May 2023

In May 2023 we were invited to travel with our humans to Jordan in the middle east. One of our humans had always wanted to visit Petra and to swim in the Dead Sea. Our other human wanted to see Wadi Rum. It was here, that Rey from Star Wars had been running the desert and made a stunning back somersault to avoid being run down by a hostile spacecraft. Check out the map to follow our route.

Click each photo to enlarge

It was late in the day when we arrived the huge Havalimani Airport north west of Istanbul in Turkey. Now, this was only the first leg of our travel, and McBear was dying for some coffee. We found a Starbucks, and one of our humans bought an americano. She left her cup on the bench to go and check out the monitors - without asking if WE wanted coffee...
"I wonder..." McBear pondered, "...if I could sneak off the lid and dip one of our own cups in the coffee..."

Havalimani Int. Airport, Turkey, May 2023

From Istanbul, we would be flying with Turkish Airlines to Amman in Jordan. Here we are at the gate waiting to board. McBear said it was an Airbus A330.
"Is that the same type of aircraft we normally fly with to America with Aer Lingus? Roger asked.
"Yup. Roger, you're getting there!" McBear said in recognition.

We arrived the Queen Alia Airport late at night and went to Amman, the capital of Jordan. We checked in at the Rotana Hotel and got a room at the 24th floor.
"Wow," said Golden Bear next morning, as the curtain got drawn and we could see the city.
Golden Bear had been with us before, but we couldn't remember when.
"It looks like a huge city," Doctor Bath noticed. "No green areas for miles..."
He too had been with us before.
"...But I can't remember when," McBear said.
"Eh... I can't remember either," Roger said.
"Maybe we're getting old! Wonder when it's time to retire. After all: our fur is getting worn and torn..."
Dr Bath was our graduation bear from Bath near Bristol. He had written his thesis on the subject of constellations in the night sky with relation to bears.
Roger thought it was a very exciting subject - he was still looking forward to the day when he'd be the first stuffed bear to have a constellation named after him...

The next morning we went to Jerash just north of Amman to see the ancient Roman city. Jerash is believed to be the largest ruin city from ancient Roman times. Here we are at the main entrance.

Jerash, Jordan, May 2023

In Jerash, the Romans built a large amphitheatre. A bag pipe band was playing Amazing Grace. We were left in silence... stunned. Roger believed this would be the perfect spot for him to perform "I, Roger".
"When the stage is empty, I shall perform," Roger said.
"I worry the entire theatre will be empty," McBear was teasing.

After a few days in Amman it was time to pack our luggage to bring it down to the reception.
"Do they have porters around here," Roger pondered, "I mean, this is a five star hotel, isn't it?"
"Well... our photographer is our porter..." McBear said.
"Ah, McBear. That's not the same! It's a great responsibilty and a privilege to be carrying luggage of important bears, and it's a question of style..."

Amman, Jordan, May 2023

We got on the coach and made sure we had window seats. Actually, we got to sit on top of an ice cooler.
"It will be a relief when we finally make a stop," McBear said after a while. "I want to get out and get heat back in my bum..."

We did a stop in Madaba to see the St. George's Church with its mosaic map of the ancient world.

We were dying for some coffee, and fortunately our tour group leader spotted a cafe nearby.

Madaba, Jordan, May 2023

while waiting on our coffee, we enjoyed sitting in this cafe with a very Arabic style.
It seemed the cafe had a lot of accessories for guests who were smoking.
"What would they be smoking here?" Roger pondered.
"Well... perhaps they can smoke something we are not allowed to smoke in Ireland..."
"Ah, no, McBear! That's not what I was thinking of, more whether they smoke cigarettes, cigars or pipe!"
"Oh, sorry, my bad..."

Our coach brought us all the way up to Mount Nebo. It was here that Moses according to legend was shown the promised land. Now, we were hoping to get a glimpse of the promised land ourselves, however, that didn't look promising at all...

The Dead Sea, Jordan, May 2023

Next stop was the Holiday Inn at the beach at the Dead Sea. The sea is famous for its very salty water and it's easy to float in the water.

While staying at the Holiday Inn, we joined the tour group on a trip to the hot springs at Ma'in.
"The water would be too hot for a polar bear like me," said Roger.
"The water would be too wet for me, full stop." McBear added.