Helena and I were in John's Jordan tour. All told, it was a wonderful experience: many thanks to John, who had worked for months on the arrangements, dealing patiently with innumerable oddities, and staying unflappable when we faced the unexpected - and thanks too to Sally Beale, who equally deftly handled all the financial arrangements across multiple borders and tangled transfer regulations. Oron Peri took us through glorious landscapes to many unforgettable plants, like the very rare near-black Iris nigricans, I. haynei, and - for Oron, the most beautiful plant in the world - the intricately marked I. bismarckiana. The cultural sites are unforgettable, and the Jordanians couldn't be more welcoming. What a trip! The abrupt ending was a shame, but the scramble to get home actually made it even more of an adventure with some great extra memories.