We got up early Saturday morning and a little bus picked us up to take us to the Israeli-Jordanian border. The guide helped us with getting through on the Israeli side and another man helped us on the Jordanian side. After we had passed through, we met up with our guide and driver for the day.

We drove on the King’s Highway all the way to Petra. When we got there we got out of the van and we got our tickets and headed to see the ancient city of Petra. We walked through canyons in the shade and then along the way in the sun, it was very hot and dry. We came around a corner and saw the temple from Indiana Jones’ Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was huge and carved out of the hill. Amazing. We walked along further and saw more home and caves carved into the mountain. It was beautiful sandstone with lots of colors.

I rode a donkey most of the way back. It was better than walking. We had lunch and drove back to the border and made our way back to the hotel. It had been a long day and we were tired. It was great though!

Sunday we got packed and took a bus to Ein Gedi at the Dead Sea. Two men on the bus got in an argument, the bus driver got distracted and didn’t stop to let us off. One hour later he remembered and felt really bad. He arranged for another bus to pick us up and take us back to Ein Gedi. When we finally got there, it was the end of the day and we were hungry and tired. We checked into the Ein Gedi Youth Hostel (along with 200 school kids who arrived moments after we did). Our room had bunk beds and was like camp.

Monday morning we went to the Ein Gedi Preserve and went hiking. On our hike we saw waterfalls and great pools of water where we went swimming. The water felt very comfortable. On our hike back down the mountain, I saw baby Ibex’s. The looked like goats kind of. There were lots of them and it was fun to see so many babies.

After the Preserve, we crossed the highway and headed for the Dead Sea. We had lunch and then bought tickets for the shower (which is important because it’s so salty). I walked into the water and sat down like I was sitting down on a chair, then I floated. It was really cool. The water was warm and felt great. I got some water in my mouth and it tasted disgusting. The only way to get rid of the taste was to wash my mouth with fresh water. After that I was careful about getting the water in my eyes and mouth. It was a neat experience to float like that.

That night my Dad made instant chicken soup in our hostel room with the teakettle. It was like camping.