The 4 S's for today are:

1. Sleeping in...
After a very tiring day yesterday, the three of us decided to have a bit of a sleep in and head to Petra for our second day in the afternoon. Mind you, when you're on a T adventure, sleeping in means you are up by 8am...I mean, c'mon, we still have things to see and do here people.

2. Souvenir shopping...
As some of you may recall from my SE Asia days, while I am not a big shopping fan in general, I am obsessed with souvenir shopping. I just love buying stuff from other countries...for myself, for other people, for xmas presents....really any excuse to buy a souvenir will do. And we shopped the sh*t out of some stores this morning.

3. Sunstroke (or maybe just Chrissy got really hot)
So when you head to Petra in the afternoon, you expect it to be hot. But today it felt like the sun was on fire (I mean, I guess technically it is, but you get my point). And it felt like your skin was pretty much trying to burn off. And Chrissy got a bit overheated. Which is understandable...at first we tried putting her in a cave, but she still looking a bit peaked. So we headed off for a cafe with shade and breezes where she enjoyed a Coke and a Luna bar and felt much better. Anyway, we are blaming it on baby dragon.

4. Sacrifice
While Chrissy and baby dragon were recovering, Steph and I took turns hiking up to the High Place of Sacrifice, one of the highest points in Petra, perched on cliffs that drop an almost sheer 170 meters to the ground below. It was used, as the name implies, for sacrifices to the gods. Animal sacrifices probably, but who can say for sure. Although, as Steph and I discussed, it's a long and steep climb, so you probably would have had to knock someone unconscious to get them up there to be sacrificed. Realistically, no one is going to go willing to be sacrificed to the gods...at least, no one I know. But anyway...the climb was gorgeous, and the views at the top overlooking the mountains and valley were some of the best I have ever seen.


For me, our second day at Petra was just as amazing as day 1. Going in the afternoon turned the stone this beautiful pink color and we sat at the Treasury while the sun went down. It was perfect.


Random things...
1. Both Steph and I received offers to buy our hats (which was kind of weird...and I mean, hello? did I mention that the sun was on fire today? no way in hell you're getting my hat).
2. I met yet another crazy Australian dude.
3. One of the guides at the entrance asked us - taxi ride? bedouin ride? he then broke into "Sexy and I Know It"....please get away from us now.
4. We ate dinner at the Cave Bar, the oldest bar on Earth, carved out of a 2000 year old Nabatean tomb.

I think Chrissy wants to tell you about breakfast so I will sign off now. You won't get another entry for several days as we are headed into Wadi Rum desert to camp for the next two days and nights. Hopefully you will get that full report when we hit the Dead Sea. See you all then.

Chrissy:

First of all, lets just say that I am a big fan of breakfast food.

Up until this morning our typical breakfast food was either nothing or hotel provided assorted, odd pastries, lots of bread products, occasional strange fruits and even weirder spreads to put on said bread products. Now I'm not one to complain about free food, but after several days of the same thing and having that be your fuel for the long, hot day ahead, you start to want something more substantial. Last night at dinner I was joking about wanting hash browns, omelets, pancakes, cinnamon rolls;  your typical American style breakfast, the whole time knowing that this was an unrealistic hope (as T so gently reminded me). So imagine my delighted surprise to walk down to breakfast to find hash browns, omelets, pancakes, assorted familiar fruits, tea, mini donuts, etc. It was like a child entering Hershey Park for the first time. I felt so much better and more human for the first time since before we left for the middle east after that breakfast. Unfortunately, it could not seem to combat my new low tolerance for the heat index here in the desert but still, it left a bright spot in this overly hot and tiring day for me.

I was disappointed to not have been able to join in with T and Steph on the continued exploration of the ruins in Petra. But when I realized that my limit had been reached for both heat and physical exertion, and that pushing myself to continue could potentially hurt the pending offspring; I was just as content to opt out of the rest of day and spend some time recovering.

Steph:

Today I climbed up the wrong side of the mountain. Twice. I'm blaming it on a combination of poorly marked paths, the footprints of the people who went the wrong way before me, and, let's be honest here, my terrible sense of direction. After climbing up the same mountain multiple times I found a Bedouin woman standing at the very top of the path. She encouraged me to make my way over some suspicious looking ledges and the thought occurred to me that a misplaced foot or gentle shove could easily be the end of me. Lucky for me she delivered me not only to the High Place of Sacrifice but also to the very edge of the mountain with an astounding view of lower Petra. I swung my legs over the side of that ledge, ate my lunch of cashews and water, and looked down on Petra with my heart pumping at twice it's normal speed. I suspect, that I will never live another day quite like this one.