Jordan and home again

Kirk and I had an interesting time in Jordan; unlike me, he is very easy to travel with. After spending one night in a particularly seedy hotel in Petra (although the second-hand smoke could be a perk for a smoker wanting to save money on cigarettes; also highly recommended for any lonely cockroaches looking for a meaningful relationship - Cleopetra hotel), Kirk suggested to me that we could possibly spend $10-20 more and stay at a hotel where we didn't have to use a protective layer between ourselves and the bedding, could walk barefoot without fear of disease, and hey, also have hot water.

The Dana Nature Reserve was dry, craggy, and beautiful. We stayed at a guest house run by a conservation society dedicated to maintaining wild places in Jordan while providing a way for the Bedouin people to remain on the land and make a living. On our hike in the reserve, we tracked the elusive white wolf that turned out to look rather like the elusive white dog, Next, on to the Dead Sea, where we wallowed in the mud and washed it off in the salty water. Kirk warned me not to put my head under, but of course, I have never been one to learn from other people's mistakes. On to Madaba where we saw an amazingly intact mosaic map of the Middle East that was created 1,500 years ago. We ate humus, baba ganoush, stuffed wheat balls, and tabouli salad that night at restaurant in Jordan where they actually had wine (hard to find in Jordan). On our last day we did a walking tour of Amman and found an English language bookstore where I stocked up on books and coffee. Kirk saw me off at the airport the next morning for my 4 a.m. flight back to Turkey.

The trip was exciting, but it feels good to be home again. Along with one invited house guest, my best friend Lisa, I also now have a number of uninvited house guests who took advantage of my absence to set up a little cockroach colony in my bathroom. Nothing 12 traps and a bottle of Raid won't handle. . .I hope.

In this post I have included my favorite pictures from my trip. Hope you enjoy them!