Friday
After the amazing day we had yesterday, getting up is a little bit more difficult and we’re finally ready a little later than expected. The plan today is to do Petra by day. It’s very different by day. The shades we were seeing yesterday night are in fact tombs. In the Siq itself, we can see the water “pipes” on either side, dug in the rock. With the daylight we’re loosing a bit of the mystery but we get to see a lot more details ;) The treasury is as impressive by day as it is by night. The plaza is buzzing with activity with merchants, camels, donkeys (not tourists), tourists (not donkeys). The city is very much alive. We decide to start with a 1h30 hike (according to the guide) that goes up in the mountain. We’ll get to see lots of interesting things along the way and get some great views of the valley from high up. It starts with stairs, dug in the rock leading us up in the mountain. It’s steep and we have to stop a few times to catch our breath. It doesn’t help that the sun is high in the sky already. After an hour we arrive at the first sites. We first see two obelisks. They have not been brought here but they excavated the mountain to create them… crazy! It’s the way they use to do things in Petra. They lack the engineering knowledge to build big structures so they were happy with sculpting them out of the mountain. I can’t imagine how long it could take. All the way up, there’s a sacrificial altar, dug up from the mountaintop using the exact same technique. The advantage of their engineering technique is the resilience of the “construction”. It can withstand time without problem. The views of the valley from up there are amazing; the cliffs are very steep so we litteraly have the valley at our feet and it gives the impression to be looking at a miniature of Petra.
We struggle a bit to get back on the trail but we finally find it. We’ve been walking for a good hour already and we saw only a tiny piece of what we are suppose to see… we’re starting to wonder if the lonely planet lied to us! In the middle of nowhere we come across donkeys; it’s amazing how agile these animals are, we still can’t figure out how they got there. A few minutes later, we finally reach the fountain with the lion. The only thing that remains from the fountain is a lion sculpted directly in the mountain with the water shooting from one eye. After that, the hike is finally starting to go downhill, it gives us hope. The water level in our canteen is low, the sun is still high and we’re getting tired. We pass in a valley full of tombs and desiccated gardens before reaching the tent of a merchant. We finally understand where we are on the map and the lonely planet tells us we have one hour left to walk. We take a short break, buy water and get back on the trail. We’re hungry!!! But once again, the guide lied to us. 5 minutes later we’re in sight of Petra city and 5 minutes after that we’re sitting in a restaurant. What should have taken 1h30 took us more than twice that time…
Fed and a bit rested, we get back to visiting the site. We have the option to go to a part named the monastery. It’s supposed to be close by but we don’t trust the guide anymore so we decide to spend more time visiting Petra city. They did a great job restoring the site (3D puzzle). The city has 2 huge temples, a commercial street, thermal baths … like in Jerah, the “reconstruction” work helps a lot to get a idea of how it was back in the days. On the way back to the entrance, we’ll stop for a freshly pressed orange juice (delicious) and do some business with merchants (with negotiation!). In the part between the Siq and modern Petra we’ll laugh at tourists trying horseback riding. They get on the poor horse with the help of a ladder and once on it the show is even worse. It’s a compendium of everything not to do on horseback but it’s funny to watch.
Back at the hotel, we illegally use their bathroom to clean ourselves a bit before hitting the road. We have to be in Wadi Ram tonight, we booked a tent for the night in a Bedouin camp and plan on visiting the desert the next day. The trip is almost event-less. We come across another flock of sheep in the middle of the road. The shepherds are in no hurry to clear the road but our wait is made interesting by a male sheep who decides to have its way with a female one. It seems to be a complicated process and it’s fun to watch for us and the shepherds. Just before arriving at Wadi Ram we’ll be close to hit a dog on the highway. Scary encounter on a dimly lit road! Our Bedouin guide picks us up at the entrance of the desert and drives us to the camp. Driving at night in the desert is scary. You don’t see a thing and there are a million tracks going everywhere. I have no clue how the guy knows where to go in these conditions.
We’re the last one arriving at the camp and we’re the last thing standing between them and dinner. Most of the guests are Spaniards so we don’t really feel guilty; after all it’s super early to eat by Spanish standards :D We just have time to drop our bags in the tent and we go dig the food out of the sand! The cooking method in the desert is to put everything in a metal container; inside of it you have multiple “floors” to put all the food. Then the container is buried in the sand and coal set on fire on top of it. Lastly they put sand on top of the hot coals. It cooks for hours and it’s delicious!
After dinner, we go for a walk to enjoy the star filled sky. It’s majestic. The moon is not up yet and there’s no light pollution whatsoever so we see the sky like never before. We lie down in the sand to enjoy the show. After a few minutes, our eyes are used to the darkness and we get to see the Milky Way. It’s the first time I see it like that with my naked eyes. The sky is filled with countless starts and is only interrupted by the dark mass of the mountains. The one next to the camp is especially impressive. In this darkness, the moonrise feels like an invasion. The moon is almost full and we could guess its luminosity behind the mountains even before it rose. To add to this beautiful moment, we’ll be blessed with a few shooting stars. We’re tired and it’s getting cold so we head back to our tent. The next day will be our last day of road trip but as usual we have a lot on the agenda.