Wow! This was really quite the adventure! I've actually been to a lecture by Dr Zahi Hawass. It was definitely interesting, although I found him more than a little self-aggrandizing. Everything was "I" "I" "I" with really no "We" for the people who did all this stuff with him. But it looks like they run a really great tour! One of the best things about
ABD's itinerary is the up close access to the Sphinx; it's good to know this other company does that, too! Although those early mornings sound brutal!
And the camel photos are great! That wide shot Kyle took of all of the camels and the pyramids in the background is quite impressive!
Oh, and I thought I'd mention, based on the experiences of a couple of friends, there is no such thing as a "free" cat from another country. It's quite the hassle and rather expensive to get a cat out of the country and into the US!
Looking forward to more of your post-trip report.
Sayhello
Too true! Hawass does have quite the ego... it does sound awfully hard to get things done, and find financing, so I'm not sure how deserved it is or not. Especially the earlier digs... even now it is constantly a race with time and funding. Or at least the documentaries make it sound like you either find a lot of things or.... that's it. Luckily, as Hussein pointed out, after several millennia almost everywhere is on top of something important.
An excellent point on there being no free cats... my coworker rescued one from the streets of Mumbai and took him to New Zealand for many years before she relocated back home to the US a couple years ago. "Squeaks" is quite the pampered boy!
One of the few restrictions I've carried with me while fighting insomnia for over a year now (geez, how has it been a year?), is my stubborn insistence of waking up every day at 6am. So it was once again that we were up before dawn, even in this beautiful, relaxing resort. We had some time, so we wandered the grounds enjoying the many birds and cats, as well as the different themed areas before hitting up the breakfast buffet.
This is just one area with the pastries and breads - they had several other stations with anything I can imagine you'd want. Made to order eggs and omelettes, Jordanian cuisine, cereals, soups and many Asian inspired dishes as well. It was all very fresh and tasty.
We then hit the road around 8am to make our way towards Petra.
There were a lot of little convenience stores selling floats in addition to snacks. This one was the clearest shot I got, but the others had all kinds of shapes and items stacked outside.
As we drove there were a lot of warnings to NOT approach dangerous areas. I couldn't read it, but they certainly got the point across!
The drive was absolutely gorgeous! We were tempted to come back up this way from Wadi Rum, but it would have been a bit of a back track and we did want to see more of the country.
Our first stop was at a "pink lake" we had seen by poking around on Google Maps. I am glad to have Kyle as my travel buddy - I think getting to it might have been outside of my comfort zone without his insistence it was totally safe. We had to park our car on the highway and hike down a kilometer or two. There was no one around, and I was a bit worried about leaving the car, but he said it would be worth it. As we walked we saw a shepherd tending his huge flock as they went who knows where... I highly doubt they were making their way to this. Sadly no pics - I apparently only took a video of them.
I certainly was pink! And oh my... it smelled!!
Kyle spent quite awhile here playing with the light and angles so I enjoyed looking at the ground and walking around. I can't say I've ever been anywhere like this before. It was about to get even neater...!
