The Global Adventures of the Picard Family

Once more into the sand dear friends.  Early rise and breakfast in the hotel and it is off to Memphis - and we're not talking Tennessee here - which was one of the ancient capitals of Egypt.  There is very little left but a few statues of the royals still are there.  From here we motored through the wild streets of Cairo - and when we say wild we mean wild - with horns blazing and no defined lanes but when you are bigger than everyone else nothing really matters.

Our next stop was the step pyramid at Sakkara . . . also known for it's mellow beer.  What an amazing sight to see.  How did those ancient Egyptians do it? 

As the heat continued to build . . . did I mention that we were in the desert???? . . .  we were aware that we were not in B.C. anymore.  We visited a wonderful little local BBQ spot - "mummified chicken" anyone???   What a wonderful meal.  Local fare and I will bear witness to how wonderful it was.  Suddenly We were reduced from a chattering group tourists to silent consumers of excellent fare.  Good Food and Good Beer - the one thing that seemed to satisfy everyone's thirst and then we were on the road again.

When in Cairo - make like the Egyptians - we were back on the bus and off to Giza.  Can we say "it makes you feel small in the universe".  The pyramids and the sphinx stand guard in the desert sun.  Perched on the edge of the city they are separate but still enveloped by the urban sprawl that is Cairo.  20 million people but all living in the shadow of history.  We listened to the vivid stories of our guide and teacher - Ehab, more affectionately known as Bob, and then came the highlight . . . at least for some . . . or should I say Chloe . . .   the dreaded camel ride across the desert.

40 minutes of terror riding these ships of the desert from the Great Pyramids to the Sphinx - I will admit that I prayed my way from, A to B . . . that it felt a little bit like bobbing on the ocean in a 6 foot dinghy during a hurricane . . .  but we made it just in time for the tourist police to usher us out from the Sphinx . . . it would seem that the wife wanted him home early for supper that night.

Back into the bus and to the hotel where we enjoyed Egyptian Pizza . . . a new perspective on pizza to be sure . . . and to bed . . . cause it is off to Aswan and 4 days on the Nile . . . but that is still to come.

It has been hard to get to sources of power for the computer - but hold onto your socks cause tonite you're going to get caught up on our adventures and it just gets better from here - more pictures too.

Hugs from wherever we are . . .

And I thought today was going to be easy.  Ha! Ha!  Okay . . .so I don't think I mentioned that when we arrived in Amman on Sunday . . .2 of the people who came with us arrived without their luggage.  Day one goes by . . . no luggage and no fresh underwear . . .  day 2  . . .no luggage and no underwear . . . Day 3 we think we have found the underwear . . . everybody cheers!!!   Day four . . . upon return to Amman we do the dance of joy . .  we have fresh underwear.

So . . . that is what got us here and now we go to Cairo.  No big deal.  We make the 90 minute flight with ease . . yummy yummy more bologna sandwiches!!! as the flight attendants race down the aisle tossing the trays of lunchtime goodies at the 120+ passengers  . . .anyone for seconds???

Arrival into Cairo was bright and sunny at 38 degrees Celsius.  Into the arrivals hall we goe and jump from line to line . . until we realize that all the lines we're jumping to will not get us our visas . . . we must go to the bank for that.  

Shiny new visas in hand we proceed to the immigration counter and wait.  we are down to the last 10 people to go through and the is a sudden and profound halt to the proceedngs.  It would appear that one of the passengers  - due to the type of passport they held - was not going to be admitted to the Egypt . . .but sent back to Jordan. 

So  . . . with a bus full of hot and sweaty passengers and an immigation officer who was making me hot and sweaty under the collar . . .I prayed prayed . . .there was only one way we were going to get out of this one.  I prayed and prayed again. I called foreign Affairs who promptly told me that there wasn't much they could do - those were the rules. 

I told them who my passenger was . . .asked if they could make any calls . . . they spoke to the immigration officials who adamantly said "no".  So . . . my lovely lady was not going to see Egypt, it would seem.  I tried everything.  But to no avail.  She was going back.  I was certain that I had not prayed loud enough . . .so  I prayed again.  . . . as she marched out of the hall. 

One hour and one harried taxi ride from the airport to the hotel later . . . I arrived to the jubilant rejoicing that Ottawa had called and the miracle I had pryaed for . . . happened.  Somewhere . . .somehow . . someone had managed to accomplish what everyone said could not be done.  Thank you God . . .  you are well connected.

And so we are all at the hotel - in the shadow of the pyramids and all is well with the world.

More to come . . . still having problems downloading photos so hopefully the words are giving your the story for now.  If you have a family member on the tour . . . then  Dave & Jill . . . Guy & Loraine . . . Dragisa & Gordana . . . Peter & Sandra . . . Gerda . . . Sharon . . . Myra . . . Fran . . . Donna . . . Sue . . . .Marianne . . .Karan &n  Danielle  . . . Shelley &  Chloe . . .SAY HI!

The sun rose bright and clear once again as we rose early for a long day on the road.  First stop was at a look out point above Petra that allowed us to see the trek we made the day before . . . had we really walked all that way????  It was a fabulous view and made us realize just how miraculous it was that Petra had been found at all.

Back onto the bus - it is beginning to feel like we are leaving permanent bum prints into the seats by now . . . and off to Wadi Rum.  Our guide stopped briefly at the site that is supposedly the spot where Moses cleft the rock and a spring of water burst forth.  There is no real way to substantiate anything but it was kind of neat to think that it just might be so.  We continued onto Wadi Rum - Wadi is "valley" in Arabic and rum   . . it would seem has no particular meaning according to the locals.  At the visitor centre we broke into groups of 6 and climbed up into the back of old . . . battered . . .bruised . . . .rusty  . . .off road vehicles and headed into the desert in search of Lawrence of Arabia.

This is the part of the middle east where Lawrence travelled and worked with the bedouins to overthrow the Ottoman Turk occupation in 1914.  Many of us know the story and now . . .having been there . . .we want to revisit it and see the movie again with fresh eyes.

Oh . . . did I mention that we broke into 3 groups of 6 in the vehicles . . .that left one of our 19 without a seat in the back . . .goodness me there was Shelley crammed into the front of the truck with a lovely local bedouin . . with limited english and a penchant for smoking Turkish cigarettes ????  How delightul.  Oh, well, just part of the bigger experience. 

In the desert we had the chance to see many amazing sights including rock drawings of the ancient inhabitants . . . the spot where Lawrence discovered a spring that helped to sustain them during the conflict . . .and a unique experience indeed . . .  we actually visited the tent of a bedouin family and sat down . . . . segragated men from women , , , , to enjoy spiced coffee and freshly brewed tea.

Back to the bus.  and on to Aqaba . . .which sits on the Red Sea.  A quick pitstop  . .  and the chance to grab a boxed lunch.  Did we mention the boxed lunches????  Adventures in fine cuisine with  . .  today' s specialty a fine Jordanian Taco.  Spided chicken with a french fry for good measure.  Add to that a cucumber small but tender . . . . a juice box . . . .a juicy tomato  . . . this was gourmet as most of the lunchboxes we had enjoyed to this moment were the local version of salami . . .something more akin to Bologna than salami.  Oh well . . .I kind of like Bologna . . .it's just something from my youth.

A very quick drive through Aqaba sent us back onto the desert highway for the 300km journey back to our hotel in Amman.  We did manage a photo stop at the Dead Sea just before sunset . . .It was a little strange as high above us on the cliffs there was a pillar that the locals profess to be the pillar of salt that had once been Lot's wife. 

The legend in this area says that this was the spot where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood and Lot escaped before their destruction.  Even if the legend is not entirely accurate . . . it  is probably pretty close and still a mite bit awe inspiring.

By the time we reached the hotel is was after 7:30 pm . . .And 12 hours since we had departed Petra . . . but before we could settle in . . .we had to go through the security screening at the hotel.  I will admit that it is an uneasy confidence . . . they are very cautious and careful . . . they check everything so we know we are safe . . .but . . . it is the reason they do this that is unsettling.  We are safe in God's hands.

In Petra, we had to wake up quite early in order to beat the rush of the crowd at the entrance into the ancient city - 6:00 AM to be exact. When we arrived at the gate, the sun was already warming the rocks around us. It was going to be a warm.... no, hot day.

We started our trek of 8 kilometers + by moving through the Siq - this is a natural gorge created by the erosion of water run off over centuries. The stone walls in the Siq rose up on both sides up to 100+ feet and in the widest point across approximately 20 feet. It was nice and cool in there - lots of shade. It was also amazing to see trees growing out of the cracks in the rocks above us.

During the walk, our guide, Khalid, pointed out to us how the occupants of Petra channeled the natual water for washing and drinking. After about an hours walk, we made it to the first, and most famous structure within Petra... the treasury building, which in fact was not a treasury building, but a tomb. The only reason they called it a treasury was because it was said that rich women within the city would jewellery on top of the facade.

We enjoyed several of our folks as they took camel rides in front of the structure, and then Khalid announced that we would be moving on. WHAT!?!? This wasn't the end of the road? We had to walk even further!?!?!? And then off we went......

We had no idea of the extent of what we could see in this new wonder of the world. It was amazing. The colours in the rock - the caves, handcarved out of solid rock where the residents would do business, worship their gods, and even sleep at night in travel.

Everywhere we walked, Bedouin children were selling items to the tourists. We gave out many Canada pins to the children we saw, and to their many unseen brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mother's and father's... lets just say there are many honorary Canadians in Petra today.

Did we mention 180 steps... up.... and up.... in order to see one of the tombs of the rich. What an amazing sight! In this tomb to see perfectly squared corners hewn out of solid rock, by hand.... I defy any home builder to match these perfect corners with the technology they have. 

Oh and the view!!!! When you looked across the valley, you really saw how large this city really was. It was spectacular!

Now was our chance to play billy goat - walking back down this "hill" was not as easy as the upward 180 steps, because this time we had no steps, but many rocks and slippery sand to overcome. It was quite a challenge to stay up on both feet, and managed to survive the decent intact.

From here we continued along the Byzantine Highway - some areas which still had the original stones that were thousands of years old. At the end Khalid gave us a choice - we could either slowly walk back to the entrance with enough time to relax at the guest house, or we could take 800 steps...... 800 gruelling and winding steps to the very top to see one of the Monestaries built by the Nabataeans. Can you guess which one we chose? After 8 hours of treking through the smoldering heat in valley of Petra, 800 steps was hardly high on our priority list.

Tired, and a little dehyrated, we started heading back. Once we made it back to the treasury we were given the opportunity to either walk the rest of the distance through the Siq, or take a carriage ride through it for 20 Denars (about $25.00 Canadian). With my mother's knee's acting up on her, she took it with another women within our travelling group. I continued to walk on with the rest of them trying to get further enough ahead to get a photo of my mother bouncing along on the Byzantine flooring.

With about 400 meters to go, there were horses you could ride for about $5.00 Canadian, so I gladly took one after walking uphill for most of the distance. Ithad been a long day.

Riding the horse was an experience - as soon as the gentleman found out that it was my first time, he happily gave me the reins and I slowly galloped to the finish. What an exprience!

Did I mention before that the men in Jordan are complete flirts?

Anyway, by the time we arrived back at our hotel everyone was so exaughsted from all the walking people were practically sleeping as they walked - but it was all worth it to see such an amazing place still untouched by the major affects of tourism.

Tomorrow, A Wadi Rum dessert jeep safari and the Dessert Sea awaits us!

Okay   . . . so the reason we call this day uno even though it really is day Two-o is that we just want to forget the 30+ hours it took to get here  . . . and start the fun from now.

Arrived in Amman to the most gloriously beautifull hotel we have ever stayed in . . . but we almost got arrested tryng to take photos . . .strictly verboten . . . .but we snuck a couple anyway beore they caught up to us.

Headed out in our little bus early this morning . . . first stop was a supermarket for a load of water . . .come on . . . we're in the desert and water is life here.

We then motored up to Mt. Nebo . . . what a place and what a view!!!  This was where Moses struck the rock and a spring of water erupted . . . WAY COOL!!!  Your really feel and now that you are walking in history.  We looked down from the top of this mountain to see the Jordan River . . . the sight of the place where John the Baptist supposedly baptized Jesus . . . .in the distance was the dead Sea and what is considered to be the ancient site of Jericho.

We were - at this point - only 43 km from Jerusalem.  Everything here is very close and compact.

From Mt. Nebo we drove the Malaba where we visited an ancient Greek Orthodox church and saw some incredible mosaics that were done hundreds of years ago before satellites and such  . . . and ancient map of the holy land . . .quite accurate and beautiful to boot.  It was strange to listen to our muslim host talk about Jesus from his perspective while we sat and listened to the call to prayer from the minaret outside.

Almost lost a few of the flock who managed to wander away . . . but we caught them at last and we off to our next stop . . .  the fortress at El Karak.

This was a crusader fortress built in 1144 AD . . . and we ventured deep in its bowels to wander and photograph . . . did we mention it was 30 C . . .it was nce to be deep in the fortress cause it was really cool down there.

We then headed out on the 2+ hours drive to Petra and along the way stopped at Jordan's version of the Grand Canyon . . . Wadi Mujid.  Absolutely a sight to behold - 1km deep and 3 km long it  was spectacular1!!.

We made one final pit stop on the way and Chloe managed to get a marriage proposal from the gentleman who was the bathroom attendant (no he was not a cross dresser nor was he serious . . .I hope. 

back on the us and here we are in Petra for the night..  Tomorrow is an 8 hours exploration of the ruins . . . so watch for updates.

Shelley & Chloe

Alright, so the next adventures of the Picard family has arrived!

First stop... Amman, Jordan, but first we have to go through a gruelling 25+ hour flying day. Boy, what you go through just to get to the places you want to get to.

This morning we leave YVR (Vancouver Airport) at 7:50AM and get into Seattle at around 8:30AM. We then have a 4 hour layover and then board another plane to Paris, France (9-10 hours flight). We're staying in the airport for another 4 hours before we board our last flight to Amman, Jordan (6-7 hour flight).

It's going to be a long day, but in the end, it'll be worth it.

And we're off!