May 22 Aqaba, Jordan (Petra)

This is the place that I was most looking forward to visiting.
(First views from the ship,Eilat to the left and Aqaba to the right, and 6 miles SE of Eilat is Egypt)

We were heading to Petra, with another early morning start. It would take a couple of hours of driving.
It wasn't long before the city was behind us and unlike the Egyptian desert, there were pink shades on the rocks and wild  flowers at the edge of the windy roads
which kept climbing and curving. Eventually, when we reached Petra, we would be at an elevation of 2600ft.
        CAMELS!
The Bedouin had large flocks of sheep.
 (pit stop)
The villages that we passed, seemed more prosperous than what we had seen in Egypt and the city of Petra, was downright wealthy in comparison, a benefit of having millions of tourists.
And finally, arrived at the archeological site.
(to the left of the walkers, is the trail for horses)
It was a long walk until we reached the protective mountain walkway. But it was downhill, and although hot, there was a cool breeze. The main trail is 8 km (5 mi) return.
   You know what to expect, but it's still an AWW moment when you exit the km long canyon to see the building carved out of the side of the mountain.
Built by the Nabateans, when this was a crucial trade route, possibly around 300BC, the city of maybe 20,000, fought off the Greeks and the Romans, until the area was no longer relevant when the spice route moved further north.
There were golf carts available to carry those unable to walk, but the waits seemed infinitely long. There were also donkeys and if you made it out of the canyon, there were also horses. 
By the time we turned around to go back, it was a more difficult slog, with the sun shining directly over us, the breeze had disappeared and we were now going uphill. I had also fallen, on the way into the canyon. Didn't hurt anything except my pride, and a new scab on my knee. It was inevitable, because I always fall while I'm away on a trip. I think that I was trying to get away from "someone's" whining....."I'm too hot, I'm too tired, it's too hard, I'll never make it.... but I coaxed him, with multiple rest breaks, and finally we were out of the canyon, and able to get on a horse. What a relief.

And able to recuperate at an adjacent hotel for lunch.
Olive groves and Bedouin tents, and a giant windfarm with 38 turbines, completed in 2015 and now renewable energy is supplying 27% of the country's energy.
Fresh fruit market, Jordanian style, at the side of the highway. Difficult to know the reason for the police presence.
The dark trails on the hills are residual lava flows from centuries ago 
and back to the ship with an evening departure, turning the ship around and heading back to the Red Sea


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