What a difference when you're able to sleep completely horizontally. We slept till 5:30 am, woke up way before the alarm. I think we we're kind of anxious of the days activities.
7am breakfast and taxi pick-up. Hoping taxi was a little late, nope, right on time. Asked him if we could get some breakfast for the trip, he said yes. When we looked at breakfast served, we drank some OJ and left.
Taxi driver was in lobby smoking, we're thinking OH NO, he's gonna stink us up with his smoke. So I tell him we're allergic to cigarette smoke he answers, esta bien lo apago, Uds. Son de México, verdad?
WHAT???? A spanish speaking taxi driver in a Muslim country? So he tells us his name is Mufasa, he's half Venezuelan and half Jordanian and grew up in Venezuela. We tell him there's a Starbucks right around the corner from the hotel, WE NEED COFFEEEEEE NOWWWW!!!!! It was closed. He says don't worry I'll treat you to a typical Arab coffee w/cardamom an Indian spice.
Meanwhile, on the road he starts to tell us what were looking at around us, all in spanish. He says, you know I feel a certain connection to people from Latin America, I feel they're my people, so I really try to take care of them.
I'll tell you, I didn't know the guy or could distinguish him from another Arab, but there is a certain feeling of calm, when someone talks to you in your language, specially if your in a country where there customs are so different from yours.
So we stop for the Arab coffee. A little kid takes the order, reminded us of those hard working kids we've seen in Mexico and other latin countries. Uuuuuiieee, talk about a spice in a coffee. First, the coffee looked like I was boiled in the same pot as roof tar. And that spice, SMACKED your taste buds. But you know, it wasn't that bad. Leti says it was little sweet for her. I thought it was a little to spicy, I mean the spice was a little too strong, but it was not THAT bad, that I wouldn't drink it again. I would drink it again but in a smaller cup, like in an espresso cup or maybe even a thimble.
Back on the road he pointed out Jerusalem, the Jordan, the Dead Sea. Of course, everything was so far away we couldn't distinguish any of it so we just nodded and agreed.
Over those mountains is the Dead Sea at least that's what Mufasa said.
On the way to the border he offers to take us to all the sites in Jordan when we come back, gave us his number and we told him we would call. He also asked where we were staying in Israel. We told him in Tel Aviv. And he asked about transportation from the border to Tel Aviv. We planned on getting a bus and taxi to get to the Apt. we rented. He said that's going to take you hours and it'll be expensive, let me call my cousin and he could pick you up and take straight there.
We had already checked prices online for that service and the cheapest was $310.00US from hotel in Amman to Tel Aviv apt. So we were going to wing it, on the buses for most of the trip and just taxis where necessary, of course that would probably eat up most of the day and be a hassle moving from bus to bus to taxi etc, with the luggage but it would be cheaper. He was charging us $30JD about $42US. His cousin was charging us $150US, the choice was easy.
BORDER CROSSING
Talk about a ridiculous system, get this. So you get to the border crossing, not the border, and you have to go through some kind of wannabe immigration/customs line. You fill out a paper with your name, passport #, and nationality. The man in the first window checks your passports and stamps the paper you filled out. Then there is a little opening between the two offices, so the first man gives your passports and the little paper he just stamped to the man in the second window through the little opening. Then the man in 2nd window looks at your stamped paper, your passport and gives it back to you. After that you get your luggage scanned through a machine you could tell was an airport reject from 1986. Then you have to wait for a bus to take you over the bridge to the Israeli border crossing. Oh right, you have to pay $4JD per person plus $1.60JD per luggage, you pay that to your bus driver.
While we're doing all this Mufasa is still waiting on us. He told us he would help us get through. He was even hurrying up the wannabe immigration guys so we could catch the bus that was about to leave. The bus left, he complained a bit the they said there was a VIP bus leaving we could catch a ride with them. We boarded the VIP bus which online is an additional $100 to use. Of course, we were kicked out of the bus as another of the regular buses had arrived as we were sitting waiting to leave. So we board the big bus and sit for another 1/2 hr.
We finally leave, we get to a checkpoint a soldier comes to the door, the driver tells him that we're all tourists. Sit and wait for about 5-10 mins. then we leave. Another checkpoint, sit and wait another 5-10 mins. then we get to the crossing. There's a ton of people with lots and lots of luggage. You go through the line if you have luggage or bulky items, like a full double kitchen sink, REALLY A KITCHEN SINK, you get that checked in then you go to a window. The man on the window looks at your passports and puts a sticker on it. Then you go inside the building, another line to go through, a metal detector and whatever bag you have on you will go through there xray machine. After that you get yelled at by some guy to take out your laptop and remove your shoes and take off your coat. You go through the metal detector and you go to a window. The same guy that just looked at your passport and put a couple stickers on it, came inside and is now looking at your passports AGAIN. Same guy.
You now go to the actual immigration officer. We get directed to a window and he asks the usual questions. Where you from, where you going, where you staying, how long, yada, yada, yada. We get a our Israeli stamp and we're off. At least that's what we thought. Now you get in line to pick up your luggage. But we get yelled at for not making a single line. We go to the counter and the girl looks at our passports, and I kid you not, she threw them across the counter at us. We now go to another window so our passports can be looked at again. We get waived through, now we pick up our luggage. One more x-ray machine, an official waived us through. FINALLY we were officially in ISRAEL.
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