We met with Ahmad, our driver, at 8:30 am and headed for Amman. He had agreed to drive us down the King's Highway, a most ancient route lined with archaeological sites and natural reserves, winding its way through the different ecological zones of Jordan, including forested highlands, open farm plateaus, deep ravines, and the desert's edge. The scenery was stunning, although some of it was obscured by unusual low clouds that even Ahmad took pictures of. We stoppe...

The staff of the Cleopetra served a simple but nice breakfast and then gave us a complementary ride down to Old Petra. Although we'd walked the same walk the night before, it was completely different by day, and we were amazed at the colors and contours of the canyon walls. Petra is the site of an ancient civilization which served as a trading hub for many kingdoms. They controlled the caravan routes and were formidable businessmen. Because they came into contac...

After a quick breakfast, Barry flagged down a cab, and we went to a hotel to check on accommodations for two nights in Petra. Then, we caught another cab to the Jordanian border (which was a breeze to go through) and then we caught yet another cab to Petra. Our Jordanian driver was excellent, stopping so we could take pictures and happy to have us as customers (he had a 4 month old baby at home and was happy to have a long (1.5 hours) fare). The town of Petra was...