Petra

Gorgeous ride to little Petra from Petra itself, once again around 20km with a couple wicked up and downs. The view was magnificent in the morning with the light reflecting on the rocks creating a pinkish/orange hue. Wheel is out of whack and I am not impressed with the wheel building job I had done. Several spokes are very loose and I'm going to have to do a job on that wheel. I had another wheel built there with good results but not this one. I hope it doesn't become a problem later on with crazy crappy roads.

Petra itself is sensational though expensive and overrun by fellow tourists. The 30 Euros entry price includes a pony ride, a guide for a couple of hours and other useless junk. Skipped the 300m pony ride and stuck with the guide thing to see what he had to say which was somewhat informative. The walk through the siq and the grandiose arrival to the treasury are absolutely amazing and would be even more so if it wasn't for the crazy crowd. Should have gotten there earlier. Ditched the guide and walked up 800 steps to the monastery which is similar to the treasury with a lot less people so you can sit around and enjoy the view. Walked to a viewpoint where you can spy into Israel and hiked back away from the crowds up on the back side to see the high place of sacrifice. Probably around 15km of walking unfortunately a third of it in heavy crowds. Still one of the most amazing place I've visited, those Nabatheans could carve some pretty incredible things.