Wadi Rum

A very early start yesterday morning. The bus left Wadi Musa (the village adjacent to Petra) at 6.20 and arrived in Wadi Rum desert about 9am. From there we climbed aboard a 4x4 to explore the desert, and it is quite a spectacular desert. Red sand, multicoloured mineral-rich rocks, springs, Sprawling sand-dunes and natural rock bridges (and some scary climbing) means there is plenty to fill up a whole day in the desert.

We lunched in the shade of an enormous crevice in the rocks, and finished the trip in a Bedouin-tent where we would spend the night. Our dinner was cooked in the sand in a grid-like grill and was delicious- roast chicken, peppers, onions, aubergine and potatoes. Two of local Bedouin men who work in the camp also came and played the Oud and the drums, and even let us have a go, though that wasn’t the wisest of moves on their part.

At night you have the choice of sleeping in the tent or just sleeping on a mattress under the stars. The second option was just too tempting so I slept out in the open and while it did get pretty cold in the early hours the blankets were ward enough and the views of the night sky were spectacular. Tomorrow back to Amman briefly, then back to Damascus and the end of the trip nearly.

- David