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Published: October 30th 2008
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We were off to Wadi Rum today for a 4 wheel drive safari into the desert. I was still quite tired from my marathon walk through Petra the day before so I was feeling a bit limp as we set off. I don't think I would have been able to do anything other than sit in a truck - so the 4 wheel drive cars were a God send as we made our way into the desert of Wadi Rum..
Wadi Rum is called the 'Desert of Mountains' because of the huge sandstone & granite mountains that are spread out over the 720km protected area, some reaching in excess of 1700 metres. Together with our guide we wandered around the narrow canyons (Khazali Canyon) and through the fissures cut into the mountains to look at the historic rock carvings created by the Bedouin tribes that inhabited the area.
Thankfully we had a light breeze throughout our time making it a pleasant experience as we walked around - However, in saying that it may also be that I could never have felt as hot and tired as I was from my time in Petra the day before.
A few
of us climbed on top of the rock bridge, giving us some spectacular views of the surrounding landscape. I wasn't daring enough to attempt the photo jumping opportunity over the narrowest part of the bridge - but was content with just being able to clamour over it to dangle my feet over the edge for a few minutes before making my scramble back down the mountain to get back onto the jeep.
We visited the Lawrence Springs - supposedly the site where Lawrence of Arabia washed himself during the Arab revolt of of 1917-18 and also the place that was considered to be where he may have stayed at some point.
Our last location before heading out was a pit stop at one of the massive sand dunes dotting the landscape. Those with enough energy managed to climb to the top of the dunes to run, slide, roll and skip down the mountain back to the jeeps - all that was lacking was a piece of cardboard to help them get down easier. I didn't have enough energy to get off the jeep (but I did...) let alone climb the dune so I spent the time wandering around
the area looking for rocks to build my rock monument - a much less strenuous activity!!!
Leaving Wadi Rum we drove to the main Carrefour supermarket to stock up on some food for the truck to take us into Egypt. We all scrambled around the supermarket - A proper one, with air conditioning, isles of groceries, junk food, toiletries and goodies that actually looked familiar to me. I made a bee line for the deli counter to make myself a sandwich for lunch before stocking on groceries & toiletries for the remainder of my trip.
That done we drove into the town of Aqaba for lunch and some free time. All I knew was that it was so very hot - the heat was radiating from the sky down over my head while the tarred roads did nothing but radiate the heat up and over the rest of my body. I dived for cover into the first shop I could find - Ho hum, it ended up being a jewelery store, so I sat there together with Jac to sip sage tea with the owner and bargain over some of the pieces of silver jewelery that he had
in his shop. Purchases made by both of us, we headed back to before to the truck to get our sea side destination for the night.
A shooting star We stayed at a local rest house overlooking the red sea, complete with swimming pool and bar. I quickly dumped my things in my upgrade optional ensuite room and dived into the pool to cool myself down from the heat of the day. Time finally stood still for a change - there was no need to get up and go somewhere, no need to move other than to swim to the other end of the pool. I sat around for the rest of the afternoon, had a nap, had a swim and totally relaxed. We enjoyed a lovely meal around the truck of steak & salad before heading back to the pool area for a few drinks and a swim late into the night, made even more enjoyable by my first glimpse of a shooting star in the darkness of the sky above.
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