Here is the rundown of Petra, day 2
It began as I awoke ridiculously early, wanting to get to the site early enough to go climb a few mountains. My traveling companion had other ideas, and so she slept a little bit longer and we had a later continental breakfast (which was amazing: loads of bread, smothered with rich jams, and dark and succulent dates to savor). Finally, we headed out for the day, stopping at a local falafel shop to pick up a container of hummus and some falafel for our lunch. We also brought a big container of water; all if it was worth it, but we did have to carry it around all day. God to the site around 10 and decided to climb up the the High Place of Sacrifice and then back, because we had made plans to meet up at 1 with some other students from our program who were coming for the day. It was a lovely, if brutal, climb. I, however, enjoyed it immensely as I convinced myself I was Frodo, climbing up the Stairs to Mordor, only the very rocks themselves had been stained red and not black due to the blood that had seeped through from Shelob's desecrations. It was a fun hike. We got to the top, saw some obelisks, took some pictures, and then I hiked up a bit further to see the platform where the ancient place of sacrifice had been. Coming back down, I got a text from one of the coming students, saying, oh, could we meet earlier? They were still at the hotel, so I told them it would probably take an hour for them to get there. I went back to my friend, and tried to climb down to the basin area to see the Lion Triclinium. had a fun moment, as I went over to a rock outcropping to get a particular picture, and then another tour group followed me, thinking I knew the way down to the Triclinium. Just takin' a photo, here, peoples. Nothing to see, move along. After that, we hiked a bit further down the path, but finally decided that we wouldn't make it back there in time; so I had to leave my Roman era tombs unexplored. *Sniff* *Sniff*. Went back to where we were supposed to meet them - on the way, met one of them hiking up the same path we had just come; I gave him the lay of the land, and convinced him to go to the Monastery. Finally got back to where we were to meet the rest of the group; we had 20 minutes to spare, but they weren't there. I left my friend to sit on a bench - and befriend some cute little Bedouin children - while I ran around to hike up another face of the mountain to see some of the Royal Tombs I hadn't seen the other day. Had a great sense of exploration and conquering places I shouldn't be allowed, until I saw another tour group coming towards me. Damped the sense of conquering a bit, I must say, to see old French ladies marching towards you. Oh, well. I was there first. Got back just at the stroke of 12 and met with the other friends. We walked towards the Monastery, and my travelling companion convinced the rest of us that taking a donkey up the steep climb was the best way to go - which it was. She argued the man down to 4JD/person for the donkey trip; she had been told it was 5JD by the little boy she had met while waiting for me. The donkey ride was a lot of fun - much more comfortable than a camel! Saw the Monastery (actually, a feasting room to the memory of the deceased and deified King Obodas, who died around 86BC, but, anyway). Sat down with my friend to eat lunch. We were approached by a large white dog, his tail gently wagging. We tore off half a biscuit to throw away to get rid of him; but he wouldn't be gotten rid of until another large dog cam running at him, barking and snarling. There was a dog fight in front of us and around us. It was, I must admit, one of the more harrowing experiences in my time in Jordan. Finally, some guys found some stones to throw at them and they took their fight away. The white dog then returned - we had a bag filled with the hummus that had spilled during our day's hiking that he wanted. I tried to take it with us, but after he went after my leg, I decided that littering was a better choice than getting rabies or fleas or bot-flies or trypanosoma or prostate cancer or whatever other scary medical condition I could think of. My friend and I walked back; had fun browsing at all the Bedouin knick-knack stalls, and she bought some things. By now, it was around 3pm; we had planned to see a few more sites, but the heavens opened and the rains came down - we hid in a cave, but we were already soaked. Back to the hotel - hot showers and internet once again.
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