A cloudy and cool morning greeted us, the first one in our trip which isn’t bad since it is 18 days since we left Vancouver. Our first port of call was Wadi Rum, the desert valley of the moon where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed, and where the great man himself had a cave. It is also where Errin believes that the lunar landing took place, but we didn’t find the exact area……she is quite the conspiracy theorist! We didn’t spend as long as we would have liked in Wadi Rum but we had a tight schedule and at least we got a glimpse of its beauty. Our jeep, despite its appearance (held together mostly by duct tape!!) did not get stuck and got us there and back in one piece. A brief stop in Aqaba, a very busy port that is right next to Israel and is on track to become the 2nd largest city in Jordan. We picked up some freshly made delicacies for lunch and then drove back toward the Dead Sea for our nature reserve adventure at the Wadi Mujib Nature Reserve. This is reportedly the Jordanian equivalent to the Grand Canyon, a claim we are unable to substantiate since it was closed!!!! Apparently there was something up with the dam and we could not go, which was a big disappointment but what can you do? Something to come back for, I guess……like we need an excuse.
Off to the hot springs at Ma’in which are located more than 200m below sea level. It is not like anything we are used to – a huge waterfall of hot water cascades down pummeling you as you stand underneath with occasional splashes of cooler water that is rather refreshing. And you are sharing this giant bath/ shower with a large number of people. Since modesty is what this country is all about, Errin and I wore tops and shorts over our swim suits, but most of the Jordanian ladies were wearing their traditional garb and that must have weighed a ton when wet! It was very relaxing and a good way to end our trip into Jordan.
Since the Turkish Airline flight to Istanbul departs at the unearthly hour of 3.30am, our wonderful guide invited us back to his home for dinner so we were treated to a traditional Jordanian meal prepared by his lovely wife, Ruba. We played with their two rambunctious boys, Zaid (5) and Qais (2), who are an absolute delight but exhausting!! Our meal was called moqloba, a chicken dish with rice, cauliflower and other interesting ingredients. Delicious!! Stuffed and happy, Mohammad drove is to the airport and we said our goodbyes to a new friend. This trip has been truly enriched by all the fantastic people we have met – we are very lucky girls!
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