After meeting up with Wael after Petra, he began to tell us stories and historical facts about our next destination: Wadi Rum!
I promptly fell asleep.
Soon after waking up from my car siesta, we arrived in Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is a huge wadi, or valley, cut into granite and sandstorm rock. Although I heard it was quite similar to some views in Utah, I was still really excited to see it.
When we arrived we were introduced to Abu Radi, who was going to guide and drive us around the Wadi. He was a cute old man that didn't seem to speak very much English, but who smiled a whole lot!
We climbed in and got ready, a bit puzzled as to why Wael had asked us to make sure to wear a scarf (I chose not to listen).
I was actually not surprised once we started going as it is a desert. With sand. And wind. Now I understood why we would need a scarf. Oh well!
We stopped to take a look at some of the ancient carvings on the rocks as well as some camels.
As you can see, the dust was pretty thick in some areas.
Soon we came to a huge sand dune. Wael challenged us to make it all the way to the top. Although I wouldn't exactly call myself the most athletic person, I began to run up.
I must say, running in the sand uphill isn't as easy as I was expecting.
Although Christina and Larisa wimped out, I made it all the way to the top!
I will say- I was slightly more winded than Cheryl was.
Slightly.
The view from the top was breathtaking. Do you ever have those moments when you just sit and realize that this is probably one of the most amazing things you have ever done?
Cheryl and I sat for a while talking about how just about 24 hours before we were on top of this sand dune in the middle of Wadi Rum, we had been wrangling 20 children in a classroom.
And then we ran down.
We also attempted to climb our way into a tiny gorge.
But when I saw that this was the way in, I said la shukran once again.
After exploring in the desert, Abu Radi informed us that it was time to have some Bedouin tea. There are still bedouins (nomadic people) living within Wadi Rum and Abu Radi is one of them.
He occasionally stopped the car to gather some sticks for a fire.
While he began the fire to heat up the tea, we headed up on top of a rock.
Hey down there!
We sat on the ground and had some tea.
Cheers!
Abu Radi and Wael told us stories about Jordan while we sat around, basking in the views.
We took some pictures with our guides before heading back to our main car.
It was sandy...
and windy.
We had a short four hour drive back to our hotel in the Dead Sea. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was around 11 o'clock. Our short day trip ended up being 17 hours long. On the drive back, we got to see glimpses of Egypt and Israel, as well as hearing about how much Wael loves Bryan Adams.
The next morning, we got up and crossed off the third item on our list- swim in the Dead Sea!
The rumors are true! You really do float!
We were warned to be careful of any cuts (not even to shave our legs beforehand!) as the water is so salty that it will sting. I was worried because I am a nail biter, but I didn't feel anything. After a while, the back of my scalp started to sting a bit, but I am not really sure why.
There is mud on the beach that you can slather yourself in.
So, yes, you float, but sometimes it's even hard to stay up.
After we started to feel too salty, we headed to the pool
to get some drinks!
After getting some drinks, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the spa. First, we got scrubbed with Dead Sea Salt, then wrapped in Dead Sea mud, then a mud facial, and massage. Afterwards, we headed back to the airport.
After the spa, I was no longer tired or sore from the day trip the day before.
While leaving Jordan, I truly did feel as though the weekend had been much longer, although there is still so much to see.
Jordan- I will be back for you!
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