Today is the penultimate day of the trip. Today is a day of rest. Today, we are playing Dead! After a very relaxing night's sleep, breakfast came round at 08h00 - in a restaurant. What luxury! To be totally honest, I have done nothing today apart from upload my blog as it's the first day with any internet access - albeit using the link belong to the hotel next door! The only thing I have done today is swim in the Dead Sea - enjoy the photos, I'm not writing any more - I'm on holiday!!!! [View Full Entry]

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The night under canvas went very quickly - for me. Others complained at the noise coming from the dogs, the little train, the odd vehicle, snoring, but I heard nothing - apart from the occasional mosquito trying to get a quick bite. I heard nothing until 06h15 that is when Bassam wandered through camp urging everyone to get up. Breakfast was a simple affair - strong coffee, pitta bread dipped in olive oil and herbs and hard boiled eggs. By 07h00, the bus was packed and nine sleepy adventures headed for 5 hours across the Jordanian Desert back towards the north. [View Full Entry]

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08h00. There's a knock on the door. Housekeeping! The alarm hasn't even gone off yet! Packing and leaving the rucksack at the door, I headed down to breakfast and made a packed lunch from the bread and cheese available! Ali came to collect us at 09h00 and we began the slow climb up from Petra to the summit of the surrounding hills and the plateau beyond. Upon reaching the summit, Ali stopped the bus to give us one last glimpse of Petra before we headed off along the King's Highway down to Wadi Rum. The journey across the desert began on [View Full Entry]

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I cannot find the words to describe this awe inspiring city; just look at the photos! [View Full Entry]

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I awoke before the alarm this morning. Not because I wasn't tired but because I thought I'd overslept! 45 minutes before breakfast and I was wandering around in the early morning sun taking photographs across the valley into Israel. Following a simple breakfast, we packed our bags into the bus but set off on a three hour walk into the Dana Nature Reserve. We walked through the deserted village and headed off through some long neglected gardens and onto the mountain side. Although we saw evidence of porcupines and irises, the only wildlife to speak of came in the form of [View Full Entry]

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07h00 came surprisingly early. I know it happens at the same time each day but I'd once again found it difficult to sleep on the small mountain that purported to be a pillow. Clearly though, after having got rid of the pillow, I must have slept as the alarm clock was waking me up. After taking a shower and dressing, I packed my rucksack and headed down to breakfast. Not good - again. This time, the bread rolls were like bullets, but still, I dined on orange juice, coffee and bread - but drew a line at warm milk on the [View Full Entry]

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Despite being very tired, I found it difficult to sleep in a very cold room (the windows had been left open) with a pillow the size of a small mountain. Nevertheless, I must have slept because the alarm woke me at 07h30 and the pillow was on the floor. I showered and headed downstairs for breakfast by 08h00 and found myself taking orange juice and black coffee with Pauline and Andrew, who had taken a coach down from Sheffield to Heathrow. Breakfast was a simple affair with bread, jam, oranges, dates and some funny green stuff. The introductory chat was interesting [View Full Entry]

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I'm sitting here in Marrakesh starting my journal for a trip to Jordan. Why Marrakesh? Well, I only have six days between trips - not a record as I was back at Manchester Airport for a weekend trip to the Isle of Man some four days after returning from New Zealand! I've passed through passport control, been scanned and am now enjoying a cup of coffee inside the air-conditioned terminal building of Menara Airport, Marrakesh. My transport, rather unusually, arrived half an hour early to take me to the airport, initially along busy roads and then, through less and less traffic. [View Full Entry]

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After last night's very heavy rain, it felt cooler this morning. The fact that it was cooler may also have had something to do with the fact that I was up at 07h30 in an attempt to beat the queues and get in some early sightseeing. Not forgetting that I'd already been woken at 05h15 by the el-fajr (call to prayer)! For an Englishman, it was an unusual start to the day. Not being renowned for our language skills, it was something of a shock that, by 08h00, I'd already had to speak English, French, German, Dutch and Arabic - in [View Full Entry]

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Quarter past five in the morning. That's the time the call to prayer brought me from my sleep. Quarter past five. Turning over, I lay there until a moment or so until a more respectable 08h00 appeared. Getting out of bed, I washed, dressed and went up to the roof for breakfast. The early morning sun was already hot and I found a table in the open air. Two of us had made a bee-line to the aforementioned table at the same time, so we decided to share. Sipping my coffee and fruit juice, we discussed our adventures and the likelihood [View Full Entry]

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