LANGSTAFFS ON TOUR

egypt from camp site in Aqaba		bedouin in desert		sand, no cement!

wadi rum

rog on the dead sea

mud glorıous mud

Aquaba, Jordan. Tuesday 14^th Feb

Today is our 4^th day in Jordan our 12^th country, also Valentines Day. Having made it easily through the Saudi border (no questions asked like why have you overstayed your visa), we had what weve accepted to be the usual hassles at the entry post. Inability to communicate and the reluctance on our part to spend money on taxes and insurance seem to exaggerate the situation. Trying not to dwell on the fury of it all, we drove a few kms further on to our present spot on the beach of the Red Sea at Aquaba- a national marine park. Surprisingly and pleasingly camping is free, with cold water, electricity, access to the coral reef and the company of snowbirds (from Germany and Holland) who have driven away from Europes extreme winter. Mind you, the sea is too chilly for me, though Rog has taken the plunge looking at fish, a sunken army tank and a shipwreck. By night, the temperatures drop to around 8 C, by day mid 20s max. Aquaba town itself is 12 kms up the road and has a great selection of supermarkets, internet cafes (mostly down tho!), shops, cafes, money changing facilities and tourist shops (a first on this trip). No wonder our neighbours have been here for over a month. With stories of snow in Greece and Syria, we might feel inclined similarly! So we have spent lazy days here with the usual washing and cleaning, collecting firewood from the beach, cooking a large tuna, chatting to the cheerful locals and watching the sun go down over the Egyptian hills opposite. In fact its quite a novelty- as I write this now; I can see all the borders of Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia and Jordans.

Saturday 18^th Feb Wadi Rum N 29, 29. E 35, 23

Wadi rum, only an hours drive from Aquaba, is a desert of mountains and rose red sand made famous by the film Lawrence of Arabia. The massive rocky outcrops rise up to 1700 metres from the plains at 1000 metres. Vast emptiness and silence, except for the occasional Bedouin in their 4x4s (yes really), dwarfs us into insignificance. Bedouins live here amongst the canyons in their goat hair tents with camels and goats, eking out a living from tourists by selling tea, coffee, meals and camel treks. It is a harsh life at this time of year- temperatures drop to freezing at night, as we found out to our perilbrrrrrr. By day, out of the wind and in the sun, it becomes warmer-about 20 degrees. We spent 4 days here- tucking Zebedee and tent into a draught free canyon at night- before succumbing to an empty fuel tank and so back tracked our steps to Aquaba. Most of Wadi Rum is a playground. 4x4s manouvre up and down sand dunes, and rocky ledges- which even I did a little of. By default I discovered I was a dumbo at navigation, so Rog and I swopped seats and I went back to playschool, whilst Rog directed. Once wed deflated the tyres quite a bit, our damaged 4 wheel drive coped with intermittent use and we only got bogged down in the sand once. Anxious to keep fit-and warm up- we chose the highest sand dune to climb up- see photo. Amongst the rocks we found old inscriptions, water springs and footprints of Ibex and wild cat. Again, we had to question how and what they survive on here. So by day we played whilst at night we struggled to keep warm by cooking over a fire, eating three courses and snuggling up into our sleeping bags with clothes and hot water bottle! Then it was off to Aquaba for a clean up and to replenish fresh food, fuel supplies and warm up.

Monday 27^th Feb In the mountains above Petra N 30,21 E 35, 26 Petra (the rose red city) is a huge archeological site hidden from the outside world for centuries, amidst mountains, and now only accessible to tourists by foot or mule. Tombs, temples, streets and shops were carved out of solid rock between 1BC and 3AD by the ancient Arabic tribe of nabateans. A truly magnificent place which we managed to access by an alternative route. The extortionate entrance fee and large number of tourists + our sense of adventure, gave us incentive to look for another entry point. We spent an entire day viewing the surrounding mountains and dry water courses which was well worth the fun and planning. For 3 nights we camped against craggy rocks on the edge of a plateau about 700 ft above Petra where we were fortunate to listen to the howl of wolves again. On the second day (with beautiful weather) we managed to climb 3kms down a steep rocky ravine through multicoloured sandstone, leaving the high cliffs behind us. At the bottom we sneaked into a coffee shop unchallenged by the guides, toured the whole site (about 4 kms) and then returned up the same gorge. There were plenty of equally beautiful, tho simpler rock caves for Rog to explore on our return journey. This adventure was one of our more meaningful days of our trip. The only soul we met up the ravine was a shepherd and his flock of goats who sold us a few ancient coins that hed found over the years. It has been 10 days since our last diary entry. In that time weve spent another 6 in Aquaba-shopping, snorkeling, eating fresh tuna, and chatting to the French, German, Hungarian, Dutch and Swiss fellow travelers. Alas all good things had to come to an end, so we forced ourselves to press on. On route to Petra we returned to WadiRum for an overnight stay, using our GPS to navigate us across the dunes so bypassing the entrance gate and fee! This was successful, but only after deflating the tyres again. However a walk the next morning wasnt. We set off for a stroll without water, rainwear, food, GPS or compass, despite our combined experience of 109 years! All canyons and dunes look the same, and of course we got lost. Fortunately the wind hadnt blown, so we finally found Zebedee by retracing our footprints in the sand. Whoops! A lesson to be learnt! Wednesday 1^st March - 1300 below sea level on the Dead Sea Picture us- sitting on the edge of the dead sea- its aquamarine colours twinkle and dance against the salt laden rocks on the shore. There is no one in sight- besides hordes of flies- the distant shores of Israel peek through the heat haze. It is too good to move, so we shall call it a day early, collect firewood and read, watching the watery sun set over the sea. Earlier today we found the lowest spot in the world, well away from any settlement and paddled our way through the mineral rich mud found along these shorelines and packaged for the worlds beauties. Squelching, Rog was reminded of Friskney Marsh, whilst I took the plunge and massaged the mud into my face, hands and feet! It is impossible to describe the softness of my skin after wed succeeded in washing it off. So impressed were we that we called into a small factory further along and asked if we could buy some packaged. Typical of the Jordanian hospitality, the management gave us tea and after a long friendly chat, we purchased at a 10^th of the retail price, some mud that had been sterilized and packaged nicely. Apparently there is a huge market for the stuff in USA and Europe. A little later we found this paradise and lunched on hot bread from our engine with salad, before taking the inevitable dip into the Dead Sea which has 10 times the salt content of the Med. It was so buoyant we floated easily whilst reading books- more for the statutory photo than enjoyment. Twas novel tho!! Ouch. Warm and soothing, the sea is apparently rich I sodium, potassium, magnesium, potash, bromine and others am not sure of. All this health has left me glowing- how can I package up some for you lot? Exiting Jordan Sat 4^th March Our journey from the Dead Sea to the border with Syria took us along the Jordan valley- very lush, producing colourful fresh fruit and veg- quite a contrast to the dry rocky south. Bedouins cultivate tomatoes galore- even in salty water. Elsewhere, water had been hard to get- we were charged 1 GB pound at a filling station when filling a container of 15 litres. Rog was mortified. We wanted to see the Jordan River itself, but as it also borders Israel, we were turned back by the Military time and again. One camp even made us tea while they went through all the formalities- “where are you from and what are you doing here.” Giving up we turned to the hillsides, finding a nice sheltered spot to camp for the night. Fed and watered, we were just climbing the ladder to bed when 4 locals appeared out of the dark. Our fright quickly turned to relief as the owners sat down to chat. Over a cup of tea they begged us to sleep in their houses!! Agh. We compromised with agreeing to go to lunch the next day with Ahmed. A retired general in the army and a political scientist, he was extremely well educated and fluent in English. He, his Wife and 12 children, spoiled us completely for a few hours. It was only a former engagement of Ahmeds that bought our stay there to an end. Their hospitality and generosity will not be forgotten. Welcome to Jordan is the cry from the heart. Jordan is a truly wonderful country- exceptionally warm welcoming people: divine varied landscape- sea, mountains, desert, monuments, lush valleys and nature reserves. Basic English is spoken more commonly than Saudi, European women are more accepted (I still took care to cover up). Roads are tarmaced everywhere which makes traveling much easier (you go off into the desert for thrills!) Diesel is a snip at 18p a litre. Temperatures are variable- very cold at night in the mountains, warm and sunny by day-and in the Dead Sea, balmy days and nights. All in all, a holiday destination we would urge any independent tourist to try out. Jordan is small, car hire is available, making a 10 day to 2 week trip possible. Come now before things change. Locals complain about the high cost of living (food at European prices, wages at 3^rd world level. Local foods of falafel, Arabic flat bread and humus are of course reasonably priced. Most other foodstuffs are imported, though widely available. Taxes are high, medical care and education has to be paid for. As people get poorer and poorer, crime (unknown to Muslims) will unfortunately become a problem the locals say. In our three weeks here we have not spent anything on accommodation, camping out in the wilds without any bother from locals. Only once did we have a run in with the police and army, but it wasn’t too serious. Goodbye Jordan and thank you for such a wonderful holiday.