Jordan Days 6, 7 & 8: Wadi Rum & Aqaba

After sufficiently baking in the sun and dirtying our belongings exploring Petra we set off for a two-day overnight adventure in the desert valley of the Wadi Rum. Upon arrival I soon realised we would definitely be throwing up the white flag to cleanliness. And any efforts to empty our contents of sand collected during our Petra visit before we embarked for this next leg was a complete and total waste of time. Out in the Wadi Rum you quickly learn that the desert sand is king. It's not worth fighting and you quite literally learn to go with the flow.


We bade a temporary farewell to our friend and driver, Hasan, piled all our luggage and hopped aboard our sweet desert wheels with our Bedouin hosts for the next two days. Our ride was pretty deluxe; it had a canopy! These desert vehicles were some of the most run-down vehicles I've seen. Breakdowns seemed common, and stopping to help your fellow desert dweller on a breakdown no matter what is just part of the desert dwelling code. I can only imagine how these engines must constantly be at war with the sand.










Our first day our Bedouin guide took us on a tour of the highlights of the Wadi Rum. Driving deeper into the desert I became fascinated with this landscape.


As I began to photograph it I was struck with how changeable the landscape was. A slight turn and one scene would transform into another that hardly resembled the former. Taking two shots from the same perspective in the vehicle seconds apart yielded vastly different image compositions. I was captivated by these dynamic murals of the desert. Driving through was something like watching a dance as the scenes morphed from one to the next. I'm wondering if you would have to stay here for a lifetime before the landscape would stop changing and start looking like itself.




At one of our stopping points I flipped through a few of the photos I had taken thus far out on the desert to see how happy I was with the exposures I was making (hard to decipher in bright sun in a bumpy vehicle). I was then taken by something else interesting. While the landscape itself was ever-evolving, the colour of the sand was also ever-changing from one moment to the next. There is in fact some variation of the actual colour itself, light brown to deep orange red. But I began to discover that the vast majority of the change in coloration I was seeing was actually due to the angle of the sun compared to the angle of view. As the sun's angle changed or as my viewing angle changed, so too would the colour. I could then capture the same desert sand from differing vantage points to render wholly different colours. So while at first glance the desert here may appear to be a pretty collection of sand dunes and rock formations, I soon learned that there was much more to behold. Subtract all plant and animal life, and it is still yet a living desert.




We stopped to play on two sand dunes. The kids had a blast tumbling down the dunes.






Taking a call for work atop a sand dune in the middle of the desert in Jordan. Can't say this is the strangest place or time Scott has taken work calls.
























Sandals would really have been a better choice.




Our Bedouin guide. Our overnight in the desert gave us a real and intimate glimpse into this ancient and ongoing way of life. Bedouins are often stereotyped as constantly wandering the desert in search of water and food for their flocks. This is only partly true. Only a small portion of Bedouin can still be regarded as true nomads, while many have settled down to cultivate crops rather than drive their animals across the desert. Most Bedouin have combined the two lifestyles to some degree. Those Bedouins who still practice pastoralism will camp in one spot for a few months at a time, grazing their herds of goats, sheep or camels until the fodder found in the area is exhausted. They make very few concessions to the modern world, like the vehicle our Bedouin guides use for tourist transport. Most of all the Bedouins practise a very open and hospitable lifestyle. Visitors are greeted with tea service at every turn and offered the finest of traditional Bedouin cuisine.










































Taking a sheltered break from the sun at one of our stops we turned around a few minutes later to find Trevon playing in the sand. Only he wasn't just playing with sand. He made a pretend birthday cake out of old "sigrettes." We just had to laugh.


Tuckered out, for the moment












Look it's Arches National Park! Actually we were struck by how much Jordan resembled southern Utah.












Climbing up on "Delicate Arch"











Day one on the Wadi Rum culminated with tea service on the desert plains. Other guides and their guests from our camp gathered at the same location for tea and a beautiful sunset finale.








It was here that Trevon started on the path to becoming a Bedouin. Without solicitation Trevon gathered fire materials and helped build the fire.


Soon he was one of them! This kid continually takes me out of my social comfort zone, but I love it! I love how open he is, how easily he talks to complete strangers, how interested in others he is and how confident he is. I am constantly being approached by people who note the something special in this kid, and the Bedouins were no exception. They were ready to adopt him by the end of the night.












Nightfall around the camp brought a whole new feeling to the desert. Under the full moon and stars surrounded by interesting strangers from all the corners of the earth who had all gathered in this spot to experience this place, the table was set for dinner. The Bedouins prepared a traditional meal baked in a subterranean oven covered in sand.


Relaxing by the campfire Trevon engaged the Bedouins in pillow fights and generally entertained the entire camp. We were the only family there with children, but I felt totally at ease with my rowdy bunch. We had a lovely time chatting with Americans living in Kuwait, Australians on a round-the-world trip, Indonesian BFF's on a girls trip, others from the UK and French folks who we learned at one time lived up the road from us in Palo Alto. Traveling always teaches me one thing: it's a small, small world.


Without my tripod I tried (in vain) to capture something of these midnight moments on the Wadi Rum.


Super stoked about the sleeping conditions, dirty, hard and stinky!




The moon




Morning campers! After a very uncomfortable night on a rock hard "mattress" sleeping in smokey, sandy clothes, I was desperate to get the heck out of the desert. Sand in every nook and cranny, and it really starts to get to you! Shower stat!




We bade farewell to our fellow campers at first light and jumped into our jeep to meet our final desert experience . . .


Apparently Dallin hadn't had his fill of animal rides. So we finished off our Wadi Rum visit with a one-hour, rump-bruising camel trek out of the desert. Sounds WAY cooler than it really is. I HATE camels. And with every swaying step I counted down the minutes. But the kids loved it, so it was all worth it!







Our final two days in Jordan were spent in the resort town of Aqaba on the Red Sea. Adjacent to Eilat, Israel and with views over to Egypt and into Saudia, Aqaba has a very unique position. At this stage in our trip we had two objectives: a shower and relaxation. So that's just what we did. After quarantining our smokey, sandy clothes into one bag that "shall not be opened until we get home" we hit the showers and hit the pool. And this would conclude our Jordan travels before the 4-hour journey back to Amman and our final hotel stay before heading to the airport to fly home to London.


Our view out to the Red Sea and Egypt from our hotel in Aqaba


The second of only two photos I took in Aqaba :)


And finally our family with Hasan, our driver, host and friend. I cannot say enough about Hasan and how he truly made our trip the remarkable experience that it was. We owe every wonderful moment to this man. We loved Jordan, and weeks after this trip I am still finding red sand in our things. And it makes me smile.