Red Sand

Jordan. Red desert. Bedouins. Camels. Petra.
Such a wide away of amazing experiences.

Friday (May 2nd) morning we made the trek to Eilat to the border crossing, and into Jordan. We had a general plan of what we wanted to do, with advice from friends who had already ventured that way.

Our taxi driver was very friendly, but sketchily so. When we told him our plans he took that to mean that he would organize our trip for us. This created a lot of confusion, frustration, and distrust as he arranged for rides we didn't ask for, but had to pay for, etc.Anyhow, we asked to be taken to an authentic Bedouin Camp in the Wadi Rum Desert to spend the night. What we were told would be 5 Jordanian Dinar for the night, dinner, and breakfast, turned into 25 Dinar as we were taken to a tourist "Bedouin camp." While not exactly what we expected as our Bedouin experience, we made the most of it and had a great time. We sat and relaxed while drinking tea for the afternoon. I got to ride a camel - much like riding a horse. My camel was a rare white, wise, and gentle camel...while the others were feisty, and even kicked the boy leading us in the leg. While the boy recovered, we saw the sunset over the desert mountains.

Night gave way a huge party of dancing around the bonfire with Jordanian students. It should be noted that only the boys (and the 4 of us Americans) were dancing, putting on quite the show for the women. And man, they could shimmy 100 times better than I ever could. Dinner was taken out of the ground - chicken that had been cooking under the sand for 2 days. Who needs a grill when you are in the desert? de.li.cious. I then slept out under the stars after being maliciously attacked by bugs in the tent.
We headed to Petra bright and early the next morning. Honestly, it was everything I expected it to be. I heard stories, and saw pictures of little people in front of huge structures (note me sitting in the Monastery in the above picture). Nevertheless, it was beautiful. The red rocks that the buildings were carved into gave it a little extra something. The walkway was lined with souvenir stands - a little annoying if you ask me. Two of the group stopped to have tea with a couple of Bedouins, while the other two of us continued the long climb up to the Monastery. There was the option of taking a "taxi" (a mule) up, but we decided to use our feet. The view once we got there was amazing, and the shop at the cliff viewpoint was playing Bob Marley - which was amazing and obviously called for a dance session.

We hurried down the mountain, taking the obligatory silly photos, in order to catch a cab to cross the border before it closed. I never thought I would be so happy to be crossing back into Israel. It was a mix of amazing sites, and being taken advantage of as a tourist. But we enjoyed it, and made it back in time to see the sunset over the Red Sea in Eilat.