From a bus somewhere in the Jordanian desert

We’re an unusually quiet mob this morning, having risen around 6 to be packed for our long flight and to have our suitcases outside our rooms by 7. 

We have a very, very long day ahead: a 4 hour drive from Petra to the Allenby Bridge Crossing into Israel, then an afternoon to fill before being delivered to Ben Gurion around 7pm for the first leg of our flight home.

When I say “rooms” you should not understand these as conventional hotel rooms.  Our hotel, Taybet Zaman, is part of the Sofitel chain and has been created out of an old stone Bedouin village, and our rooms like little houses in a community.  While on the outside there was just a hint of many of the church campsites we’ve experienced over the years, you only had to open a door to see a different story.   And a hotel that hangs quilts on its walls just has to be classy! We farewelled the five who are waiting to be driven to Amman later for their ongoing flights (to Cairo) - and we are now only thirteen sleepy souls, listening to iPods, dozing or exchanging the odd word while the bare,brown countryside flashes past, on our way to the Allenby Bridge crossing.

I just dozed off for just a moment – and Boak snapped me!