Wadi Rum

Hey everyone.  Sorry for so long and no new news.  Well back in November Gabe and I went down to Wadi Rum which is a desert wilderness area here in Jordan.  It was amazing!  I grew up in the deserts of New Mexico and so that landscape is forever in my blood. 

We went with a local tour company for a three day and two night adventure.  The first day we met our local Bedouin guide and two German guys who were in the group with us.  The first day we jeeped all over hitting some of the major highlights in the Rum.  That night we stayed out in the desert in the Bedouin camp and had a great traditional meal cooked there.  The next day we went with our guide to one of the higher peaks in Wadi Rum.  Was a pretty simple hike up to the summit and from there we looked over the border between Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  That day thunder storms were moving through the area so we had some amazing views!

As dusk arrived the guide took us out to a specific spot to watch the sunset.  I convinced him to let me drive us and let me just say it was a blast!  There are no roads.  Just jeep tracks out in the desert and sand.  Taking some of the turns on the sand was more than a little fun.  Thankfully we arrived safely to our spot and had a great view of the sun setting over the expanse of the desert floor.

That night it was back to the camp for hot tea with local herbs, warm fire, and really interesting people.  Each night in the camp travelers from all over are coming and going.  In our two nights we talked with the local Bedouin guides, and then folks from Germany, Australia, Canada, Ireland, England, I think Spain, and another country I'm not sure.  The interaction with so many cultures each night around the fire and local food was as much an experience as the exploring, sight seeing, and boulder scrambling of the day.

The next morning we had camels awaiting us for our ride out of the desert back to the main village.  I will say I am glad we rode the camels out.  I will also say I don't plan on ever riding a camel again.  Not comfortable and not very friendly from what I saw.  All in all a wonderful trip, so glad I was able to go.  I put some pics up on the pages section so check them out. 

By Bus and Paddle Boat

This last Friday I went down to Aqaba with two of my coworkers.  It was a full day.  We left at 8 am and didn't arrive back home till 2:15am.  We took a bus from our home town down south to Aqaba.  Aqaba is Jordan's only port city sitting on the Red Sea.  Check out the pics I posted on the pages section.  It is a beautiful area with low mountains surrounding the water.  The city also had a bit of greenery which was a refreshing change.

I am not sure we did our math too well because we ended up being on the bus for over 11 hours roundtrip and only down in Aqaba for about 6 hours.  All the same we made the most of it with a great meal of a local specialty fish called Sayadea, it was really good.   Then down to the beach and taking paddle boats out onto the Red Sea.  Then we headed up into the town and did some shopping and found some yummy smoothie like drinks with fresh local fruit.

Oh and my bus ride did include a free Arabic tutoring session.  I had my Arabic book with me and was going over the alphabet and basic words.  A young boy on the bus came over with interest in what I was doing and then helped me in correctly pronouncing the words.  I would read it as best I could and then he would correct me.  

Quiz Results

So for how the streets are named.  16th, 26th, and 36th are all named based on their width in meters.  So nothing as intriguing as prophetic omens or lucky numbers but I thought it was interesting when I learned.