Mary had to accompany Joey to Bethlehem where he has to be counted in a census. They had to travel around 145km (that's about 90 miles for those left behind) from Nazareth through the Jordan Valley, through Jericho, up to Bethany and eventually Bethlehem. That's longer than the Bataan Death March. She was pregnant. No, she did not ride the donkey. While we are here, we always wondered why Christmas stories always show them traveling at night.

No one asked: was it safe?