Middle East Day 3: Dead Sea

Woke up around 10 or 11. Whoops. Checkout is noon. Packed up our bags, checked out of the hotel, dropped our bags in the car and headed down the street for some pizza. Had a fantastic meat pizza before heading back to the hotel where the front desk staff recommended a day pass to holiday inn which provides access to the Dead Sea , pools , showers, amenities.

Hit the road for our 3 hour drive to the resorts of the Dead Sea. Not sure which way google brought ya but to get out of Petra we were going up some pretty steep hills with sharp corners (and matt killed the car a couple times too— the clutch was crap). But before long we were high up on the mountains overlooking the beginning of the Dead Sea. The lowest place on earth. 480 meters below sea level. We kept driving and decided to stop at the Dead Sea spa (day pass was 20JOD vs 45JOD at the holiday inn). We got changed and set out for the private beach at the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has been evaporating quickly, it had retreated a solid quarter mile or more. But we claimed a bench and walked carefully over rock and pebbles to enter the Dead Sea. They weren't joking about the buoyancy. You could relax on your back without a fuss. Had our pictures taken together. Enjoyed rubbing mud all over ourselves and getting in to rinse off. Then we went up too to the pool to relax, then hopped out to shower just in time to see sunset. Absolutley beautiful. Then happy hour started. We had 2 for 1 white Jordanian wine and ordered some nachos and a meat plate. All of the food was very tasty. Met a PA that works the emergency room at Abbott with Dave Gurda. And before long it was 8pm and time to start the 1 hour drive to Amman in hopes of catching the 1130pm flight direct to Cairo. Dropped the car off no problem and went to check in to find out the plane was wide open. Got exit row, bags checked with priority and we waited the hour to begging boarding. We did hit up the duty free shop as alcohol in egypt is rather difficult to find and we learned we could bring our own onboard the Nile cruise. Grabbed a bottle of stoli gold and Johnny Walker black. Boarded the plane and thanked the flight crew with USA M&Ms enjoyed our inflight snack box and was thanked by the crew with a bottle of champagne and nuts to take away.

Landed in Cairo after one hour, booked a hotel at the airport as it was almost midnight. Bought our 25$ visa and walked 20minuyes out of the way in a loop to get to the hotel. Checked in and they agreed to a late check out of 2pm (next day was simply arrive to Cairo day) enjoyed a stella bier from the fridge and oir champagne. Repacked our bags and passed out. Get to Cairo hotel and hang out with Alaa's friends the next day.

Middle East Day 2

Woke up around 1130am. Whoops. But we were tired. Matt was ready first so he set out to find us breakfast and lunch to bring with into Petra, and some waters. I met him about 20 minutes later at a small shawarma shop where they were making the tortilla to go with our chicken kabob breakfast. At lunch and got dinner for 15JOD (~20$). Then we set out for Petra. 150$ for the two of us to enter. (Woulda been 200 but we were staying overnight in the town). And started to hike the long 45 minute walk weaving through the ancient riverbed to the Siq (Iconic Petra photo). Meanwhile we had to mind the horse carriages bringing those unable to walk.

The siq was filled with tourists and young kids trying to sell postcards and small crafts. Then we continued onwards for about 10 minutes to a bigger opening. The royal tombs were high in the mountains on the right. And there were dwellings on the left. Walked towards the start of the montestary path and had an ice cold Coca Cola light. A donkey owner then explained what was so cool at the end of the path— gorgeous views, tents with things for sale, less people. And for a good price you could take his donkey up the 980 steps in 20 minutes instead of walking for 1hour. Knowing matt doesn't like to ride animals due to discomfort we opted to hike. Wowza. Atleast we were not at 13000 feet like Wayne Picchu. There were cats, and many tents to buy things along the way. We took a few stops to catch our breath and were passed by a few donkeys with riders. But we were to the Montestary in 40 minutes. Way better than riding a donkey. We took our pictures (and there were few people there which was nice) and hiked up one of the three identified local hills entitled "best view". We got a pretty incredible view from up top and then resorted down to enjoy our shawarma for lunch. And cold fries. Then we decided to head down. We stopped at the church and had a look around which included original mosaic floors and then hiked up to the royal tombs. We watched sunset there and then about 6pm we started the hour hike out of Petra. But not without stopping for a sunset lighting picture infront of the siq with very few people in the background. As we were walking out, the crews with dropping and lighting candlelight bags for the evening tour. We spent about 5 hours there which was a perfect amount of time. We then stopped at "my mommas recipe" for some great jordanian food before grabbing a pint at the Irish pub and calling it a night. Next day we stop at the Dead Sea en route back to Amman to catch our flight hopefully to Cairo.

Chasing the 7 wonders

Surprisingly my boss agreed to work the last 3 hours of my shift so I could get home grab my bags and matt and we made it to the airport by 3pm for a 3:55pm departure to Chicago (ORD). Got seated up front and were allowed to carry our bags on no problem. The captain is one of the guys that lives in matts Eagan house too.

Flight to Chicago was bumpy so the fa stayed in their jump seats. Landed, said good bye and went to check on the Royal Jordanian flight direct to Amman departing 3 hours later. Since we landed in the international terminal we went to the advertised gate but there was no sign of RJ anywhere. So we left security and went into the ticketing area.

Waited in line to be told with a scrunched up face— it doesn't look good come back 2 hours prior to departure. We check with information and the only 2 eateries outside of security at the international terminal are McDonald, or a pre-made well warm it up for you spot. We went with the later and shared a gyro pizza and had a beverage each. Went back to the ticket counter and were told again —— flight is full, we can't give you seats until right before departure if some people don't show up. So we check in with Emirates (adds 5 hours of flight time) and they say they should have seats available.

Get to security line which is long and not moving. 45 minutes later (and boarding start time to Amman) we make it through security and check in with the gate—- still no seats we'll call your name. So we go down to emirates flight and they say they have seats. I take the boarding pass (no seats assigned yet) and head back to the RJ flight where matt was waiting. He went to the bathroom and they called our name, we had two seats together in the very last row (before crew rest) and had one seat open next to us too. I hook our rollarboards together and head to the emirates flight to let them know we aren't flying them and head back to RJ. We wait to be some of the last people to board. Barely find room for our bags — had to rearrange a few bins to make it happen, then I started handing out the treats I brought for the crew and let them know matt is a pilot. The fa loves the fact we brought treats and cake and introduced themselves to pilot matt. "Anything you want you let us know!" Before too long we were taking off. We got extra wet wipes, and both the chicken and fish economy meal (which wasn't terrible) and were served first so we had both options available. Matt ordered a scotch, to which the fa replies red or black label. Obviously he went with the black label. It took awhile for the fa to return but he came with first class nuts, first class Care packages, and a coffee cup filled with JW black label. I just had a red wine.

Not too long after finishing our meal the crew set up for crew rest, one laid across a row of three and the other two shut the curtains around the jump seat of the rear exit doors on the 787 Dreamliner. And laid down on the floor. Yuck!

I headed to the back and got chatting with the crew. One drives atv/trucks through the desert and another was on holiday in the states with his wife. The guys were very excited to give us tips for our short trip to Jordan. They kept my glass full too. Wasn't too long before the crew rest gals yelled at us for being too loud. Soooo I went back to my seat and napped for about 6 hours (making it all the way to touchdown). Apparently while I was sleeping the guys brought us a wine in a bag and served breakfast (croissant and jam).

The fa wished us all farewell and we were off to buy our visa (60$/each) and waited in line to get through customs. Wasn't too long and we were through looking for our car rental location Alamo.

Got our car— a mini /manual /death trap and we were off. But there was 1/8th of a tank. So we had to find gas. Found a station. 20JOD to have it filled up by a full service location. Then we were off to try and get back on the highway..... that didn't work well; it took a very long time and many turns and u turns but alas we made it back on the highway. Utilized google to get us to Petra city about 3 hours away.

The roads turned into one lane roads with two way traffic and no street lights to illuminate where to go. Or what was around the bend. There were many random speed humps that if you don't slow down you will fly through the air. But eventually we did make it to our hotel Edom hotel, 7 minute walk to Petra visitor center. We parked the car and headed up to our room in the 3 star hotel. I showered as I was gross and we went out in search of dinner. We went to the night restaurant as they advertised they had pizza and traditional food. No alcohol and no pizza were available. Matt ordered a hummus and some beef meal and I ordered a Lebanese chicken. They were pretty good. The hummus was spectacular.

After dinner we walked to the Kilkenny bar and had a pint before calling it a night. We made it back to the hotel and I was awfully sleepy eyed. Matt showered and we fell asleep with no plans for an alarm or waking up early.

Galapagos day 2: snorkel disaster

Woke up at 7am for 8 am breakfast and morning zodiac ride. Also got out snorkeling equipment for the excursions throughout the trip. Saw some blue footed boobies and Nazca boobies and a lot of pelicans. No penguins. 

Then deep sea snorkeling to depart at 1030a. Where you get off the boat and snorkel. Only problem is with the full moon the waters have been so rough the normal snorkel g spot wasn't available so they brought us to the Nazca boobie spot to snorkel around that rock island. Only problem. Is that the water was producing massive swells and the clarity of the water for snorkeling was horrible. Kayaking was canceled due to the swells. I begrudgingly went with and got my snorkel equipment on and headed into the water. Nothing but salt water into my snorkel and visibility was negative. 

I made it mostly around the rock. Ok like half before throwing my arm up to be picked up. Nothing like a stomach full of Jameson and salt water to make you nauseous the entire ride home. Made it back without puking and took another Dramamine before lunch. Managed to keep lunch down then napped the afternoon away. Skipped the 2 hour beach relaxation and went to James island for the walk on the black sand beach. Saw numerous Galapagos seal lines and fur seals along with iguanas hidden in the rocks and tons of sally light foot crabs. After a hike along the beach we came back to the zodiacs (pangas in Ecuador) and just missed the wet landing departure fiasco. Apparently the first boat of older peeps had a big wave hit and toppled everyone overboard. By the time we made it to the pangas the guys knew what they were doing and we all made it onboard without too much issue. 

Made it back to the boat for buffet dinner and attempted to stargaze. More deep sea snorkel the next day. 

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Galapagos cruise day 1

After waking up way to early we had breakfast and waited for our taxi to bring us on the two hour commute from Puerto Ayora to the Baltra airport to meet our cruise

No tortoises in the road this time. Taxi. To boat shuttle. To airport bus shuttle to airport. Arrived one hour early. Wasted time on the internet and started searching for the Santa Cruz ii signs. Found them. Boarded a bus hopefully to take us not back to Puerto Ayora where we started. Traveled to the north end of the island. Where we boarded a zodiac (known here as a panga) or a rubber 10person pontoon boat. Our to a giant ship in the middle of the bay.

Enjoyed our welcome juice and found our room. Nothing special about this. Two twin beds pushed together one bathroom and a closet. Pulled everything out of our suitcase and arranged it Marie kondo style in the closet before lunch and emergency drill.

Had an amazing buffet lunch compliments of the Austrian head chef before learning emergency information and going to our muster stations.

We then set out on our first excursion to banchas bay and did a two hour hike walking past iguanas and sea lions. And birds galore. Made it back to the zodiac for a wet landing back to the ship.

Showered and tidyed up for dinner (no shorts allowed) and learned about the next day activities. Deep sea snorkeling, black beach snorkel and hike.

Had a fantastic buffet dinner before calling it a night.

Galapagos: Puerto Ayora

Woke up around 8 to try out the free breakfast at our hotel. Made to order omelette. Good enough for me and Matt has a croissant with jame and butter and fresh coffee.

We then started the 50 minute hike to Tortuga Bay. The entrance to the hike was 10 minutes from the hotel and then it was a well laid cobblestone trek the entire way to the beach, took about 25 minutes with periods of rain. Which actually felt nice considering how humid it is here.

We went to the right when we reached the ocean and watched as the sandpipers and other birds challenged the tide trying to get food. Made it to an area of black lava rock and a protected harbor with a seal and iguana swimming. Or sunbathing on the rocks. They are everywhere here, their camouflage is spectacular. Matt didn't even see one that was right infront of him. We went around the corner to a calm sea inlet. Many locals were swimming and snorkeling. We then captured a few more pictures of iguana and then started the 30 minute trek back. Saw a giant tortoise having lunch on the side of the walkway. Then we were out and back to the hotel. Stopped for a snack before heading out for pizza lunch. Pizza place didn't have anyone working it so we went further down towards the Charles Darwin research center to another place that had a pizza sign. Except they didn't have pizza. Ordered a panini and Matt had a burger. They were decent. Served with stale potatoes chips with ketchup and mayo.

Continued on the way to the Charles Darwin center, where they help rear tortoises and reintroduce them to the wild there were tiny baby toirtoises all the way up to giant tortoises. Then we made the walk back in time to lay by the pool for a couple hours before going out to dinner on the harbor for our anniversary. The pool was freezing cold but a welcoming refresher for the hot humid air. It's like Puerto Rico in November.

Got dressed and walked to the Hotel Solymar for harbor side dining. Their restaurant is in the side of a cliff. Matt ordered a green crusted fish and I ordered a mushroom fettuccine. It was delicious. Only problem was service took so long we finished it after they were supposed to close. Whoops. As we were finishing our last bites we had a seal come up to our table. And then he went and hung out by the iguana that was sun bathing on the rail.

After dinner we went back to the hotel to pack. Cruise departs tomorrow!

Galapagos arrival pictures

Getting to the Galapagos

It's amazing how hard it is to get to the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

SunCountry flight msp to mco (Orlando) 3 hours.
Rented a car and drove 3 hours to fll (Fort Lauderdale) where our confirmed spirit flight to Ecuador was out of.

Wake up Friday morning have a bite to eat and then go to Walmart to get water bottle and go pro charge cord. Which they didn't have so we went to Best Buy and subway to have food for the flight. And by that time with all the traffic it was time to fill up the rental car and get to the airport. After circling the airport a couple times trying to find rental car return we finally found it. Dropped the car off. And checked in for the spirit flight. Of course I could check in online with a boarding pass but Matt always causing trouble couldn't.

Got him checked in and corrected the gate agent who moved us from our confirmed paid for exit row seats to a different row. Back to window aisle of exit row and through security. Luckily Matt got precheck too so it was super quick to get in. Hit up duty free for a bottle of whiskey to bring on board our cruise and then sat down at a Cuban restaurant while we waited for our flight. Matt ordered some fried chicken with beans and rice which was okay. Before we knew it it was time to board.

Our bags made it into the overhead and we were making friends with the flight attendant in the exit row. Only problem is he was only three weeks in and a total rule follower.

4 hour flight to gye (some city in Ecuador I don't know how to pronounce). Land and call the hotel and they sent a shuttle to pick us up. A Wyndham garden in with free brekke. The travel agency we booked the cruise through arranged for a airport delivery for us.

He was picking us up at 840 for a 1040 flight. He arrived early. And drove us the three minutes to the airport and walked us through the customs checkpoints to enter Galapagos (numerous bag screenings) and we checked our bags (with two bottles carefully packed away) and we went to our gate.

2 more hour flight, the gate agents bug sprayed all the overhead bins before arrival and we finally arrived on Baltra Island of the Galapagos. Walked up the volcanic wasteland into the airport. We had to wait in lone and pay $100 plus a $5 bus fee. The island only has the airport on it. We had to wait for a dog to sniff all the checked baggage. Once that was cleared up we went out to find our bus. 15 minute ride down to the water. We then had to board a water ferry to cross 100 yards of a waterway. $1 each. Once we got to the other side we had to wait for all the bags which were precariously thrown up too the ferry to be unloaded. Matt waited for our bags and I found a taxi. $25 for the 40km ride into Puerto Ayora. Bags thrown in the back of the truck and we were on our way to hotel Ninfa

Along the way we had to swerve around a giant tortoise just hanging out on the side of the road.

We arrived and dropped our bags and went exploring the town of Puerto Ayora. Lots of restaurants with 3x10$ drink specials. Had a round plus some calamari before we went searching for water and snacks for the next day.
Snacks found. Went walking along the harbor for dinner. Found a brewery across, had chicken fajitas and a sausage sandwich. Walked along the waterway back to the hotel and passed a tree full of pelicans and some seals and iguanas hanging out.

Tortuga beach and Charles Darwin research center the next day.

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