As you can probably gather from the title, the few days covered by this post will have a little bit of everything. On our way from Amman to Dana Nature Reserve, we stopped to visit Kerak, which is another historic castle that is apparently larger and more significant than the one we saw days before in Ajloun. Kerak had all the hallmarks of Ajloun (in decent condition, on a large hill with great views, existed during the Crusades, etc.), but our experience there was different from a very early point. While we were wandering the site, an old, little Bedouin man beckoned for us to follow him into one of the castle rooms. From there he began giving us an impromptu tour of the whole facility without a graceful way to get out of the conversation, filling in all the knowledge gaps that existed due to the nonexistent signage throughout. At first we were a bit annoyed (such tours, even impromptu, require paying a tip), but quickly were grateful as he pointed out stuff we never would’ve seen or understood otherwise. [Editor’s note: His English was ok, not great, but the nice thing was that he knew what all the rooms were or (e.g., dining room, kitchen, stables) and he was able to point out things I’d read about in Lonely Planet but would never have found, like an outdoor stone bread oven and an eroded carving of a soldier’s torso. We almost never get a tour guide if we have a choice, but in this case it actually helped us appreciate the space.]
Learning about the ancient baking methods in this kitchen from our unsolicited Bedouin guide.
Inside the remnants of a former Christian church in the castle (note the proximity of the modern city in the background).
A cool underground tunnel with rooms where soldiers stayed and where prisoners were held.
From Kerak we continued our drive to the Dana Nature Reserve, which is a national park in central Jordan that has cool topography and is good for hiking. As we drove to our lodging there, we were diverted by a combination of Google Maps and hand-drawn sign to a dirt road that we followed past herds of goats until we stumbled upon our Bedouin camp. There we were warmly greeted and led to our tent for the night…which was super close to the edge of a canyon where we had views of phenomenal rock formations. These were arguably the best room views we’ve had on our entire trip, rivaled only by the beachside views we had from our bungalow at Koh Rong Samloem, Cambodia. The views highlighted the general topography of the region, which is an interesting mix of the Utah desert and the flowing rock canyons in Cappadocia, Turkey, which I visited (pre-Jess) 7 years ago. Really cool and different from our other travels! [Editor’s note: Absolutely agreed that these might have been the top “hotel” room views from the trip. Not only that, but the night sky and evening views (once the sun went down and the temperatures cooled off) were spectacular as well. I hadn’t previously considered Jordan as high on the natural landscape list, but I was wrong not to – there have been some of the most amazing scenery we’ve seen of any country so far! It’s tough to capture in photos, but I certainly did my best.]
Our awesome Bedouin tent at the edge of the canyon (pictures will never do it justice).
Sunset relaxation at the canyon-side table near our tent. Stunning!
Our objective in Dana was to persevere through the crippling heat to do some day-hiking through the unique landscape. To do so, a local recommended that we drive to the Rummana Campsite located inside the Dana Nature Reserve and do a series of short 1-2 hour hikes from there. When we drove to the Rummana Campsite, normally a popular camping and hiking destination, we were shocked to find that Ramadan had completed wiped out tourism there at this time of year, leaving us as literally the only people there. While it was very jarring, it meant that we had total privacy for the two hikes we enjoyed during our day there before we succumbed to the heat. Our first was a cave trail that took us along a ridge to a honeycomb of connected caves that were carved into the mountains many years ago by local Bedouins, which we enjoyed exploring and which gave us excellent views of the valley. After a reprieve from the sun, we set out for another hike along the ridgeline near the campsite where we took in the many vantage points of the canyon that it offered. All in all, a weird situation but also a solid success! [Editor’s note: The reason we didn’t stay at the Rummana Campsite ourselves was that it was a very expensive “hotel”, probably five times what we were paying at our campsite. But we got the best of both worlds by driving there and hiking around in the beautiful scenery anyway – definitely the way to go!]
Views from our Dana hikes – very similar to Utah, right?
View from inside one of the caves in the trail.
More cool rock formations and openings that we hiked through.
Again, that view!
Around this time Ramadan struck another blow to our trip as it required us to change our itinerary, since the Wadi Rum tour company we wanted to use wasn’t operating on our intended dates. Thus, we had to rejigger our itinerary by heading back north after the Dana Nature Reserve to visit the Dead Sea and nearby Wadi Mujib, before heading back (further) south to visit Petra and Wadi Rum (both of which will be covered future posts). None of this was a huge deal since it didn’t cost us any extra money, though it did require us to endure an extra 5 hours of driving (with Jess complaining the whole time that I drive too fast [Editor’s note: Noting the posted speed limit signs and commenting on the relative danger of high speeds on these twisty and potholed roads.] and our poor car enduring even more unmarked speed bumps). These itinerary changes are the “troubles” we endure from our nomadic existence!
Are Jordanian roads flipping off my driving or Jess’s cautiousness? You decide.
In embracing our travel changes, we headed from Dana to float in the Dead Sea, something that Jess did when she previously visited Israel but which is a whole new thing for me. Because Jordan is a Muslim country, it can be a bit rude/uncomfortable for white, Western women (e.g., Jess) to wear bikinis or even one-piece swimsuits in public areas – local customs require them to wear long-sleeve shirts and pants in the water. To circumvent this, we decided to splurge on a day pass to one of the many Western-style resorts along the Dead Sea so that Jess wouldn’t run into any problems. Though it was a bit costly, it was totally worth it. We ended up getting a rather low rate (again, Ramadan) and had the site all to ourselves, allowing us to enjoy the Dead Sea and swimming facilities there with no problems.
As for our actual Dead Sea experience, it was great! There is something truly surreal about walking into water and being unable to touch the bottom even if you want to, instead just bobbing on the surface due to the extreme salt levels of the water. We spent our time there just laying on our backs in the water, relaxing and appreciating the joys of buoyancy provided by this drown-proof water. We followed that up by lathering ourselves in mud from the Dead Sea, marking this as our first (and only?) [Editor’s note: “Only”?…Speak for yourself.] pre-wedding spa treatment to get our skin into excellent condition before the big day. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying burgers and beers by the mostly empty swimming pool, appreciating this unexpectedly wonderful day of luxury during our Middle Eastern travels.
No rest from wedding planning for the future bride, even in the Dead Sea.
The couple that floats together, stays together.
Diversifying our flotation positions to take advantage of the drown-proofiness.
We’ve never looked better, right? I know.
Only Jess could make it cute to be covered head to toe in mud.
The following day – our last in this post – we decided to try an activity that I stumbled upon randomly during our Jordan research, which is canyoning in Wadi Mujib. After paying the steep price of $30 each to access the canyon and receive our life vests, we then followed the pathway to our activity for the day – a 2 hour, self-guided tour to hike, swim and climb (over rocks and, at times, with the help of strategically placed ropes) through water rushing through the windy canyon as we made our way to the waterfall at the end. Given that it was not a highly touted attraction in Jordan, we were blown away by how much fun we had in doing this hike! It was a nice level of rigor for both of us, pushing us physically but where we were able to perform almost everything without any assistance. [Editor’s note: The water was relatively high at this time of year, so while we started by walking through ankle- and knee-deep water, it quickly increased to swimming and fighting upriver through currents, pulling ourselves out onto rocks and scrambling up small rapids where we needed to. One point was a small waterfall where the rushing water flowing down was so strong that I couldn’t pull myself through it, even with the help of the ropes placed along the way. I wrestled with it, holding onto the rope for dear life for a few minutes before realizing I wasn’t going to be able to make it without assistance. Rorie ended up pulling himself along the rope with both hands while I grabbed one of his feet with one hand and the rope with the other and used him to pull me the last few meters to the waterfall, where we could each scramble up separately. I was glad Rorie was there (and strong enough!) for that bit. There was a local guide sitting there on a rock who simply watched us struggle the whole time – he had the best seat in the house, I’m sure – and I felt better when we spoke to several other female visitors we met along the way who also couldn’t do it and ended up needing the local guide to come pull them through the same portion. Other than that, it was a blast!]. All along the way we were also treated to amazingly beautiful views of the canyon, with its stunning rock patterns and formations. As we finished the canyoning experience, happily exhausted from dragging ourselves back and forth through the rapid waters and over the rock obstacles, we were shockingly in agreement about the fact that Wadi Mujib was up there as one of the most fun activities and highlights from our entire trip so far!
In Wada Mujib before the water adventures began.
Fighting the rapids in the canyon.
Just some light canyoning through the rapids. NBD. (Also, look at those rock formations!)
Again, allow me to emphasize – this place was super fun and the rocks were so cool!
Jess the intrepid explorer
Having finished this array of random activities in central Jordan, our next stop is three-days in the crown jewel of Jordan and one of the 7 wonders of the world – Petra!
Selfie at the Dead Sea Panorama Viewpoint!
