Day 8: Petra - Wadi Rum Desert
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Today we have already started the day badly and perhaps this is the reason why the rest of the day has come out half crooked. After having breakfast at the Petra Palace Hotel we have been waiting for the taxi driver we hired yesterday after boarding the Altar of the Sacrifices of Petra, for almost half an hour and no trace of it, so we had to go find another one, almost running for Arrive on time to Wadi Rum. After a few minutes at the end he told us that for 28 dinars he took us to the desert and today is our turn sleep in the desert of Wadi Rum, one of Jordan's most famous enclaves and one of the experiences we most wanted to live on this trip to Jordan for free.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Jordan
- 10 essential places to see in Jordan
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Jordan
Surrounded by incredible landscapes we have made the trip from Petra to Wadi Rum in an hour and 3 rooms or so in which the taxi driver has not stopped talking on the cell phone for a single second, something that we are seeing, is very common here in Jordan.
We arrived at Sunset Camp, owned by Mohamed, highlighted in the Lonely of Jordan as the best Wadi Rum camp and an incredible site for sleep in the desert of Wadi Rum.
After this day, at this point, we have to totally oppose this guide, when the truth is that it has always been a reference in our travels.
After offering us tea at home, we tell Mohamed that for the next day we will need a taxi to take us to Aqaba, our next travel destination and he tells us that there is no problem, that he will call him and that for 20 dinars they will take us to the hotel in Aqaba, in a journey about 70 kilometers or so.
Comment that 3 months ago we had contracted with them, by email through their website, a private 7-hour jeep circuit, plus sleeping in their camp in the middle of the Wadi Rum desert, for 50 dinars per person.
It turns out that a little private, to say nothing, because when we realize we are in a 4 × 4 with 4 more people.
For not discussing and trying to spend the day in Wadi Rum the best possible we spend a little of the subject and say nothing.
After a few minutes, we stop at a place where the driver tells us to take food at the store, which is also from Mohamed for noon and that dinner and breakfast will be made directly to us at the camp. We just have to pay for drinks.
Once this is done, we move on to a new 4 × 4. Broken front glass, no interior glass can be raised, the crank is broken and only a small piece of metal remains, broken mirrors. Details that could be ignored, if it were not why the jeep that was initially private for 2, is really for 4 people and we are going 6. So we are like the canned sardines that we have taken to eat.
But as we said before, we try to take things as anecdotes and not give it too many laps, so we relax as we begin to tour the desert, making our first stop in a canyon, where we make a small walk.
Canyon in Wadi Rum
We must recognize that Wadi Rum landscapes They are spectacular, it is the point that saved this day and the food they made at the camp, which was really good.
Wadi Rum Desert
Camels in the Wadi Rum desert
Another of the stops we make in some giant dunes where we enjoy not only the views but also the descent, making it at full speed to avoid burning our feet.
Sand dunes in Wadi Rum
After these stops, we make a small kat kit, this time to have some teas with some Bedouins that we crossed in the desert with some camels and who know the driver.
Having tea with some Bedouins in the Wadi Rum Desert
Another of the most spectacular stops is a stone bridge that allows you to cross it, but very carefully, both once you are up and then down the rock, since it has a lot of slope.
Stone Arch in Wadi Rum
The summary of the desert tour is 7 hours from one place to another, without any explanation of any kind by the “guide" Lucky that the landscape is incredible and get us to forget a little where we have gone and have the guide to try to discover where we are going and stopping.
Wadi Rum Desert
We arrived at the camp to sleep in the desert of Wadi Rum about 5 in the afternoon and there "let us go”, Without telling us where the dinner will be, or anything at all.
It is we who have to go asking what our jaima is to leave things and be attentive to see how the evening is going on.
La jaima, it's pretty good, we can't expect great luxuries either and the truth is that we don't have any complaints about the poor cleaning, that the truth is that there was 🙂
Interior of our sleeping accommodation in the Wadi Rum desert
Our accommodation in Wadi Rum
Sunset time arrives and we move away a bit from the camp to enjoy a sunset in the desert of Wadi Rum amazing, which makes us forget the rest of "discomforts"that we suffered during the day.
Sunset in the Wadi Rum desert
After this wonderful sunset we approach the store where dinner will be served, where we listen to some Bedouin music and then have dinner a series of dishes that have prepared us that are very good.
At 10 pm we are already in our store, surrounded by thousands of stars, ready to sleep in the desert of Wadi Rum, an experience.
Wadi Rum desert camp
We close our eyes without even knowing what time we have to get up, or what time we have to leave. Tomorrow we will find out.
In short, the organization of this camp has been unfortunate, at least for us. It has been saved by being in the place it is and this has made us forget the rest a bit.
We recommend that if you want to spend a day in the desert, watch all the ends before hiring any tour.
Day 9WADI RUM - AQABA
