Early in the morning of another sunny day, when the smell of flowers is in the air, we say goodbye to our friends. It's been many years since we saw them and it may be many years before we see them again.
They leave the house to go to work and we stay behind to finish packing
. Bright sunshine, warm air.
Then we depart and track one more time across this small but highly significant country. The road skirts Tel Aviv and crosses to Jerusalem. There, amidst all kinds of road construction, we take a wrong exit and have a hard time returning to the highway, because the exits our GPS knows no longer exist. It brings us to tiny roads into the mountains when we try a different approach.
But 'nil volentibus arduum' and ultimately we move with our little Renault through the hustle and bustle of east Jerusalem. One way streets, honking cars and we reach our arab friends at Middle East car rental.
Here again the friendliness and trust. If I don't tell him we used toll roads, he would we stuck with the bill. He calls an employee to drive us to a place where we can take a shuttle to the border. No charges. I tell you: there are an awful number of very nice people around
. Why are they never mentioned on the eight o'clock news?
A similar kindness happens after we cross the Allenby bridge at the Jordan border post: it is the usual running around chasing our passports. We stand at some pigeon hole with people in front of us. I hear them speak Italian, and give it my exaggerated very best.
The people enjoy it and with the usual hand movements we have a funny conversation. They receive their passports, move on, and we face the official in uniform with a battery of rubber stamps. He looks at my passport, then at me, and starts: Aha! Signore Roberto!
The tone is set. In no time we have our stamped passports back. I ask him how to get to the Dead Sea hotel Betty has reserved for us. In reply, he gets up, leaves the office (and the row of waiting people), tells us to follow him and runs outside. There he starts a hard bargain with a "friend" cab driver
.
'Forty!'
'No, twenty!'
'Thirty!'
'No, twenty!'
'Twenty per person!'
'No, twenty! Twenty!'
And with an extra warning not to pay more than 20 dinar total, he returns to his rubber stamps...
There is so much kindness in the people. Especially for il signore Roberto.
The cab driver, by the way, is Muslim and his wife is a Christian, from Korea.
He drives us to the hotel, where we relax, shower off the dust and sweat of the trip, and walk to the Dead Sea, where we float in the saturated salt water. Indeed, it is impossible to sink here. They buoying effect of the salt is high, and we see several people ruin books and newspapers to take pictures of somebody in the water while reading a (ruined) book.
I make the mistake of opening my eyess under water. Bad idea. For the next 15 minutes I hope the tears will dilute the salt in my eyes, and in the end, it does work. As an experiment, it was succesful.
Later Betty and the chidren arrive and we play in the pool and tell stories. As everywhere almost all personnel is Philipino. Realy sad to see that al these people can be so productive and friendly all over the world, but not in their own country. It is really a shame.
Later Richard also arrives and we all chat until bed time. The warm air wafts over my bed as I fall asleep.
Dead Sea
Thursday, May 05, 2016
Dead Sea Region, Balqa, Jordan
Other Entries
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1Between Europe and Asia
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2A desert town
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3The Roman past.
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4A map of the past
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5Matabaean land of Petra
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6Desert bedouin
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7Aqaba
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8Crossing to Israel
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9Jerusalem
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10Nazareth and Sea of Galilee
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11Tel Aviv
May 041 day priorTel Aviv, Israelphoto_camera3videocam 0comment 0 -
12Dead Sea
May 05Dead Sea Region, Jordanphoto_camera4videocam 0comment 0 -
13Our last day.
May 061 day laterAmman, Jordanphoto_camera3videocam 0comment 0
2025-02-17