Trip of a Lifetime

Now that I am back from my trip I am finally able to share some pictures (very poor internet service on board).  I had an amazing time and was fortunate to see and do everything I had hoped for and met many wonderful people along the way. It really is amazing how most of the individuals that I talked to have travelled extensively throughout the world. There was one particular woman turning 92 while on the cruise and travelling on her own. Her husband had passed away 2 years ago and she stated, " she wasn't willing to sit at home and just wait to die!" She does have family that travels with her once in a while, but mostly she goes out and about on her own.

My bucket list item on this trip was to see the city of Petra and I was not disappointed at all. We had a 2 hour drive to get to Petra and the temperature was 40 degrees outside that day. Once you arrive at the entrance to Petra there is a 1.2 km walk mostly through a narrow cannon gorge called the Siq. If you have ever watched Indiana Jones you will have seen this and know what I'm talking about. We had a guide that took us through the Siq and as we got close to the end he had us stop to take a look ahead. Right in front of us, just peeking through the narrow canyon walls of the Siq was the Treasury!

This was what I had come for and it took my breath away. Imagine... here I was about to stand in front of and walk through the ancient city of Petra which is over 2000 years old. Every time I think back on that moment I am filled with the same emotion I felt in that moment. I would have been happy enough to just see the famous Treasury, but Petra had so much more to offer. The ancient city was more extensive than I had realized and although we were not able to see everything during the time we had,  I couldn't be happier with my visit to Petra.

Not only did I get to experience amazing people and places, I also took advantage of opportunities to step out side my comfort zone when ever possible. There definitely were times when staying in my room seemed easier, but off I went to explore and meet people. Overall being onboard the cruise ship by myself felt very safe. Once I got to Dubai and checked into my hotel I was in a whole different world. I found myself taking my time to unpack and orientate myself in my new surroundings, somewhat reluctant to leave the safety of my room. After some procrastination I finally ventured out of my room and headed off to check out the Mall of the Emirates which has the famous indoor ski hill and was only 3 blocks from my hotel. The hotel staff were all very helpful and provided me with a shuttle to the mall. After I was done there I figured out how to get back to the hotel on my own. I'm not great with directions and maps, but managed to figure out how to get out of the mall and walk back to the hotel.

The picture of me jumping on the sand dunes is in Dubai on a desert safari tour. This was about the 7th attempt at getting a decent jump for the picture at a temperature of42 degrees. After many failed attempts to get some height, I finally remembered my Kung Fu training and concentrated on jumping with my knees up high and finally got a picture that turned out quite well. Yay!


Michele Ward