Cyprus doesn't require its own separate blog post because there wasn't much too it. We were there for about 24 hours and I lay sick in bed the whole time. It rained, we scrambled to wash and dry our clothes, managed to step out for dinner, and Alastair went for a run. There wasn't much to it.
We flew into Amman, Jordan and it was actually foggy and rainy. I was expecting desert; dry and hot, but it wasn't. We rented a car and drove straight to Petra. We only had a few days and planned our time quite well.
We checked into our place for the night, only Alastair went in just to get the key. When Alastair got back into the car, I asked him if we were going to drop our bags off. He just said, "it's probably safer if we just kept it in the car." Disclaimer: it was safe and we were fine. It had a trip advisor award for excellence from 2013 or something like that; they should probably get that award stripped from them. One of the top 3 worst places we've stayed. The hostel with bed bugs in Zambia, the "pay by the hour" hotel in the Phillippines (literally slept on top of the bed, with our clothes on), and this one in Petra. It smelled like butt. I've never woken up in the middle of the night, multiple times, to cover my nose from the smell. Yeah, pretty gnarly place. Sometimes you have to stay in sketch places to save a little coin!
Anyways, back to Petra. We made a little stop at the hotel and then made our way through Petra. We went there twice, and I'm glad we did. You see pictures of this place but going there for yourself is a whole experience. You walk along this trail and admire all the pink rock formations and ruins from an ancient civilization. They lived in the rocks and made it look so beautiful with their designs. You walk through the maze of rocks, dodging tourists and making way for the horses, carriages, camels, and donkeys. There are people selling trinkets and rides and everyone is very friendly along the way.
Emre loved the camels, but wouldn't get on one. We also rode horses and had to just grab Emre to ride with us. He was terrified at first and immediately warmed up to the horse. He even patted the horse while riding. He loved it! Petra is probably one of my top favorite places. If we go back, we'll have to sleep in a better hotel. Ha!
Up next, we drove to get to our next spot in Jordan; the Dead Sea. Also, a must-do! There's not much to see between Petra and the Dead Sea (can't remember the name of the town). The best part was driving down the mountain and knowing you're going to the lowest of lows. We stayed in a nice hotel; definitely enjoyed staying there! We swam in the pool, rubbed mud all over our bodies, and floated in the Dead Sea. You can't swim, just float; quite the experience! You're so used to moving your legs and arms, but really, you just need to use your arms like oars and you can move around. It was great! The worst feeling is when you get the water in your eyes or you have cuts on your body. I got the tiniest bit in my eyes and I could not see. And my legs were screaming; all the little knicks from shaving. But it was a great experience!
We finished our stay and headed back to Amman. Ate some McDonald's and Emre got to play with some kids at the play place. I sometimes feel bad that Emre doesn't have a solid group of friends because we're traveling a lot and he also doesn't speak Spanish, but he can make a quick friend to play with wherever we go.
