First day in Jordan

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We started our day with a quick breakfast and checked out of the hotel. Our stay in Israel was ending. On schedule, we were met by a driver who took us to the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv for our flight to Eilat. Eilat is a resort town on the Red Sea adjacent to Aqaba in Jordan, and near to Egypt as well. We were met at the airport by another driver who took us to the Jordanian border to clear customs and immigration. We walked across the border, and were met by our Jordanian guide, Khalipha. We then hopped in the car for a driver to Wadi Rum, site of the filming of the movie, Lawrence of Arabia. Wadi Rum is strikingly beautiful. Picture a very large open area, bordered by nearly vertical cliffs. . . all of which is composed of red soil. We watched a brief movie on Wadi rum and then went for a ride in the back of a small pickup truck. We drove through the desert, visited a Bedouin encampment (where we drank some tea), and then did some brief hiking and climbing in a good sized hill of sand. We then drove to a small town where we had lunch before driving on to Petra. We reached Petra shortly before dark, and checked into our hotel for the night. Following dinner, we watched a movie and called it a night.

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