Potfest

Tuesday : It was very windy in the night and the patio furniture trundled around outside clanking all night. Pollie slept through it all. Did I have a good night's sleep - I tried my best! It was still very breezy and cloudy in the morning but after a hearty breakfast we set out warily at 9-15 en route for our first camping night. However next door to the hotel was the Wadi Dana shop stocking locally produced items for our perusal. We stocked up on essential items ( 2 necklaces ) and finally left Dana village at 10-15.

Our route took us up above the village and over a shoulder to the next valley, through a Mediterranean - type landscape. As this is spring and there has been a little rain all the spring flowers are out, but in a miniature version of their british counterparts. We travelled through many landscapes today - and by mid morning the temperature was in the 80's - there was some slow difficult walking down a high sandstone slope, through a stony, sandy wadi where we had our packed lunch, traversing a dusty clay slope which brought us up over a ridge where an immense landscape opened up in front of us - sandy ridges leading down to wadis.

 The only people we saw all day were three shepherds out with the goats and sheep -

when we'd passed by the last lone shepherd we heard the strains of pipe music carried up to us on the wind. We finally spotted our campsite at 4-15 and the pace picked back up and we rolled in to be greeted by cups of hot, sweet Bedouin tea. Our tents had mattresses and our main rucksacs and sleeping bags had been transported for us, but trying to get ourselves organised for tomorrow's walking, recovering from today's hike ( 18 kms - 6 hours ) and dressing for dinner meant one of the three had to give. Luckily by the time Haroun and Khalif had prepared dinner it was dark and we ate a wonderful meal by camp firelight and moonlight.

 














 Knackered we were tucked up in our tents by 7pm - I've not been to bed that early since I was 9.