One side wants Peace, the other wants Justice

During our visit, we met genuine, authentic, real people on both sides of the Jordan River. We learned about their every day activities, goals and struggles. But most of all we heard alot about their hope for the future. That one day, this too shall pass. That all will work out. We leave you with these two photos ....

Masada

Did I mention our visit to Masada? This was a skyrise, mile high retreat built by King Harod, a Roman-file, in the middle of the desert, by the Dead Sea. Took alot of effort to get there, build it and overtake it, but it was sure worth it. It has served both as a refuge and a fortress.

Harod insisted on the finest things of that time ... from luxurious pools, steam baths and palacial buildings decorated with the latest paintings. One can still can see the designs and wall patterns artfully created over 2,000 years ago! Take a look.

Mark and Marilyn

Mark and Marilyn are two wonderful people who opened their hearts and calendar to us during our time in Israel. How they squeezed a week out of four days still surprises us. We experienced things that few visitors get the chance to. Had it not been for the Rotary International Travel and Hosting Fellowship, we would have gotten to know them, never had the chance to stay at a girls school in Jerusalem or experience a kibbutz, traverse the Golan Heights, wake up to the gentle ripples of the Sea of Galillee (Lake Kenneret), or meet other Rotarians from around the world, including a Group Study Exchange team from India.

Mark and Marilyn deserve not one but two gold stars for having survived our driving, listened to our singing in our rental van, and having shown great patience for all the photos we tried to take in order to capture the moment!! Muchisimas gracias!!

Cute and Huge

My travel buddies, how wonderful they are (my sister, aunt and father) are reading these posts making sure that the essence of our trip is shared with everyone. Here are a few things they'd like to add:

1. Accents can make a difference when communicating with others. For example: You're cute" can be mistaken for "Your huge". Not exactly what one would like to hear.
2. Water is a necessity, especially when traveling in the desert. Almost makes one see an oasis mirage at every hilltop especially if you travel without a liter or two.
3. Yah-lah means "shuffle your butt" saying it nicely. In other words, you can fill in the blank, if you get our meaning. Anyway, our tour guide kept on saying that to us ... hmmmm.

Taking Our Breath Away

Today marks our last day in Jordan. We did the northern route of the country, starting with Jerash and its amazing archeaological ruins. Hadrian had a gate built in honor of his visit to the city (Gerasa) nearly 2,000 years ago. The Romans had a hipprodome built and we even saw actors who are involved with a re-enactment of a chariot race with gladiators and chariot riders. The cardo collonade and the temple for Artimedes are both amazing sites to see. We were surprised to see wood used in an hand-turned olive press from the ancient times. Guess that dry climates do preserve better than man-made chemicals.

The close of our formal tour day was in Umm Quais. A Greek city in the north, just a stones throw from the sea of Galillee. Typical basalt rock were used to create beautiful columns to the gods from long ago. I will HAVE to post a pic from there. The view of four countries (Jordan, Isreal, Syria and Lebanon) can do nothing but to take your breath away!

Unfortunately, we leave tomorrow morning. Hasta pronto, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordania! We love your people!

Oh Jerusalem

The City. That is what so many call you. For three religions it is the holy city where so many faithful come to see and pray. Our time was way too short (basically a day and a half). We stayed across the street from the Damascus Gate, so very busy with commerce. We walked through the souk and saw so many things. From the 12 stations along the via dolorosa, to the last remaining wall of Solomon's temple. Oh Jerusalem, what a city you are!

Following Jesus' Footsteps (Part 2)

We visited the mount of the beatitudes (where Jesus spake), the mount of the transfiguration (where his divine nature shown through), to the sacrificial mount where He died for all of us. To see the stones where he tread and touched should have made me feel more connected to his time on earth. What it did was to remind me that Christ came to be in relationship with me: to be my comforter, to be my guide, to be the water of life and to be my salvation.

Tracing the steps of Jesus (Part 1)

We've been in Israel for the past three nights. How much can one cram into 24 hours? As much as is humanly possible! First things first, we arrived into Jerusalem after a short wait getting our passports inspected. After a very pleasant ride in a local shuttle bus/taxi, we arrived less than 1.5 blocks from where we stayed -- across the Damascus Gate! To imagine what this gate is like, think of a small channel or walkway overflowing with humanity and items for sale and then multiply it by 7!! That is the Damascus Gate on a Saturday evening.

We left the next morning for the Dead Sea area -- although we didn't hike up to Masada, it sure felt like we did when we walked around the compound area in the heat of the day. That King Harod sure liked his luxuries -- cold pools, tepid pools, hot pools and steam baths -- sky high in the middle of the desert. Its amazing, very little grows up there, except in oasises. Then, you find green lushness in abundance. Its really a contrast. Our day of sightseeing in the area closed with a short dip in the Dead Sea. One really does float! Our mud bath and saline rinse does wonders for the body! All the aches and pains of the body float away just like in the commercials. We all agreed that we needed to visit at least once a week as part of our weekly regime. How nice would that be?

Today, we were up in the Sea of Galillee area. We drove all around it, saw and read where so many foundation stones of our faith happend. From the eastern side where the demons were cast into swine, to the west side where thousands of people were fed from 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. The most amazing place was the mountain side slightly northwest of the sea, where the beatitudes were shared with us. One of my favorite being: "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall inherit the earth. / You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family. "

Our journey holds the remaining pinnacle sites back to the old city -- Jerusalem where we'll have a chance to remember the names of the innocents and the righteous among the nations. We'll close our day by tracing the footsteps of Jesus: Transfiguration Mount, the Via Dolorosa and the Garden Tomb.

Passport Control and Border Crossings

Its Saturday morning, we've just had breakfast now we're off to Israel. Our ride has arrived to take us to the border and then, our adventure on the other side of the River Jordan begins! Did I tell you I sprained my ankle in Petra? Looks like a baseball is substituting as my ankle. Fun. Guess I'll have to settle for a relaxing day at the beach at the Dead Sea. Everyone claims it has healing properties ... let the healing begin!

The Bride Wore Green

We left Petra early this morning, and drove to Madaba where there is this beautiful mosaic map of the holy land back from the Byzantine era. Simply beautiful. So much work and it has lasted. But the real reason for our entire trip was the wedding! We are between the church ceremony and reception.

Things started at the bride's home, with champagne toasts and pistachio treats. The bride was stunning in her beautiful dress. It was white with a sheer green overlay design of the same flowers as in her bouquet. The brides' sister was her maid of honor along with four flower girls and boys. The handsome groom waited in the front with a huge smile on his face alongside his best man (friend from home). Everyone looked so happy, especially the mothers of the bride and groom. I was one row back and saw them clearing their tears as they were pronouced man and wife. I am so happy for both of them as they are two kind hearted people who deserve only the very best!

Breakfast with the Bedouins

Today we woke up after spending the night at a campsite in Wadi Rum, the romance of the desert. After seeing where Lawrence of Arabia lived, where he helped destroy the intrusive railroad, and after doing jeep wheelies, we found ourselves in Muhammed's care alongside with two other couples (from Belgium and England). After a wonderful dinner of mansaf, cucumbers and watermelon, we watched the campfire dance to the songs played on our host's jeep until the stars came out one by one twinkling ever so brightly.

So, this morning we drove an hour north to Petra ... in three words: treasures, tombs and tired feet. Needless to say, our path had been heavily worn over the years from countless travelers, merchants and pilgrims. Thats me with the red umbrella.

Wedding Bells and Henna painting

Tonight we attended the pre-wedding bridal shower. Many of the bride's family and friends came from all over the world. Starting with Indiana, Minnesota and Texas and rounding the globe with Switzerland, Egypt and Cyprus. We had a blast dancing to Arabic music trying to follow the beat of the drum! Each of us got our legs painted with henna. My carefully selected design unfortunately didn't get the reaction I had hoped for. What was going to be a tribute to my Mexican heritage as well as an homage to what we felt beating on our crowns was none other than our wonderful ... sol/sun. When I showed my ankle to the bride's grandmother, she asked what it was supposed to represent. I took a better look at it ... and it kinda looks like a spider gone out to lunch. Great, I'll have to explain what I don't have crawling on my leg for the next 10 to 12 days.

Going in Circles in Amman

We're in Amman, Jordan! After 14 hours of airflight, and a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam (which included an unplanned canal ride excursion by the way), we landed at the Queen Alia airport in Amman at 11:15 pm! Our pre-departure planning made securing our visa and passport control a breeze. In fact, most of our time in the airport was at baggage claim, waiting for our luggage to arrive, seeing everyone's bags going in circles around the carousel seem like an eternity especially when waiting on ours to emerge. Wouldn't you know it, our bags were sitting off to the side, along with another 50 pieces of luggage, from a previous flight. Go figure.

Anyway, our hotel, Amman West, is quite nice. Breakfasted included the staple American cuisine as well as Arabic options of sliced cucumber, cheese, yogurt and fine seasonings. Yum!! Our guide's name is Rasha, a very nice and witty univeristy graduate. We spent the day driving through, around and between the 7 jabels (hills) and the eight circles that make up the city of Amman. We enjoyed seeing the Roman ruins, palaces and ampitheaters in the old city of Amman, circle center 1.

An unexpected treat was the Palace of the Slave 30 minutes outside of town, an oasis of sorts, with figs and pomogranates growing on the side of road in abundance! A big box of figs can be purchased for 1 Jordanian Dinar!

We are all thankful to be here, seeing the people, walking the history that seems to be in the not so distant past.

Packing

10 days until we board our flight to Jordan. We have our checklists, made copies of our travel documents, and are trying now to squeeze everything into our luggage ... pain relievers, diarrhea meds, sunscreen, motion sickness pills, antifungal creams and powders. We're going to have a heck of a fun time! Where is a vacuum packing machine when you need it?

Anticipation ...

This is Petra ... place where they filmed an "Indiana Jones" movie. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would have the chance to walk in the footsteps of so many who had gone before. Some believe this "rose-red" city was mentioned in the Old Testament. According to tradition, this is where Moses struck the rock and water gushed out, as well as where Miriam, his sister, was buried.

How sweet anticipation can be ...

The countdown begins

28 days until we embark on our adventure with people and lands only dreamed about! What makes it exciting is that I can almost touch it!

Our rough itinerary:

Amman
Wadi Rum
Petra
Madaba
Old City Jerusalem
Dead Sea area
Sea of Galilee
Jerash