JORDAN RIVER .........The Jordan River may be one of the world's great rivers with historical significance, but it had been dammed, irrigated, tapped, and drained until it was a mere stream when it arrived to the Dead Sea. This, of course, was also shrinking the Dead Sea. It was surprisingly small, but it was still the Jordan River.

It never occured to me that Biblical sites would also be in Jordan. However, the location where John the Baptist baptised Jesus was on the Jordan side of the river. Visitors were loaded unto buses to go to the actual site. Israeli tour groups peered across the river but on the Jordan side, you could see a lot more. A guide took people around on a tour. I, however, had my own personal tour guide. So, we ditched the group. First we walked fast to the river and then later we walked slowly( to let the tour group pass us by) as we went to the baptism pool. Either way, we had a quiet experience without the tourists.

MARTIN