Day 6
The group is having so much fun together, I can't believe how much I'm taking to camping. Despite the fact that I'm totally dirty and haven't worn make-up for ever, and my head is itching because it's so filthy and my hair feels like straw. By the way, how do you like our disgusting feet?
I've actually become so good at putting up and taking down tents (ok, so they are those automated spring ones), that I've actually thought about organising a camping trip with my friends this summer.
Everyone's doing well. Hermann is 75 and is mostly deaf in both ears, but he's still energetic and healthy. Mohammed asks him his secret and Marion interprets: rock climbing, a vegetarian diet and just one woman. This cracks up all the guys because they've been telling us about the virtues of having 4 wives (despite the fact they've all only got one wife) and Mohammed has jokingly asked Marion to sell him her two daughters. She's asking for 400 camels as a dowry.
Day 4
A beautiful morning! The horses are munching away at their feed bags, we heard them snort a few times overnight. Everyone has really bonded now with their horses and learning their personalities.
Behind the rocks for a quick wash and loo. I was actually psyching myself up for number 2, but I think my body is saying no now. I'm sure you can't die from that, surely?
Breakfast is pitta dipped in olive oil and herbs, yoghurt, fig jam and cups of tea.
After breakfast, everyone is responsible for their own horse. Brushing, grooming and then saddling up for the morning's ride. I tried to help Amelie, but I didn't even know which way the horse blanket went on, but it's interesting to learn. Everyone is well experienced but they are happy to explain things to us. Each person can take two bottles of water in their saddlebags, but that's about it.
It's the hottest day so far, with only a few trees for shade. Everyone has to remember to drink a lot of water, as it's easy to get sunstroke here when it's so hot and you sweat it out all day. We go through so many plastic bottles each day, but there's no other alternative.
The riders head off, excited because they'll be doing a lot more galloping today, and we help pack up the camp to head off to find the lunch spot. I actually like being part of the advance team, it's fun to set everything up, especially when the riders come in desperate for some water and a biscuit.
We drive off in the jeep, music blaring through the desert. It's really fun actually, warm air streaming through the windows, Mohammed making us dance in our seats and the drama of the occasional breakdown when we get stuck in the sand. A few times, the jeep in front has to come and rescue us.
The lunch spot in a sandy space between two towering gorges. There's no shade when we get there, but the time the horses come in, it should be fine. By now, we're not too shy to help, so we know the drill - set up the mattresses, get the backpacks off the truck and generally clear up the area. Hitam gets water ready for the horses and pounds stakes into the group for their tethers.
After a while, we hear the group coming back, totally jubilant with the morning's ride, but fantasising about some cold water. As soon as the horses are free from their saddles, they roll around in the sand, snorting with pleasure.
We've got ages after lunch, so I find a slab of slate that's perfectly flat and make a checkers board using pieces of rock for the checkers. Some people journal, others nap in the heat of the day. Marion talks about having two kids and how this is such a satisfying break for her, and everyone agrees that the horses and the remote location is balm for our hectic lives back home.
Day 5
Frabrissa makes the mistake of asking the recipe for the tea we love so dearly. Mohammed showed her the different herbs and spices that go into it, as well as TWO mugs worth of sugar - hmmm, that's why it tastes so good and is so addictive!
I'm excited this morning because we're joining the group for the trip through the gorges... on camels! The "camel guy" has arrived, and he's one stylish Bedouin. Bright blue shirt, red checked turban, aviator sunglasses and cool yellow and black plaid trousers. It helps that he's handsome too, with a blinding smile. The 3 camels are less handsome but still impressive none the less. They have the funniest faces, alternating between groaning, grinning and gurning.
The camel ride is pretty uncomfortable. We're really high up and although the ride is quite smooth, there's nowhere to put your feet, although you can hook them around the pommel. We even went for a trot and I was holding on for dear life. Everyone on the horses found it quite hilarious, but it was awesome being together as a group.
We're pretty eager for juice and sand biscuits after our little adventure. Mohammed makes his toxic looking lemon juice from a packet mix, which is virtually fluorescent but fantastic when you're hot.
After lunch, the men start a card game and Mark joins in. It's a slightly complicated version of Gin Rummy.
In the afternoon drive, Mohammed lets Mark drive for a while and offers to teach me (I can only drive an auto). I settle instead for holding the wheel occasionally.
Even though we're all washing quite regularly, most of us are quite dirty by now (curiously, none of us smell). I can rub my skin and see the dirt coming off and I fantasise all day about jumping into the ocean, a barrel of cold water, anything cool. The dirt doesn't bother me so much, but I'd love to head straight from the desert to a beauty salon (and a laundrette).
Oh by the way, I finally pooped in the desert. It was no big deal.
Stay tuned for the next instalment, including a surprise desert wedding!
This trip has been made possible by adventure travel company Zara's Planet.
Day 2 of our horseriding adventure
The team is up early and ready to get into the desert to meet their horses. For some of them, this is the trip of a lifetime. Marion and Maria especially, told us that they've been dreaming about Jordan for years.
Before we headed off, I chatted to the receptionist as I was surprised to see that she's Australian and wearing a full headscarf, so I'm curious about how and why she ended up here. It's rare to see a white, Western woman dressed like this let alone working in a family run hotel.
It turns out that she left Sydney earlier this year with the intention of going travelling for two years starting with the middle East. Jordan was her second stop, and she met a guy and fell instantly in love. She tried to continue travelling but couldn't forget him so she returned to Jordan and they are getting married next month. How sweet is that?
Last night the tour owner Emmanuelle told us that we wouldn't be riding horses, but she's organised some special treats for us instead. She knew that we were worried about Mark and the trip can get quite full-on, so it wouldn't be safe to learn to ride from scratch in the blazing heat. I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. I really wanted the adventure and challenge, but on the other hand - Mark breaking his leg would be a MAJOR inconvenience to the rest of the trip. I think it's for the best.
We drove to the stables and everyone is matched with their horses. All the horses are much smaller than I thought they'd be, but I'm assured that they are rugged and used to the desert trips. As always, I'm really concerned that any trips with animals are ethical, so I asked a lot of questions about how they're treated. Attalyh, our guide and the manager of the whole place told us about the history of the place, how they rear their own foals, never sell horses and give them plenty of rest and the best quality food.
Everyone groomed and saddled their horses and set off. They'll ride for about three hours in the morning, with a break in the middle of the day, and then another couple of hours in the afternoon/early evening. We're to ride to Mohammed, the chef and a crazy hilarious 26 year old guy, who we soon finds out has a perchant for belly dancing.
We are the advance team, with all the food, bedding and supplies. We find the lunch spots and prepare the camp for the rest of the group to arrive on horseback. There's another jeep too with Hitam and Rahim, but theirs is full of water and feed for the horses.
We set up in the most beautiful spot, in a vineyard on the side of the mountain with incredible views into the valley and the whole azure sky. There's a natural spring and ripe grapes all around us - absolute heaven. We set up all of the mats and mattresses under a giant plum tree for some shade and wait for the others.
We set out biscuits and cold water for the riders who have returned sweaty but excited about their first ride getting used to the horses. Mohammed mixes up a lemon drink with some sachets. It's basically pure sugar but bliss in the heat. The biscuits look, feel and taste like compressed sand, but are also strangely nice.
After a lunch of hommous, pitta bread and salad, we basically all lounge around until 5pm. It's a chance for us to get to know each other better, and most of the girls can speak good English so we don't feel left out.
I received my first shock - there are no toilets. Literally. No. Toilets. Seriously, where do we poop? Mark was pretty amused. He was a boyscout so he's experienced with roughing it, but I've only been camping once or twice and there was always toilets. Unfortunately, it's hot so I've drunk a LOT of water and it's only a matter of time before I need to go, but for a while I sit and ignore the urge.
After a good stern talking to myself, I finally cave in and stop being such a diva. I will go and pee in the bushes. It's pretty uneventful, but I vow that number 1 is as far as I go. How long can you hold it in for?
Day 3
Last night was our first camping, and it was fabulous. "Showers" were a bucket of water, warmed by the sun of the afternoon and Mark and I showered together in the crevice of the mountains. It was just on dusk and the water felt amazing and refreshing after the heat of the day. We didn't even need a towel, we just used my sarong as we were dry in a few minutes in the warm air anyway. We slept in a small tent and fought all night over the blanket (just like at home), so we decided that tonight we'll sleep outside under the stars.
It was beautiful to wake up this morning, when it was still fresh and cool. A quick breakfast and some amazing spicy tea, and we pack up and head off to find the lunch spot.
Mohammed's jeep has a cassette player and he has a collection of 3 cassettes of arabic music and an audio version of the Koran. I wish I'd visited a charity shop before hand to pick up some 80s cassettes. The jeep is quite roomy for the three of us in the front seat, but the gear stick is right in the middle, so I sit with my legs fully on Mark's side and fourth gear seems to collide with my butt.
It's hard to know what to wear here. It's hot but also lethally sunny, so you want to cover up at all times. Hitam is the epitome of desert chic this morning. He's a handsome guy in a tightly wrapped black and white turban, a grey D&G singlet, jeans and even a studded belt. I've settled in wearing linen trousers and a long sleeved top with sunglasses and a hat to shield my eyes. It's pretty bright here, the sky is really blue and the contrast of the desert is blinding.
We go off with Mohammed after lunch to pick up some more supplies, and so we also get some ice-cold cans of sprite and some junk food, feeling guilty about the rest of the group riding in the hot sun. Mohammed makes them fresh popcorn for when they return, so we don't feel too guilty.
After dinner, people are pretty exhausted so we set up our bed in the sand. It's beautiful with the stars and the giant moon above us, and although I wake up a few times in the night, it was surprisingly comfortable. I'm loving camping! As long as I can hold off pooping in the desert, I'll be totally happy!
...
Tune in tomorrow for our next instalment. The dancing begins, we find out the ingredients of the magic tea and will Denise hold out?
This trip has been organised by the adventure travel company, Zara's planet.
We had an unforgettable and fantastic time with our group exploring Jordan's majestic Wadi Rum desert on a ten day horse riding trip, here is part one of our Desert Diary... what a trip!
Day 0
We arrived at a really cute little family-run hotel covered with mosaics and check in. We wanted to get our technology fix before heading into the desert. How will we cope without Facebook? Most of the stations are in Arabic, but it's fun to watch MTV Arabic.
We headed to dinner and meet up with some of the other participants on our tour. Oops - cue awkward language barrier. Hermann is Austrian and doesn't speak English, Astride is French and doesn't speak English but Marion speaks all three so she translated. Everyone was tired, especially Marion, trying to translate and eat dinner at the same time.
The other four women arrived while we're heading up to the room. All French. I could see Astride breath a visible sigh of relief, I think she was worried that she would be lonely throughout the trip. I'm looking forward to hearing some French, although I'm too try to try and speak it.
We headed up to our room to do a little laundry (regularly the bane of our life) before the trip and conked out in front of the TV. Every day in Jordan, the English channels play the same shows - CSI (New York and Miami) and the Ghost Whisperer - without fail. I love bad TV!
Day 1
Up for breakfast and I could see everyone's feeling a bit shy. Despite the four French women looking like old pals when they arrived, they don't know each other either - except for Maria and Cecile who are mother and daughter. I hope we mesh as a group, because there's a LOT of time together over the next 9 days.
We quizzed everyone and they are all really experienced riders, and most have their own horses. Oh no! Once again, we're really worried about the horse riding part, especially Mark. I actually had my own pony for a while when I was a teenager, but I wasn't really that into horses as a hobby. I rode it (Krystal) occasionally but I'm not really a strong rider. Mark on the other hand, has written a horse for exactly one hour in his entire life - and he was really awkward the whole time.
Another visit to Petra, the stunning ancient Rose City carved straight into the sandstone mountains. We first visited the site last week and were completely blown away, but there's so much to see so we're happy we went back again.
We took the free 800 metre pony ride to the gates of the siq, the narrow gorge entrance of the ruins. Mark wanted to get some horsing experience, even just 10 minutes. All the way to Petra, he was asking me, "Where do you put your hands? How do you hold your feet on the stirrups - ball or arch? How do you tell the horse to go?". This is going to be a fun trip! He didn't have much luck - he had to be led and he didn't even have reins on his horse!
The pony rides were included in our ticket (33JD), but the guides demand a 2JD tip afterwards. Hmmm- compulsory tipping. If I have to give you a certain amount - tell me up front because that's not a tip. We remained firm - 1 dinar each.
To avoid the heat our previous visit started at 7:30am but today we arrived at 11am, right in the worst heat of the day. Luckily the sky was overcast (the first time we've seen clouds in Jordan), even though the weather was still 40+ degrees Celsius. Everyone made their own turbans, which helps to keep your head cool and looks funky too.
The light makes the rocks look a completely different colour than last time, more gold instead of red but still incredibly gorgeous. The tour guide was also much, much better and showed us many things we didn't notice the first time, like life-sized carvings of camels still visible in the rock despite being buried under sand and rubble for almost two thousand years.
I also took a million pictures of a cute little kitten guarding the Treasury, and walked right up the opening this time to see the opening of the rooms within. It's still hard to understand how the Nabateans actually made such a beautiful and symmetrical structure without modern technology, not to mention their complicated and practical water systems.
We did the whole 3 hour tour down into the valley again (read about our last trip) but then the group decided to climb a further 800 steps up the mountain to the Monastery. By that stage, we were pretty exhausted and really tempted to take a Bedouin Ferrari up the mountain (ie. a donkey) but we pressed on even though I wanted to die every five minutes.
The hike was definitely worth it, the Monastery was a larger and equally stunning version of the Treasury and the view over the Petra mountains and desert was breathtaking. There were still drinks and souvenir stands up there, which made us wonder - how do you lug a Coca Cola machine up the mountains? Also, if there was an ice-cream stand at the top, I probably would have paid 10JD, so if you're looking for a business opportunity...?
We trudged back exhausted, but glad that we spent the day together as a group. Hopefully they don't hate us for being crap at riding!
Stay tuned for the next installment when we go to the desert and pick up the horses.
Petra truly is Jordan's most precious treasure and can't be missed, visit RunawayBrideandGroom.com to book your trip.
So we are out in the desert and have been horse riding for 4 days. As you can imagine there is no internet or phone connection in Jordan's Wadi Rum so we have organised a couple blog updates for while we are off grid.
So it is really the day before our adventure begins as I write this but go with me. After 4 days on horseback what's the worst that could happen? Were we right to be daunted about this once in a lifetime opportunity?
We are really excited about this experience and really hope that after four days we are getting to know the other members of our group, that we have good horses that we are getting the hang of riding and that we have some great video footage of the desert and horse riding. However, that's not very interesting!
I wonder what odds we could get on the following happening:
Lost: A sandstorm sends the group of course and our guide leaves our team of stranded tourists in the sand dunes to find help. While he is away we can create the desert version of popular island castaway TV series 'Lost', hopefully minus the aliens and monsters and general weirdness.
Injury: Leg, arm, hip, ankle, ego. Horse riding could hurt many parts of Mark's body - let's hope not.
Retirement: After three days of valiant riding we decide to retire to the more 'relaxing' ride of the camels. Camels are famously temperamental creatures so hopefully ours is friendly and called Alice.
Resignation: As a last resort we always have the option of resigning ourselves to filming and watching from the 4 x 4. Maybe we can do one day on, one day off?
Any bets on how we might be getting on? Stay tuned for our full horse diary coming soon.
Posted by Mark
Before arriving in Jordan one of the only things we knew about this wonderful country was of their world renowned consort, Queen Rania. As wife of King Abdullah II of Jordan, Queen Rania has become a global figure and advocate for education and modernisation in the Middle East.
Queen Rania is intelligent and savvy, having worked at Apple and Citibank and uses social media and press appearances to champion the important issues facing Jordanian society. Queen Rania is an avid user of Facebook and has over 1m followers on Twitter (@QueenRania). The Queen moves in some seriously influential circles having recently; appeared on the Oprah Show, met Michelle Obama, founded the 1Goal education programme with FIFA and Gordon Brown and appeared in a video with the Black Eyed Pears. With a YouTube channel and her own range of children's books promoting cultural understanding as well as four children, this is an impressive lady and seen as one of the most powerful women in the world.
Continue reading "Jordan Travel Tips from the Incredible Queen Rania of Jordan" »
Today we begin our Lawrence of Arabia desert adventure. We will be spending the second half of our 20 days in Jordan on a group horse riding trip. This trip represents our first foray into "adventure travel" and away from the traditional rest and relaxation beach honeymoon so it promises to be both challenging and fun. Our excitement however, is definitely balanced with some slight trepidation.
We are optimists and we plan to throw ourselves into this experience with enthusiasm and a smile. As the Irish would say it will be good craic, but this schedule is a little daunting to say the least:
Day 1 - Transfer from Amman to Petra and visit to the ancient city including horse ride through ruins and caves.
Having visited Petra before, at least we know what to expect here - beauty, history and heat. Hopefully this will be a good introduction to the rest of our group and to horses. We both have very very little horse riding experience - we rented horses for two hours on our honeymoon.
Day 2 - Horse riding departure from Petra to Wadi Rum
A few days ago we got to experience the Wadi Rum from our jeep, it is an expansive, imposing and beautiful place that goes on forever so it will be breathtaking and hard work trekking across it. The Wadi Rum is also about 100km from Petra - I hope we are not horse riding the whole way.
Day 3 - Horse riding in Wadi Rum and camping
I camped a lot as a scout when I was younger but we have never camped together. We have been told the camping can be pretty basic and an adventure so this should be good fun and very memorable
Day 4 - Horse riding in Wadi Rum and camping
This trip is advertised for 'experienced riders' so by now we should have either started to learn to ride or given up and retired to the camel or 4x4 back-up option - hopefully we are riding like the wind.
Day 5 - Horse riding in Wadi Rum and camping
If the pressure and excretions of horse riding are getting to us, at least we will have the rest of the group to get to know and mingle with. It will be nice to be with other people for a change, we will definitely interview some of the participants. I wonder if there will be any honeymoon couples?
Day 6 - Horse riding in Wadi Rum and camping
Yep, the adventure continues, we were told cycling shorts are good to protect your bum when doing a lot of riding, alas we could not find any before we left Ireland. Hopefully the riding is good exercise to work off our hotel buffet bellies.
Day 7 - Horse riding in Wadi Rum and camping
Final day on horses, last opportunity for those Lawrence of Arabia/cowboy photos and races.
Day 8 - Visit to Dead Sea on way from Wadi Rum to Amman
To relax and rejuvenate after going rogue in the desert we will stop at the lowest place on earth to bathe in healing mud and float in the salty sea - sounds heavenly.
Day 9 - Free day to explore Amman
We have spent a few nights in the Amman but have not explored it yet so it will be a nice to finish our time in Jordan by visiting the city's sites such as the ancient Citadel ruins.
Day 10 - Leave Amman for Dublin
Bitter sweet. Will be sad to leave beautiful hot Jordan but exciting to head back to Ireland for more adventure and to find out about what RunawayBrideandGroom.com has planned for us next.
We feel really lucky to have this once in a lifetime opportunity for such an exciting and challenge adventure. If our time in Jordan so far is anything to go by then we know the desert will be full of incredible surprises and will be an amazing experience. We are nervous but will are definitely up for this as well (don't worry parents and friends we will be careful - no broken hips thank you).
Off-Grid
We will be out of contact and away from the internet for the majority of this trip. We have still set up a lot of interesting posts and videos on the blog over the next week and as soon as we are back online we will give you a full update of our desert diary.
Watch this space... Yee Ha!
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