- We're the Troutman family!

- And on this episode of Great Family Adventure, we're visiting Jordan!

(exotic music) The adventure begins!

This is our first time in the Middle East.

Definitely a unique location for our family adventure.

- It's really important for me as a parent to have my kids have that hands-on experience with other cultures.

I want them to know there are so many other ways to live your life and so many other places to enjoy your life.

So for them to get firsthand experiences in someplace like Jordan is so important to me as a parent.

I'm Emily and this is Nick.

As world champion Whitewater kayakers, we're not just navigating the rapids, we're navigating life on the road with our kids, Tucker and Parker.

- [Nick] Join us as we tackle the wild ride of parenting, homeschooling, and competing all while exploring the great outdoors.

This is our Great Family Adventure.

Funding for Great Family Adventure is provided by Collette offers small group exploration tours, destinations and local experiences.

Explorations by Collette.

Guided travel since 1918.

Alaska by rail.

Passengers can travel the coasts and wilderness of Alaska with baggage, service, meals, and wheelchair access.

Information available at AlaskaRailroad.com Vivid-Pix memory station and software allows users to scan personal history items like photos and documents, record voice narrative, and share what has been conserved.

More online at Vivid-pix.com.

Host- And by these additional sponsors ♪ upbeat music - Yeah.

- Excited!

- So we've made it to Jordan.

The family is now in Amman, and this is our first trip to the Middle East, which makes it entirely more exciting.

- What a cool location.

One of the oldest cities on earth and it's got this amazing blend of old ruins with new skyscrapers.

- Most of the buildings are made from limestone, so they call it the White City.

- [Nick] We're kicking off our trip to Jordan while visiting the citadel here in Amman.

- Parker, what we're looking at now is from like 7,000 BCE.

- What's that?

- That means it's really, really old.

One thing that's really helped us on this trip is having Majdi.

So for him, he's a local tour guide, but at the same time, having someone local gives us so much more history.

- Welcome to Amman.

Welcome to Jordan.

This is the beautiful Amman.

This is the citadel, unbelievable growth.

It started with those hills.

I am fond of my job.

I like to introduce my country to people who are coming from all over the world because I think we should share these things we have with other cultures.

So everybody look at this one.

This is the hand of Hercules.

Little bit bigger my hand, don't you agree?

- [Emily] That's a really big hand.

This is a great experience because the kids actually get to touch and feel and walk through these ruin.

- [Nick] Can you do that Indiana Jones jump?

- Dad, a lizard!

- A lizard?

Where?

- See?

- Oh yeah!

- A big reason why it's so important for the kids to get to see stuff this old.

You know, we're just a little blip in time and this wasn't that long ago.

(plane roars) - We just arrived to Aqaba and it is totally different than what I was expecting in Jordan.

- I had no idea that we were gonna have this beachy, Grecian vibe into our visit.

- [Nick] It feels great to essentially just unwind, stretch out and relax by the sea - One thing we noticed really quickly when we arrived is that it's so family friendly.

- All the way over, all the way - The kids' favorite thing is definitely the pool.

(family giggling) Even though the kids are splashing around in the pool, Nick and I got a moment to ourselves to really soak in the fact that it's not just any pool, We're in a pool overlooking the Red Sea.

- [Nick] Today we are off to go snorkel in the Red Sea.

- I definitely noticed the kids get fired up when we get them near water.

So to be able to come see the Red Sea is a huge parenting win for us and this water is so blue!

- So it turns out the Red Sea is actually blue I was lied to.

- So we are in Aqaba Gulf.

We have over 500 kind of fishes and different kind of coral living here.

And Nemo here, of course.

- Nemo!

- Yep!

- To me it's like an underwater treasure hunt, But with wildlife and I could spend hours searchin - Tuck, are You ready?

- Yep!

- He was really upset.

- Here we go.

Jumping in the water was like jumping into a fish tank.

It was so crystal clear and blue water, so many fish and different corals.

- [Emily] Not only was this one of the clearest reefs that I've ever snorkeled at, but at the same time you could tell that the reef itself was very healthy and that was so great to see.

- What's your favorite fish so far?

- It's like a sea safari.

- A sea safari (laughs).

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Emily] One thing that really separated this experience for me was the fact that they barbecued off the end of the boat.

(bell dinging) - Getting introduced to some flavors here in Jordan.

Our lunch today was some grilled and smoked meats with fish and chicken, a lot of fresh vegetables.

- One thing that I've noticed, t mint to a lot of things.

They add a lot of little spices, you know, little things that just really change the whole contrast of the food Here in Aqaba, there's so many flowers and palm trees and so much water and it's gonna make a crazy contrast as we head into the desert.

(exotic music) - I first learned about Petra as a kid when I watched Indiana Jones for the first time.

Whoa, check that out, Tuck, everything is sculpted here.

- We are in the beginning of The Siq, on our way down and all the way to the famous treasury.

Hooray!

Come on, let's go.

- Getting ready for the trip.

Nick said, well, we can't go until as a family, we all watch Indiana Jones.

(family mimicking Indiana Jones theme) - I'm riding a horse.

Do you think it's like it looks as big and grand as in the movies?

'Cause it's hard to know.

- Uh huh.

- This is so good for the kids.

There is so much to learn.

- This is the aqueduct and this is the way they brought water to the inner city from the upper spring.

- I don't see any homes down here.

- Well, we are still at the beginning.

- Yeah, we haven't made it.

- High five.

- As you're going down the canyon, there are little bits of history all over the walls.

- [Nick] What do you think that says, buddy?

- I dunno.

- Do you know any of those letters?

- No.

- Those Greek letters?

- No.

- A little different than our normal alphabet.

So the final few steps through the Slot Canyon, you can look up and see the sliver of sky above you and then it opens up into this giant reveal of the Petra Treasury.

What?

That is so incredible.

- I was absolutely awestruck.

It's way more impressive in person than I ever could have given it credit for, simply due to its size.

And as you look around, you star that there's a ton of the walls surrounding it that are all carved to be a specific shape.

So that's pretty neat.

- These are all the homes back here when people used to inhabit this place.

Wow.

- At the height of its peak, the civilization of the Nabataeans we believe that it was like 20, 25,000 people.

- Step one, step two, Step three made it three steps.

- Three steps in.

- Three steps in.

- [Nick] So I was really proud of the kids, their willingness to go up to the monastery, one of the steeper and farthest hikes to check out another one of the incredible monuments.

[Parker] Wow.

- To be able to come here and see something that's so monumental is really a huge bucket list item for my entire family.

- We are here at Petra Kitchen and we're gonna learn from the chef how to cook up some local cuisine.

- When we arrived at Petra Kitch the first thing they did was get us all decked out.

So we're talking chef's hats, we're talking apron.

- I'm getting ready to cook.

- Nikos, Nikos costa, costa is the beef and mix it with lamb.

- We've got a full menu happening, so excited to get chopping.

The kids definitely felt responsible and empowered to be cooking dinner for everyone.

- Yep, that's it.

Tucker really loves to be involved in the whole cooking experience and to be able to learn from a master chef like that, it was just exactly what he was looking for to elevate his cooking in the kitchen.

Yeah.

There we go.

- We're making troutman special, just kidding.

- The troutman special?

- Costa!

- Costa!

- Costa.

- That's it buddy, yep.

There you go, Parker.

Pull them off the stalk, off the - I'm pretty excited to try this Fattoush salad because it's what I've been ordering since we've gotten here and I had no idea what all the ingredients are but now I do.

- Nice.

That was really good.

- Friends, there's no way we made all this.

- Costa nikos.

- Wow!

- You guys made that.

How crazy were the meatballs you - My beloved child.

- I was happy that we didn't ruin the dish, we didn't burn it or anything.

Tucker, the potatoes are amazing, the sauce is so good.

- They're delicious.

- Oh my god, the flavor.

I would say Petra by night is totally worth it even if you've seen Petra by day there's just something about paying tribute to all the people that have walked through those canyons at night that I could appreciate more than I could during the day.

- [Nick] People used to live in there.

You can just hear the songs as you're coming through the Slot Canyon in complete darkness.

It really reveals itself with all the different candles lit below the Petra Treasury.

(airy flute music) - I would definitely say the kids could feel the power and the energy of the treasury by being there at night.

You know, with the candles and the music.

This is truly a magical moment right here.

Getting to see one of the seven wonders of the world at night.

Incredible.

(exotic music) - Driving into Wadi Rum, the first thing I notice is it really does feel like you're on the moon.

And the kids were the most excited about this stay out of all of 'em.

- So we just got to the Wadi Rum Desert and we're gonna check out our accommodations here at Sun City for the next couple nights.

- [Parker] Whoa!

- [Nick] Sun City's an incredible dome like accommodations here in the desert.

- [Emily] Domes in the middle of the desert and we can look at the stars?

That's right up our alley.

Oh, this is incredible.

I don't think I've ever slept in anything like this before and the kids are obviously enjoying it already.

- The kids absolutely love it because it takes 'em straight back to the Martian movie with Matt Damon and living out on Mars.

- Welcome to the Earth.

Welcome to Mars.

Welcome to the moon.

Of course, if you're traveling around, you need to have a good place to stay and this is why we have many, many of families, they just pick this place, like the right place for them.

We will do the scarf for you.

- One thing that I learned is that this headpiece is actually a functioning piece of clothing here in the desert.

And out here we use it to cover to keep the sun off our neck.

- Now I'm ready for the desert.

Welcome to the Wadi Rum desert!

- Woo.

- Wadi Rum.

- Getting to experience the desert here in Wadi Rum is really what I was expecting Jordan to be like.

Just vast desert, incredible rock, mountains and cliffs.

What do you guys think about the Have you ever seen so much sand?

- If there was explosions, it would be like in Indiana Jones.

- [Nick] Just like Indiana Jones.

I totally agree.

- Yeehaw.

- Yeehaw.

- It's a good thing off-roading doesn't terrify mom at all.

(upbeat music) The highlight for me on the four by four tour was actually going to this little spot with the locals to get some tea.

- The tea mixed with a sage, cardamom and cinnamon.

This is the dessert herb.

It's good for your stomach for the flu, cold, for the headache, it's good for everything.

- Cheers!

- Cheers!

- Welcome to Jordan.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- It's very good.

- I know, it's very good.

Everyone say this.

- Isn't that cool?

- It is cool.

- Whoa.

- So on our Jeep tour we were in to some ancient Nepotis drawings which showcases the prominence of the camel within this culture - This companion is all 2,400 year ago and it was the direction map from Al-Ula City to Petra.

And like what you see here, the head of the camel direction, it's the one, show them the direction way.

- So Tucker, you have to get all the way to Petra by looking for pictures of camel on rocks.

- And you look for the camel hea - And pay attention to which way their heads are facing.

- So the kids have never gone camel riding before.

And being that Parker absolutely loves animals, we thought what better thing to do than go riding here in the desert?

Riding a camel is certainly a little different from riding a horse.

Just hold on.

- Whoa.

- See?

Hold on tight!

(Parker cooing) Good job!

- I was the last one to get on a camel and I was the only one in the family that hadn't ridden a camel, I was like guys, you got this, it's great.

But the second I put my leg over, it was like, Stop!

Ah!

(group chattering indistinctly) They're taller than I expected.

- [Nick] They are, right?

- [Tucker] Are they taller than a horse?

- [Nick] They're probably a little taller than a horse.

It's been an incredible cultural experience to get to ride camels as a family, being that this is a tradition that's been going on for thousands of years here.

- [Emily] Camels are slow and steady and so the kids actually learn about why that cadence is important when crossing long terrain with not a lot of water.

Sometimes the best modes of transportation aren't always the fastest.

- How long do you think it would take to ride one of these to Petra?

- Probably four days.

- Yeah, I was thinking a couple Parker thought three hours, I was thinking a little longer than that.

(exotic music) Whole lot of firsts here today as we came out first time to the desert for the kids.

First time riding camels, Wadi Rum sure does deliver.

So something that they do here at Sun City is this traditional meal called tsar, where they actually cook it all underground, like a giant outdoor oven under - [Emily] Which was amazing, smoky, delicious.

The kids were excited.

Just to make a full experience of the whole place.

There's fires, there's good coffee, there's dancing.

It's definitely the kind of place that you wanna come to as a family and just hang out and enjoy the full experience.

(upbeat music) - [Nick] You guys excited to go on a hot air balloon?

- [Tucker] Yup.

- This is gonna be amazing.

- Yep.

- I was pretty excited that for the very first time going into a hot air balloon, we were gonna be overlooking the Wadi Rum Desert.

- The combination of unpacking the balloon, the loud fans and the sun starting to rise really kicked off a lot of excitement for the day.

(upbeat music) We're off and away!

Is it smoother than you thought?

- Yeah, is it like this the whole time?

- [Nick] Yeah!

- The second the hot air balloon was actually released from the ground, I couldn't get over how weightless we felt, quite peaceful.

- It's a magic land, and when we fly on a balloon her it's like being on a magic carpet, It's like a story out of Jehosha It's a combination of peace and tranquility and awe.

So it's a little bit like how you might imagine flying before you ever did.

- [Nick] We should get the views from up here.

Pretty peaceful!

- We're a mile above the earth.

- Half mile!

- Wow, a half mile up!

To put your family into a basket levitating by a balloon, to overlook the desert here in Jordan, that's just to me the concept is completely wild.

Parker, do you see your shadow?

Where is it?

(upbeat music) - Hold on!

- Keep looking up.

And wow!

Tucker, how smooth was that land It was awesome.

- Way easier than getting off the camel.

- Finally.

- Whoa!

The family loves tobogganing and they love snowboarding and skiing and I never had even heard of doing it down the sand before.

- Guys check out that hill.

And we arrived at these huge dunes and we had the opportunity to both slide down on sleds or sand board down on almost like a sand wake board Going sand boarding in the desert.

- The kids are definitely gonna sleep well tonight.

'Cause it is a workout.

There is no ski lift at this pla - [Parker] This is way steeper than I thought it would be.

- [Tucker] I can't make it to the top.

- You can't make it up to the top.

- 1, 2, 3.

I absolutely love just getting outdoors and in nature with the whole family and the opportunity to do something new for everybody was immediately a fan favorite.

Here we go!

(family screaming) - She said it didn't go fast.

Nick, I'm going way faster than I want!

One thing I absolutely love about Parker is when she sets her mind to something, she will do it.

- Not giving up.

- It really shined light on her independence, because as a parent, those opportunities make me really proud.

- All the way!

(laughing) Parker just made it all the way down to the bottom.

Looks like the higher up you go, the faster we're gonna go.

So, time to go to the top.

There's way more traction in the and so it's actually a much slower ride, which makes the steep dune perfect for sand boarding and sliding down.

- In visiting one country, we've to see the Red Sea, Wadi Rum, the desert.

We've gotten to see Petra.

We've gotten to visit Amman, the and all the history there.

- And what a great way to end the trip with floating in the Dead Sea.

So the whole experience here is to lather yourself up with mud from the sea.

- People believe that the mud and being immersed in that water is so good for you.

- Hey Tuck, did I miss any spot with the sunscreen?

The Dead Sea here is the saltiest water there is, which makes it really crazy to just lay there and float.

- Traveling to Jordan with the family has been one of the best trips we've taken in our entire lives.

The diversity, the activity, the food, the welcome nature of everyone that lives here has not only impacted me as a parent, but it's really impacted me as a person in the sense that I have a deep appreciation for this area and its people.

- [Nick] Had an absolute blast here in Jordan.

This one's definitely gonna be one for the books for sure.

It was amazing.

(upbeat music) Funding for Great Family Adventure is provided by Collette offers small group exploration tours, destinations and local experiences.

Explorations by Collette.

Guided travel since 1918.

Alaska by rail.

Passengers can travel the coasts and wilderness of Alaska with baggage, service, meals, and wheelchair access.

Information available at AlaskaRailroad.com Vivid-Pix memory station and software allows users to scan personal history items like photos and documents, record voice narrative, and share what has been conserved.

More online at Vivid-pix.com.

Host- And by these additional sponsors ♪ upbeat music (upbeat music)