Jordan, Day 1: Lawrence of Arabia

The day started with a quick tour around Aqaba harbour and fort. It was possible to see the much larger city of Eliat, Israel off in the distance. From there it was off to Wadi Rum to spend the day/night with the bedouins. We went for an offroad tour of the desert. It was quite a long tour, unfortunately it was in the back of an open Toyota Hilux in the middle of a sandstorm. Bouncing around, getting sand in your face, your teeth, everywhere, little visibility; I thought it was fun, great, and miserable all together. The others, however, did not share my level of enthusiasm. True, it would have been nice to have clearer weather. The desert and the rocks were really beautiful to see in those rare moments when you could see. Then, back to the camp for a lazy afternoon and a nice dinner. Sleeping in the tent was better than the felucca, but not by much. The cots were a bit uncomfortable, especially the pillows which felt like sandbags. Eventually, I left to sleep outside for a while, which was a really great thing. There were more starts that you could possibly imagine and it was beautiful.

Pics from around Aqaba are here.