ArizonaHikers Portal Index
HomeHome   BoardBoard   AZH GearAZH Gear  FAQFAQ  RulesRules   SearchSearch
MemberlistMembers  ArticlesArticles  CalendarCalendar  GalleryGallery  LinksLinks      RegisterRegister
ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messages   Log inLog in
Italy here I come!
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... , 12, 13, 14  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ArizonaHikers - Community Based Hiking Discussion Board Forum Index -> Off-Trail Area Email to a Friend
  View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 4/1/2011, 5:48 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Well our trip to Jordan was amazing. We visited Jerash the ancient Roman city.


Madaba the city famous for the mosaic of the Holy Lands on the church floor.


Mt. Nebo where Moses is supposed to be buried as well as where He was shown the Holy Lands from God. (if you believe that kind of stuff).


Bethany Beyond the Jordan where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

A little security along the Jordan/Israel Border.



Then a float in the Dead Sea.....a must at least once in your life!







_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 4/1/2011, 6:10 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

After the Dead Sea we had a long drive to Petra. Driving is a bit of an adventure in Jordan and after the camel crossing earlier in the day the night brought us a dog running across the road and a semi-tire blowout right in front of us. Both were avoided thankfully. Then the trusty Garmin GPS decided to throw us a curveball and take us over a mountain range instead of the long way around it. When it told me to turn in a few kilometers I just told myself I hope it's a paved road. Well the first couple KM's of the 35km long road were, but then it was dirt and rock.

I can only describe this as going driving from Fountain Hills to Roosevelt lake by driving across the 4 Peaks....at night. Steep and single lane switchbacks in the middle of the Jordanian desert in a rental car and the unknown as to if the road even goes through. Well over an hour later we reached top and were headed down the other side to city lights in the distance...we made it.

After a much needed beer at the hotel we hit the sack for a full day at Petra. The main reason we were visiting Jordan.



A walk through a canyon rivaling walls of the entry to Paria Canyon


Then the first glimpse of the Treasury



It was packed with tourist in the morning, but in afternoon we almost had the place to ourselves.

You could spend a few days exploring all the monuments in Petra, but we made the most of our day and covered a lot of ground. The 850+ steps up to the Monastery were worth it as well.

This thing is huge at about 150' tall.

It was well worth the visit once but we would probably skip Petra if we return to Jordan. About $70 a person to get in and you only get a map photocopied on a white sheet of paper. Oh well.
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 4/1/2011, 6:42 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Next on out adventure was a Jeep tour with some hiking through Wadi Rum. A vast desert inhabited by Bedouins for hundreds of years.


First stop was Lawrence Spring named after Lawrence of Arabia who stopped off for water here on his way to take the city of Aqaba from the Turks in WW1. It wasn't much of a spring but as us AZ folks know you will take what you can get in the desert.


Next was a small canyon which our Bedouin guide led us through, most stayed at the Jeep but myself and two other guys climbed up through the canyon to a pool which usually has water after rain.

[img]http://public.fotki.com/Davis2001r6/test/wadi-rum-and-bedoui/a-546-jpg.html#media[/img]
There was some nice scrambling to climb the canyon wall, our guide was barefoot though I choose to keep my shoes on. It was nice to get a little taste of rock again.


Thamudic and Nabataen inscriptions, next to it drawings of animals, humans, and camel caravans, which are said to date back to the 2nd century BC.

After climbing some sand dunes we decided to race down them.



an HDR of the arch, couldn't get the moon in otherwise, you can see one of the Bedouin guides climb the wall to get up on the arch.



Time for some sweet tea and watch the sunset before returning to camp.





Our cozy camp for the night and then our camel ride back to the village.


BTW, I don't recommend transport by camel, I'll gladly settle for the 10 minute novelty ride at the zoo next time.


In the mid 1980's the Jordanian gov't built a small village with affordable housing, running water, utilities, schools etc. Many of the Bedouins moved to the village so there children could go to school. Our guide Ahmed graduated from a private university in Jordan before returning to Wadi Rum and opening his guiding/camp business at the same camp his family had lived at.
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 4/1/2011, 6:53 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

After "roughing it" in the desert we headed to the city of Aqaba on the Red Sea.

After discovering out hotel was only about 3 miles from the Saudi border I decided we must check it out. The rental car was only good in Jordan so we turned around at what appeared to be the last place next to border checkpoint.



View from one of the pool at our hotel




Saw my first Octopus snorkeling on the reef outside the hotel






Has anyone seen my tank? I thought I parked it on the beach.

That's all folks, apparently while I was out we started another war. To say the least things are a bit busy where I'm at currently, but after 12 days of 13 hour days I finally got a day off!
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
wanderingsoul





Joined: 19 Jul 2004
Posts: 2285
Location: Gilbert AZ

PostPosted: 4/2/2011, 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Once again such gorgeous pictures and wonderful trip Yes


Glad you were able to make it. Thanks so much for sharing the World with us.
_________________
Wanderingsoul (Michelle)

Positive Thinking Is the Spark that Makes Dreams Happen~~~Unknown
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 1/26/2012, 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Well I didn't do a very good job keeping this updated last year. We made it to Cannes, France. Monte Carlo, Monaco for the Grand Prix over Memorial Day. Went to Germany and saw the Eagles nest in July along with kicking but in softball. 32-0 last year. Spent a few weeks in Iceland courtesy of the Air Force, amazing trip. Went to Belgrade, Serbia and enjoyed it thoroughly as well. Came back and went to England to watch the bears game and then on to the Cannary Islands. Visited a couple Christmas Markets in Croatia, Austria, Slovenia and Italy. Spent a few week in California for some training. Went to San Fran, and Sierra Nevada Brewery.

I'm sure I'm forgetting tons of stuff, fought a major campaign on Libya from my Base. We didn't shut down from the kickoff in March till November 1st. 24-7 7 days a week. I hope this year brings even more travel and maybe even a hike or two.....yeah wishful thinking I know.

Jen just created a website so you'll be able to keep better tabs on us. Here it is:

http://jdombstravels.com/

Hope all is well in AZ, miss a lot of things and people from AZ.

-TIM
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 1/26/2012, 2:39 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Hi, Tim, I'm in Costa Rica, so I'm also looking at AZH from afar. I'll be here until the middle of May, doing a study abroad program.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 1/27/2012, 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Very nice Elizabeth, my wife spent a month in Costa Rica in high school. We still need to visit. I've been joking with the wife about retiring in Central America. Just trying to find a place we could actually live of a military pension without having to work.
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 1/27/2012, 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I would suggest checking both Panama and Costa Rica. More people are choosing Panama these days, I've heard, although there are about 20,000 American expats in Costa Rica, as I recall. Panama is supposed to be a little less Third Worldish, has much better roads, and is a lot cheaper. They use American money.

Costa Rica is not super-cheap. You can find cheap places, but they will be up in the mountains. If you want a cheap place at the beach be prepared for living around a lot of poor people. The places where Americans live that are near the beach are expensive.

Where I am, in Puntarenas, there are very few Americans. It's a beach town and it's an important port. It's kind of scruffy, but mostly the people are friendly. But to buy a house here I think would not be super cheap.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 1/29/2012, 4:37 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Yeah we are hoping for some trips to Central America once we do make it back to the states. I keep throwing ideas out to Jen, getting the idea in her head.
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 1/29/2012, 5:54 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

You could also live on your pension in a small town in Arizona. Small town living is cheaper than in the big city. Of course, not very glamorous or exotic.

I personally would not want to live in Costa Rica for years. You always have to watch your belongings. Any woman who looks halfway sexy gets constant catcalls. And despite all its beauty, it's still a "developing" country. (What a ridiculous, imperialistic Anglo-centric euphemism that is!) The laundry list is long: poverty and trash and potholes in the roads and open sewers and beggars. It's noisy and dirty. And in the place I just visited yesterday, the beach town of Jacó, there were all those things, plus too many Americans and other foreigners, and American prices for everything. I paid more than 10 bucks to eat two fish tacos yesterday in Jacó. And we were admonished by a gentleman on the bus that we should not remain after dark, that street crime is very bad at night on the main drag there.

On the other hand most of the folks you meet are very friendly. But you'll be at a distinct disadvantage if you don't speak Spanish. Despite what you may have heard, most people in Costa Rica do not speak English. Only in the most touristy places will you find very many who do. (Which is why you may have heard that a lot of folks speak English here. It just simply is not so.) It would be a real pain in the neck to figure out where to find where the bus stops for a particular location, and at what time, or where do I rent lockers, or any of a host of other things I might ask a random person. I speak Spanish constantly, all day long.

But you have been used to living in a foreign country, so maybe it would work for you. I'm very glad to be here and to have this fantastic opportunity, but I would not want to stay for years.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 1/30/2012, 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Yeah it doesn't sound all that great there and it sounds like American prices at that. Heck as cheap as housing is in AZ I could just move back there.

Hoping to make it to Albania this summer. I haven't been to a European place yet that hasn't spoke more English in Italy. Sadly (if you can say that) we have traveled as much outside of Italy as in it that my Italian is pretty limited to ordering food, normal greeting and getting gas.
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 1/30/2012, 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Yeah, didn't mean to totally discourage you, but that's my take on it. And as for learning a language, after years of classes, and talking to Mexicans a lot in Arizona, I still am nowhere near fluent. It takes a long time to get good at it, unless you are particularly gifted at languages.

Have you been to Fiuggi Fonte, south of Rome? I stayed there one time for 3 months. It's a small town, known for its mineral water, Fiuggi water, which is bottled and sold, and its resorts with mineral baths.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 1/31/2012, 11:02 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Haven't made it south of Rome yet, hoping for a motorcycle ride down the Amalfi coast in late April.
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Davis2001R6





Joined: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 5591
Location: Italy

PostPosted: 1/31/2012, 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

For anyone that is still following this or wants to keep better up to date on our travels. Jen created our own website this week, you can check it out here.

http://jdombstravels.com/

She also picked up a spot doing some travel writing for this travel website.

http://www.johnnyjet.com/

Check out her first article on to Rovaniemi, Finland here:
http://www.johnnyjet.com/2011/12/rovaniemi-finland/
_________________
Please checkout our website for all our travels http://jdombstravels.com/

Give us a like on Facebook too please!
http://www.facebook.com/jdombstravels
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Back to top
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ArizonaHikers - Community Based Hiking Discussion Board Forum Index -> Off-Trail Area All times are GMT - 7 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... , 12, 13, 14  Next
Page 13 of 14

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum