92 Camels, 15 4x4s, and Infinite Stars....what a life!

A day in the life of… T.E. Lawrence. Yep, that was definitely me this past weekend. The setting for Lawrence of Arabia: Wadi Rum. Desert and mountains and stars and beauty…what more could a guy ask for. (All right, I can think of a couple things, but roll with me here.) Wadi Rum is probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve been too yet.

Wadi Rum is actually a valley in the south of Jordan and is inhabited mainly by local Bedouins and a couple camels. Catered mainly toward tourists though, this site is a huge financial gain for the region. Even so, it really is beautiful. It is very much preserved and offers an exquisite view of nature.

The trip was organized by my program, so 92 of us piled onto 2 buses last Friday and hauled out down South to Wadi Rum. We began with a four hour jeep ride through the valley stopping at various locations to check out the gorgeous rock formations. It was hilarious as our 15 trucks would all stop at some point, we would scramble out, and 92 of us would attempt to scale a sand dune or rock wall. Looking out into the horizon and seeing nothing but desert and mountains (and maybe a electrical tower) was so overwhelming, yet peaceful.. We grabbed sunset on a rock and then proceeded to our final destination for the evening: the Bedouin tents.

Ok, so maybe just a tourist destination, but still, we slept in tents with Bedouins (that counts, right?). Ate some great Bedouin food and entertained by a little Bedouin oud (kind of like a guitar) and dancing. A little later on, a few of us ventured out of the compounds of the camp and climbed a huge hill to get a better view of the stars. All in all a great night. A few hours later, I proceeded to wake up at 5 am to climb the same hill to watch the sunrise. I have never felt so cold, but yet so content before.

After a couple more hours of sleep and a refreshing breakfast, we left the camp and were greeted by 92 angry camels. Yes, those camels were ours. 92 camels waiting to take us trekking through the Wadi...for 3 hours. Yes, that means riding a camel for 3 hours straight. Not the most relaxing way to travel (I’m still feeling my inner thighs three days later), but definitely an experience to remember. It was an awesome feeling to look back and see a caravan of camels riding through a barren valley.

So, all in all, a pretty great weekend. I’m still exhausted, shway under the weather, but much more in tune to the beauty that surrounds me.

Next week, a recount of volunteering at a Palestinian Refugee Camp and more weekend adventures.

Out.

CIEE-ers overtaking the mountains of Wadi Rum.

A great view of the valley and mountains. Beautiful...ech?

Another picture of the Wadi.

SUNSET!

92 Camels...yep that's right. Can't do that back in the states!