Today’s thoughts… 6 Mar 2024

After a more comfortable night’s sleep we got ready for the 15km or so hike to our final night of wild camping. Today we had a few sites to visit, starting with another rock bridge called Um Fruth which is the bridge you will see if you go on a day jeep tour. Luckily for us it was deserted when we arrived and we appreciated the view in the early morning sun.

I would like to say at this point that having the desert mainly to ourselves was a bittersweet experience. On one hand it felt like more of an adventure, the nine of us trekking for hours seeing nothing on the horizon but the odd jeep or camel, but on the other hand when I thought about why we were the only ones there it made me feel sad and a bit guilty. Tourism in Jordan is suffering due to the conflict in Gaza, and it was uncomfortable to think that while I was enjoying my experience thousands of people across the border were living in fear for their lives. With so many tourists staying away though, the locals were thankful for us being there as our tour fees and tips provided them with a wage and the ability to feed their families.

We continued our trek and along the way we admired the largest sand dune in Wadi Rum, rock inscriptions and petroglyphs that date back over 12,000 years and came to ‘Lawrence’s House’. It’s situated of the ruins of a Nabataean water cistern – all that’s left is a wall – but legend has it that Lawrence lived here during the Arab Revolt. The final part of the trek from Lawrence’s House to the camp location looked quite close but distances are very deceptive in the desert. Firstly, the going is quite slow because you have to slog through soft sand. Secondly, the rock mountains are really big and appear to be endless because as soon as you think you’ve got to the end of one you round a corner and see it goes on for another kilometer!

We got there eventually and caught the last rays of sun before dinner. It was really windy and we had to put massive rocks in the tents so that they didn’t blow away. I spent the night getting bashed in the head by the sides of my tent as the wind was that strong, and had to be very careful what direction I was facing when I went for a ‘wild wee’ 😂

Tomorrow would be our final morning in Wadi Rum before driving to Petra!