Sail in today is beautiful, coastline of desert – which we will be seeing a lot more of on our 6-hour Wadi Rum jeep ride in the desert with a Bedouin guide. While virtually the rest of the entire ship is going to Petra – we’re going to be out in the desert on our own.  Pure AAC protocol and we are loving it!

We get outside first thing – first ones off the ship and are directed right through to immigration.  Ed and I are separated, you can’t go through together – and thus begins a sweat inducing 20 minute immigration cluster you know what!  With me this time!  First off the guy asks if I’ve ever been to Jordan before – which I answer truthfully, yes, but its been a while ago.  He doesn’t hesitate, he takes my passport, calls over some other guy and sends me off to another line – which is handling all the crew getting off and going to Petra.  Ed, meanwhile is through and waiting.  What the hell?  We are supposed to give immigration our passport, they’ll put a sticker on it, and a matching sticker on our keycard, then immigration gives our passports back to the ship.  Ed has his sticker, but I’m stuck in passport hell!  I eventually have 5 immigration officers including the supervisor looking at the computer, moving to another computer, searching for God knows what, pointing, gesticulating, speaking Jordanian about who knows what and I’m clueless.  I’m just smiling – and being patient and nice because what else can you do?  I finally asked if there was a problem, and 2 of them looked at me and smiled and said, no, no problem.  Um, ok? Talk about stressful! They finally let me go, apologizing for the delay, but jeez. I was shaking! Even though they said there was no problem. I could just imagine a Jordanian jail! 😆.

Finally released, as we are walking out the door, Ed’s new $5 sunglasses snap in half.  Yeah, that was a good buy!  Talk about junk.  And we are now going to spend 6 hours in the desert.  With no extra pair of sunglasses in the back pack.  Uh oh.  So, outside we go to meet Abed, our driver, who was patiently waiting, even though he was an hour early.  He explains he is driving us to the desert and will turn us over to the Bedouin jeep driver and wait for us to take us back to the ship. We ask him if there is any way we can stop somewhere for a new pair of sunglasses.  He thinks about it, calls a couple of people, and says we’ll just drive through the city center and see if anyone is open. He is worried it is too early for us to find any shops open and said he would let Ed where his sunglasses if we couldn’t find any.  What a sweetheart!

We proceed into town, which is a hodgepodge of little streets with tons of shops, every single one of them closed.  This may be ugly.  Eventually Abed finds a store and goes in with us – because, as he explains, if he is there, they will give us a good price, otherwise? Tourist price.  Yeah, we understand that from Egypt!  We end up with 2 great pairs of glasses (one of which Abed picks out) for $10 USD, so all is well and we can proceed to the desert.

On the way Abed tells us more about himself, he was born and raised here, has has 7 children including 2 sets of twins!  All are grown with grandchildren that, as a any proud grandparent would be, he is very proud of and of whom we were shown pictures on his phone. As well as his son show is also working for the same travel company, but as a booking agent. He was so sweet. He stopped at a shop for water – a 12 pack of 500 ml bottles, saying we’ll need that in the desert, and some excellent Mango juice.  Yum.  As we get further out of Aqaba proper, Abed shows us his house up on a little ridge with an excellent view of the city and the harbor. As we continue our drive to the desert, he plays videos on his in-dash computer – one of Jordanian music, and one of Egyptian belly dancing!  We might have missed it last night, but we get to see it today, funny! Further out, Abed points out granite rock – and the different colors and striations in the mountains around us – as well as some of the peaks out in the distance in the desert.

We drive an hour to the desert, stopping at the visitor center for our box lunch which he deposits in the back seat with us, then onto Wadi Rum village where he turns us over to Ayed, our Bedouin guide who will have us for the rest of the day.  Ayed is maybe 30, cute and sweet.  He deposits us in the back of his thankfully covered (some were not covered – just wide open to the sky) jeep,  and begins our journey out into the moonscape. Holy guacamole. This is like nothing you’ve ever seen! Miles and miles of nothing but sand and mountains – oh and camels.  Wow!

Our first stop is at the place they call Lawrence spring (Lawrence of Arabia, that Lawrence) where there is an underground spring way up on the cliffside where a tree is growing.  Ayed gets us out of the jeep, shows us the tree, gives us a little explanation and tells us to climb.  Oh, ok!  Let’s do it.  Except, on 2^nd thought, let’s not!  Holy crap – this is real rock climbing as in there is no path, you just have to make your way up this rocky steep cliffside.  We don’t even get 30 feet up before we decide, nope, broken ankle isn’t worth it! Look at the picture where I am standing in the sand lot at the bottom of the cliff.  See that little green smudge of a tree way up high? See the rocks and boulders strewn in between?  Yeah, we’re not climbing that!  A bunch of hardier souls than us are up there, and that’s fine.  We’re happier here at sea level.

We spend some time walking over to the Nabatean Temple, looking at the hieroglyphics carved into the rocks, take some pictures of the surrounding area, including the camels all over, then collect Ayed and hop back in the jeep.

We just can’t get over this landscape!  Our next stop is the big red dune that Ayed once again says, ‘climb’!  I’m remembering the Greek captain on a very early Celebrity cruise who used to sit upstairs in the lounge with us and tell us to “dance, dance!”  It was the only English word he knew!  We follow instructions when ordered – so climb the huge red sand dune we do!  The strenuous climb – because of the sand, it’s a slog! – is worth the views.  Once up top, we can climb up on the rocks overlooking the desert floor with stunning views out into infinity.  Look how high up we are!  Awesome!

Back in the jeep, we drive for a little bit to the Khazali Canyon which has this great rock formation at the edge that looks like a king – with his face, prominent nose, wearing a crown.  Then inside the canyon, there are all sorts of inscriptions and what they call “rock-art.”  The canyon is just a narrow fissure with all these carvings and inscriptions and petroglyphs with animals.  Totally cool. And the canyon does narrow way down into a skinny little fissure that I brave through crawling along this ledge to get to the end with a little pool of water and the sunlight streaming through the canyon.

Walking back to the jeep, Ayed points out where the red sand meets the white sand.  The white sand is created from the water that runs off these cliffs here and from the underground springs. It only reaches so far, and then the red sand begins.  Sweet.

Riding along to our next stop, the promised sandstorms start to blow in. The weather report had predicted strong winds and sand – and they are not wrong, here they come!  We’ve never seen anything like that either – and being in the back of a totally exposed jeep, we have to take care with our hats and glasses that they don’t get blown out – and our exposed bodyparts – when that wind and sand hits, it’s torture!  (Which, as you can see in all these photos is why I wore my actually glasses and not contacts today.  I can’t even imagine the pain with sand in my eyes and contacts!)

I don’t even know if our next stop had a name – it may have, but all I know is Ayed again says climb, this time giving us instructions to go up the stairs.  Ok, well, in for a penny, in for a pound.  Up we go on these 3 cut – or worn – rock stairs to this little ledge we have to scramble over to reach a plateau that then has more worn cut outs to navigate.  Ed stays below while I try my best impression of a goat!  Dang, how do those goats do this?  It is kind of creepy, scary, but also super fun.   I mean, I could use some crampons and ropes!  This is real rock climbing!

Up here you can really see the sandstorms rolling about the desert.  And you have to hold on to everything up here – which is why I left the hat in the car and opted for the scarf.  Not that it stays on my head or helps much, but its something.

Down from our climb, Ayed takes us into one of the Bedouin tents that dot the landscape at the tourist stop places, giving us some really good tea (actually) that is made right on the open fire pit below where Ayed is relaxing in his plastic chair. He makes it look so comfy!

Back out in the desert again, we ride along for about 20 minutes before stopping at another rock outcropping which we dutifully climb.  There is only so far you can go before needing crampons again, but I manage to scramble up to a flat outcrop where people have built hundreds of hoodoos.  They are fabulous – and make for absolutely great photos!

Back in the jeep, the sandstorms are picking up and swirling around us.  We’re getting really good at seeing them coming, and then ducking behind the cab of the pick up to hide from the worst of the sandblasting.  It’s brutal!  As we get further along in our drive, you can barely even see any tire tracks from other vehicles – either we’re all alone out here, which could easily be, or the wind is erasing every last trace of tracks – which could be as well!  You just have to put trust in Ayed who was born and raised here and knows these deserts like the back of his hand…hopefully!

Stopping at the mushroom rock, we wander around it, and then out into the desert all on our own – without a soul around, climbing up on a one of the flatter boulders for a birds eye view across the desert  – and Ed so teeny and little so far below! We try for a selfie – but as you can see the wind is picking up and it is all we can do to hold on to our hats and the phone! 

Taking shelter in the Bedouin tent/restaurant/coffee shop/souvenir shop, we ask Ayed where is a good place to eat our lunch, and he says, well here.  Ok.  We’re good. It is about time, we’re out of the wind and as a bonus, while we eat, Ayed gets to eat with the others here – a traditional Bedouin of rice, goat and yogurt, all mixed together with their hands while crouching and sitting around the communal serving platter.  This is real Bedouin life here!  Our meal suits us fine – a banana, a veggie wrap, a chicken wrap, peanut toffee sort of snack, water and orange drink.  Perfect for us.  Except for the flies – oh god – they were so annoying and everywhere!  You’d think they wouldn’t survive with all the sandstorms, but obviously they just populate and multiply inside these tents!!!

Back in the jeep and back on the road, we are now seriously the only vehicle anywhere around as we cavort across the desert, passing rocks that look like faces and hiding from the sandstorms that whip themselves around us. The jeep climbs up this steep hill where Ayed stops at the apex for a panoramic view out over the desert and another area where the red and white sand meet.  He takes a few pictures of us as the sandstorm swirls down below us, Then we hop back in the jeep for the ride down the big slope in really deep sand.  Ay yi yi!  Our fingers are crossed we don’t end up pushing the jeep out of some sand dune!

Driving through more miles of nothing but desert, and the occasional overnight camps that dot the landscape (in a way it would be cool to stay in one of these camps overnight – just to experience the emptiness and the silence and the stars and night sky.  But then again, nah.  Maybe not!). 

A few minutes later, Ayed stops the jeep and says, “there’s a canyon over there, you can walk through, I’ll meet you on the other side. You can take water.”  Um. Ok.  Oh God!  It was truly a little narrow canyon with awesome rocks and sheer cliffs, and absolutely no one else around.  Walking through it was amazing, until we hit this rock slide like area that completely blocked our path. Are we going the right way?  Do we climb over?  Well, only one way to find out, we climb! Up we go, trying to find footholds and handholds and scrambling up over this huge boulder.  Holy cow!

At the top, we are still hoping we are going in the right direction because it is just more canyon!  But, what else do you do?  We are literally all alone, no one around, which of course is magical in its own way, but also a little well, nerve-wracking!  Soldiering on through the narrower part of the canyon, we stop to make a hoodoo of our own, hoping that will give us good luck on the rest of our trek! Moving forward we hit a sand dune and huff our way up – sand is the worst! –  to finally make our way out of the canyon. And as promised, Ayed is waiting down below by a rock way in the distance.  Phew!  We start walking toward him, past a little tent outpost with sand surfboards – yeah, those would definitely come in handy going the other way!  – and happily hop back in the jeep to continue on our journey. 

Totally fun!

Next is either the Um Frouth Rock Bridge or the Burday Rock Bridge – we can’t remember – but it is some rock bridge that is way up high on the cliffside.  There is a trail to climb up there, but it looks a little treacherous.  Ayed says he’ll take the camera and take pictures as we climb up, but there is already someone up there and it is a one way, one person trail (if you can call it a trail, even), so we demur and just walk out to the other side of the ravine area for views over the valley….and to build another cool hoodoo out of pieces of slate that are strewn everywhere around here. 

Back at the bridge, I decide to at least climb up a little bit – but a we anticipated, it is treacherous, and no way I’m going very high up.  Going up isn’t the problem, but coming down definitely is!  This is fine!  We’re happy campers!

We coming up on the end of our time here in the desert, so we assume we are on our way back – but who the heck can tell?  Well, hopefully Ayed can tell!  At any rate, we drive through more sandstorms, that feel like needles piercing your skin, even when we are ducking down and trying to hide.  We pass camels. A lot of camels.  And chicken rock.  Looks just like a chicken! 

Here we wander around and climb up a little slope for more views from up above, then hit the road again for what turns out to be our final stop:  an underground spring way up on the mountain side.

Ayed escorts us up the hill to this spring, explaining that the local farmers used to bring their goats and camels all the way up here for the water, but then got smart and put in what he calls a pipe – but is actually sort of like a hose – that runs down hill to an easier place to reach.  Ayed expertly navigates us around rocks and boulders, taking us to this little grotto that we can climb into.  It is literally and figuratively cool!  How the water seeps down through rock and pools here, clean and really cold.  The views up here are amazing too, overlooking an overnight tent camp located right next to a rock outlined ancient cemetery!  They’ll build things anywhere, won’t they?

On our way down the mountain, Ayed picks some branches off a little bush and tells us he is going to make soap. Huh?  When we are by the truck, he grabs a bottle of water and tells us to watch as he smashes the branches with a stone, rubs them together in his hands, then pours water into his cupped hands. OMG! It is soap!  It is a soap bush!  God knows what it is really called, but it is truly soap.  That is just incredible!  We’ve never seen anything like it – amazing what you can do with the resources at hand!

Back in the jeep and into the desert, the sandstorm really kicks up as Ayed expertly drives us back to Wadi Rum village.  And, then, just like that, we are there. Ayed deposits us back with Abed, who takes our picture together, and then whisks us off to the ship with a quick bathroom pit stop at one of his friends’ souvenir shop for coffee and mint tea (which is surprisingly good).  Then it is the hourlong ride back to the ship, chatting and talking and thoroughly enjoying Abed’s company.

What a fabulous day!  At first it seemed like 6 hours would drag on through the desert, but that was surely not the case.  Those hours just whizzed by in spectacular fashion.   And we have souvenirs to remind us of our day – the sand streaked towel we used to wipe whatever sand off of us that we could and our totally dust encrusted shoes! Great memories!

Back on the ship, we head straight to GR, just to make sure my passport made it back onboard.  We won’t get it back until Israel, but we don’t care about that, we just want someone back there to double check and make sure it is here before we sail!  Talita checks and assures us that it is – and says that the sticker on the keycard is supposed to be yellow – but somehow they messed up.  A light bulb goes off in my head!  Aha, now I know what happened!  Both Ed and I have a sticker on the first page of our passport with numbers and a barcode.  We never paid much attention to it and assumed it was a U.S. thing.  But no!  Duh!  That was our Jordanian entry sticker when we were here in 2016! That is .why my immigration guy asked if I was here before!  Aha. The other immigration guys obviously didn’t care and just let Ed go through – but not my guy – and that set off the International incident.  Because when you look at the sticker that they gave me on my keycard – that they specially printed off for me – it matches the sticker already in my passport.  Ed’s sticker is completely different – and yellow btw.  There you go.  Sheesh. 

Relaxed now after that little stressful moment, we freshen up, then have dinner on the pool deck with the band and some excellent fried fish for a special treat, and an Italian buffet too. Then it is back to the balcony for the evening.  The show tonight is Rob, the piano guy, and while it is an excellent show, we’ve seen it and don’t necessarily want to see it again.  So a lovely evening on the balcony with our drinks, before hitting the hay.  Tomorrow we begin our journey toward the Suez.