Jordan...Petra..Wonder of the World!

 

Aqaba, Jordan...First thing get off the ship and hop on a bus where we traveled a couple hours to PETRA....for those of you who are unfamiliar with Petra it is featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...and I couldn't help but to think of that theme song as we were riding all the way there! Dun dun dun dun...giddy up horsie. We stopped at a few different places on the way there as you see Brianna and I embracing each other...as well as Violeta and I. 

Feel the love in Jordan

 

On the drive there it was so fascinating...seeing camels in the road and on the side of the street...or as I would just call it dust...or rocked-filled road.

Okay I'm not going to lie...to get into the zone of writing this I had to put the Indiana Jones Theme Song on blast hahaha. NOW I can concentrate. So once we finally arrived at Petra it really was hectic...there were thousands of people here to witness this Wonder of the world. To be honest, I wouldn't have minded if Harrison Ford were there with me as I hopped on my horse and explored the inner views before we went through Petra. Brianna and my horse man sufficed instead of Mr.Ford. Continuing on on our horses...which I'm not sure we were exactly supposed to veer from the group to get our official Petra tour...Oh well, I'm happy we did it...I hadn't been on a horse in probably over 13 years maybe? It definitely was quite the experience and the views we were able to witness were stunning and so rare.

After Brianna and I were completed exploring with our horses and owners we zoomed down to enter Petra itself. Like I stated before there were thousands of people and most of those people were all in separate groups but I don't always do well with organized groups...I like to explore off on my own all while trusting and listening to my intuition. What I did was just kind of wander through the gates of the men guarding...and just sort of join every group and get a taste of what everyone was speaking about and explaining the history and story of Petra to all of the visitors. I still definitely gained a phenomenal experience to explore every group and go as fast or as slow as I pleased...and that way I was able to run into multiple people I knew, and that I didn't know! Ha ;)

 

 Well I'll let your eyes explore what I was blessed to witness....

Johnny Depp?!

I was trying to be serious....

And then I like to hike to the top and receive this view!

And then there's a couple more photos I want to add to this compilation...my dear friend Aristotle and I went to explore Aqaba after I arrived back from Petra...He and I wandered around Aqaba and had a nice dinner...and just enjoyed each others company for the rest of the evening...

Kusadasi...Turkish Coffee?

Kuşadası Turkey....What a beautiful sight to pull into bright and early in the morning. That was probably one of the biggest highlights working on the ship...being able to witness the stunning sunrises first thing in the morning.

Once we pulled into Turkey after a nice hard workout...I ventured off the ship to a very uncommonly known coffee shop...Starbucks...I yanked the free internet and contacted some loved ones from home for a bit before I met up with Brianna. One of the unfortunate things on the ship is the cost of internet access or phone access...it costs a bit to actually try to contact people from home so I took advantage of free internet access off of the ship.

 The popular thing that was buzzing all around the ship before pulling into Turkey was the Turkish Bath...unfortunately I was unable to participate in this experience. What occurs in the experience you ask? Well...basically from what I've gathered, it is similar to a steam room/sauna where you can either go full nude or with your bathing suit on and somebody washes your body as well as receive a massage. Turkish baths are a method of cleansing the body and relaxation.

Instead of getting the Turkish bath experience....I ran into a lovely gentleman who helped me first time the turkish bath and as they didn't take visa cards I figured it wasn't meant for me to get a slippery relaxing rubdown.








So instead I went to this lovely restaurant/bar with this gentleman and his friend ended up owning it and treated us to a cappuccino for me and a beer for him...as well as this beautiful fruit platter. It was really such a pleasant experience spending time with some of the local Turkish men. 

Oh my goodness and one thing I forgot to mention...the title of this entry...Turkish coffee??
AHHH. Strongest most intense type of coffee, EVER. I think maybe you could compare it to something like a 'depth charge' here in the states. Anyhow...Brianna and I ordered one at Starbucks that was paid for by our dear friend, Raddy, may he Rest In Peace.
It was very potent...and I had that as well as a latte so I was wired for the rest of the time. But we let the turkish coffee sit for a bit, for it was scorching hot...we let it sit, and then I went to swish it around a bit (like it were a glass of red wine, haha) well then i took a sip and about spit it right in Brianna's face...Ahhh all the coffee grounds were at the bottom or something, it was not a nice experience. Happy I experienced it though. Ha!

Here is the luxury and oh so elegant cruise ship I was placed on. Ms Amsterdam with Holland America Line. I wandered off the ship further and went for a nice refreshing, cleansing walk and this was a nice view of the ship I needed to capture.


I would love to come back to Turkey and explore more into it and possibly go to Ephesus...which was quite the hot spot to travel to I hear. XO Cheers & Love.

 

Opera House…you are stunning.

My oh my….just look what my eyes have witnessed. The Sydney Opera house is absolutely stunning. Every angle is just astonishing. Pulling into the Sydney Harbor is breathtaking…between the places I’ve seen Sydney and Hong Kong are two of my favorite places to pull into and pull out of….so far. ; )

 

 Went for another beautiful run underneath the Sydney Bridge….and up and around through the botanical gardens incredibly high on life at this point. There really was just so much happening all around me…Sydney really is such an active city and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it as much as I could. After I was floating on my feet ever so delicately pouncing through the gardens on the pathway…I ventured through a well schemed out part of the garden/park. Nestled myself so passionately getting situated into a few yoga poses while I was there. Breathing deep in though my nose taking all of the fresh nature around me. There really was nothing else to compare spending an entire day to myself doing anything I wanted to do. Traveling really is such a personal hobby. So there I was in my own peace and serenity…surrounded by Australian nature.

 

Having been to a few ports in Australia I thoroughly enjoy the fact that cities are so active and healthy…there’s always something outdoorsy and active you can get yourself into, no matter what.