Hotel Adi Eilat

... in the desert, much like cops here hide behind buildings in the shadows.

After we returned from the 4x4 ride the camp was empty, and we had lunch all to ourselves, which was again amazing food. They had some pretty good tuna salad, but nothing too terribly special since all the food in Jordan was amazing [you'll see this trend]. We left at around 1:30 and headed off to Little Petra before hitting the main city the following day!

... night we walk around the pub and market area. This area always reminds me of when I came here as a soldier with my ex. When we were young and in love. The kind of love that knows no bounds and has no reason. We still believed in Forever back then.
I think that innocence, not ignorance, is bliss.
We came here in the very beginning of our relationship, we had our first dance here.
Good memories for me are not tainted by the events that follow them. The love drifted away from us ...

... we scoffed it down the bedouin boys did some singing told some stories and then it was time to hit the sand. The awesome foursome decided we would sleep a wee bit away from the group out in the desert by ourselves under the stars. What a view we had when we woke up the next day the sun just starting to rise over the canyon walls and in front of us was the most beautiful panoramic view of the desert. Well we are off now to Petra, catch ya soon.

... what I had done by booking a day on a camel, but it seemed that it would be a richer experience than the more usual hour or 2 camel ride that was on offer for the tour groups, so off we went. We drove up to our camel guide, sitting in the middle of the desert, surrounded by his 5 camels, drinking tea by a little fire he had lit while he waited for us - it was a postcard picture moment. We were assigned our camels (mine was El Ehan) and off we went into the ...

... first breakdown: one of the vehicles stopped with a broken cambelt, what a bummer, turns out the belt was new but the tensioner not done up tight, so Thiemo had his first mechanical job and should be finished by lunchtime today. Then we will finally be on the road to Petra, where we will stay in a hotel for two nights. Will be in touch again from there. Cheers, Hans and Jenny.

... the little boat, and my friends convinced me to jump off of the front of it with them into the clear water below. I was so scared! Margaret and I counted to three, and jumped into the warm water screaming haha. The surf was very strong because of all the wind on the water, so we had to swim hard to stay afloat in the tall waves. But, we were determined to see the reefs, so five of us, facing buckets of salt water in our mouths and noses, managed to get on some masks and look at ...

... when I say warm I should say hot. Hotter than the air coming out of Tony Blaire in the run up to invading Iraq. Its 9pm and I'm hot. It must be into the 30's, and thats not humidity. Its just plain hot like its hot all day and then its still HOT. I've been in Kibbutz Ketura for a week now and plan for my two month stay here to be the last chapter of my journey in Israel - though of course nothing is ever set in stone. I have a roommate - Joel - who's alarm goes off each morning at ...

... shade! There is a big spread of Israeli salads, hummus, pita, fruits and water. In the heat with no wind, you really don't feel like eating much. We eat slowly and relax. Shor keeps reminding us to drink water, which you would think by now we had mastered, but seem to forget and appreciate his reminders. Shor asks us if we want to hike in through the Eteq Canyon and shows us the hike down and up and explains that it will be very hot and there is no wind ...

... crossing and asked what was going on. He probably sees this everyday and to the shock of Mum and I who had assumed he would gang up on us with the driver, he made it quite clear to the taxi driver he wasn't impressed. He frowned, crossed his arms and stared at the taxi driver who suddenly found some change in his pockets. It is amazing how intimidating a young guy with a very, very large gun and a nasty expression on his face can be. All the notes were screwed or rolled up so it was ...