with Newport Beach, California layered over the top. My kinda place. Beautiful. A boardwalk along the beach that we never really found the end of. And we tried. Fantastic food. And so much more to see. 

Oh well. We made it through a tough time. I know that the lows help you appreciate the highs. Minnesotans say that stuff all the time to justify living there in the winter. But the lows are also a reminder that life doesn't owe you anything. You get good days and you get bad days and there isn't any rhyme or reason to it. This can be a little scary. We are mostly not in control. We think we are. And we desperately want to be. But we can't control the waves. All we can do is ride the surfboard as best as we can and take what the ocean gives. You'd think I would have learned this lesson after the Corona Cruise of 2020. We all had to do a lot of surfing. But I am a slow learner. It may be my greatest life's achievement to die not really understanding that I am not in control. Despite how hard the universe is working to teach me this one. 

So here we are. On our way to Greece. I have had LOTS of time to research and plan this next port. But who knows that the future will bring.  

Limassol, Cyprus 

February 24, 2023

Jordan Pt 2 - Petra

Petra, or rather the picture of what is called "The Treasury" (it was actually a tomb) is about all most people know about Jordan. It is one of the "new" Seven Wonders of the World. Six out of Seven "old" Wonders of the World were destroyed along time ago so I guess it was time for a new list. 

So of course, Petra was on our list of things we had to see, but seriously, in no way, were we prepared for Petra. Most people go to Petra for a few hours and go back either to Aqaba or the capital city Amman. Some people combine it with a half day in Wadi Rum. What?! All in the same day? I guess if you've only got 8 hours to spend you have to make some hard choices. We went in for two days in Petra and were sad we didn't have more time. (3-4 days is our recommendation.)

Quick history lesson. People had lived in the Petra are for 1000 before they really settled in and started making permanent settlements in the rocks. They really got going on the stuff we can see today about 300BCE. So about 2300 years ago. After a few earthquakes that destroyed most of the city and a redirection of the trade routes, Petra ended up being completely abandoned by around 600CE. 

Petra is beautiful and unfathomable in its complexity, but what we weren't prepared for was the scope. The campus is massive. It just keeps going and there are so many structures and tombs and caves that it would take weeks to see everything. And around every corner tucked behind some rocks there are cool ancient caves or carvings that no one cares about because you can't kick a rock without hitting something carved 2000 years ago for many square miles around.

One of the cool things about Petra is that the entrance is up near town and it's a 30 minute walk downhill to get to the first stop. They have donkeys, horses, and a few golf carts to get everyone down so it's pretty accessible.  

The walk through the canyon feels like going back in time. It's the same way visitors have been entering the city for thousands of years.

It's between 2500ft and 4500ft elevation so it's a little chilly.

Oh wait! What's that...?

First stop is the thing everyone is here to see. The Treasury.

It was never used as a treasury. It's a tomb. They called it The Treasury because they found a lot of valuables in there. It is worth it's reputation. Wedged in this canyon, it feels HUGE. And in great condition to for being a few thousand years old. It doesn't look like it was made yesterday, but the corners are pretty sharp in some spots. It was featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and they really milked that for all it's worth. They sell whips in the gift shop. (No Guthrie did not get a whip as a souvenir.) 

Like Wadi Rum, the Bedouins are solely responsible for all services and tours inside the area. They have shops everywhere inside Petra and they are always available to offer camel, donkey, and horse rides. 

There are definitely a high percentage of people who come in to see The Treasury, check it off the list and head out. But once you walk a little further down the canyon it opens up on the real spectacle of Petra.

Here's an amphitheater built around 100CE that could seat 5000 people.

There is a whole walk you can do that takes you past tomb after tomb carved into the rock.

Lots of stuff for sale everywhere. Hey, the camels are cute!

There was also a hike you could do that would take you to a spot where you could view The Treasury from above. It took a while and it meant climbing stairs. A LOT of stairs. The good news was that we saw very few people on this part.

We still took time for some breaks to enjoy the view.

It was getting late, but there was no thoughts of turning back. None. Seriously, how could anyone have even thought about not pushing all the way through to see The Treasury from above. Heh. Only a fool would have even considered it. (But it was a long way up.)

And finally, the Instagram shot we worked so hard for...

Worth it. 

Ok. Like I said, it was getting on in the day. And I also mentioned that we were going to spend two days in Petra. So let's chat about our accommodations for the evening. One important fact needs to be stated first. There are a lot of signs at the gate saying that it was completely illegal to sleep inside Petra. Clearly they had some issues that needed to be handled by making sure no one tried to sleep within the site. There was a hotel in Petra at one time, but they shut that down in 1995. I say all this with the caveat that what we did was completely sanctioned and 100% legal. No funny business for us. 

Remember back in the previous post when we talked about how the government was trying to lure Bedouins out of certain areas (national parks and historic sites) with free houses, health care, and schools? Well, Petra was home to many, many Bedouins for as long as Petra has been around. But when Petra got designated a World Heritage site and tourism was beginning to boom because the Middle East quieted down, the Jordanian government made a hard sell to encourage Bedouins to resettle just outside the site. (This was at least a more humane way of moving local people than anything the US has every tried.) Most Bedouin families took the deal. 40 families refused to move out and live in Petra to this day.

And because of the landscape, these families live in caves. Caves that have been inhabited for thousands of years. So one guy decides he is going to Airbnb one of his caves so tourists can get the authentic Bedouin experience. He even has a deal set up with the park rangers that he tells them how many guests he has in the cave and they approve the visitors for overnight. And the JL crew, plus Jess, thought this sounded like the perfect place to spend the night.

Our guy's name is Feras, but he had a few loose ends to take care of so he send his brother to meet us and show us the way to the cave. His brother was home from university for a visit. He studies electrical engineering, but loves coming home to Petra and helps out with the family businesses. He told us we had to walk a ways and it was up a hill and behind some mountains. But don't worry. He brought a donkey. Guthrie was freaked out, but Wally was up for a little relaxation on the mountain paths atop a donkey.

But wait. Did you know donkeys are incredibly strong. Chris was told that a donkey could carry three of him, but Chris was with Guthrie when it came to riding animals. He told the brother he was a vegetarian and he said "You don't eat him! You ride him!" But lookee here, who else wants a ride?

And off they went.

We walked for a while. Up and around the backside of a mountain away from tourists. Feras has 11 brothers and sisters. His father had four wives, but divorced wife #1 and wife #3 a while ago. They all live in a series of caves further along the trail. They have internet, bathrooms, showers with hot water, kitchens and all kinds of sitting rooms. They have camels, donkeys, a horse, and several trucks. We didn't get to see all of this, but it sounded way more luxurious than many hotels we have stayed in over the years. 

We finally got to our cave. Pictures of the outside would have to wait till morning as it was getting a little dark. But we did go and put our stuff down in the sleeping room. 

Everyone was a little nervous about being cold, but we were assured that with the blankets we would be quite cozy. But hey, it's been a long day. Time to relax in the sitting room. And enjoy some hot tea. 

Tea time was delicious and we sat and chatted while we waited for dinner. There was a nice bathroom, a big screen TV, wifi, and all the chargers you could ever want. Chris hung out in the kitchen for a bit while dinner was cooking.

In the middle of the room was the heater. As we all know, little boys love fire. And bigger boys like to be warm.

We hung out for a long time talking with Feras and his cousins. They were all so kind and we drank tea and covered lots of topics of conversation. It was warm and relaxing and chill. The men (not including Chris) smoked hookah, or shisha all night long. 

The best part by far though was exchanging riddles with the guys. It started with Jess who has spent a lot of time at summer camp playing camp games. You may know the games by other names but think of things like "Black Magic," "The Green Glass Door," and "Johnny Whoop." Then Feras started asking riddles and the kids got really into it. All three kids asked Feras and his cousins every riddle they could think of. We did this for hours. It was just this perfect moment. We couldn't be more different or from further apart. But there was so much joy in the room. Laughter and teasing. Triumph. We went late into the night before we finally got to dinner. This picture is one of my favorites. Wally and Guthrie really have Feras stumped on a riddle and the boys are just loving it.

Off to bed after dinner. And yes, it was a lot warmer than you expected it to be. Chilly, yes. But not too shabby. And then this is the view in the morning...

And as long as there was hummus and pita, which there always was, Guthrie was happy. What's not pictured in the breakfast spread below is the scrambled eggs. Pita, eggs, and yogurt made for an amazing breakfast.

Here you can see a better view of the sitting room which is like a front porch to the cave. It does hang off a cliff with quite a drop.

Group pic at the door to our cave. Feras is on the far right. He is a joyful and genuine soul. He loves everything about being Bedouin and living in Petra. And he really wants to share real human experiences with people from all over the globe and teach them about his home.

Yes. It is call the Indiana Jones Cave. It needs a new name. There have to be better options than that.

After breakfast and goodbye's we really wanted to do one more big hike before it was time to head back to the ship. On ship time was at 1600 so we needed to be a little bit mindful of time to get back.

Feras helped Wally tie his headscarf correctly for the hike. 

We were heading to a place called The Monastery. And it was another climb. More steps than yesterday, but ultimately a shorter distance.

And at the top...

The Treasury gets extra cool points for being in a canyon. But this place looks and feels bigger. And you have to work for it. No golf carts take you to this place. 

And so that concludes Petra. And our time in Jordan. The hike back down from The Monastery, and all the way back across the whole of Petra, and up and out of the canyon took a while. But it gave us a chance to take it all in one last time. Truly, it's hard to get your head around. The scope, the centuries, the details. It is unlike any place we've ever been to. And Petra happens to be surrounded by this completely amazing country. And there are so many more places to see and things to do in Jordan. Feras listed off another 25 things we could have done with our time. Who knows if any of us will ever get back here. The future is wide open. But at the very least, if you ever get to Jordan and experience the culture, the landscape, and the sites, you won't be able to say "No ever told me this place was so cool!" 

(Guthrie loves Petra too. He's just "sooooo tired of walking!")

Jordan Part 1 - Being under prepared makes everything a surprise!

How many people do you know who have traveled to Jordan? Maybe someone you know traveled with a church group. Visiting Israel and crossing the border to Jordan to see a few biblical sights. Or maybe you know a world traveler who adventured around the Middle East and knew enough to spend time in Jordan. I can say that we've never known anyone who traveled to Jordan, or even talked to someone from Jordan, or intending to travel to Jordan. 

But we can say this. It should be on your list of places to visit. Like near the top. It is everything you could hope for when you're looking to explore a new place. It's easy to navigate without feeling anything like back home. The people are kind, caring, and still authentically themselves. The food is ridiculously good with enough variety to keep you trying news things for a while. The landscape is varied and remarkable. Beaches, mountains, desert, oases. And history buffs can dig that humans have been living and traveling here for thousands and thousands of years. 

Literally none of this stuff was on our radar screens when the itinerary for this voyage came out and we signed up. And our lives are such that we didn't really get deep into a lot of research on any place we were going until days before arrival. And still, travel books and blogs (this one included) can't really capture what it feels like to BE in Jordan. Like all travel, it's a sensory experience. You build your memories with your noses, ears, and skin even more than your eyes. And Jordan leaves it's deep and beautiful mark on every one of your senses.

Our ship arrived before dawn and immediately we have surprise #1. Look at those mountains!

Just steps away from the water the land starts to rise in the dramatic and jagged ways. There's no vegetation on these mountains. They are chunky and sharp and big. We will be seeing a lot of them later.

The JL crew are off the ship! This stretch at sea was our longest. 11 days at sea. Still nothing compared to the 24 straight days on the Corona Cruise back in 2020, but still. It's all about expectations. Truth is, the hardest part of a long stretch at sea is the food. It's good food on the ship, but it gets really repetitive, especially for vegetarians. So where is our first stop in the port city of Aqaba? Grocery store to replenish the snacks and a restaurant.

A rooftop restaurant with our good buddies Melissa and Roundtree. Turkish coffee is the aficionado's drink of choice. One cup and you won't sleep for days. Good. Cuz we don't want to miss a thing. 

Chris was on call for a good chunk of this port and work was a little busy on Day 1. So the JL's chose to separate so Jen and the kids could hit the town and have an adventure up north. Before we get to that though... 

Here's the best meal Chris had in Jordan. It was a shawarma from a street booth. Crispy outer grilled flat bread, saucy, spicy chicken on the inside. The orange yogurt sauce made it even spicier. He fully plans on dreaming about this meal in particular for years to come. (PS - During college Chris lived just down the street from a Lebanese place called Santana's. These fries tasted just like those fries. Heavy on some kind of magical seasoning.)

This place was another cool find. Al Tarboosh. He makes hand pies stuffed with cheeses and spices. The whole family actually ended up here 3 different times. It was the perfect place to grab something in the morning before hopping in the car or in the afternoon for a snack. He'd throw some pies in the oven to heat em up and we would inevitably under-order, and then have to go back for round two. Maybe some food truck ideas here?

Aqaba is just a cool city to walk around in. Chris' second day in port had less work stuff and spent most of the day wandering.

So where were Jen and the kids on day two? Good question. It was time for them to get out of the city and head north.

Welcome to the Dead Sea. The lowest point on Earth. It took 4 hours to get there and Guthrie "sat" on Jen's lap all the way there and all the way back. (Jen created a 3 foot boundary around her body for the next 24hrs. Not that the boundary did much good, but the sentiment was there.) Get the suits on and hit the incredibly salty water!

The Dead Sea is not going to be around much longer. They have diverted practically all the water that could ever flow into the sea so it'll just evaporate over time and disappear. 

After all was said and done, Wally may have summed the Dead Sea up best. "The experience today was fine. It was interesting. But in a few years I'll get to say I swam in the Dead Sea. It's really just about bragging rights."

Ok so with the family back together it was time for some fun (not more than an hour from the ship as Chris was still on-call) out in the wild places of Jordan. 

Wadi Rum also know as the Valley of the Moon is a nature reserve that's been used in many movies (Start Wars, The Martian, etc.). It is one of the main highlights of the country. The most common way you enjoy this huge place is piling in the back of a pickup truck and cruising around. Two things before we get to the pictures though. 

First, our good friend Jess (also from CSU/Fort Collins) happened to be traveling the Middle East and met us in Jordan for the entire time we were in port. Jess is a free spirit with a thick Fargo accent. She's been to a million countries and was probably planning on going to Jordan even before she knew we could meet up there. She's that cool.

Second, there is a difference between a Jordanian and a Bedouin. Jordanians run the country and are basically the dominant ethnicity. Bedouins are an ethnic group found everywhere across North Africa and the Middle East. In Jordan, places like Wadi Rum or Petra (coming up later) overlap with traditional Bedouin lands. Jordanians have tried to coax them out by building homes and offering free health care, but Bedouins have enjoyed doing their own thing for far too long to give up their homes. All this to say that once you are in Wadi Rum, you are working with Bedouins. They have a corner on the market as guides and service providers. They are laid back and unbelievably generous with their time and energy. So our driver from Aqaba turns us over to our Bedouin guide at the gate of Wadi Rum, Ahmed. 

See! There's Ahmed and Jess!

Pictures cannot do this place justice. It's huge. The wide open spaces are gigantic and then there are these rock formations that look like they are bursting from the crust of the earth to the sky. It's reminiscent of southern Utah or Arizona. It feels like a national park in the US, but without the modern infrastructure. 

It is honestly, just miles upon miles of this. Wide open spaces. Every time you turn your head it takes your breath away.

We stopped the truck at an entrance to a narrow canyon. A beautiful sandstone slot canyon where people had been coming for thousands of years. 

Carvings like these were everywhere along the walls. You definitely got that feeling that you get when you realize you are standing in the same place as someone from long ago. One single human stood here with a tool, and saw this rock, and thought it was a good place to carve an animal picture. And now a family, so many years later, gets to see your work. In the midst of these striking geological formations, a really small human moment.

And the slot canyon made for great climbing. 

You can't drive across a desert without seeing camels. Camels, camels, everywhere camels. Even new born camels.

Baby camels are really weird looking. 

It's mid morning and time for a tea break. Literally everywhere around the world, you can always find a bunch of dudes, sitting around, drinking tea. 

The kids were a little nervous about trying the tea. But we quickly found out how much Bedouins like sugar and all was well. 

Before lunch, we had some time with a snowboard and a sand dune. Sand dunes are really hard to climb so each kid got about one ride on the board. 

One person in our party preferred the peace, quiet, and warmth of laying in the sun...

There were only a few arches, but unlike Arches National Park in the US, you could climb on top if you wanted to. People with cameras stayed firmly on the ground.

So that's it for Wadi Rum. It's a great place. There were lots of encampments you could stay in overnight in the reserve. It was chilly, but we heard the stars were amazing. We definitely had the sense that we would have loved to hike here and explore the landscape slowly and quietly, but it's just so big you would need several days. And we're guessing it's unbearable in the heat of summer. And for all the grandeur and wide open space it's still the connections with the Bedouin people and the ancestors who walked this land that help you keep perspective. We're pretty small and insignificant, sure. And we exist for only the blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. It really makes you appreciate it when you find really great shawarma.

Next post will be about Petra. It really needs it's own post. See you then!