Day 34: September 27

Day 34: September 27
Surprisingly the nearest mosque was closer today than yesterday. Due to this fact we got our typical 4:45 wake up call and sermon. Slept for a few more hours before we got up.

The hotel had a breakfast which we all gulped down. After that we all got into the bus and the hotel driver took us out to Wadi Moujib. It was a two hour drive to Wadi Moujib through the countryside of Jordan. A good section of it was done with the Dead Sea right next to us.
Wadi Moujib is a national preserve in Jordan. It is a river running through a valley in the mountains. It cost us 12 Dinar to enter, which we thought was expensive, however it turned out to be way worth it. The only unfortunate part was that we could not bring cameras in due to the nature of our hike.

The first thing you do in Wadi Moujib is descend a ladder into the shallow river. From there you hike/swim up the shallow (occasionally deep) river. You go over rocks/waterfalls as you hike upstream. Occasionally with the help of a ladder but oftentimes by pulling yourself up. It was absolutely amazing. I enjoyed every second of it. It was by far my favorite experience in Jordan.
The hike eventually leads you to a large waterfall. At this point you have to turn back. On the way back we floated and let the current take us. At many of the waterfalls we were able to slide down the slippery rocks like waterfalls. It was really fun. We jumped off large rocks and used makeshift waterslides for the next hour.

Eventually we made our way back to the museum at the start of the trail. From there our driver took us to the Dead Sea. Apparently in Jordan the only beaches on the Dead Sea are part of resort. We had to pay to get in but the resort was gorgeous. We had a packed lunch and brought it with us into the resort. We ate another typical Jordanian lunch on the tables of the resort. There were, however, allot of flies. We were absolutely swarmed. Kinda made eating unpleasant. I’m not sure which is more annoying, the flies in Jordan or the Taxis in Cairo.

After eating we made our way down to the Dead Sea.

In Wadi Moujib I had managed to gash my leg on one of the rocks. I had not expected the salt concentration in the Dead Sea. It burned… it was like rubbing salt in my wounds. I figured the best way to solve the problem was to jump in and get it over with. Ya… I forgot about salt and eyes not mixing. There was allot of pain for the next few minutes.

Anyways I stayed in for about twenty minutes and floated around. It was cool but not something I could do for hours. Plus every pore was burning. Got out and made my way to the fresh water pool. Jumped in and found immediate relief. Swam around a bit and then went back into the Sea. Similar situation as last time… spent a few minutes there then got out.

From there we made our way back to our hotel. I spent the two hours taking a nap. We got back to Amman and split into groups to forage for food. I went to the internet café to send out emails. After that Mike, Henry and I went to find some Jordanian Shwarma. I had heard from Ben they were better outside of Egypt and he had not been lying. They were sooooo good. Way better than Cairo.

After eating we walked around Amman checking out the city. We found ourselves at the Roman Ampitheater. We poked around there for the better part of an hour before making our way back to the hotel. At the hotel Henry and I watched a documentary on Jordan with the hotel owner. He was so excited to be showing Americans the highlights of his country. The Documentary was entitled ‘A Royal Tour of Jordan’ and the Jordanian King was the tour guide. The king seemed to be really articulate and nice, although I feel watching a documentary would give you that impression.

Eventually we made our way to our rooms and passed out.