Unwanted Souvenir and Final Thoughts

UNWANTED SOUVENIR: 

AND NOW... the continuation from my last post.... those itchy bug bites weren't bug bites at all! Mike and I both got SCABIES. (!!!) We are guessing it was from either an airplane seat, bedding, or towels. I had over 200 EXTREMELY ITCHY bumps. 14 just on my left hand alone... PHEW. 

We are grateful that we didn't break out until we got home and grateful that the other couple didn't get them, but MAN!! IT SUCKS!! (Present tense because I am still dealing with itchiness!)  We did 3 scabies treatments,  super cleaned our house, and did over 30 loads of laundry. It overshadowed the trip...by A LOT, which is unfortunate. We (errr I) had such an amazing time-especially in Egypt and Jordan! In a few days it will be almost a month since we've been home and I've spent more time thinking about these darn scabies than the coolness of our trip. 

My right leg got the worst of it! 

FINAL THOUGHTS....

THANKFULNESS:

I am so unbelievably thankful for the opportunity to have traveled to so many amazing places. This trip was no exception! We saw the PARTHENON,  the PYRAMIDS, and PETRA!!! 3 ICONIC P'S!!  

I actually STOOD ON THE PYRAMIDS - if that's not bragging rights for the rest of my life I don't know what is!! 

Many people were nervous about us going to Egypt and Jordan. (Myself included.) Let me just say I never once felt unsafe in either of the countries. We had a private guide with us the entirety of each visit (minus being at the hotel) and we felt very well taken care of.  I would HIGHLY recommend visiting Egypt and Jordan. We booked our trip through GoWay Travel and I have used them for 4 other trips. I was very happy with how our itinerary turned out -which was entirely custom made and tailored to what we wanted to do.  

UNPOPULAR OPINION:

 I'm glad we went to Greece, BUT I think it's slightly overrated. It's very crowded and, honestly, I didn't think Santorini was as pretty as the pictures often portray it. 

I always thought of Santorini as the iconic blue domes, but they are scattered and not as prevalent as one would think. I did, thankfully, already know this going in. I think if I hadn't had that heads up I would have been even more sorely disappointed. Again, unpopular opinion here, but I DON'T think Santorini is worth the hype. I'm glad we went, but I don't need to go back. Yes, I liked the white wash buildings and the occasional blue domes and even the maze of stairs was unique and fun... but most of the island is volcanic rock and not that pretty to look at.  

SHOUT OUT: 

ALSO a HUGE shoutout to my AMAZING husband who dislikes travel, but has now been to all 7 continents!  (6 new continents in almost 7 years of marriage!) Before we met, his online dating profile said he didn't want to date a traveler... now look at him go! LOL (okay, more like being dragged) I'm so thankful he comes along for the ride and that we have made some memorable, hilarious, and crazy memories! I LOVE YOU, MICHAEL DAVID!

GEJ: Jordan pt 3

Day 11: We left the desert and headed to the Dead Sea! Our hotel, MÖVENPICK RESORT & SPA DEAD SEA  was absolutely beautiful! When we checked in, they said they were only at 30% capacity and upgraded both our rooms for free! 

The rooms were amazing and the views were stunna! 

We headed down to the Dead Sea which was a few minute walk from our room. We floated for a bit and then Melissa and I decided to do the mud treatment! 

Our faces started stinging so we didn’t wear the mud for too long! 

Seriously though… this resort was amazing! We didn’t have too much time to enjoy it because our flight to go home was super early the following morning.

We did enjoy the sunset though and could see Israel from across the sea. 

Day 12: Woke up at 4am to start the journey home!! Mike and I had some itchy bites which were annoying. 

(The story doesn’t end there!!)

TO BE CONTINUED… 

GEJ: Jordan (pt 2)

Day 10: PETRA!!! This caravan-city is situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea and was an important crossroads for many places. Petra is half built/half carved into the rock and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. It’s one of the worlds most famous archaeological sites and is a UNESCO world heritage site!

Our guide told us Petra used to see thousands of tourists in just one day. Now, because of the off season and because of the war, there might only be 100 or so a day.

Everywhere we went we saw people really struggling to survive because tourism is such a huge thing for them, but no one is visiting now. 

I asked him the same question I asked our guide in Egypt… what would you say to people who are scared to visit?

I was one of those people who was scared - scared of Egypt and scared of Jordan, but we felt completely safe the entirety of our trip and everyone took such good care of us. 

…safety discussion to be continued in later blog…

We left Petra sometime after lunch and made our way to Wadi Rum! Wadi Rum is in southern Jordan near the border with Saudi Arabia. It’s a huge desert landscape with narrow gorges, natural arches, cliffs, etc. 

Our hotel that we stayed at was Memories at Aicha and it was lovely! We took a jeep/sunset tour and got some beautiful photos!

A number of movies were filmed here such as: Dune, Aladdin, Star Wars, The Martian… the list goes on!

They had multiple other tours you could sign up for as well and, if we had stayed longer, we probably would have signed up for some! 

GEJ: Jordan (pt 1)

Day 9: Today we said goodbye to Egypt and hello to Jordan! The transitions have been seamless as we’ve had people meet us straight away and help us get through customs, get our visas, etc. It was also nice to have one tour guide for the entirety of our visits and have it be completely private tours! 

Our first stop was Mount Nebo. The view was pretty and, on clear days, you’re able to see the Dead Sea and even Jerusalem! It was here that Moses viewed the promised land, which he was not permitted to enter due to his disobedience.

We then drove a couple hours as we headed to our next destination... But first! A stop at Little Petra! 

Little Petra is also known as Siq Al-Barid and is located north of Petra.

As its name suggests, the site is much smaller which makes it easier to walk around. It’s free to visit and not very crowded. It also has buildings carved into the walls of the sandstone canyons.

The hotel we stayed at was called Petra Guest House which was literally right by the entrance to Petra! On our first (and only) night there, Mike and I went to Petra by Night.  It’s an experiential and musical show which happens 3 times a week. Basically, it’s seeing Petra at night all lit up. They also had a flute and violin player so you could sit and listen to their performance while viewing Petra. 

GEJ: Egypt (pt2)

 Day 8: This was probably my favorite day from the whole trip!! I LOVE iconic sites and the pyramids are definitely iconic!!! 

We got to see the pyramids, the sphinx, ride camels, and took so many awesome photos!! On this day we also had a security guard with us the entire time which was cool! I felt even safer knowing that he was looking out for us. 

Did you know there are actually more than 100 pyramids in Egypt ?? It was so cool being able to touch (and stand on) part of history!! 

Afterwards, the boys ate at an Egyptian restaurant while the girls went to the iconic Pizza Hut overlooking the pyramids !! 

I am so thankful to be able to travel with someone who is just as picky as I am when it comes to food. LOL 

I follow many travel influencers and that’s where I first learned of Pizza Hut. It was definitely a bucket list for me to have Pizza Hut at the pyramids! (Dumb, I know, but it was so good!) 

After lunch we went to the Egyptian museum. This museum has over 150,000 items in its collection!! There are statues, jewelry, masks, etc. It is the largest museum in Africa and they even had a whole room/section for King Tutankhamun and the mask/treasures found in his tomb. 

While in Cairo we stayed at the Sheraton Cairo hotel. Overall, we had a really wonderful time in Egypt and I felt very safe. Egypt takes extra good care of their tourists  and I would definitely recommend using Emeco travel. Not only did it help with the language barrier, but it was nice having a private guide. Thanks, Carter! (pictured below) 

I also want to leave you with this video... In it, I asked Carter what he would say to people in the U.S. who are afraid to travel to Egypt. This was his response: 

I was definitely one of those people who was very anxious/nervous about traveling to Egypt, but it far exceeded my expectations!! 

GEJ: Egypt (pt 1)

 Day 6: The flight from Athens to Cairo was only a couple hours so it wasn’t bad! We got to Cairo and had a private transfer to our hotel. 

Before we could even enter the lot, they had a bomb sniffing dog check our car (and all the others around). We also had to go through security when we entered the hotel. 

Our guide told us not to go out by ourselves and to be careful with Egyptian street food. He actually recommended that we eat at a New York/italian restaurant at the hotel so as not to upset our tummies. 

After dinner we had a walking tour of Cairo. We saw the bazaar and walked Al-Muizz street and it was crazy busy!!  

Walking through the streets of Cairo was definitely an experience, but I’m glad we did it. I didn’t feel unsafe, but at one point a fight broke out among the locals. Our guide said not to worry about it. He also mentioned that police typically don’t get involved, but that the elders would break it up. 

It was hard to focus on the guides explanation of things because there was so much going on around us. There were so many people and so much activity. 

Day 7: Desert day! We drove out to Fayoum and visited the Qarun Lake which is considered the oldest of the natural lakes in the world. Then we headed to Wadi El Rayan and the waterfalls. The waterfalls are a natural phenomenon and are considered to be the largest waterfalls in Egypt. It was kind of funny seeing lakes and waterfalls in the desert! 

Our jeep in the desert

Mike sand boarding 

After that, we stopped by Valley of the Whales, Wadi Al-Hitan. It contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Egypt - the pyramids, safety, and more !