Getting from Amman to Petra

The flight from Dubai to Amman was really early in the morning, but it got us to Jordan with almost a full day to make the trek to Petra. Admittedly, this was the "hole" in our itinerary that I was the most unsure about. Car service companies wanted outrageous amounts of money for a round trip, and a day tour from Amman wasn't enough time to do it justice. Sean checked with his coworkers who had come to Petra, and they all said renting a car and driving yourself was fine. So, that's what we did! And it was one AMAZING drive!

Thankfully, Sean has spent several years driving around in the Middle East, so the narrow streets in the little towns weren't unusual to him. He said it reminded him of both Afghanistan and Iraq, both with the buildings, signs, and the general dirtiness.

Many of the Jordanian locals' vehicles had smoky exhaust and non functional tail lights, and when they see something they want, they just stop their car in the middle of traffic. And the roads vary in their paving quality from very good, to marginal.

The sights in the towns were totally unique. We saw numerous fruit and vegetable stands along the way, and many trucks with a bed full of produce heading towards Amman. We also saw many butcher shops with the day's fresh meat hanging right on the busy street for display (some with the head still attached...).

We saw LOTS of animals! We drove by many donkeys loose on the road, many dogs, and a bunch of cats (mostly in the cities). We loved the black and white cat, who was friends with the colorful rooster!

There were two large herds of goats and sheep that crossed the road ahead of us. The first one was on the outskirts of a town, and was tended by an older man on traditional Jordanian attire.

The second herd was high up in the hills and was tended by young Bedouin boys. These goats all had bells on their necks, and they were accompanied by a brightly decorated donkey! The music from
their bells was so neat! I practically leaned out the window of the SUV to get the photo!

And speaking of hills... If you thought Jordan was more flat desert like we saw in the UAE, that would be incorrect! 

The drive from Amman to here took us through some just stunningly beautiful mountains and valleys, and even across a dam! (Mom, you would have absolutely hated the twisty road with the many switchbacks and sharp turns!)

So that was the drive here! We arrived to the hotel, The Petra Guest House, hungry (we didn't see anywhere that looked promising to stop for lunch) and fairly tired. Fortunately, we were able to check in right away, and the bellman helped us carry our bags to the room.

After a power nap and a delicious dinner, we are eagerly awaiting Petra By Night this evening!