Welcome to Jordan!

 September 24

We were up VERY EARLY (had set our alarms for 3:45 but got a "wake-up call" at 3:25 am!) and were on the road by 4:30 after a very heartfelt goodbye to our friend and program director/ guide Hany who was up to see us off.  The air transfer from start to finish was smooth as can be and we were guided through the entire process from drop off to pick up by Viking reps.  And that included when we landed in Jordan getting our Visas and having them documented.  

We met our Jordan guide for the next four days, "Rain" is his abbreviated name for us he told us, and he told us that our schedule would be adjusted to make better use of our time AND it meant that we would get to sleep in an additional hour tomorrow, HORRAY!  The original plan for today was upon arrival visit the Dead Sea Museum and then head to the hotel.  But Rain had checked with the hotel prior to picking us up - that's what Viking does! - and discovered they were 85% occupied so the rooms would not be ready until early afternoon at the earliest.  So if we stuck to the plan we'd arrive at the hotel before noon and just sit for several hours waiting on our luggage and rooms.  So instead he took us to Mount Nebo and then to the museum before heading to the hotel.  Our rooms were ready upon arrival AND we get the extra hour of sleep before checking out for tomorrow's adventure.

So we drove about an hour from the airport to Mount Nebo where tradition tells us this is the place that Moses was buried.  But upon arrival way, WAY at the top we discovered that it was known for something very interesting.  First, we walked to the edge of the lookout and gazed out to the horizon.  There before us stretched the Dead Sea and the infamous "West Bank" that has cause so much Middle East turmoil.  Made for a good back drop for a the first photo op of the day for Kim and I.  We then went to the monastery.  Outside was something that apparently this area has been known for for centuries - mosaics.   These are SO intricately made that they APPEAR to be a carpet when in fact they are made of stone.

After seeing one outside Rain took us to the monastery to go inside where this well-preserved mosaic is from the 7th CENTURY - wow.  Truly remarkable.  Next stop was the Dead Sea Museum.....

Like so many things on this trip, this fell into a "I had no idea" category.  I would guess the vast majority of people would at least "know of" the Dead Sea.  And to be fair I did not know a lot about it.  But here is what I most certainly did NOT know.  The Dead Sea is shrinking at an alarming rate.  So much so that at this rate the Dead Sea will be GONE in fifty years!  We went outside to a panoramic overlook which was a great spot for photos.

Finally we headed to our resort which was 200 feet below sea level!  It's a gorgeous resort that overlooks the Dead Sea as you can see from the aerial shot below.  What was interesting is that you can go right down to the beachfront property of the resort and get into the Dead Sea.  But as you take the golf cart down they point out here - like we saw in the museum - the level of the beach has dropped dramatically, over fifty feet in recent years!  Of course we had to get in and test the buoyancy of the water - lived up to it's reputation!

Dinner was provided by Viking and by 8 pm we had reached the bottom of our energy reserves from a LONG day.  But we're off to a great start!