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Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world, was another amazing place to visit. We had to do a lot of walking but it was well worth it. The tombs carved into the limestone at Petra are very impressive especially as you come out of the Siq (the long narrow canyon that serves as the entrance to the city) and arrive at the Treasury. There were also a few quick, but steep, hikes up to the Monastery and up other hills. Matt and I did some silly posing on top and enjoyed the immense view. 

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Back in February, in the middle of the red desert of Wadi Rum, Jordan, we spent three nights in a Bedouin Tent and three days climbing sand dunes, doing our best to make friends with a camel and even climbed a small ‘mountain’ for a glimpse into Saudi Arabia. Though it could have been an extremely intimidating and scary place, for some reason it felt safe to me, it seemed familiar. I think I was a Bedouin in a past life. Three of my favourite things are an essential part of their culture: dancing, music and TEA. We never had to ask for tea it was always been served. Either with a bit of mint or sage and always with a lot of sugar, tea was served whether in the tent at night or in the middle of the desert during the day.

We had had two amazing days already, one spent driving around the desert in a jeep up and down sand dunes and the next spent slowly taking in the vastness and the silence atop a camel. I’ll never ride a camel again, but the desert was beautiful. On our third day we drove to the far end of the desert and climbed a mountain. Granted it wasn’t a big mountain but it was a steep climb up and I took my time. Our guide, Audi, ran up in bare feet in about 15 minutes, it took me a little longer… When we got to the top the view was amazing. We could see the border with Saudi Arabia and the view easily distracted me from the scurry of rats underneath the rocks at the top. Well sort of distracted me... As we sat at the top Audi picked up the large Jordanian flag that was planted at the top and swung it in the air above his head. It was the perfect photo opportunity and it is now one of my favourite photos from the whole trip and one of my favourite places too.