Now that we can't go to Israel, we were all in panic mode trying to get flights home. Damien, Jacinta, & Natalie (Australian) were going to go to Greece, but found out they were shutting down sightseeing to the sites, so they booked a flight home.By lunch today all of us had booked flights home. I got messages from friends that Trump banned flights from Europe and my new flight goes through Frankfurt, so I was wondering what to do. Another friend said it was about European people not being let into U.S., not U.S. citizens. It's been stressful enough because I tried to rebook with United Airlines (according to their website I could rebook and they wouldn't charge rebooking fees), but I couldn't get through on the 800 phone line (which is the only way ... read more

It's official. We were informed by GAdventures today that the Israel part of the trip has been cancelled. There is a mandatory 14 day quarantine for anyone entering the county. Most of the people on the trip need to make alternative arrangements. I know that GAdventures will take care and probably give us a voucher for the Israel part. I fully intend on coming back to Israel. At my hotel in Aquaba, I spent over 2 hours trying to rebook my flight. My original flight was from Tel Aviv to San Diego. Now I'm trying to rebook out of Amman, Jordan. I tried 3 different phone numbers and they kept sending me back to the 800 number. There was over 60 minute wait to talk to someone. I tried to change it online, which didn't work. ... read more

At last - Petra! Egypt Pyramids and Jordan Petra are the reasons why I picked this trip. I am looking forward to Israel as well, but right now I'm immersed in Jordan sights. Yesterday when we drove here it seems like we went quickly from the green north part of Jordan to the desert. The area around Petra is near the major trade and caravan routes between Egypt and Syria/Turkey/Armenia/Iran. The area is so rocky and it's difficult for me to see how there were trade routes through here. We got up early, had a 5 a.m. breakfast, left at 6 a.m. and were one of the first to arrive. This gave us the benefit of an uncrowded place and not in the heat of the day, Talal, our leader took us from #1 to #13 ... read more

Our first full day in Jordan with Talal, our leader, and Oust, our junior leader (he is training to be a leader), and our driver, Mamoud. During our Jordan trip we have the same bus, same driver, wifi on the bus, and filtered water. Yeah - I love it. And they are not so aggressive here about paying for a toilet - at least not yet. I heard there is panic buying of toilet paper in California (because of Coronavirus), and my friend Brian jokingly asked me "If they let you back in the country, bring us some toilet paper". Is it really that bad? This morning we visited Jerash. The drive there is beautiful: rolling hills, agriculture, lots of vegetable and fruit stands near the road. There are tons of pomegranates around here and I ... read more

I'm sorry the photos aren't labeled. As you can imagine, we are quite busy going to sites, and there is limited, slow internet that I pay for if I want it in my room in Luxor. This morning after a delightful breakfast on the roof of the hotel, overlooking the Luxor Temple and Hot Air Balloons, we went to Hatshepsut Temple. The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, also known as the Djeser-Djeseru (Ancient Egyptian: ḏsr ḏsrw "Holy of Holies"), is a mortuary temple of Ancient Egypt located in Upper Egypt. Built for the url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteent... read more