Great Day on the Road…

Today was one of those days when all my plans came together for a change…!!

I had been on my “3 day walkabout” and had returned to Amman to prepare for my ride into Central and Southern Jordan…

Moses Memorial, Mt. Nebo...

The mosaics of Madaba...

Getting out of the city was a cinch, now that I have full GPS coverage, and the route planner was working perfectly…

We rode directly to Madaba, and from there a few minutes later, stopped at Mt Nebo, where Moses was given a glimpse of the Promised Land that he would never enter… He is said to be buried atop Mt. Nebo…

Then it was back to Madaba, a predominantly Christian town, to see the mosaics that this area is famous for…

Going down...!!

From there, in strong winds, we headed down into the Dead Sea Valley, using the Panorama Route, a longer, but far more interesting ride than the shorter one from Madaba…

But first a ride in the high desert mountains...

The Dead Sea was beautiful… It is the lowest point on earth, and the Big Fella made some more personal history by getting down to 397 metres below sea level…!!

Above the Dead Sea...

The Big Fella reminded me that his tyres were actually at 398 below...!! He can be a stickler for details sometimes...!!

Salt deposits ring the shoreline...

The surface of the sea at this point was at least another 20 metres below that…!! We rode along the shoreline, heading south until the turnoff to Karak…

Last look before we head inland again...

Up through the desolate mountains, towards Karak...

Lunch time stopover...

Entrance to the Crusader Castle, Karak...

Back up into the mountains we went, stopping to walk around the Karak Crusader Castle, had a vastly over-priced lunch in a little hole in the wall place, and then tore south for another 200 kilometres, trying to make it to Petra before dark…!!

Which we did…!!

View from the battlements down into the valley we had ridden up from...

Final destination of the day...

Great day in the saddle, everything going according to plan…!!

More days like this please…!!

Today I will spend my time exploring the Lost City of Petra, and tomorrow, head into the desert of Wadi Rum, where I will overnight in a Bedouin encampment, waking up on Christmas Day…

This will mark the 300th day I have been on the road…!!

Hard to believe, Huh…??!!

I will fill in the huge gaps in this post when I get a chance, but right now, I gotta go play “Indiana Jones…”….!!

Later, Dudes…!!