Let’s Skip a Bit

February 27, 2019:

Leading up to this day, we adventured through Aqaba, visited the Red Sea, grabbed some beers to cheers the start of something amazing and really started to get things in line for our big hike.

For those who don’t know, I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Full heartedly.

Jordan is apart of the Holy Land, so this was something that I knew would be quite special.

Seeing exactly where Jesus walked, where prophets lived, where John the Baptist preached and baptized at his church. I was ready for this trip to get started!

D let Tom and I know that we had the day to adventure and had the opportunity to visit the baptism site of Jesus at Bethany Beyond The River if we wanted to.

Of course I wanted to go! I had the opportunity to visit the site where the man who saved me was baptized and God parted the clouds and spoke right to them! Like WHAT!

It felt like a dream.

We drove along the Jordan River, passing chapels and places of worship and finally reached John the Baptist’s church.

Unfortunately, Tom opted out so it was just D and I walking through history.

We pass the chapel and walked down to the baptism site. I stood there, looking over the once water filled site, barely a puddle left.

I looked around and you know what I felt?

Nothing. I’m not saying that when you reach these places that you’re going to feel the Holy Spirit lift your heart and you’re going to be on clouds… but I felt worse than just nothing.

I felt a darkness. A dark presence mixed with emptiness.

I felt something that was pulling me down.

It was standing behind me I just knew it. I turned to look around me as if I was actually going to see something but the only thing I saw was D and the art work surrounding the area.

I didn’t know how to handle this feeling. I was speechless and confused.

I took a few pictures and was ready to leave. I felt like I as in the wrong place, like I should’t have been there.

So we left.

A Day in Petra

February 25, 2019:

When I say I was in dog Heaven— I’m not exaggerating.

Petra is FILLED with dogs. I couldn’t believe my eyes and I honestly didn’t think it could get much better than that.

But we’ll get to that in a second. I could write a whole blog about the dogs.

Wake up call that morning was 5am. Luckily I wasn't jet lagged BUT I’m not going to pretend it was easy. The adrenaline of viewing all of Petra was the only thing keeping me going— not even the cowboy coffee could help.

Tom, D and I got to the gates to buy tickets before it was even open. We wanted to make sure to get to The Treasury before the ocean of people filled the monument. This was a very high energy moment.

We ran.

At 6am we RAN.

Again— nothing I was ready for but oh did it get my heart rate up. Before we knew it, we were walking between the tall orange canyon walls of the Siq that led to the most amazing sight that not even pictures could capture. The Treasury. This is what Petra is known for, this is what you see in all of the pictures. We were there. One of the 9 Wonders of the World. We were THERE!

It was so tall and so magnificent. Orange as far as the eyes could see. The Treasury is way bigger than you think. WAY bigger.

We stood there for so long in awe of this magical place. You could feel it.

So much history in one place. So much.

Side note: If you look close enough you can see bullet holes where people shot at The Treasury thinking it was filled with hidden gold and treasure.

Anyway… we scooted through and headed through the rest of Petra. Visiting the Theatre, the Royal Tombs, The Great Temple and The Monastery. It was magic. People riding camels everywhere as well as donkeys (who I definitely felt bad for) and ALL of the dogs. Everywhere. They were all so friendly, low key begging for some snacks because they know it works.

About 4 miles later we finally reached the Monastery and grabbed a cup of cowboy coffee. They have a beautiful place to take a break and relax and we definitely took advantage.

For those who don’t know, Petra is apart of the Jordan Trail. You end up hiking right through it which is a WHOLE different experience. So rewarding.

It’s safe to say that this trip to Petra really got me excited about the trail. We were able to dive right into the culture and get in an incredible hike in. I felt ready to conquer the world. To conquer 44 days on the trail.

Week 1: Getting Settled

February 22, 2019: I leave my little family to fly across the world.

February 23, 2019: Tom, who also got asked by D to join him on the JT, and I finally arrive in Amman, Jordan. Well, not until after he got questioned by security about his passport not looking like him. Perfect way to start off this trip amiright?

The first week of this trip was solely about getting to know the area of Jordan. We met locals, JT crew members, ate all the food, went site seeing and drove up and down the whole country. I felt like a celebrity on vacation and everyone treated us like so.

But you know what’s crazy? It was more so people just treated us with the upmost respect. I have never met more hospitable people in my life. I felt like family.

We spent the first day in Amman driving around, drinking coffee from the most stunning coffee shop with the best view of Amman (check out the photo I took), walked around town, ate khanate, took a cooking class from Beit Sitti (AMAZING) and then ended the day with a couple drinks in our stunning hotel. Day one was busy but I was feeling great!

February 24, 2019: Day two was just as incredible. I woke up early to get the continental breakfast which was more than you could ever imagine. I walked in and was greeted by so many employees making me feel so welcome. I looked around at all they had to offer and I couldn’t believe my eyes. From a juice bar to a whole waffle area, fresh fruit, cocktails, pastries you name it. I was in awe. I sat down and quickly grabbed my plate. I grabbed a few things to start but didn’t want to look too greedy. And of COURSE I took pictures of my plate (if you don’t take pictures of your food are you even an influencer??)

As soon as I snapped a photo— I got bombarded by employees asking, “would you like anything else miss? Fresh juice? A mojito?”

I couldn’t say no, of course, because they wanted to bring me everything. So they did. And they did not disappoint.

My whole table was FILLED. I was so confused by the sudden gesture but then it dawned on me— they thought I was with Trip Advisor, who were also staying at this hotel with us.

I cracked up making this realization but I also felt bad because little did they know— I was no one big.

I was barely able to make a dent in the food which was a huge concern to the employees. They definitely thought I hated the food. It was a whole thing.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and explored Amman even more. This time, with a local who knew all of the history! We then grabbed lunch and a coffee and headed out to the Citadel as well as (check out the pictures this place is stunning). These ruins are nothing short of amazing. While we were on the Citadel Hill, looking over all of Jordan, we got to witness the most breathtaking sound. Five times a day, the muezzin announces the call to prayer and everyone stops what they are doing to pray. They leave the worldly things behind to pray. It is beautiful. The city lit up with song. It echoed all throughout Jordan.

The next stop for the day was the Royal Tank Museum and then straight down south to Wadi Musa, Jordan where we ate the most amazing food, drank all the Limonana (refreshing mint and lemon drink) and stayed the night in one of the coolest places that was close to Petra. This is when things started moving quickly. Everything went in fast forward for me.

This trip was JUST getting started.

How It All Started

I’m going to go ahead and cover the question everyone asks about this trip.

How did I end up here? In Jordan? With 2 strangers I had never met?

Well… it’s as crazy as it sounds.

I had been backpacking the Appalachian Mountains for many years at this point. Some long distance sections and some short weekend sections. I documented everything I did and created a portfolio of all things backpacking on both Instagram as well as Youtube. It wasn’t much but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved pushing people to get outside and enjoy the world. To push their limits. I wanted to show everyone that no matter who you are you CAN do it. You just have to start.

It pushed me to produce more and more content which is where Damian came in.

Damian is head of E-tourism. He is in charge of helping countries boost their tourism effectively and efficiently. He began working with The Jordan Trail Association to boost their newest long distance trail— The Jordan Trail.

Damian wanted to bring the Jordan Trail, we’ll be calling it JT for short, to social media and what better way than to bring social media influencers, big and small, to document their hike on this trail?

He had discovered my account, watched me for months and finally reached out with the opportunity of a life time. A fully sponsored backpacking trip on the JT.

ME??

Yeah I was floored.

Unfortunately there was only 3 months left before departure and I had JUST been hired at a job that was the perfect setup for my schedule. I had to make a decision— stay here with my boyfriend and keep the “ideal” job… or drop everything and LIVE.

Two months later I put in my 2 weeks at work and packed for one of the craziest trips of my life.

Buckle up.

Thoughts on starting this…

It’s scary. I’m reliving one of the most dark moments of my life. One of my ultimate breaking points.

I’m reliving my walk with The Devil.

I’ve avoided this moment like I used to avoid homework as a kid.

But this is deeper than homework. This is a spiritual awaking. A spiritual awakening and spiritual battle all at the same time.

So where do I begin? How do I bring these foggy memories back to clarity?

I’ve suppressed them for so long. It’s one of my negative attributes… but also maybe it’s a strength? Being able to forget so easily.

I think it’s the latter.

That being said, each writing, each release, is going to take time. Time filled with tears, horrible flash backs, hauntings, anxiety but also hopefully filled with reassurance and hope. A reminder that I made it through and I was never alone.

So here we are. About to dive into the first moment of this spiritual war.

I met Satan that trip.

And he tried to drag me to Hell with him.