Wadi Rum - Desert Adventures Under the Stars
Rum Magic Nights camp in the Wadi Rum Desert really was magic. Our bags were taken to our room/tent whilst we sorted out the excursions we wanted to do and took a breath over lunch.
The journey here was certainly ‘interesting’, but in a good, fun way. The Wadi Rum desert is a protected area, and you have to buy a ticket to journey into it, which is near to the Wadi Bedouin Village. I kid you not, the tarmac road abruptly stops and it was here that Raed handed us over to a lovely young chap and his flat-bed pickup truck. Our suitcases were popped into his back seats and The Man and I were asked to hop into the open, back flatbed section! Yes, you read that right: our luggage was inside the vehicle, we were on the outside – there’s summat flip-side about this.
Pretty much immediately from setting off, my baseball cap departed from my bonce and I would’ve been happy for it to go, but our eagle-eyed driver had spotted it in his rear-view mirror, so stopped and went back for it. The journey into the heart of the desert was exhilarating, if unconventional, and it was certainly one way to arrive at Rum Magic Nights! Anyhow, the up-shot is that we weren’t charged for our tasty lunch of Salad, dips and flatbread - I told you Jordanians were beyond helpful and friendly: now add gracious hosts to the list.
Not letting up for a single minute, no sooner had we unpacked in our silk festoon-ceilinged room (again with huge bed and ensuite) than it was time to take a Camel ride with a guide for tea at sunset in the Wadi Rum. His Nibs nearly went over the poor Camel’s head; he’d completely forgotten how to do it since his Moroccan adventure! I’ve seen some gorgeous sunsets in my life, but the colours on this particular evening were seriously stunning (though the award for best ones has to go to those over the Dead Sea).
Arriving back at Rum Magic Nights, it was time for the unearthing of the Zarb, a ceremony that guests of the camp are invited to see each night. Zarb is, I guess, what you’d call ‘Bedouin BBQ’, in that the food is cooked over charcoal – but there’s a bit more to it than that. First, a pit (probably about a metre depth) is dug in the ground, and a wood fire lit which is allowed to burn until charcoal is formed. This charcoal-fuelled hole then gets filled with a rack (that I think resembles a scaled-up Afternoon tea stand!) of Lamb, Chicken, and Vegetables – in that order from bottom to top, which is then covered over with cloths and/or boards and allowed to cook for 2.5-3 hours. It was the lifting out of this rack that we witnessed, and the meal did look pretty fab, I must admit.
Chef took pride of place behind the servery and, having loaded up with the fresh salads and rice, we were topped up with the most ridiculously tender, juicy Lamb and Chicken known to Man! I could eat this every night (and did, whilst we stayed here). The team at Rum Magic Nights made us feel more like family than paying guests, and we had nightly entertainment courtesy of the camp cats who would dash in the tiniest of gaps in the open door, resulting in a comedic chase by the staff, desperate to stop them begging for scraps. Don’t worry, though, these kitties did get fed all the juicy scraps…by the folks that had tried to keep them out earlier!
Camp Chef did a mean omelette to rival his fancy hotel peers, and his scrummy dishes fuelled us as we set off for our full-day Desert Jeep Adventure. Salem was our guide for this particular day and he was such a super young lad; he veered between being expert tour-guide through the caves and their inscriptions and drawings, to al-fresco cook and desert chauffeur. That marvellously tasty Tomato and Onion stew was our meal again, paired with fresh Salads, flatbreads and Hummus, and whilst we ate, Salem, the Man and I chatted about family life and life in general, which was lovely.
Yet again, my naivety was revealed when it came to what Salem said was a ’20-minute Gorge Walk’ this it certainly was, but one that involved a climb up steep rocks to get to the other side …something he neglected to mention, through his mischievousness, I suspect! We, and several other groups, all survived and were rewarded(?!) with the invitation to hike up a sandy, deep slope and then sand-board down. I’ll just watch, cheers all the same – knowing my luck I’d break something.
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