Wadi Rum, Jordan (with pics )

I have arrived in Jordan and in one sense it is a whole new world. Certainly there is the Middle Eastern ambiance, but the Jordanian spirit and countryside is hugely different.

We spent a night and half day in Aqaba and it is a relatively clean and modern port side city. We have a new guide, Rabie, who is very well travelled and educated, but once again passionately patriotic. He has lived in Australia and the USA, where he spent his formative years. He is young, fit and extremely knowledgeable.

Rabie led us into Wadi Rum, an amazing desert valley with timeless landscapes. We spent the night out there camping with a Bedouin tribe. We shared their lifestyle, for the main part, and then witnessed a spectacular sunset and sunrise before hiking the wadi and trekking, cameling and 4 wheel driving into deeper spaces. This has been a real highlight. My pics show me watching the sunset from atop of the second peak which I climbed on my own (that pic also shows the moon over top). The other pics are me camel riding in the Wadi and then 4 wheeling driving. Yes, that flag appears again and I will not let it alone. Proud little Aussie I am.

Tomorrow we trek into Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This city was carved into a chasm around 2000 years ago and is the main reason why I wanted to travel to Jordan. Wish me luck.

Love having pics again. I am going to include them in my Egypt Blog pages if you would like to re track.

This page is dedicated to the many Bedouin who are shaping new lives in Jordan while managing well some of the most beautiful environments I have been walking through.