Our second stop in our southern itinerary was Wadi Rum. Keep in mind, when viewing the below, that between the six of us, we took about 800 pictures. So, I was very restrained, really, in what I included in this post.
We spent the day jeep touring through Wadi Rum. Our first stop was Ain Abu Aineh, a spring that has been used for centuries to water caravans. It was here that Susan discovered my pants were ripped...good times trying to find somewhere private in the desert wilds to change your pants.
We then headed to the red al-Hasany sand dunes, which almost killed us. We climbed up at about 2 in the afternoon, at the peak of the heat of the desert. Little known fact: climbing up a sand dune in sandals means the burning hot sand gets in between your toes and shoes, making it pretty much as painful as climbing up barefoot.
A few of us made it all the way up. Several were smart and stopped halfway up. One of us collapsed on the journey and had to be nursed to health with wet cloths and gatorade. The run down the dune and pouring out of sand at the bottom was worth it, though.
A quick stop at al-Qsair aka Lawrence's House, the small building constructed on top of a Nabatean cistern where T.E. Lawrence was rumored to have stayed, allowed me to (finally) change my pants. Then we were off to Burdah Rock Bridge, one of three natural rock bridges in Wadi Rum proper. This one was on top of a massive cliff which, supposedly, you can climb without equipment. After our near heat stroke experience of the sand dunes, however, we elected to move on.
The next stop was supposed to be a quick and easy stroll through a small sand-filled canyon. Our guide neglected to mention the stroll included climbing up a giant rock fall, difficult given we were carting along a small baby. With some pushing and pulling, we made it through and moved on to the Umm Fruth Rock Bridge. Several of us scrambled up to the top and experienced the thrilling joys and terrors of vertigo. There's something horrifying about walking across a narrow slab of rock, knowing that the ground is 100 feet below you and there's nothing holding you up but tension.
Our last stop of the day was at the "cow" rock. Which looked more like Pikachu than any cow I've ever seen.
Then off to our desert camp. We brought our own equipment so got to have some fun choosing a campsite, setting up tents, and eating a little dinner, before playing frisbee in the last rays of the setting sun. Turns out I'm much better at catching the frisbee when the game doesn't involve the word "ultimate".
After the sun set sufficiently and the stars came out, I learned how to take pictures at night. It involved flashes and ISO's and flashlights in strategic locations and lots of sitting still. Ohhh man, did the stars make it worth it. I've never seen so many in one place. The Milky Way was enormous, stretching across the sky. There were so many minor stars, I had a hard time picking out the Dippers, much less the rest of the few constellations I recognize. We lucked out and got the earliest arrivals from the Perseid Meteor Shower, peaking on 10-11 August this year. I love watching those stars shooting across the sky and I still wish on every single one.
We spent the day jeep touring through Wadi Rum. Our first stop was Ain Abu Aineh, a spring that has been used for centuries to water caravans. It was here that Susan discovered my pants were ripped...good times trying to find somewhere private in the desert wilds to change your pants.
Next, we stopped at Jebel Khazali. We could only hike about 100 yards into the canyon before it became rock-climbing territory. But there were some incredible (and incredibly weird) Thamudic and Nabatean carvings in the portions of the canyon we walked through. The outside face of Jebel Khazali also looked like a giant had put down his brown crayon and forgotten it, leaving it to melt in the desert sun. We stopped outside Jebel Khazali for some lunch and continued on our trek.
melted crayons
he's still the best bottom dancer I've seen
feats of strength
and more feats of strength, both in the stone and in life
fighting over a safe rock, afraid of Tremors
lunch!
We then headed to the red al-Hasany sand dunes, which almost killed us. We climbed up at about 2 in the afternoon, at the peak of the heat of the desert. Little known fact: climbing up a sand dune in sandals means the burning hot sand gets in between your toes and shoes, making it pretty much as painful as climbing up barefoot.
A few of us made it all the way up. Several were smart and stopped halfway up. One of us collapsed on the journey and had to be nursed to health with wet cloths and gatorade. The run down the dune and pouring out of sand at the bottom was worth it, though.
right before a near collision
so much burning sand in my shoes
running up
falling down
recovering
We proceeded on to the Anfaishiyya inscriptions. According to our bedouin guide, these carvings, of a camel caravan, were to notify travelers coming through that they were on the right track and reassure them this was safe territory. An ancient GPS, if you will.
so impressive, even our guide took pictures
desert traffic jam
one seriously happy camper
cairns for Lawrence
so glad we didn't climb up
helping Kiya and Crew over the rocks
the whole gang
scary rock bridge
even scarier - flipping on a rock bridge
scrambling down
Our last stop of the day was at the "cow" rock. Which looked more like Pikachu than any cow I've ever seen.
pika-chuuu!
Then off to our desert camp. We brought our own equipment so got to have some fun choosing a campsite, setting up tents, and eating a little dinner, before playing frisbee in the last rays of the setting sun. Turns out I'm much better at catching the frisbee when the game doesn't involve the word "ultimate".
our humble abode
A man, his frisbee, and the setting sun (with Venus rising!)
After the sun set sufficiently and the stars came out, I learned how to take pictures at night. It involved flashes and ISO's and flashlights in strategic locations and lots of sitting still. Ohhh man, did the stars make it worth it. I've never seen so many in one place. The Milky Way was enormous, stretching across the sky. There were so many minor stars, I had a hard time picking out the Dippers, much less the rest of the few constellations I recognize. We lucked out and got the earliest arrivals from the Perseid Meteor Shower, peaking on 10-11 August this year. I love watching those stars shooting across the sky and I still wish on every single one.
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