Well, Petra day was here!
I was so excited about this trip.
Our bus though, broke down 20 minutes after we departed.
It was early in the morning, so the desert sun was not too harsh yet.
Our driver and tour guide were so patient and organized that we didn’t have to wait long for a new tour bus to come. They got us back on the road again towards our destination in about 15 minutes.
We made it to Petra on schedule.
With everything that had happened so intensely for the past 5 days, most of us started dosing off on the bus. Lol.
It was a 3-hour ride after all from the Dead Sea.
Our tour guide, Basel, prepared us well in advance since most of us are new to Jordan and to Petra.
He told us what we could expect to see and how best to divide our time between photos and learning about the history of the area, as well as the various kinds of vendors we would encounter.
We were free to do what we chose of course but he gave us some good strategies for the limited time we had at Petra, because a late lunch was planned for our group as well.
He made sure that we had enough water on us, because it was going to be mid-day under the dessert sun and a gradual incline walk back.
There were golf carts to take people back up if/when needed, for an extra fee.
All morning I had Indiana Jones music running through my head.
I knew that one of the movies was shot here but wasn’t sure which one, until I saw a shop with Indiana Jones on its sign.
So, I googled it.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed in Petra.
Eva and I stayed close to Basel so we could hear what he was telling us.
I learned that the life expectancy of the Nabatean people was 50 years.
Nabatean means chisellers. Petra, of Greek origin, means rock.
When I looked at those cave homes built by the Nabatean people, I was so inspired by their resilience.
They probably spent their entire lifetime building these homes and the next generation continued with the same task to expand and make the homes larger.
The challenges faced by Petra these days are that visitors do not show respect to the ruins.
Basel said that the government may start treating Petra like going to museums.
You can look but cannot touch.
In this competing-for-best-selfies world, I was not surprised by that and felt sad.
So much of the ruins from our past civilizations have been destroyed by wars, thieves, and people who showed little regard to their preservation and significance.
Basel also told us about the Bedouin people, Arab dessert dwellers.
He took us to one of the shops owned by a New Zealand woman and her Bedouin husband and her family.
Her name is Marguerite van Geldermalsen.
She has a book published called, “Married to a Bedouin”. You can also find her website here.
She was like the bridge between the Jordanian people and the Bedouins. She helped them to modernize their way of living and become educated.
They don’t live in caves anymore but in a village nearby. They still live in respect to their land and use solar panels wherever possible.
We did not have the opportunity to meet Marguerite as she was away visiting relatives back home. We did get to sit in her shop and have fresh juices made by one of her sons.
Jordan is known as the fruit basket of the Middle East. Watermelon was in season when I was there.
It was the best and sweetest freshly-made watermelon juice I’ve ever had.
Basel also showed us the cave home(video link) that they used to live in and what it was like.
Basel told us that Jordanian people only get potable water once or twice a week and it must be paid for.
The global climate crisis has also impacted the farmers here because Jordan has not received the usual amount of rainfall for quite a few years.
As visitors, we were lucky to be staying in a 5-star hotel where we got water 24/7.
Housekeeping supplied us with bottled water all the time.
It got me thinking about why I saw a lot of pop/sodas being served in restaurants.
They are cheaper than water, although full of sugar and unnecessary chemical compounds.
Water is precious and important to human life and healthy living. Most of us probably would not think twice about access to water.
Here in the dessert, I learned to appreciate its value even more and was reminded to not to take it for granted.
Despite the challenges that the Jordanian people face, they treat visitors and their Arab brothers very well.
Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, Jordan has shouldered the impact of a massive influx of Syrian refugees.
Today, Syrian refugees account for nearly seven percent of Jordan’s population, placing immense pressure on the country’s over-stretched resources at one of the most difficult economic periods in its history. You can learn more about the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan here.
From all my travels to different parts of the world so far, I’ve learned that people are the same no matter where they are.
People are hospitable when we show genuine interest in their cultures and ways of living.
People also go out of their way to help you when they realize that you are a solo traveller.
Sure, there are some ‘bad’ people in this world, but I’m reminded of a saying, “Hurt people hurt people.”
I don’t think that people intentionally want to go out and hurt others. We don’t know how they grew up and what circumstances, financial, or mental, or physical, they were put under.
This is not to make light of any injustices in the world.
We just don’t know what we don’t know.
As humans, we all want to find a tribe that we feel belong to and to be accepted, we all want to live a joyful and fulfilling life, and we all want to be loved.
It is only when we open our hearts first, especially when we are alone, that we can start to take in all the love and beauty of what makes us human.
I am grateful to have had this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone, after more than 2 years of seclusion.
I was thrusted into a whole new adventure in a foreign country and met so many incredible and interesting people at Mindvalley’s A-Fest in Jordan.
This is going to be one of the best memories that I will cherish for life, just like my soul-o trip to Barcelona.
What about you? Have you done a soul-o trip in your life? What were your intentions on those trips?
I would love to hear your experience.
p.s. I met many more A-Festers on my last couple days in Jordan and have connected with more since.
I didn’t have a chance to speak to everyone in depth but I want to acknowledge all the A-Festers I have met so far and those who have shared a kind word: Ildiko, Tania, Michelle, Jenny, Bianca, Mark, Ilona, Jihad, Annika, Cassandra, Parth, Katja, Filipe, Carolynn, Manisha, Tamara, Manissha, Marisha, David, Stacy, Pascal, Jacqui, Madhur, Daria, Johann, Cristina, Elena, Marion, Diane, Victor, Clara, Julietta, Eni, Amir, Katie, Katrina, Marisa, Shelly, and Damiano.
Nan it is a beautiful sharing story of your voyage to Jordan. I am always dream to go there. The photos are very impressive. I am very glad to read and become part of your adventures throught reading your notes . Lovely. Unique. Extraordinary . All like you.
OHHHH Ishavel. Eres la mejor, mi amiga! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and sending me such lovely comments. They are always appreciated. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this captured the Petra Trip perfectly. 💙💛
YEAH! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it too. I wish I could spend more time there but really grateful that I got to visit at the very least and we had a good tour guide.
Such a captivating story that I had to finish in one setting. I am so happy that you had such a fantastic trip and met so many amazing people! You had so many great adventures and I was excited as I was reading them. So I lived them vicariously.
Keep on living fully and sharing generously!
Hi Hanaa!! Thanks so much for taking your time to read through my blog and sharing such an encouraging feedback. I am really happy to hear that you enjoyed it. I will try my best and hope to improve more and more each time I write. 🙂