Destination #2: Jordan

In the bus everyone was restless and wanting to move around, as was I. The thing was that we were all driving to Jordan; stopping only a few times for the bathroom. It was a beautiful place and I wanted to live there forever, maybe as a cave woman or something like that.

El Dan, Jordan. First things first. We went to the hotel to drop off our luggage. Then we went to one of the trails called El Dan. As we walked to the trail, I was mesmerized by all the different things there were that would make great pics.

The trail was wonderful! It was full of life, and not one stone was man made or put there on purpose. The trees were very large and squiggly; some went in loopty loops all the way up. The bushes were also beautiful; overflowing with flowers and colorful leaves.

As we passed the beginning of the trail, we needed to cross a bridge. Under the bridge, there was a glorious waterfall. It was not a large one, but still just as beautiful. Almost everyone wanted a snapshot. We moved on and to our right there was a small river called the River Dan, which later joins the River Jordan.

The further we moved into the forest the more I wanted to live there. (My grandma probably got annoyed because I kept telling her I wanted to convert into a tree dweller for the rest of my life.) In our group, some people were walking faster than others and some slower. Grandma and I were in the middle. It seemed that we were all alone, because we couldn’t see any one in front of us or behind.

Since the guide was in the front of the group, we couldn’t get any info as we walked. But, what I do know is that the trail passes within ½ a mile of Lebanon, (the country above Jordan.) We could see the small villages across the border.

We moved on and finally got to the ruins of a village. I wanted to keep moving but the guide had to give a speech; telling us where the villagers came from and how they built the houses, etc. Then we were able to move on to the end. I really wanted to go back and do it again but we had other things to do. I think one of these days I’m going to go back and stay there for as long as I can.

As we drove to the next part of our tour, I was getting a little drained from the days of touring and moving around all the time. Looking at the schedule I saw there was a day coming up that we were going to be able to rest from lunch on. I couldn’t wait till that day came.

The Siq and Petra.. We were walking through the Siq (another common tour place) when near the end there were some ruins (Petra). I turned to our guide and asked what they were. He told me to wait and he would explain that to us all. After a little bit of waiting, he told us the story of the Castle Bent.

Once upon a time there was a king, and his daughter. The princess was very beautiful and it seemed that every man in the kingdom wanted her for a bride. One day, a wealthy prince came to ask for the princess’ hand in marriage. The king was enraged!
Yelling at the Prince, the King told him “ All you men want is my wonderful kingdom, and not the love of my daughter. Be gone with you, and never come back!”
The prince was heartbroken. Instead of marrying the woman who was his true love and whom the Prince had seen only once, he was sent home with nothing.
The king was so frustrated with all the men coming around asking to marry his only daughter that he took all his best craftsmen and built her a castle. The castle was not a large one but of good size and strength. The Princess was locked in the castle with all of her servants. Guards were appointed to watch over her day and night. Only the king was allowed in and out.
The King died without giving his daughter in marriage. The new Queen (his daughter) tried to rule, but only failed in the attempt. Soon, the whole kingdom was overruled and destroyed. The Queen was captured and held until her death; not a painful death but one of natural causes.
In the end, the King had lost everything that he had attempted to keep.

After the story, I was spellbound. The only thing on my mind was that I wished my dad would build me a castle. Then we took a few pics and went off to a lunch nearby.