Month: July 2019

A nice buffet breakfast awaited us this morning at the Dead Sea Spa Hotel.

After that, we put on another mud wrap and floated in the Dead Sea.

A really funny feeling to be carried by the water like this.

By the way, the water level here is also dropping frighteningly fast. Signs show where the water level was 9 and 14 years ago, namely tens of meters above. After checking out we went to the Hotel Black Iris in Madaba, our new accommodation. We spent the afternoon and evening reading and researching.

Silke

We got up early and enjoyed some more of the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the desert.

After a breakfast, we went back to the parking lot on the back of the truck (Reiner) and me on the back seat of a Toyota Hilux. There we said goodbye to Johannes and Evita.

However, we met them again at the Dead Sea Spa Hotel, where we stopped in today. We were quite excited to float in the water and we were not disappointed. With no movement at all, you can be carried by the Dead Sea and even read a book while doing so!

The water is very warm, crystal clear and flickers a little. It smells more strongly of the sea than the North Sea and you feel like it has a little more substance. It tastes nasty and burns the eye a lot. I have tested this myself! We also smeared ourselves with sea mud. A scrub that makes the skin nice and soft. But I could not stand it for long, because then it began to “prick”. Well showered off we ate a soup and just chilled .

Silke

We started shortly after 8:00 am in Wadi Musa and drove to the Wadi Rum Restcamp. There we parked our car and then waited a while for two other fellow travelers from Latvia. When Johannes and Evita arrived at 10:45 am, the desert tour started. The slightly older Toyota, with an open, shaded cargo area converted to seating, drove us to several viewpoints in Wadi Rum.

We visited the source of Lawrence of Arabia and the house in which he rested with his caravan. We could climb up a red dune and enjoy the great view there. In several Bedouin camps we had a cup of sweet peppermint tea. For lunch, our driver prepared a meal of pita bread, bean stew, eggplant puree, cream cheese and tuna. We drove to a gorge that we walked through and to two natural stone bridges that you could also climb up. Many camels were happy to serve as photo models.

In the evening we had smoked chicken with vegetables, rice, bean stew and salad in a hole in the ground. Bedouin tea a campfire with moonlight and starry sky rounded off the beautiful day. We slept in permanent Bedouin tents with two beds each. Two brick wash houses with running water provided additional comfort.

Silke

Our tour of Petra today took us to Sacrifice Square, from where you have a great view of the theater and the royal tombs. A steep path leads up there in about an hour.

We then walked past the royal tombs to the Byzantine Church, which has been partially restored. On the pretty mosaic floor, a tabby tomcat greeted us.

We also had a Bedouin tea in front of the royal tombs. Then we went past the treasure house again and through the Siq to the entrance gate.

All in all, we ran a good 14 km today and again snapped felt thousands of photos of ornate facades, gorges, camels, donkeys and carriages. No desire to go out for dinner. Reiner is tinkering with the website, which is temporarily down.

Silke

Today we explored the former capital of the Nabataeans, Petra. It flourished in the 1st century BC as a trading city for frankincense, myrrh and spices. From the middle of the 7th century AD it was abandoned and fell into oblivion. An earthquake had probably destroyed much. We hiked a total of 16.5 km along the Main and Monastery Trail to the monastery. The last part to the monastery is about 800 steps uphill. From a vantage point behind it we could see all the way to the border with Israel. Donkeys and camel riders want to transport you for free, but a good tip is expected. We preferred to walk. The monastery itself is very impressive and large.

It was built in the 2nd century A.D. and later it was also used as a Christian church. To get there you walk through the Siq and pass by the treasure house and the theater, among others. By day it is a completely different atmosphere. The sandstone walls glow in many different colors, donkeys, camels, horse-drawn carriages and excursionists enliven the streets. There are no motorized vehicles and, except for a few restaurants and toilet blocks, no modern buildings. Souvenir stores are mostly hammered together in a makeshift fashion and line the paths. We had a packed lunch from the Hotel Cleopetra with us and twice we stopped in a Bedouin café for a tea. We really liked the Lion Triclinium, which is a bit away from the hustle and bustle in a small gorge.

Back at the car we noticed that we had a (almost) flat tire on the right rear. Since the hotel was not far, Reiner drove slowly there. In a workshop near the hotel they repaired then our tire (from the inside with bicycle patches). A screw had gone in and the valve was replaced.

We laid out the 20 JOD for now and hope to get it refunded. Our evening meal consisted of yogurt with fruit and oatmeal.

Silke

The Dana Tower Hotel spoiled us with a wonderful view at breakfast. Then we drove further along the road to our today’s accommodation Hotel Cleopetra in Wadi Musa. The hotel manager gave us the tip to visit first Little Petra/Siq al-Barid and in the evening the Petra by Night light show. Little Petra ( is about 10 minutes by car from Petra. An archaeological site or a “suburb” of Petra, the Nabataean capital. A temple and buildings carved into the walls of the sandstone gorge. Water channels that filled the cisterns have been cleverly carved into the walls. A dining room (biclinium) is decorated with relatively well-preserved wall paintings. Traders – caravans on the Silk Road could rest here and replenish their supplies. A few souvenir stores are built distributed in the gorge, which is about 350 meters long.

In the afternoon we rested in the hotel room and at just before 20:00 we went to the treasure house of Petra. The Siq, the 1.5 km long canyon to the treasure house and the square in front of the treasure house, was illuminated with over 1500 candles. The candles are in paper bags. A very beautiful atmosphere. In the square in front of the treasure house, carpets are laid out to sit on and there is a cup of tea. A singer, a flute player and a storyteller (English) offer a nice program.

Since the acoustics are very bright, the only thing that disturbs a bit is the babbling of some people (e.g. the police officers on the sidelines, who must have seen the screening several times before, so they were more likely to tell each other jokes). However, the overall experience was nice and pleasantly designed. We didn’t need a flashlight for the way back either, as the moon and candles lit the way well. By the way, Indian Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed here.

Silke

In two of the four occupied tents small scorpions came to visit tonight. Fortunately not to us. They did not hurt anyone either. With us rang at 6:00 the alarm clock and we looked again at the great view of the Rummana Campsite (a former Bedouin camp) an. After a quick breakfast, the staff drove us to the park entrance to our car, with which we then drove 20 min further to Dana GuestHouse, the trail entrance. We left the car there and started hiking.

The first part was quite downhill and after about 1.5 km I noticed that I got pain in one toe. I stupidly ran a blister. Although the shoes are actually well broken in and I had the whole year nothing like that! Well, now for a while with plaster. The 14 km hiking trail could be run but otherwise wonderful. Mostly along the currently dried out river bed and through gorges that always offer new beautiful views. Very pretty are the plants that grow in the riverbed, such as pink oleander.

In animals we saw a few lizards and many goats with herding dogs and some donkeys. When we reached our destination, Feynan Ecolodge, at 2:00 pm, the thermometer showed 36 degrees in the shade. We had booked a return transfer for 3:00 pm at Rummana Camp, but it did not arrive until 4:00 pm. The car was boiling hot and the driver spoke no English or German. He was probably not properly informed, because he drove us to the wrong place. For the normally 120 km and 2-3 h distance we needed thus 3.5 h. In addition, he refueled twice on the way, talked on the phone almost the whole time and picked up another passenger from the roadside. We were totally sweaty and quite annoyed when we finally reached Dana Guesthouse at 19:31. Our today’s accommodation, the Tower Hotel was fortunately only 500 m away from the parking lot. First we watched the beautiful sunset before checking in. We got a simple double room with bathroom and for dinner at 8:30 pm the host and his wife cooked an extra vegetarian component to the Arabic dinner. We ate together with the other guests on the roof terrace and even got a nice serenade with drum accompaniment. Our blog page is not visible today and Reiner is trying to fix that from here, but has no success so far.

Silke

We started south from Amman after breakfast! In a supermarket we bought a few groceries. We were amazed at the 3kg jar of Nutella that was on the shelf there for about 25 EUR! The Jordanians apparently like to snack. The staff was very friendly and offered us peaches, coffee and pumpkin seeds to try. We will not starve here! After that we refueled and drove to Dana. On the way we were waved out by a police control. But the policeman just wanted to talk to us a little bit and then wished us a nice time in Jordan. At Rummana Campsite we sleep in a solid tent with two mattresses..

We had our yogurt with oatmeal and banana for dinner. Afterwards, we wandered around the abstract rocky landscape for a bit.

While drinking sweet peppermint tea and having a campfire, the Jordan National Park staff told us some more stories about the people from the village and the Prophet Mohammed and his 10 wives. Currently, 4 wives are actually allowed here at the same time. But not four husbands ! (The Jordanians speak very good English, by the way).

Silke.