Wake up at 6 am, breakfast at 7 and on bus by 8. Travelled short distance to the Bethany on the Jordan the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Day 2 of our pilgrimage really started with Mass by the river Jordan . The river was recently in flood so we had to use a small covered area for Mass. The small covered area was located in the shadow of a magnificent new Catholic Church being built. In one ways the temporary accommodation in the small covered...

After 24 hours of travelling from Sydney, via Bangkok, Dubai and eventually Amman we arrived at our first destination, the Northern Bank of the Dead Sea. Prior to reaching our motel we stopped at Mt Nebo about 30 mins bus drive from Amman. Along the way the scenery was somewhat unexpected. Due to heavy rain in the past few days there was a tinge of green to the fields. There were local Shepards tending sheep, goats and camels. People camped in the Bedouin t...