Wandering in the desert… journey to the Middle East

My long awaited, half-dreaded, but much talked-about trip to Egypt, Israel and Jordan is about to begin, and I’m preparing to go.  And as it’s a once-in-my-lifetime experience, I thought I’d begin by documenting the experience before I get on the plane, and share the fun.

So this all began about a year ago when my mother said that there was a pilgrimage being organized out of St. Anthony’s parish in Petit Valley, Trinidad, led by my dear friend Fr. Leo Donovan, O.P. and she very much wanted to go.  It would cost, she said, not that much, only TT$29,000 (at the time, about CA$6,000) per person, and how wonderful it would be if her children would provide this as a birthday present to her.  Collectively, her children said “Oh, a pilgrimage to Israel, how lovely.  Yes, that would be a nice thing for you to do!  Weren’t you there before, with Fr. Leo, on another pilgrimage?  Do you really need to go again?”  Some more discussion followed, and long story short, I wound up with the group headed off to the Holy Land, with stops in Egypt and Jordan.

The itinerary includes stops in Giza, Egypt to see the famous pyramids and the Sphinx; in Petra, Jordan; Mt. Sinai; in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem and Canaan.  There are scheduled stops at every possible church, monastery and holy site along the way… including (according to the published list) an opportunity to “climb the hill of Calvary carrying the cross,” after reading which I freely admit to having phoned my mother and aunt and saying “I’ll meet you at the gift shop at the top after you’ve carried the cross.” 

In preparation for this, I went through the travel medical clinic to get the required vaccinations: the usual boosters: tetanus, typhoid.. add in hepatitis A & B, then yellow fever, and “travellers’ diarrhoea;” my arm hurt for days after.  Yes, I know, I’m a wimp. 

It’s Sunday afternoon, my flight leaves for Trinidad in 4 hours, and I’m packed.  Finally.  Except that I can’t find some things, I’m CERTAIN that I’m forgetting others (that last checklist seemed suspiciously short!) and I’m sure that I’ve got stuff I don’t need, just because I thought I should include it.  Eh… whatever.  If it’s not there, I’ll either do without or buy locally.  If I don’t use it, it will have gone for a fun trip.  And above all else, there will be many photos, and lots of dinner table stories to tell.