Last time I came to Jordan, I ended up getting sick in Aqaba and missed the day at Petra. Big bummer! So I am really looking forward to actually seeing it this time, God willing. On the schedule is an optional one-hour hike up to what is labeled "the monastery."

You may recognize Petra from "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Here's a one-minute video.

Afterward, we're scheduled to eat at the Petra Kitchen. Unlike most restaurants, this is like a home kitchen where we'll gather to prepare a meal working alongside local women under the supervision of their chef. The menu includes soup, cold and hot mezza, salads, and a main course—all typical Jordanian dishes. Everything down to the furnishings is crafted in Jordan and produced by the Iraq al Amir Women’s Co-operative. (This project employs forty-one women in the production of hand-made paper, hand-woven fabric, ceramics/clay, and food processing.)  

Update: Petra was amazing. Everyone familiar with it recognizes the famous "treasury," which our guide says was actually most likely a tomb for their king. But fewer are familiar with the "monastery." Whoever said that hike would take only an hour got it wrong. It was a grueling three-hour round-trip trek with a lot of huffing and puffing and 800+ steps. It was totally worth it, but my legs ache. I managed it without a camel or a donkey, somehow. 

Making dinner was quite fun. Everywhere we go people seem thrilled to see us here. They greet us, wave enthusiastically, and demonstrate that hospitality they are known to value. 

Disclosure: The Jordan Tourism Board is covering most of the expenses for this trip, though it exercises no influence over what we say or write about it.