We both woke up feeling barely able to move - let alone walk. Yesterdays orgy of walking definitely caught up. Decided to skip the morning in Petra and take it easy - we'll do the hikes we had planned in the afternoon. Slept in a little more then went out for breakfast. Amy read and napped and I caught up on my journal then tried (and failed) to upload it at a nearby internet cafe.
Around five decided to head back into the ruined city. Hobbled down the hill and along the trail until we entered the Siq again. Every time it is so impressive - the sheer walls and the red glow of the rock. And once again the Treasury managed to surprise me - it's a huge facade carved into the side of a cliff, yet it somehow manages to jump out at me every time. After passing the Treasury and following the main canyon most of the way we turned off just before the Necropolis and Amphitheater. Then it was up a steep stairway climbing a narrow side canyon - it seemed to go forever. At last we reached the High Place of Sacrifice the highest point in the area and the site of some carved alters and cisterns. The view was of many of the tombs / facades down in the surrounding canyons and over the hills to the village of Wadi Mousa.
The plan had been to drop down into the canyon on the other side then wander back in the the central area past many tombs / fountains / rooms / who-knows-whats. We started down what we thought was the trail but it turned out to be a dead end. After about 30 minutes of searching for the right path we started to panic as the sun was sinking fast so we headed back the same way. At the top of the stairs we ran into someone who pointed out the right way and we were able to follow the stairs down past the Lion Fountain (the relief of a lion that was once plumbed to be a fountain - 2,000 years ago!) to the Roman Soldier's Tomb (a fairly well preserved facade with three torsos decorating it). We then wandered down the canyon past the Garden Tomb (a tomb I took shelter in from the rain last time I was here), the Triclinium, and numerous other facades. We finally made it within sight of the central area but we couldn't figure out how to get to the valley floor without hiking way back - and it was starting to get dark. We ended up scrambling over a couple slopes, hopping a couple small walls, then descended through the amphitheater. Just before we got back to the treasury we were met by a police officer who escorted us, as the last visitors of the day, to the Siq.
The two mile walk out through the Siq then up into town was painful, but we made it in half an hour. Then caught a taxi up to the hotel where we got in just in time to catch the end of the dinner buffet. After dinner did a quick fifteen minutes on the internet and managed to get my journal through. Then it was back to the hotel to pack for tomorrows departure (7am bus), take a shower, and write the day's journal.
