The Desert Region of Jordan
The trip would finish in Aqaba via Wadi Rum Oasis. The two places are only separated by an hour's car ride and easy to get to if you don't get stuck in the sand which is exactly what happened.
The bus headed off the paved road towards the Beau Geste Desert Police post into Wadi Rum (Really...that's the name...), a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock. It is the largest wadi in Jordan and scenes from "Lawrence of Arabia" were shot here, deep in the mountains rising from the desert sands. Hollywood re-enacted Lawrence's desert assult on the port of Aqaba. Understandable why filming crews come to Wadi Rum. From the Beau Geste post, a person can hire a 4WD for excursions deeper into the desert to see rock paintings, graffiti and temples. Wadi Rum is also a popular place to ride horses or camels, hike and rock-climb.
All was well on the drive into Wadi Rum but the drive out was an entirely different story. Yep...stuck in the sands... The bus driver ground the gears, rocked back and forth, everyone jumped off the bus and pushed but nothing happened. Still stuck.
Okay...all the group's luggage off the bus, took floor mats, dug under the tire, more pushing and the bus was free. Minor problem though, a blown tire. Changed the tire, all the bags back on the bus including us and we slowly made our way to the nearest village to have the tire fixed. One last unload (until Aqaba)...View image..., a mechanic fixed the tire, reloaded bags and us and, finally, on our way.
Much later than scheduled, the bus pulled into Aqaba on the Red Sea. "Crusader Castles & Desert Cities" tour was over with most of the group leaving tomorrow on a charter flight back to the U.K. However, we scheduled one extra day to rest and explore Aqaba. Instead of my opinions and information, just surf over to Aqaba Tourism website. Everything you'll ever need to know and more is there.
