Massif desert landscapes

The other big event of our Jordan adventure was a two day tour of Wadi Rum. This is the place where lots of Lawrence of Arabia was filmed and nearly every bedouin landmark has been renamed "Lawrence's something-or-other". Even some things that had nothing to do with him. Watch out for the Lawrence Theme Park in 2020

The area covers miles and miles in every direction and so the best way to see the main beauty spots it is in a 4-by-4 and there are dozens zipping about the place but it's so big you don't really notice them and there are only one or two vehicles at each site which was a relief. Depending on the sand that makes up the massifs (biiiig mountain sized rocks) you get different coloured ground sand in different spots, from red, through orange, to white. So we spent the day being driven through a vast sepia style landscape punctuated by these towering massifs all day to stop off and climb up a dune, or visit a spring, or climb over a rock bridge. We stopped off in a remote place to watch a picture perfect sunset and then were driven back to a camp in the desert to catch up with the 10 or so people who were sharing our site.

The next day we had arranged to be taken hiking so we were driven to the saudi border to walk the Kasche mountain ridge. We were trailed by four german hikers/climbers with dodgy bellies so we joined forces at lunch. Two of these young PhD students had just got engaged not two days ago at Petra by Night...we were there I'm glad now we decided not to hang back to the very end as advised and therefore ruin their moment

We left them at lunch time and were driven out to walk some dunes (cue some arty photos of wavy wind blown sands and distant massifs) and bother some roaming camels. On the way back we had some minor drama pulling a german retiree out of the sand after he'd tried to ride his huge motorbike out into the desert to camp for the night.

And I did finally get to ride on a camel at the 11th hour. I just love them. They're surprisingly affectionate and they have smiley faces and squooshy feet. When you're on top of one though you can appreciate how much of a walking desert machine they are. We felt just like the three kings on the front of a christmas card as the stars were coming out over the silhouette of the mountains behind.

I don't think the photos we took would really do the scale justice though so I think I should look for a coffee table book of Jordan when I get back.

After Dana, Petra and Wadi Rum we're feeling a bit dry round the eyes so to speak and so are looking forward to spending a few days by the Red Sea in Aqaba next.