Hi All,
After arriving in Wadi Musa, I headed to the hotels near the entrance gate to Petra instead of staying in the town. It is not a far distance, but it was worth the extra 10JD to be close to the park. I walked around town the first afternoon but was hassled by many guys wanting to know if I am married or have a boyfriend and where I am staying and what room. They are following me around and it is annoying. But my hotel is nice and I find a few nice (but expensive) restaurants nearby.
The next morning, I wake up to buy a 2 day pass and be one of the first people through the gate at 6am. It is very quiet as I walk through the Siq (a narrow canyon cut between the tall rocks). You turn a narrow corner and can see the great Treasury. Absolutely amazing. I sit and have a coffee while watching the Bedouins bring in their camels and donkeys and set up shop as the sun rises and changes the colors of the red rocks and Treasury. 
Head through the valleys and hike up to a high viewpoint overlooking the Treasury to watch the throngs of tourists enter by the bus load. Already a few hours ahead of them, I get to explore on my own. Goats, camels (3 baby ones!), and mules graze along the way as I hike to see the Theater and some tombs and marvel at the various structures and caves cut into the rocks.Late in the afternoon, I meet a Bedouin and his horse, Suzanna, and he invites me to join him for tea and we gather a few sticks 
to make a small fire to boil water. It is starting to get very crowded and he shows me a little used path away from all the tourists that runs from the Royal Tombs to Wadi Muthlim. It involves climbing over and under boulders in a sometimes very narrow valley to get back to the park entrance. After 8 hours of hiking and exploring, I head back to the hotel and grab some mansef for a late lunch/early dinner.
Day 2, I am in the park at 6am again. I wander around, explore an old river bed, and head up the over 800 steps to the Monastery, which rivals the Treasury and is even bigger. hang out there for a bit and head back to the hotel to check out as they are all booked tonight. It is a different place when it is full of tourists and the shops are set up for business. I grab a quick lunch and head back in. I head to the High Place of Sacrifice to watch the sunset, perched on the edge of a tall cliff. 
It is beautiful and I watch the sun set at the same time the full moon rises up over the town of Wadi Musa. I chat with some Bedouins and we hang out and drink tea in the old Theatre. I was going to walk out and get a 12 JD ticket to Petra by Night where the Siq is lit up at night with luminarias, and everyone walks to the Treasury for Bedouin music and tea, but ran out of time and am still in the park. 
The Bedouins sneak me in, saving me some money and the walk to the entrance and back. It was really beautiful under the full moon. Walk back to the hotel to supposedly meet someone that was to take me to my couchsurfing host. Wait until midnight and no one comes, so thankfully the night manager lets me sleep in a spare, unused room since all the hotels are full the next few nights.
Still hadn't heard from my couchsurfing host, Gassab, by the next morning so decide to head to Aqaba. More getting hassled in Wadi Musa by the men in town and trying to get swindled by a taxi driver who I finally lose my temper with. But the taxi driver must feel bad after I unleash on him and finally reaches Gassab by phone. I head to Gassab's family's house in the Bedouin village. Hang out there, meeting the family and helping the mom cook mansef for a tour group coming through. Then we pack the trucks and head for the sleeping cave inside Petra (they sneak me in since my two day pass is already used).
There is a group of Austrians he is doing a 10 day hike with, and I can go for free as a volunteer if I help out doing dishes and such. I meet the group and then head off by myself to climb up some rocks to watch the sun set behind the mountains.
That night, I get to sleep in a cave inside of Petra with delicious food and wonderful company. Turns out I really like sleeping in caves! It is warm and super safe as all of the people are sweet and kind (and we even have our own police escort). I learn a little about the Bedouin culture. All that I have met are kind, respectful, and a very tight knit community. Many of the boys have dreadlocks and wear eyeliner and look like Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean.
The next day, we wake up and have breakfast. One of the Austrians brought an accordion and he plays music while other sing and dance. We clean up and hike into Petra. 
I see many of the same sites, but coming from a different direction and a different time of day is still interesting, as the rocks look different from different angles and light. I am glad I spent two days on my own exploring Petra, as they really didn't get to see many places and there is little time to stop and enjoy things as they are so focused on hiking. We make a longer hike out past the Treasury with spectacular rocky canyons that I haven't yet seen. That night, Rosalie (another couch surfer from Switzerland) and I sleep back at Gassab's family's home in the Bedouin Village.
The next day, Rosalie and I help out the guys washing dishes and loading supplies. We head off through the desert and meet the group in a valley in the mountains of Wadi Araba for a night of camping under the almost full moon and lots of stars. The Austrians share some of their special liquor from their home that is made from some kind of rare pine tree found only in high places in a certain area. While I am having fun with the group, I am bit homesick and certain elements of the Middle Eastern culture are wearing on me. I am craving quiet time to myself (having mainly heard German or Arabic which is a language that sound like loud arguing to me, even when it is a regular conversation to me) and the ocean.
This morning, I wake up to goats heading off to the mountains. I say goodbye to the group after breakfast as they head off to Wadi Rum. The guys drop me off at the turnoff for Wadi Rum so I can hitchhike the rest of the way to Aqaba. Luckily, a nice big rig commercial container truck driver who is heading to Aqaba to get fish to bring to Amman stops and gives me a ride most of the way. I get out where we heads to the port and hitch the rest of the way with a guy heading toward the city center. Someone points me towards the Red Sea Dive Center in the city center that was recommended to me by a couple in Amman. Turns out the hot is in South Beach about 10 km from the city center and they are fully booked (as is just about everywhere in Aqaba as it is apparently Easter weekend). But they offer to pull a mattress onto the roof and let me sleep there with buffet breakfast and full use of their pool, wifi and everything for 10 JD until or if a room becomes available before I head across the border into Eliat, Israel in a couple of days.
And now, time for a quick shower (my first real shower in I don't even remember how many days) and a dip in the pool!!
Miss you all very much and ready to come home in 12 days for some hugs.
Love,
Betsy
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