Sun, Sand & S'mores

Last weekend we went on a wonderful camping trip with our friends to Wadi Rum.

First of all, let me tell you that Louis and I made this trip back in May when we came to Jordan for a visit. We had been told that, on Earth, Wadi Rum is the closest thing to what Mars looks like. From the red sand to the terrain. It is a valley in Jordan that, millions of years ago, had been under water, which is why the sand's texture is like what you get on a sandy beach. We had also been told that the view of the stars at night was out of this world, that you could literally see millions of stars. I was sold!

Unfortunately for us on that first trip, the entire day, evening, night and even next day was cloudy. Not white clouds. No, no. Just a mask of dust that covered the sun and restricted us from seeing ANY stars in our night in the desert. It was upsetting but we still enjoyed the unworldly scenes and climbing the sand dune :) 

These are the spectacular mountains that populate Wadi Rum.

View of the desert while walking up the sand dune.

View of the Wadi (valley) from on top of the sand dune.

But, you know, if at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again. And thus, we dusted the red sands off our selves (pun intended) and prepared for another trip to Rum. This time, we knew what to expect and so prepared ourselves with more supplies. Here is a list of things you might want to take to Wadi Rum:

1. A sleeping bag (we found a really good range of sleeping bags and other camping gear from GoSports in Meccamall)
2. A head torch
3. Some baby wipes in case you can't wash or shower (extremely likely!)
4. Tons of water & some snacks

You don't need any special shoes or hiking gear, unless you intend to do some form of extreme sports! In fact, most of the group we were with were wearing flip-flops. And, depending on where you are staying, you may want to take a tent and sleeping mat to put under your sleeping bag.

Right so Louis and I had bought some sleeping bags, travel pillows and a handy towel. Our friends picked us up and away we went. Three and a half hours later, we were in Wadi Rum. The camp we stayed in was located against one of the mountains and had a little area that you could set up your tents.

We enjoyed the afternoon, going on a walk and discussing the various movies that had been filmed in Wadi Rum. A dinner of chicken (cooked underground) and rice was laid out and after dinner we (the group we were with, I know nothing about making fires!) made a camp-fire and we sat around to enjoy the evening. 

My camera was not good enough to take photos of the stars but I can tell you it was incredible. Thousands and thousands of stars, shining in the sky. It was humbling to lay down and get lost in their depth. Because we were out in the desert, we could also see the Milky Way, which looked like a faint cloud cutting through the sky. I didn't manage to see any shooting stars, but it was wonderful looking up throughout the evening into a diamond studded sky. At about 12am the moon rose in our area of the desert and its light outshone the stars', but that in itself was also beautiful.

I'm sure we'll get to go to Wadi Rum again in the near future to show our friends how enchanting the desert it. And who knows, we'll maybe even see a shooting star or two :)

Sx

Oh by the way we learned how to make s'mores around the campfire too, yay :)