Our first night in Jordan we spent street camping outside a police station with very friendly officers, who insured us that Jordan was ”too nice!” and ”too safe!”. Good to know.
In Amman the next day we started our battle for the visas. The Sudanese gave in quiet fast and already after 4 hours we had our important stamps in the passports. The Saudies, however, refused to give us any kind of visa even though we both had a really official looking letter of recommendation from our embassies. A bit disappointed, we decided to go through Egypt after all. A cheap country – unless you wanna go by car!
The worlds best falafel is found in Al Mafraq, Jordan. We know because we tried.
After five nights in Amman we drove out of town heading for the Dead Sea. We took a quick dip in this remarkable lake. Not only it is so salty that you can hardly swim because your legs keep floating up, but it is also the lowest point on earth with a negative height of 400 meters. You could tell by the air which was thick with oxygen.
You hardly get wet.
Dana National Park - if you feel like taking a walk.
Dana Village and Dana National Park is also something we can strongly recommend after spending two nights in the very special Tower Hotel. There, we also met Geraldine and Etienne, a french couple that we gave a lift to Petra and who ended up staying in our guest room for three nights. It was very nice and I think we planted a little overland seed in their hearts.
Believe it or not . This was the internet café of Dana.
Etienne and Geraldine are discovering the joy of cooking on a backdoor.
Everyone who goes to Jordan, goes to Petra and so did we. Petra is beautiful and a must if you happen to be in this part of the world. There are bus loads of Japanese, Americans, French etc., that come here and personally, I think that a lot of the experience is lost when you have to rub elbows with hundreds of others and at the same time repeat the words ”No thank you!” over and over again to five year old salesmen who are trying to sell you cheap bracelets, made in China. Luckily, the tourist season hasn’t really started yet, which made the whole experience endurable. And Petra is fantastic. No one can deny that. If only you could discover it by yourself, sort of out of coincidence while you are out walking. That would be an experience...
The downside to Petra .
Something that fulfilled our expectations and then some, was Wadi Rum. Every offroad lover’s wet dream. A magnificant sand and rock landscape where you are free to drive anywhere you want. With a really low tire pressure you literally float on top of the sand and your jaw is dropping further and further down by the breathtaking landscape. The only human we saw was a bedouin women who suddenly came out of nowhwere and walked passed our camp and just as suddenly she was gone again. Vanishing like a mirage. Maybe we just didn’t drink enough water.
After a day of sailing over the sand dunes it is time to find the best sunset camp.
Now, we are sitting on the shore of the Red Sea and on the other side one can see Egypt and Africa. The temperature is now more like what we had in mind for this trip and we fully enjoy the camping life. Tomorrow we’ll get on the ferry to Nuweiba and then the adventure can start for real.
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