Wadi Rum
The past few days have been indescribable. The most amazing thing I did was go to Wadi Rum. I have wanted to go to Wadi Rum for a while now but there are no busses and it is difficult to get to. Well, fortunately, another volunteer had friends visiting from the states and arranged a trip for us all to go.
We got to Rum in the morning and had a 4 hour Jeep tour of the area. The Wadi Rum desert, most famous for being the home of Lawrence of Arabia, is so vast that in the whole 4 hour tour… we only ran into another tour group once. It truly is like nowhere I have ever seen before.
Then we came back and took an hour camel trek. I had not been on a camel yet so this was also another first. A camel is fun to ride (quite tall) but man, getting on and off is no easy feat!
That evening we went to a bait shahar (traditional bedoin goat hair tent) and camped out under the stars. The volunteers on the trip actually decided we didn't want to sleep in the "comforts" of the tent and, instead, took the farshas (mats) up the hill and slept on the top of a cliff. Let me just tell you, when we got up at 5am the next morning to watch the sunrise over the desert… well, nothing will ever compare.
I got back home and another volunteer had a cousin visiting her and she was staying at the Movenpick in Wadi Mousa (one of the 5 star hotels) so I am down for the afternoon visiting her and relaxing by the pool.
All and all, a great few days. As for the wadi rum trip… I have uploaded a million pictures and videos. One in particular that may be of interest. In wadi rum we hiked up a very tall, steep sand dune. Well, once at the top of a tall, steep sand dune… I know of only one fun way down… BARREL ROLL!!! So there is a great video of me rolling (like a sandy idiot) down the sand dune… might want to check it out!
We got to Rum in the morning and had a 4 hour Jeep tour of the area. The Wadi Rum desert, most famous for being the home of Lawrence of Arabia, is so vast that in the whole 4 hour tour… we only ran into another tour group once. It truly is like nowhere I have ever seen before.
Then we came back and took an hour camel trek. I had not been on a camel yet so this was also another first. A camel is fun to ride (quite tall) but man, getting on and off is no easy feat!
That evening we went to a bait shahar (traditional bedoin goat hair tent) and camped out under the stars. The volunteers on the trip actually decided we didn't want to sleep in the "comforts" of the tent and, instead, took the farshas (mats) up the hill and slept on the top of a cliff. Let me just tell you, when we got up at 5am the next morning to watch the sunrise over the desert… well, nothing will ever compare.
I got back home and another volunteer had a cousin visiting her and she was staying at the Movenpick in Wadi Mousa (one of the 5 star hotels) so I am down for the afternoon visiting her and relaxing by the pool.
All and all, a great few days. As for the wadi rum trip… I have uploaded a million pictures and videos. One in particular that may be of interest. In wadi rum we hiked up a very tall, steep sand dune. Well, once at the top of a tall, steep sand dune… I know of only one fun way down… BARREL ROLL!!! So there is a great video of me rolling (like a sandy idiot) down the sand dune… might want to check it out!
posted by Ryan at 6:29 AM
2 Comments:
Ryan,
Here are some Peace Corps / Jordan blogs that I have found. If you know of any others that I have missed please let me know. Thanks!
-Mike Sheppard
RPCV / The Gambia
www.journeyacrossafrica.blogspot.com
==
http://andrewsinclair.blogspot.com/
http://www.bengm.com/
http://www.geocities.com/kellyinjordan/
http://www.geocities.com/ryan_in_jordan/
http://jessica-in-jordan.blogspot.com/
http://ryan_in_jordan.blogspot.com/
http://truebluemuppet.blogspot.com/
==
hi ryan,
i've really enjoyed reading over your posts. i'm (hopefully) in the last stages of medical clearence, and will soon be receiving an invitation (nomination to morocco or jordan). learning about your experiences and seeing your beautiful photos has really re-energized my medical-clearence-weary soul.
anyway, i don't want to oblige you into a correspondence that you're not interested in, but i was wondering how i could read your posts from the first year of your service (if that exists).
would you shoot me an email at nathanwebbherrington@yahoo.com? i'd appreciate it.
nathan
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