rain in wadi rum

today a Jeep 4X4 drive to the desert to wadi rum in a cloudy day. The negev on this side looked the same as in the Israel side with rocks the same shade of colors as on the other side. Our camp was only about a 10 min drive from the visitor center. My experience of desert camping went from luxury first class in wahiba sands, with individual tents with en-suite, to mid class small communal tents (and i slept outside under the stars) in the moroccan sahara, to totally basic camping in wadi rum. There's only 1 long tent where everyone slept in it. I didnt do the camel ride this time. Besides, the camels were heading towards the dark thundering clouds with flashes of lightning. I headed the other way, back to camp. And simply no other camel ride could top the one I took in the Moroccan Sahara. the sand dunes here at Rum werent very tall but the sand as fine as in Oman. Our bedouin dinner was a slow cook of chicken, lamb and veggies, in a pit covered with sand. the meat was so tender it felt off the bone. The sunset was hauntingly beautiful as all sunsets were in the desert. We built a soaring fire and sat around it. This time there was no drums playing, only songs and jokes telling. The moon was full so it was very bright at night. Later we walked to the top of a sand dune to appreciate the depths of the desert night. but our reverie was broken by very loud Spaniards who wandered in from another camp. We pulled our mattresses out to sleep under the open sky, but it started to rain, so I pulled mine back in to the tent and suffered the snoring all night. I sighed when I thought of my night under the stars in the Moroccan desert. Probably because wahiba sands was my first real sand desert experience, I still prefer it over the others. This time, in wadi rum, the magic was gone and I wasnt as awed as the other times.

Wadi Rum photos: