We started our second day in Aqaba with a stroll through the city. It wasn't too cold, but the town was still sleeping. We passed some ruins, had a look at the Harbour and then walked along city beach. The beach was deserted with the exception of a glass bottom boat owner and a family. The sand was a bit gravelly and not that great, but the sea was beautifully calm and clear.
Back at the hotel we had breakfast with our Danish friend Dennis the adventurer, it was the usual spread of pita, hummus, jam, boiled eggs and cream cheese... We spent the morning relaxing and drinking copious amounts of coffee and tea, before meeting the group at midday to buy our drinks for the evenings celebrations, sampling the local ice cream on our way out.
It took us around an hour to reach wadi rum, the small town in the Jordanian desert. We saw small houses that some of the Bedouins now lived in. Very soon we pulled into our accommodation: Zuweideh camp. I was a little surprised that it was right there off the main road, I guess I was expecting something a little more remote that we might need to reach by 4x4... We had swapped camps and were not staying at the normal G Adventures camp, as Zuweideh camp was planning a New Year's Eve party, with music, and more people, so it was thought it would have a better atmosphere. Plus it had electricity.
The moment we stepped off the bus we felt cold and started putting more layers on. We were shown to our "tents" - they were all laid out in rows, with doors and beds. I was torn between being disappointed it wasn't more traditional, and thrilled to have a double bed and our own room. Lunch was served in a covered seating area - the usual suspects of a middle eastern meal, plus tuna salad. Lots of carbs as always.
Brian and Simon took the opportunity to kick back with a newspaper...
Then it was time for our jeep ride. We got dressed warmer, then saw that the "jeeps" were actually open bakkies/pickups with seats on the back. So we went back for more clothes. Then we had the brilliant idea of bringing a blanket with and went back for that. It ended up being the best decision ever, and Werner, Heather, Goshia, Simon and I were very grateful for it!
We drove off in three bakkies, the icy wind whipping around us. Soon we were off the road and driving in the sand, at some points the bakkies were almost racing which was exciting and then they sped down a dip which gave us a thrill! The desert around us was different to anything I had experienced before, every desert is unique and has its own beauty. Wadi rum was surrounded with beautiful rock formations in lovely colours, it didn't have dunes as such. The scenery was superb and we were enjoying our ride despite the cold.
Our first stop was some ancient "graffiti" left by the Bedouins. Apparently there are over 10,000 graffitis in the desert, left by all the different people that have been through this place. Ayman pointed out camels, oryx and Bedouin on horses in the images carved in the stone.
We drove further and came to a beautiful natural stone arch. Here we encountered a few other tourists and some camel riders. We drove around the corner and found another arch we had to ourselves. We climbed it for a great group photo and played around a bit on the rocks, enjoying the fantastic view.
The next stop was a high rock we planned to climb to watch the sunset. Ayman was keen to start the New Years celebrations early and was kind enough to share some vodka with us. It warmed us from the inside out. The wind died down as we sat on the rock and watched the sun sink below the desert horizon, the colours of the rocks around us beautifully changing to pink and red hues. Then we headed back in the dusk, snuggling under our warm blanket.
The view of the camp was beautiful as we arrived back, the rock formation behind the camp had many holes and niches and each had been beautifully lit up. A fire and a warm cup of tea was waiting for us and we relaxed and chatted. We were joined by small groups of Japanese and French tourists, we did eventually chat a bit to the French.
The food was taking a while so we moved onto beers and eventually Ayman called us together to witness the unearthing of the dinner. It had been cooked in a traditional Bedouin way, the meat and potatoes were layered in a large steel container and then buried in the ground with enough coal to slow cook it. It was Mansaf again, same as we had had in Petra, but not quite as nicely presented with the flatbread. Dinner was otherwise really good, and we also tried the Jordanian wine we had bought. It was quite nice, considering we had bought the cheaper bottle of St George. By "cheap" I mean 9 dinar = R180.
After dinner we relaxed, chatted and drank. Ayman had promised to take us on a night walk, and he didn't let us down. Around 10:30pm a group of us headed off into the desert. On the way we passed what seemed to be a desert "hotel", pumping its music but we kept walking until it was out of sight and earshot. The moon had not come up yet so the stars were pretty awesome. Ayman led us up a sand dune to the base of a large rock formation, and instructed people to try to find wood. The boys brought back whatever small dry twigs they could find and Ayman started a fire, he had brought a large kettle with him. The fire was a bit pitiful and we wondered if the kettle would ever boil, but he kept sending us out for more wood and persevered, and soon we were rewarded with cups of sweet hot black tea. Once the tea was done, we wanted a big fire so Ayman said we would be ok with wetter wood from the small bushes around us. Jay Jay went a bit overboard and brought back half a tree!
Back at the camp some shisha pipes were brought out and we moved to sit by the fire while we waited for new year. It was announced with a few small fireworks and we all counted down, toasted and wished each other happy new year! It seemed too early to go to bed so we decided to celebrate at least two more cities' New Years and made it to GMT. The music promised for the party never quite materialized, other than a guy playing guitar briefly, so we made our own and Simon and I DJ'ed with the selection on our phones. Some of us danced around the fire... All in all it was a really fun experience, and definitely a New Years we will never forget!
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