Wednesday 13th January - Aqaba to Wadi Rum

Last night was warm and we only needed our thin duvet rather than our down sleeping bags in the roof tent, which made a nice change.  We had intended to give Aqaba more time, maybe doing a dive course or at least some snorkelling, but with our change in plans we felt the need to get on so we said goodbye to Marianna and headed off (her companions are flying back tonight).  We made a quick visit to the beach to say that we’ve at least touched the Red Sea, and then detoured to the supermarket for provisions for the next few days camping at Wadi Rum (although not all our purchases were strictly necessary on nutritional grounds).

I think we made the right call on the weather as it started raining as we left Aqaba, although there were a few breaks in the cloud when we arrived at the outskirts of the Wadi Rum Protected Area.  We’re staying at the eco-friendly Bait Ali Camp tonight, which predominantly consists of chalets and army style tents, but they allow you to set up your own tent or park a camper and use their facilities for a small fee. SPOT We’ll head into Wadi Rum proper tomorrow morning to see about hiking routes, maybe a camel ride and camping options within Wadi Rum itself, as well as for a bit of desert driving.  We also have the GPS coordinates for the Islington Rascal’s camping location which is actually just outside the Protected Area and avoids the entry fees (apparently they soon mount up if you take in your own vehicle).

After the warmth of Aqaba the considerably cooler temperatures at Wadi Rum necessitated the donning of jumpers and jackets.  Hopefully the sun will return tomorrow to heat the place up a bit as we’ve read that in winter it can become unbearably cold.  I think we’ll be back in our down bags tonight.