Upper Wadi Mujib

On Saturday, the boys and I accepted an invitation from our sponsor to go on a hike about an hour outside of town. Wadi Mujib is -- arguably -- one of the most famous hikes in Jordan. A hike into the canyon soon becomes claustrophobic as the canyon walls close in on you. The walls, smoothed by the milky aquamarine river water, close in on you like the trash compactor scene in 'Star Wars', and the water rises to chest level. You hike upstream to a waterfall and swimming hole before retracing your steps -- now with the river -- back to the trail's head. 

Elise and I can't wait to go, but sadly (and probably with good reason) the hike is for adults 18 and over. Yesterday's hike promised to be more kid-friendly. 

After driving an hour outside of town --past the airport and out into the open desert, winding through isolated, desert outposts -- we came to the lip of the Upper Wadi Mujib canyon. Further down Wadi Mujib ('wadi' means riverbed or valley in Arabic) was the famous canyon you see in all promotional posters for travel to Jordan. Sadly, there was no water on our stretch of canyon as the kids had hoped. Though initially disappointed, they very quickly rallied, urged on by the prospect of perhaps coming upon fossils. 

Pete discovered what we all suspected to be a fossilized dinosaur footprint. 

We didn't walk far before we needed a break from the sun, stopping to rest in the shade of the rock face. It was the only shade around (as you can see from the sky) and welcome, though we hadn't walked very far. The going was slow for the rocky and uneven terrain and heat. 

Leaving the shade of our resting point was hard, but we agreed to hike a little further on to see what was behind the next bend in the canyon before turning back. 

There, we spotted in the distance, caves at the base of the cliff face. A Bedouin camp occupied the caves. From a distance, you could hear the bleating of goats and the rattle of a metal bucket, the only sound at all. 

On the way back, the kids found a dead beetle, unspectacular save for the brilliant phosphorescent green of its carapace. 

May be hard to see from this photo, but this is a pack of camels in the distance.