Wadi Rum, Jordan

Have you ever dreamed of wandering in the desert? Well, in Jordan, it is a must. It was a really hot day, but that was to be expected. Camel rides were our introduction to the desert. They are really impressive animals, walking and moving smoothly, making growling noises we would expect from a dinosaur. We joined the rest of our group, another two persons, next to a sand dune. This is where our Jeep expedition started, in a Mitsubishi SUV (they call all their SUV tours Jeep tours even though there isn’t that many jeeps around). Our friendly Bedouin guide brought us to the main sights of Wadi Rum and we drove around for three hours. We climbed and ran down another huge red sand dune and saw some Nabatean hieroglyphics carved in the stone of a dried out canyon.

We stopped for a typical Jordanian lunch in a quiet area, including a well deserved two-hour nap. Next, we explored the desert some more, visiting the mushroom rock, and also climbing on Umm Fruth Rock Bridge. The climb to get to the top of the arch was not very long, but seemed very hard for some other travelers. The view from the top was lovely, and we even got a good picture of us jumping on the arch. After enjoying the rock bridge with our new friends, our guide drove us to a nice mountain so we could watch the gorgeous sunset. The setting was perfect, quiet, with a wonderful view of the desert valley. 

Later, our guide drove us to the Bedouin camp where we put our bags down, enjoyed a really hot shower (amazingly hot thanks to the solar panels) and had a nice supper. We spent the rest of the evening chatting with our new friends while watching the stars before retiring to our cabin for an undisturbed sleep. The desert was so silent, it was very different than Amman or Wadi Musa, where we can hear the prayers five times a day and every car using their horns to communicate.

 Following our excellent night sleep, we woke up and had breakfast, before being driven back to Wadi Rum where the minibus picked us up in front of the office of Jordan Tracks. While sitting in the bus, we thought this experience should have lasted longer as we enjoyed it so much.

 

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