Where We Be
Time to change drivers! Our guide offers me the chance to drive the jeep through the shifting sands of the desert.
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The House of Lawrence has a gorgeous view
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Notice how the leaves and stems of these plants are all covered with specks of sand
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Lawrence of Arabia is said to have used this Nabataean structure
during the Great Arab Revolution as a place to store weapons
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Wadi Rum, Jordan -- Jeep Tour
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Our guide prepares a traditional dish for us called fuul -- fava beans served with
olive oil, chopped parsley, onion, garlic, and lemon juice -- but no nice chianti
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We also enjoy this tuna, tomato, and cucumber appetizer
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We awake to this lovely view as the shadows begin to grow longer
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The mountains cast long shadows as we get underway again. It's about 4 pm -- what a pretty time of day!
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Goats come traipsing through our temporary camp, gobbling down the leftover orange peels from our lunch
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The Red Sand Dune is aptly named
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Climbing the sliding sands to the top is a real challenge in the heat. I run back down, which
apparently is expected of tourists. Afterwards I empty each shoe of about a gallon of red sand!
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View from halfway up the dune
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Numerous inscriptions cover the rock face, including petroglyphs of camel caravans and desert warriors
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View out the back of the jeep
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Our first stop is Khazali Canyon, a slot canyon once used by the local Bedouins to rest in the shade
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The narrow canyon walls contain many petroglyphs. Our favorite is this impression of two small feet.
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Our guide strolls back to the jeep past gorgeous desert scenery
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The flat-faced vertical slab of rock in the distance is the site of the Anfashieh inscriptions
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These free-range camels are heading for a distant drink of water
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We love the fact no one is leading them -- they're making their own way through the desert
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What a picturesque sight! One of our favorite moments in Wadi Rum.
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Enjoying every moment of our desert safari
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Our old-fashioned jeep has a hoop-shaped canvas covering in back
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We spend two hours in this quiet and beautiful place eating and resting on a mat in the shade
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Our guide prepares lunch for us during the hottest part of the day
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This camel takes himself for a walk to a distant watering hole
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Wadi Rum is Jordan's second-most popular
attraction after Petra and for good reason. It's
the dramatic setting for numerous Hollywood
movies, and there's just something romantic
about the idea of spending a night in a Bedouin
tent under a starry sky. There's also something
appealing about getting to explore one of the
world's great deserts not only by camel but by
jeep. By camel is fun for the sheer novelty of it,
but a jeep tour lets you range further afield and
see the best the desert has to offer.
We particularly enjoyed our jeep tour because
at each stop we could get out and wander to
our hearts' content. This let us experience
different parts of the desert in a relatively short
period of time. As soon as we met our guide, we
could tell from his relaxed pace and soft way of
speaking that we needed to slow down our own
tempo. Everything about his manner said, Don't
rush, take your time, you're in the desert now
where life isn't so hectic. "Sunset is a long way
off," he told us as we were getting ready to go,
so we simply let ourselves relax into the
moment and enjoy each stop along the way.
Then it's time for a nap. We're both happy about that!
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