Mr. Hakel Goes Camping and Watches the World Cup Final

Blog 7 July 12, 2010

Hi, everybody. I am seated less than a thousand yards from the World Heritage Site, Petra. Yesterday, we saw Little Petra, an outlying caravan route that was just a teaser for what we will see today. We took about a three hour hike that took us from Little Petra to our campsite which is at the base of a 500 foot cliff. I’m about 30 feet above our campsite on the opposite side on a rock outcropping overlooking our site. Below me are 9 two-person tents. Our cook is preparing breakfast on a stove. Three pick-up trucks, which figure more in the narrative in a bit, brought our gear and those of us who didn’t hike in. On a huge stone slab besides the tents, which are in the sand, three very large mats are side-by-side forming a rectangle. Upon these mats on the same cushions we had to sleep on in the tents lies three of our guides still sleeping. The site is beginning to wake and I’m now sitting in the sun which has climbed above the shoulder of the cliff we sit below.
It had been a rather leisurely day up until it was time to hike. We’d awoken in our lovely hotel, had breakfast and had a look at the Dana Nature Reserve’s museum, gift shop and workshop for women. We rather casually loaded the bus and began driving through the rugged terrain to which we’ve become accustomed. We stopped at Qasr Shobak. Another crusader castle built on top of a hill which commanded the trade routes below. The most interesting feature of this castle were the secret passages that led down through the mountain to the springs below that made life on this rock possible. We were able to descend partially down one of these passages, we are told the route is still open, but that it now requires some climbing skills, so we stopped when the stairs did. Below us yawned this black hole with no bottom that appeared to drop vertically through the mountain. This castle was built before Karak from the day before, but after awhile Karak supplanted Shobak in size and importance.
Lunch was eaten on a hillcrest high, high above the Petra region/valley. It was a picnic in an “oak” “forest”. I put both words in quotes because both would have misled you in your understanding of what it looked like. The main benefit of the location was the minimal breeze and minimal shade the trees provided our meal.
Perhaps a word, a more honest, on my part word, about food. I have eaten some wonderful food, but I’ve eaten a few things that were pretty foul too. Most of the worst for me have had yoghurt as an ingredient. I’m thinking of a particularly nasty yoghurt sauce that sure looked good. But I digress….
We had intended to begin our hike in Little Petra then, but our guides determined it was unusually hot (105?) and we should take cover for a couple of hours to let the worst go by. We took cover in the home of the owner of our caravan company, which turns out not to have been our guide, Absalaam, as I had been saying it was. This home was the largest in this village of 43,000. Here we were granted the gift of internet access.
Then it was off again. Off to Little Petra. This location stands outside the Petra proper and it was where caravans moving through the area stopped for rest. Here we saw the first of the huge facades carved into the face of the sandstone. It was deeply impressing to see, yes, it looked like the pictures, but unfortunately pictures always put something in a box. Seeing it with your own eyes, makes a difference.
We walked straight through Little Petra and began a long steady climb up and through a crack through the bare rock. At the top a mother and daughter were selling their wares. These were the first of many such people lining the trails to the sights of Petra. It is difficult to believe any of them are able to make much of a living, but I suppose it must work, at least enough.
We finally arrived at our campsite which was situated in a sandy area between two large rock outcroppings. Most of the pup tents, for protection from scorpions, were already set up and dinner was being prepared. When it was time to eat, we sat on cushions arranged in a rectangular shape and were served Mensa from the largest single platter of food I have ever seen. It had to way at least fifty pounds and it did take two people to carry it from the cooking area into our rectangle. We ate from plates and used spoons. It was tasty, but my appetite had been sapped from the heat, but knew better than to eat nothing.
After that it was time for the day’s final act. Time to go watch the World Cup final. Because the town was too far away to walk, we piled into or on the back of the three pick up trucks that were hauling our stuff around. Thus proceeded a half hour ride from hell. The track we were driving on was bone jarring.
When we finally hit the main road the race was on. Nothing like sitting in the back of a pick up truck screaming downhill while passing two other trucks on the outside of a blind curve! Enjoyment of the game was, of course, tempered by the knowledge that we had to drive back. The game was exciting, I could have personally done without the overtime because here it started at 9:30, so it didn’t end tell midnight our time.
Obviously, since you are reading this, the return trip was safely made.
Salaam,
Lane/Mr. Hakel/Dad!