While on our own camel day trip, this Bedu man passed us. He was singing as he rode along, the sound bouncing off the rock walls and carrying his voice towards us long before we saw him. Effortlessly riding these swaying ships of the desert, his relaxed poise contrasted sharply to my own stiff lurching. I copied his riding position, with right leg bent around the wood saddle horn and tucked under the straighter left leg. As well, I tried side saddle (sitting sideways on the saddle with bum and legs on opposite sides of the saddle) but the saddle was too narrow for my female hips. Ultimately the most comfortable position was leg under leg.
Following a tongue of sand, these steep sided canyons were great exploring. The cooler temperature added to the sense of mystery and anticipation. They ranged in length from being just a gap between two cliff walls to a few kilometers. The most famous gap in Jordan is ‘al-siq’ the 800m long entrance way into Petra. The canyon walls reminded me of giant melted wax candles, with their rounded and softly eroded curves.
Desert camping is wonderful in the winter (ie November). No rain, no bugs (except one confused mosquito), no scorpions, no snakes, no spiders. To make a fire, we collected wood from the desert during the day, tossing the roots and branches on top of the Land Cruiser. Pots were balanced on three rocks directly in the fire on a grill. Sleeping bags were tossed directly on the foam mats. Life is good you can see by the smile on my face.