Day 8 – FRI - 21/9/12 – Wadi Musa : Wadi Rum, Jordan.
Setting off in a very well bargained taxi, we didn't realise just how well we had bargained until it pulled up and it was a brand new private hire car which we travelled in for 2 and a ¼ hrs for only £15 to Wadi Rum.
We arrived in Wadi Rum and waited for our real Bedouin tour to begin. The Bedouin people are the native people for the desert areas in Jordan and also in some parts of Egypt. Their culture is very welcoming and relaxed. Their dress for the males is long white foot length robes with head dress of white and red or black checks in Jordan and in Dahab it was light purple. We were collected by a ute and taken to the office for sweet Bedouin tea hospitality where we met our guide and it was explained to us how the tour would work. We also met our fellow travel companions Ruth and Alex and 2 fellows (that got a separate ute as they were taking a slightly different tour route) that we later found out worked for Interpol, which made for interesting post-lunch conversation in our ute.
Our tour started with Lawrence Springs (which also featured in the film Lawrence of Arabia). From there we headed to the sand dunes, where it was the deepest and richest red sand. We scampered up the ridge of it and I only made it half way up ;) and ran down the front face.
After the dune stop we headed to see some stone carvings (similar to aboriginal or hieroglyphic – but not as wordy) that depicted warning messages about snakes in the area, camel caravan routes, water in the area and the type of hunting available for passing camel caravan groups.
From the carvings we headed to Lawrence's House which was the remains of a stone block foundation which is said to be linked to the tales of Lawrence of Arabia. Lunch was then next on the tour, where we we dropped off to talk for a little while in the desert whilst the food was prepared by the Bedouin. We found them all set up with a big raffia rug in the shade of one of the huge cliff faces.
Bedouin tea was provided to start and a lovely cardboard lunchbox containing pita, cucumber, tomato, cheese triangles, tuna, OJ and a banana was given to each of us to feast on. Such an amazing location with the desert stretching out as far as the eye could see. Whilst enjoying lunch we were treated with a serenade of traditional Bedouin song, sung by the Bedouin’s themselves. They were singing about the desert and their lifestyle and were accompanied with an instrument that looked a little like a lute for a few minutes.
In the afternoon we went to a location called Little Bridge and also one called Big Bridge. These sites consisted of rocks that were suspended slabs set into other supporting rocks. One was much higher to scramble up to than the other and also much wider and longer than the other. We also went to the location of the 'Chicken Rock', which looked like a chicken laying an egg – where Kearnsy made a great sand angle alongside it in the red sand.
We headed for 'The Sunset Place' where we scrambled up the rocks to sit on the edge of the sunset and watch as all the colours of a pastel rainbow kissed the desert goodnight and the sun tucked itself into bed. It was a moving experience as you could feel the desert take a sharp intake a of breath as it was just about to touch it and then a huge sigh when it dropped away behind the dunes – amazing.
Arriving at camp we were shown to our glamping tents with king sized beds and were welcomed with more tea. The tea we had been having was very sweet and delicious, consisting of cardamom, sage, cinnamon, mint and a small amount of citrus – yum!
Dinner was roast chicken cooked in the ground in a cast iron pot with Bedouin spices and roast carrots, potatoes, aubergines and a myriad of delicious salads also accompanied by Bedouin style rice and pita – seconds were definitely had!
The evening was spent with more music, singing and of course more tea. After that was finished we took a wander into the desert close by to stargaze for a while. A sky packed with a galaxy of stars – incredible!
