Our time in the desert ended with a 5am wake up call. For Jason's birthday I was giving him a hot air balloon ride over the desert and that meant an early start. The sky when we woke up was amazing. The nearest lights were hundreds of kilometres away, the moon had set and there was not a hint of dawn. The night sky was filled with stars and the Milky Way shone above us. Unfortunately when we got to the balloon the pilot decided it was too windy to fly.
After some consideration we decided to stay at the horrendously overpriced hotel, Bait Ali Lodge, from where the balloon trip left and try again the next day. Unfortunately the next day the weather was even worse so we won't be doing the hot air balloon ride, and I have to find another present for Jason.
During our day at Bait Ali we met a lovely family from Copenhagen who were also planning on doing the balloon trip and then heading to Aqaba. The father, Peter, was great fun and generously offered us a lift for Aqaba. In truth I think he wanted the company as his two teenage children stuck ear phones on as soon as they got in the car and refused to talk to him. He was very well travelled and we had great discussions about various places in the world. When discussing Tasmania he mentioned he had a friend, Mary, from there who was always saying great things about it. Later in the conversation it turned out that this friend was actually the princess!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Wadi Rum
The most common way to explore the desert is with a jeep tour followed by a night in a Beduoin camp. Camel rides are also popular. We, on the other hand, had signed up for a 2 day trek with some scrambling involved. Now we didn't actually have much idea what 'scrambling' was in the Jordanian sense, but we were soon to find out.
Our first walk was through a canyon, or at least that's what we were told. I have this strange idea that canyons have two steep sides and a flattish area at the bottom that you can walk along, or a river may flow. This wasn't that sort of canyon. When our charming guide, Abdullah, stopped the car we appeared to be staring at the side of a mountain. There were a number of cracks and fissures, but certainly no obvious entrance. Undeterred Abdullah pointed straight up one area and told us that's where we were going.
Within 15 minutes of climbing, scrambling and trekking up the slope our thighs were burning, we were out of breath and not quite sure why we hadn't stuck with the jeep tour. Scrambling apparently involved climbing walls that made us long for rock climbing shoes, and at times a rope would have been nice too. Abdullah liked to joke and tease us that we were about to head up particularly impossible looking rock faces, telling us we would have to climb like Spider-Man. It was for this reason that when we reached a point that the track most definitely ended, with a sheer drop of around 3m, and he made the same comment I chuckled quietly. Then he put his hands on the rocks on either side, of what now seemed a gaping chasm, and with arms and legs outstretched made his way to the other side. After swallowing the lump in my throat I decided to trust my body and follow suit. We quickly came to look forward to the Spider-Man cry as it undoubtedly led to something fun, and something we would never attempt without the guide.
Our next surprise was later that day on our way to lunch. He asked us if we would like to walk before lunch. After we agreed he pointed to a far off mountain, told us there was a canyon and that he would be in there. We were left somewhat dumbstruck alone in the middle of a desert with a vague idea of where to go.
This became the theme for the next two days, with either scrambles that he would lead us on or walks that we could do alone. The hike I had most been looking forward was up to a rock bridge. Given the difficulty of the previous days walks we were slightly apprehensive when he packed a rope that morning. Nevertheless we followed him up the mountain, quickly catching up to a Polish couple who were doing the same trek. It was just before the rock bridge that the rope was considered necessary as we had to ascend about 5m straight up.
When it was time to head back down we managed to convince Abdullah to take us the way that was "a little bit harder". Saying good bye to the Polish couple who were a little less comfortable with climbing and heights than us we ventured onto our new route. It was, indeed, a little bit harder. Then we came to a fabulous viewpoint. The mountain dropped away beneath us and the scenery was breath taking. At this point Abdullah pointed to a crack in the rockface below us and told us that was where we were going. Compared to the short climb we had used the rope for earlier this was mammoth! He pointed out where the anchor points were for using a rope, and then proceeded to make his way down the crack. For about 40m we carefully made our way down the cliff, moving one limb at a time and holding on for dear life!
Our first walk was through a canyon, or at least that's what we were told. I have this strange idea that canyons have two steep sides and a flattish area at the bottom that you can walk along, or a river may flow. This wasn't that sort of canyon. When our charming guide, Abdullah, stopped the car we appeared to be staring at the side of a mountain. There were a number of cracks and fissures, but certainly no obvious entrance. Undeterred Abdullah pointed straight up one area and told us that's where we were going.
Within 15 minutes of climbing, scrambling and trekking up the slope our thighs were burning, we were out of breath and not quite sure why we hadn't stuck with the jeep tour. Scrambling apparently involved climbing walls that made us long for rock climbing shoes, and at times a rope would have been nice too. Abdullah liked to joke and tease us that we were about to head up particularly impossible looking rock faces, telling us we would have to climb like Spider-Man. It was for this reason that when we reached a point that the track most definitely ended, with a sheer drop of around 3m, and he made the same comment I chuckled quietly. Then he put his hands on the rocks on either side, of what now seemed a gaping chasm, and with arms and legs outstretched made his way to the other side. After swallowing the lump in my throat I decided to trust my body and follow suit. We quickly came to look forward to the Spider-Man cry as it undoubtedly led to something fun, and something we would never attempt without the guide.
Our next surprise was later that day on our way to lunch. He asked us if we would like to walk before lunch. After we agreed he pointed to a far off mountain, told us there was a canyon and that he would be in there. We were left somewhat dumbstruck alone in the middle of a desert with a vague idea of where to go.
This became the theme for the next two days, with either scrambles that he would lead us on or walks that we could do alone. The hike I had most been looking forward was up to a rock bridge. Given the difficulty of the previous days walks we were slightly apprehensive when he packed a rope that morning. Nevertheless we followed him up the mountain, quickly catching up to a Polish couple who were doing the same trek. It was just before the rock bridge that the rope was considered necessary as we had to ascend about 5m straight up.
When it was time to head back down we managed to convince Abdullah to take us the way that was "a little bit harder". Saying good bye to the Polish couple who were a little less comfortable with climbing and heights than us we ventured onto our new route. It was, indeed, a little bit harder. Then we came to a fabulous viewpoint. The mountain dropped away beneath us and the scenery was breath taking. At this point Abdullah pointed to a crack in the rockface below us and told us that was where we were going. Compared to the short climb we had used the rope for earlier this was mammoth! He pointed out where the anchor points were for using a rope, and then proceeded to make his way down the crack. For about 40m we carefully made our way down the cliff, moving one limb at a time and holding on for dear life!
Petra day 3 - 20km
Aware that we had a two day trek in the desert coming up, we decided to take it a bit easy today. In hindsight having the trek just after Petra was not such a bright idea, but we hadn't realised just how much walking would be involved. It was around 9km round trip just to the start of the city, plus whatever walking we did from there. So, on the last day we climbed to the high place of sacrifice, without getting lost for a change. We did indulge our rock climbing fix once at the top, finding some nice bouldering routes.
Petra day 2 - 30km
Just as I was about to start this post I was loudly reminded of the fact that we are eating a lot of chickpeas which affect jason in a similar way to baked beans! Sorry, but it had to be said.
On our second day in Petra we got lost, again. After the early start the day before we enjoyed a proper sleep-in, getting to the entrance around 11am. Today's plan was to see the Royal Tombs and to get to see the Treasury from up above. The first tomb we came to was the Urn Tomb, from there the path we planned to take went left. But we saw steps going up to the right. Before we knew it we were again following the next set of steps carved into the rock 2000 years ago and the next and the next. At times the steps would disappear, but we would find a part of the cliff that looked possible to climb and head that way. Or we would become stuck unsure how to climb down an area, only to go the long way so we could climb up it and then climb down! We spent hours exploring the canyons and cliffs, always heading further up. Once we reached the top, we hoped that we were somewhere in the vicinity of the Treasury so we could get to see it from above. In an attempt to get our bearings we climbed to the highest point we could, and then scrambled along the ridges to try and find the viewpoint. After many meandering, scrambles, and occasional periods of vertigo we finally had a great view of the Treasury far below us and the viewpoint we were aiming for about half way between us and the Treasury!
On our second day in Petra we got lost, again. After the early start the day before we enjoyed a proper sleep-in, getting to the entrance around 11am. Today's plan was to see the Royal Tombs and to get to see the Treasury from up above. The first tomb we came to was the Urn Tomb, from there the path we planned to take went left. But we saw steps going up to the right. Before we knew it we were again following the next set of steps carved into the rock 2000 years ago and the next and the next. At times the steps would disappear, but we would find a part of the cliff that looked possible to climb and head that way. Or we would become stuck unsure how to climb down an area, only to go the long way so we could climb up it and then climb down! We spent hours exploring the canyons and cliffs, always heading further up. Once we reached the top, we hoped that we were somewhere in the vicinity of the Treasury so we could get to see it from above. In an attempt to get our bearings we climbed to the highest point we could, and then scrambled along the ridges to try and find the viewpoint. After many meandering, scrambles, and occasional periods of vertigo we finally had a great view of the Treasury far below us and the viewpoint we were aiming for about half way between us and the Treasury!
Petra Day 1 - 30km
Despite most definitely not being morning people we made the decision to get to Petra around opening time (6am) to have the Siq and Treasury mainly to ourselves, and that beautiful sunrise light. The gate opened at 6am as expected. The ticket office, on the other hand, opens when the first ticket seller gets there. It was suggested to us that this may be between 6:30 and 7, but there was no way for us to get in until then. After 45 minutes of waiting and watching the night give way to dawn the ticket office opened at 7am. During this time a herd of American uni students had turned up and they were not a happy group. We heard all kinds of grievances, fights and squabbles in the 20 minutes we all waited together. We therefore grabbed out tickets as quickly as possible and tried to get as much distance between us and them before entering the Siq.
We were mostly successful and got to enjoy having the Treasury to ourselves for a few precious minutes. The walk down the canyon and the first view of the Treasury were spectacular and exactly what you see in photos. The rest of Petra was totally unknown and unexpected.
Petra is absolutely huge. It's nearly 3km from the entrance to the Treasury and that is really just the start. Once you emerge from the canyon system it becomes obvious that there are hundreds, most likely thousands, of tombs and cave houses. Unsurprisingly we were soon lost.
Having passed through the main city centre we planned to go to the Monastery, which is the Treasury only much bigger and more impressive. It's only less famous due to the fact it's another 6km walk to get there, a large part of that directly up many hundreds of steps. As we got close to where the trail to the Monastery starts we noticed some steps, so we started climbing. We soon found ourselves in a very little trodden area with spectacular colours and shapes carved into the rock. We were continually drawn to the next tomb, the next shape of rock. The rock is amazing, with stripes of pink, white, yellow, black creating beautiful patterns. After an hour or more, we headed back down to the bottom of the mountain we were on to start the journey up the next mountain to the Monastery. This being the more frequented part of Petra we were soon bombarded with offers of donkey rides up to the top. The best of these was the offer of "taxi with free air conditioning!"
After 7 hours of walking we returned to our hotel (another 1.5km up the hill from Petra) to eat and rest for a bit. Just before 8pm we were again walking down the road to Petra for our opportunity to see it by moon and candlelight. Over 1500 candles were placed along the 3km trail from the entrance to the Treasury and 2 by 2 we walked along seeing the stone in a whole new light. Once we arrived into the main chamber with hundreds of candles providing a beautiful soft glow, we were seated, given tea and treated to traditional Bedioun music. Magic!
We were mostly successful and got to enjoy having the Treasury to ourselves for a few precious minutes. The walk down the canyon and the first view of the Treasury were spectacular and exactly what you see in photos. The rest of Petra was totally unknown and unexpected.
Petra is absolutely huge. It's nearly 3km from the entrance to the Treasury and that is really just the start. Once you emerge from the canyon system it becomes obvious that there are hundreds, most likely thousands, of tombs and cave houses. Unsurprisingly we were soon lost.
Having passed through the main city centre we planned to go to the Monastery, which is the Treasury only much bigger and more impressive. It's only less famous due to the fact it's another 6km walk to get there, a large part of that directly up many hundreds of steps. As we got close to where the trail to the Monastery starts we noticed some steps, so we started climbing. We soon found ourselves in a very little trodden area with spectacular colours and shapes carved into the rock. We were continually drawn to the next tomb, the next shape of rock. The rock is amazing, with stripes of pink, white, yellow, black creating beautiful patterns. After an hour or more, we headed back down to the bottom of the mountain we were on to start the journey up the next mountain to the Monastery. This being the more frequented part of Petra we were soon bombarded with offers of donkey rides up to the top. The best of these was the offer of "taxi with free air conditioning!"
After 7 hours of walking we returned to our hotel (another 1.5km up the hill from Petra) to eat and rest for a bit. Just before 8pm we were again walking down the road to Petra for our opportunity to see it by moon and candlelight. Over 1500 candles were placed along the 3km trail from the entrance to the Treasury and 2 by 2 we walked along seeing the stone in a whole new light. Once we arrived into the main chamber with hundreds of candles providing a beautiful soft glow, we were seated, given tea and treated to traditional Bedioun music. Magic!
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