Saturday
In the desert, one wakes up early, willing or not ;) We want to do as much as possible before it gets too hot but the tent is turning into a sauna anyway. Our guide will drive us around the desert to show us a bunch of interesting places. The first stop is a natural bridge. We climb all the way up to enjoy the view. On the way down, I follow the guide’s example and I run down then jump for the last few meters and land in the soft sand. It’s a fast and efficient technique and of course I like it having some goat and monkey blood. The 2nd stop is also a natural bridge but not as impressive as the first one. However we have a much beter view on this very red and rocky desert. There are a few sand dunes and the guide brings us to one of them so we can try sand-boarding. You basically use a snowboard to go down the dune. Sand is not as slippery as snow clearly and you can only go straight. I don’t have my hiking boots and I’m frying my feet on the burning sand going up and down. I even have to stop every few meters going up to let my feet cool! The dune itself is very impressive. It’s a huge mass of red sand and climbing it allows realizing even better how big it is. This dune will be the last adventure of the boots of my guide, translator and favorite travel partner. May they rest in peace!
We then stop by a dried up Siq. It looks like a cut in the mountain because it’s so deep. We walk in it for a few minutes but end up blocked by fallen rocks. We turn around and go for tea in the nearby tent. After a short break, we get ready for the last attraction of the day – Lawrence spring. The site has ruins of different structures, nabateans writings and for the brave (and the ones equipped with hiking boots) the possibility to climb all the way up to see the hidden spring. There’s no clear way up and it’s in between hiking and climbing. The spring is easy enough to spot, there’s a tree growing by it and it’s the only tree around. The way up is steep and after the dune I’m was again doing cardio-training. It’s worth the effort though; the view for up there is great. Back down, the guide takes us back to the village and we say goodbye to him and the desert.
It’s now time for us to head back to Amman. I’ve got my place the next day and my student has classes. Of course we planned a few stops on the way back. We’ll visit two castles dating back to the crusades – Shobak and Karak. The first one is in the middle of nowhere on a site that was clearly begging to have its fortified castle. It’s built on a very steep hill, making it very complicated to attack. Guards with Saladin’s army uniform (and a cell phone is the boot!) welcome us and one of them will give us a tour of the castle. It’s all very classical, it has the church, the weapon room, ramparts and even a secret passage! The passage allows to go all the way down the hill to a secret exit at the bottom of the walls. I decide to try it up of course. It’s very dark and I only have my phone to light the way. There are 20 real stairs at the beginning but after that it becomes slippery things vaguely dug out of the rock. I almost crash a few times on the way down but finally make it safe and sound all the way down. As advertised, there’s a spring down there and I surprise a group of volunteers cleaning it up. I decide to go back up by the same way. Going up is more climbing than anything else but it’s less dangerous than going down. Back in the castle, I surprise my interpreter and our guard that were expecting me to come back up by the road.
Leaving Shobak, we head north again and arrive in Karak some time later. This time it’s a town with a huge fortified castle in it. At the entrance, we’re told it’s closed… but after talking with them a little bit, it’s not closed anymore… opening hours are not fixed things in Jordan. We have a great view of the city and the valley from the castle. Just like in Shobak, the buildings in the castle are literally built on top of each other. There’s a well preserved covered market, huge stables, etc… We take our time visiting; after all it’s our last visit of the road trip and we don’t want it to end. Back in Amman at night, we have one last restaurant and yet another mint lemonade. My plane is early the next day; the lady has classes and her Mom’s visit to prepare.
I went to Jordan by chance but it’s a great country to visit. There is a lot of history and lots of possibilities for adventure. A week is barely enough even though we got to see lots of things. I’d like to go back to Wadi Mujib and hike the long version of the Siq trail; I’d like to spend more time in Dana and maybe hike from Dana to Petra; I’d also like to spend more time in the desert. To enjoy the peace, the rhythm of the desert, incredible sunrises and sunsets, the views,… another time I hope. It’s was our first trip together Mar and I and I’ve got the feeling it’s the first of many ;)