Farewell Jordan, hello Jerusalem

Our last outing before leaving Jordan was a visit to the area where Jesus baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan river is believed to have taken place. Osama took us to an area where just a few metres across the river (but in a different country!) Many people were either dipping themselves in the water, or actual baptisms were taking place. After one such baptism, among a group of Indian folk, Mike grabbed his guitar and yelled across that we would sing to them. So we belted 'how great thou art' across the river to their obvious pleasure and they then sang back to us. It was one of the day's lovelier moments.

The day's saddest moment was saying goodbye to Osama who had been such a terrific guide but who wouldn't be accompanying us across the border. We gave some gifts to him and our driver Hussein before heading for the border. Getting out of Jordan and into Israel was a two stage procedure that seemed quite a rigmarole but I gather it was a lot less protracted than it might have been and our new guide, Ibrahim, was surprised to see us emerge from the arrivals terminal as early as we did.

Because of this, there was time for a short, unscheduled stop in Jericho en route to Jerusalem. We reached our hotel in Jerusalem (in the old city, just inside Jaffa Gate) aroma 5pm and Mike proposed an exploratory pre-dinner walk just to get the feel of the place. We kept getting lost and redirected so it was an hour and a half before we were back at the Gloria Hotel, but it was certainly a great way to pick up the amazing vibe of the place while it was buzzing with people and activity.

I went out for an early morning walk an hour or so ago and enjoyed the cooler and quieter side of the city. Grateful to have slept well last night as I was feeling a bit overtired and out of sorts by the end of the evening but feel much restored today. Interested to see what today will hold. Our new guide, Ibrahim (a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem ) is a rather different personality from easy-going Osama, which we are finding a bit of an adjustment, but I am hopeful that Mike will be able to lighten him up a bit.Les mer