Aqaba and the Bedouin Sleep over.

Our trip out of Egypt was a long and arduous task.  We had to take a ferry from Nuweiba Egypt to Aqaba Jordan.  The ferry itself was only 1 1/2 hours but getting on the ferry was the hard part.  Our bus arrived at the ferry at 12:30 so that we could get our Jordan visas and clear security.  Security, did anything but make us feel secure.  Guys with machine guns everywhere all staring at us all the while shouting for us to hurry up, get going, move along.  After we cleared through customs we entered the main hall where we were supposed to sit and wait for the ferry.  The ferry was scheduled for 2 p.m. departure but in the 14 years our tour guide has been working he has never seen it leave on time.  As soon as we entered the main seating area the whole room started staring at us.  It was terribly uncomfortable especially for us women.  Said knew that this would happen so he bribed the police to allow our bus to come into the terminal in order for us to sit inside of it instead.  Good thing because the ferry didn't leave until 5:00.  The ferry itself was great, very clean and comfortable. We were sad to say good bye to our guide, Said, but he is not allowed to come to Jordan with us due to visa restrictions. 
We arrived in Jordan right on time and were quickly picked up by our guide Abraham, just outside of the ferry.  To clear customs in Jordan we walked through 2 doors then put our bags through a scanner, then poof, we were done.  It took about 5 minutes to get all 15 of us through. 
Jordan is NOTHING like Egypt.  It is clean and modern.  We all were awestruck by how lovely the town of Aqaba was.  The drivers stay in their own lane, no honking or screaming, it was just such a shock.  We thought we were in for more of the same but Jordans main industry is tourism and you can tell they are trying hard to make people happy. 
We only had the evening in Aqaba then we were off to Wadi Rum to go to the Bedouin camp.  The Bedoin people live in these camps year round. 

The huts are all made from goat hair.  We all had our own hut or we had the option of sleeping outside but frankly it was just too cold out that night to do it.  The plan for the day after arriving was to go on a 4 hour desert trek in jeeps.  This was so much fun!

We could have just gone for 2 hours but we were told that we would miss some key sights and the 4 hour tour meant we would watch the sun go down in the desert.  No one wanted to miss out so we all headed out around 1:00.  The scenery in the desert is beathtaking.  I never thought the desert could be so beautiful.  We drove through sand dunes and raced around each other (there were 3 trucks) and after about 1.5 hours we came around a rock with hieroglyphics carved into it.

 These were warning signs and signals that they left for other Bedoins (or Nomads) coming this this area.  We stopped only for a minute or two because about 5 minutes drive away we were to stop for tea in another Bedoin camp.  These people are have made a living out of serving tea and selling trinkets to tourists.  It was all very strange but very cool at the same time.  We were served tea made from sage, cardamom and cinnamon.  It was delicious and everyone said it reminded them of turkey dinner.  The owner of the camp played his rubaba and sang for us. 

Back to the jeeps and we are off for more bopping around in the desert, giggling with delight the whole way.  Our mission in the desert was to find a Bedoin cistern so we could see how they manage to get and keep water for months at a time.  They carve a well out of the sand stone that is about 8 ft wide and make a series of channels that run down the mountain into the well.  These are still used today and there are dozens of them all over the desert in Jordan. 

The next thing on the ride was the great sand stone arches naturally carved into the mountain.  We all climbed to the top for the photo op.  Such an amazing place!  We had to make a couple of stops on the way back in order to gather fire wood.  Our guide and drivers made a fire and tea for us to watch the sun go down.  The whole experience just seemed surreal but this whole trip has felt that way really. 

Back at the camp our dinner was just about ready to be served.  They had made us lamb, chicken and potatoes, all cooked in the ground like a New Zealand Hangi.   We were welcomed into the Bedoin camp where again they played music and sang while we inhaled our dinner.  After dinner there was a big bon fire in the middle of camp where they had Arabic music playing.  After a little help from our friend Johnnie Walker we all found a little liquid courage we all got up and danced the night away.  The whole day was incredible and those perma grins were back on our faces once again.  They turned the generator off at 10:30 so it was absolutely pitch black.  It was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. 

Oh, I should mention that someone in our group had asked our guide if he ever sees poisonous snakes or scorpions. He said yes, but not at this time of year.  It is much too cold for scorpions and snakes.  Our friend Cheryl went into the bathroom just before dinner and came out with her camera and said, "What does this look like to you?"

 It ran across the floor in front of her when she was on the toilet.  This caused much commotion in the camp.  I should mention that is an extremely blown up picture of the scorpion, he really was just a baby.  Very little in fact.  After our guide and one of the Bedoin's killed the scorpion I said to our guide, "don't baby scorpions have mothers?"  Too which he added he could not lie.  "Yes, but she is probably sleeping"

Another absolutely fabulous day!  On to Petra...