DAY 2 PETRA and INDIANA JONES

So our teachers told us it was going to be absolutely freezing in Jordan with snow in the forecast but we were lucky enough to have the most amazing weather you could imagine with zero clouds or snow around our hotel (with the exception of the snow from the previous night). We spent our entire day in the infamous city of Petra which became the center of a Roman province called Nabatea and was later inhabited by Byzantine Christians. Boring I know but I feel like I have a duty to share some bit of history so you don’t perceive me as being a daydreamer who never pays attention, although I must admit, it sometimes happens. Petra is famous for being a city whose cemetery was carved largely out of the sandstone rock with carved facades. The real cool part about Petra had to be the Treasury or “Temple”, in reference to Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade (which I have actually never seen all the way through). Although that building was humungous and quite a site to see, the other amazing adventures included a 870-step hike to the top where an old Monastery resides, an incredible “sacrifice view” where animal sacrifices were performed (crazy I know), and another strenuous hike to the High Place to get another view of the grand scope of things just in case you missed it the first three times. It was a long and tiring day but definitely well worth all the sweat and tears (no tears were involved, it just sounded good). We were off to Amman for our next adventure but not until me and my roommate Christine were safely secure on the bus. Explanation...we were in the bathroom taking pictures of the toilets which were nonexistent holes in the ground (childess I know but it was such a phenomenon that we couldn’t pass it up), when our bus left without two of its members. As soon as we realized we were alone, we began hitch-hiking aimlessly through the streets of Petra. We walked back to our hotel which was only 5 minutes away and asked the receptionist if he had seen two huge Mormon buses and he told us they were 200 meters up the hill. Although we thought that was kind of strange, we continued on our way until we realized he was lying and we walked back down the hill to discover the buses waiting right where we had started. I’m not quite sure how we possibly missed our bus but I learned a great lesson that day. Be at the right place at the right time and your life will be much less stressful. Next...broken down buses and more old Roman cities.