Wadi Rum and Leaving Jordan

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After breakfast in Wadi Musa we met our guide, Jame, who took us in his 4x4 to Wadi Rum. As we left Petra and went higher up, we were reminded how cold it had been with snow still on the mountains. About an hour later we arrived in the desert in Wadi Rum.

We went on safari through the desert for about 3 hours stopping at various sites such as Lawrence's House and the 7 Pillars of Wisdom. The sits themselves werent that great but the desert and the scenery were spectacular.

We ended up at the camp and tried to get up a mountain for sunset but were about 15 minutes late. Back at the camp we were joined by a German couple who were doing the safari the next day. Other than that the camp was very quiet, until one of Jame's Jordanian's mates arrived with a Dutch lady "friend". After dinner, we were taken back out to a spot in the desert when it was pitch black to see the stars.

At about 5.45, we got up to get out to see the sunrise. This time we did make it on time and it did not disappoint. We didn't see or hear anyone else the whole time we were out there.

We then got back to camp for breakfast, which was the best one I had had in Jordan. Jame then drove us all to Aqaba. Albert and I joined Jame for a Turkish bath, which involved a sauna, jacuzzi, steam room, full body scrub and massage. Just what was needed after a night in the desert.

I wasn't staying in Aqaba that night so went to the ticket office to get my ferry ticket, while Albert found a hotel. Later we went for some sheesha and were joined by the German couple from Wadi Rum, the Canadians we had done the tour with and a Scottish lad from Petra.

As we were paying up we got talking to the cafe owner, who then insisted we stay for another coffee and sheesha. He even arranged for a taxi to pick me up from there at half the price. He then really surprised me about his knowledge of Irish history and started asking me about Michael Collins!

I got down to the port with loads of time, but realised I was 1 Dinar short of the departure tax. With no atms, I found all the foreign exchange closed. A policeman took me around to some of the vendors to see if they would change money for me, when one just decided to give me the 1 Dinar I needed. This pretty much summed up Jordan for me.

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