Day 14 - Danny Says Relax
Two weeks into the trip, and tiredness, if not a little touch of homesickness, is starting to set in. We are at the point that we've seen enough to fulfill coming abroad, and somewhat ready to return to the normalcy that our lives in teh US have to offer.
This feeling is especially sharp having just experienced two exhausting, wonderful days visiting Wadi Rum and Petra, days that included getting up before 7am, touring from barely after sunrise to sunset, and walking enough for many vacations.
If ever there was a day where lightness and relaxation needed to be prioritized, today was it. So prioritize it we did, in all its slothly glory.
The day ostensibly would be the drive up to the Dead Sea, and the enjoyment of said Sea and its surrounding areas, but morphed slowly into one last, final last, religion pilgrimage and then enjoying the pool, spa, terraces and views of the lovely Marriott Dead Sea Resort & Spa.
The drive up to the Dead Sea took about three-and-a-half hours, with random detours off of 'highways' onto side roads, winding passages, and numerous speed bumps, caused what should be a three hour ride to take longer. On the way, we did make a few stops, each adding short bursts of value to the drive.
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Before getting to the stops, I do want to quickly comment on the drive, which added to the legacy Jordan will keep for me for its prodigous natural beauty as a country. That whole drive was though the valley, going from the highs of the Petra region to the lows of the Dead Sea, with mountains, rock formations and slopes in every direction.
About two hours into the trip, we tried to visit Lot's Cavern - the site of Lot's biblical story of Sodom & Gomorrah, but instead found the very random, almost hidden 'Museum of the Lowest Point on Earth' (I'm sure it is less of a mouthful of a name in Arabic). The Museum was really a showcase of this region of Jordan, with nice artifacts including two great pieces - first, a very well preserved mummified Nabutean woman, and second, a partially excavated mosiac that dates back to Lot's church from the 300-400 AD period. This small museum is well kept, but totally lost in the random Jordanian valley. I small little treat.
After, we finished the drive to the Dead Sea with only two stops, both to take photos, turning off ont he side of the road to enjoy in full the incredible sight that is the Dead Sea. The image of the sprawling Dead Sea to the West, and rocky cliff faces to the East, is quite stunning.
We finally reached the Dead Sea at 12:45pm, getting a hero's welcome as expected given my status at Marriott, and the fact I had forced an upgrade to one of their bi-level suites. What was not a graet welcome was them telling us that the Dead Sea was closed due to high winds, a sad recurring trend for me having high winds bested me at the coral reefs in Cairns and Robben Island in past. We are hopeful the water would be opened back up tomorrow, but this made us have to quickly change course, and get the last Jesus-related site out of the way.
Right near the north end of the Dead Sea (where the Marriott and all other Western resorts are - Hilton, Crown Plaza, etc,) is the Baptismal Site, a large area off the Jordan River housing the stretch of River, and a few temples, thought to be where St. John the Baptist baptized Jesus. There are really two aspects to this 90-minute guided tour through the site. The first is a walk to the specific spot thought to be where the act took place, which requires some imagination due to receding waters and earthquakes destroying the original church, and a second half at the actual Jordan River.
The first site is now basically a ditch with a nicely maintained stone walkway leading up from the pit to a makeshift church-like structure. The pit is where the baptism actually happened, but as the Jordan River has receded significantly in the 2000 intervening years, the pit is now dry. The church is being reconstructed, as the original was destroyed by earthquakes. This means that you really have to picture it in your mind. Of course, same was true of so many of the other sites in Israel, so asking us to picture it here is just par for the course.
That said, tactile is still better, and the final stop in the tour gave us that. It was the time spent at the actual banks of the Jordan River - to some degree the Christian version of The Ganges river (somewhat). I put my foot in. A russian family changed into white cloth one-pieces and went in the water fully. I felt bad I didn't have that gusto. The water was freezing, but they seemed so intent on having the Jordan River waters flow all over them.
This was the last religions site on a trip that has largely been about that subject for a majority of the days so far. This wasn't the most meaningful spot, but it was a nice capper to that part of the trip. It was also a sad reminder that the trip itself is nearing its conclusion, but not before we got to do for a day what so many others may spend an entire vacation doing: nothing, but lounging by the pool.
The Dead Sea Marriott has three outdoor pools, all with nice seating, and a few terraces, one of which we enjoyed a really picturesque sunset over the Dead Sea. From the terrace seats, we could see the mountains in Palestine across the way. In theory, Jerusalem is slightly visible on a clear day. This wasn't a clear day, with a distinct haze clouding the view.
After sunset, we went to the Marriott's large spa area, befitted with two indoor pools, including one supposedly filled with water from the Dead Sea. I don't know if it was water literally siphoned up from the Dead Sea. What I do know was it was satly, I could float effortlessly, and it was cool. What was not cool? My brief dalliances with the sauna and steam room (I don't understand why I thought proactively choosing to be in hot sweaty conditions would be therapeutic).
After our time in the spa, we left the cozy confines of the Marriott for dinner, going a few metres over to the neighboring Crowne Plaza resort, as they had a restaurant serving classic Jordanian food (the Marriott's restaurants were either Italian or Western with one or two Jordanian dishes thrown in for fun). This was a restaurant literally in walking distance (stikll, we took the car), but just the fact we had to be inconvenienced into leaving the cozy confines of the Marriott meant the restaurant had to be good. It was.
We had two starters, fish kebbeh (a fish meatball, essentially), and spicy lamb sausages, with two mains, lamb chops (still haven't failed), and a lamb kebab with eggplant. Each dish was excellent. This restaurant is, by Tripadvisor, #1 in the 'Dead Sea Region'. Of course, only 18 such restaurants are ranked on Tripadvisor in this region, but still, it lived up to its billing.
We got back to the Marriott around 10pm, in time for me to go to the 'Champions Bar & Grill' on the property, sit back with an ice cold Amstel (apparently the only beer any Marriott in Jordan serves), and watch a really nice Manchester City vs. Liverpool match that I flatly didn't believe was live at first. It was a relaxing way to end a relaxing day, or at least as much relaxing as we can do on this trip.
Two weeks into the trip, and tiredness, if not a little touch of homesickness, is starting to set in. We are at the point that we've seen enough to fulfill coming abroad, and somewhat ready to return to the normalcy that our lives in teh US have to offer.
This feeling is especially sharp having just experienced two exhausting, wonderful days visiting Wadi Rum and Petra, days that included getting up before 7am, touring from barely after sunrise to sunset, and walking enough for many vacations.
If ever there was a day where lightness and relaxation needed to be prioritized, today was it. So prioritize it we did, in all its slothly glory.
The day ostensibly would be the drive up to the Dead Sea, and the enjoyment of said Sea and its surrounding areas, but morphed slowly into one last, final last, religion pilgrimage and then enjoying the pool, spa, terraces and views of the lovely Marriott Dead Sea Resort & Spa.
The drive up to the Dead Sea took about three-and-a-half hours, with random detours off of 'highways' onto side roads, winding passages, and numerous speed bumps, caused what should be a three hour ride to take longer. On the way, we did make a few stops, each adding short bursts of value to the drive.
=
Before getting to the stops, I do want to quickly comment on the drive, which added to the legacy Jordan will keep for me for its prodigous natural beauty as a country. That whole drive was though the valley, going from the highs of the Petra region to the lows of the Dead Sea, with mountains, rock formations and slopes in every direction.
About two hours into the trip, we tried to visit Lot's Cavern - the site of Lot's biblical story of Sodom & Gomorrah, but instead found the very random, almost hidden 'Museum of the Lowest Point on Earth' (I'm sure it is less of a mouthful of a name in Arabic). The Museum was really a showcase of this region of Jordan, with nice artifacts including two great pieces - first, a very well preserved mummified Nabutean woman, and second, a partially excavated mosiac that dates back to Lot's church from the 300-400 AD period. This small museum is well kept, but totally lost in the random Jordanian valley. I small little treat.
After, we finished the drive to the Dead Sea with only two stops, both to take photos, turning off ont he side of the road to enjoy in full the incredible sight that is the Dead Sea. The image of the sprawling Dead Sea to the West, and rocky cliff faces to the East, is quite stunning.
We finally reached the Dead Sea at 12:45pm, getting a hero's welcome as expected given my status at Marriott, and the fact I had forced an upgrade to one of their bi-level suites. What was not a graet welcome was them telling us that the Dead Sea was closed due to high winds, a sad recurring trend for me having high winds bested me at the coral reefs in Cairns and Robben Island in past. We are hopeful the water would be opened back up tomorrow, but this made us have to quickly change course, and get the last Jesus-related site out of the way.
Right near the north end of the Dead Sea (where the Marriott and all other Western resorts are - Hilton, Crown Plaza, etc,) is the Baptismal Site, a large area off the Jordan River housing the stretch of River, and a few temples, thought to be where St. John the Baptist baptized Jesus. There are really two aspects to this 90-minute guided tour through the site. The first is a walk to the specific spot thought to be where the act took place, which requires some imagination due to receding waters and earthquakes destroying the original church, and a second half at the actual Jordan River.
The first site is now basically a ditch with a nicely maintained stone walkway leading up from the pit to a makeshift church-like structure. The pit is where the baptism actually happened, but as the Jordan River has receded significantly in the 2000 intervening years, the pit is now dry. The church is being reconstructed, as the original was destroyed by earthquakes. This means that you really have to picture it in your mind. Of course, same was true of so many of the other sites in Israel, so asking us to picture it here is just par for the course.
That said, tactile is still better, and the final stop in the tour gave us that. It was the time spent at the actual banks of the Jordan River - to some degree the Christian version of The Ganges river (somewhat). I put my foot in. A russian family changed into white cloth one-pieces and went in the water fully. I felt bad I didn't have that gusto. The water was freezing, but they seemed so intent on having the Jordan River waters flow all over them.
This was the last religions site on a trip that has largely been about that subject for a majority of the days so far. This wasn't the most meaningful spot, but it was a nice capper to that part of the trip. It was also a sad reminder that the trip itself is nearing its conclusion, but not before we got to do for a day what so many others may spend an entire vacation doing: nothing, but lounging by the pool.
The Dead Sea Marriott has three outdoor pools, all with nice seating, and a few terraces, one of which we enjoyed a really picturesque sunset over the Dead Sea. From the terrace seats, we could see the mountains in Palestine across the way. In theory, Jerusalem is slightly visible on a clear day. This wasn't a clear day, with a distinct haze clouding the view.
After sunset, we went to the Marriott's large spa area, befitted with two indoor pools, including one supposedly filled with water from the Dead Sea. I don't know if it was water literally siphoned up from the Dead Sea. What I do know was it was satly, I could float effortlessly, and it was cool. What was not cool? My brief dalliances with the sauna and steam room (I don't understand why I thought proactively choosing to be in hot sweaty conditions would be therapeutic).
After our time in the spa, we left the cozy confines of the Marriott for dinner, going a few metres over to the neighboring Crowne Plaza resort, as they had a restaurant serving classic Jordanian food (the Marriott's restaurants were either Italian or Western with one or two Jordanian dishes thrown in for fun). This was a restaurant literally in walking distance (stikll, we took the car), but just the fact we had to be inconvenienced into leaving the cozy confines of the Marriott meant the restaurant had to be good. It was.
We had two starters, fish kebbeh (a fish meatball, essentially), and spicy lamb sausages, with two mains, lamb chops (still haven't failed), and a lamb kebab with eggplant. Each dish was excellent. This restaurant is, by Tripadvisor, #1 in the 'Dead Sea Region'. Of course, only 18 such restaurants are ranked on Tripadvisor in this region, but still, it lived up to its billing.
We got back to the Marriott around 10pm, in time for me to go to the 'Champions Bar & Grill' on the property, sit back with an ice cold Amstel (apparently the only beer any Marriott in Jordan serves), and watch a really nice Manchester City vs. Liverpool match that I flatly didn't believe was live at first. It was a relaxing way to end a relaxing day, or at least as much relaxing as we can do on this trip.
