Today we got up a little earlier. Unfortunately my boots got completely wet while airing overnight because it rained. My flip-flops are broken since yesterday, so I had to quickly buy some at the market.
I walked a little way down the street from the Amman Tower Hotel and had to go through a few shops that had the right shoes. That wasn't easy. Either there wasn't a good model or the size wasn't available. After 30 minutes I found a model that fit and was comfortable. They were grey felt Djinns Sneaker.
Today we'll take a look at the Dead Sea, look a little higher up there, take a walk in Wadi Araba and then we go back to our regular accommodation in Aqaba, the Hostel Room 17 Youth.
The Route
On the way...Dead Sea Road...
Marj Al Hamam
1hour later we stopped on a plateau at the beginning of the Dead Sea but didn't stay long because there were a lot of flies and cats. We couldn't leave the doors open because they kept coming in and wanted to get our bread that we had bought two days ago. So we stopped further ahead and tried to get all the flies out in the meantime. A nuisance.
A good decision, because there was fresh coffee from a small stand...and I was able to take photos in peace.
Dead Sea
The rocks here were very beautiful and stretched along the entire route.
We drove a few more meters because Cornelius wanted some salt for his breakfast egg.
While he headed purposefully downstairs, I made myself a wannabe shawarma with our bread and canned meat...it was dry but filling.
Once he had his salt we continued.
But what is a day without a sunset.
The combination was simply brilliant.
Its now a perfect time to inspect and search the habitat.
Aghwar Janoobiyah District
We first went up the dunes. It was exhausting and very windy up there...almost cold. On the way up we saw some Buthacus sp. but they disappeared very quickly in the huge pieces of sand.
It is dark.
Darkling Beetle / Ceratobiton styloceros
Orthochirus negebensis
We spent 3 hours here and found a few Orthochirus negebensis and another male Buthacus sp.. Cornelius had apparently seen something with larger claws on a tree, but couldn't find it and we drove on to Wadi Araba.
We drove up a narrow, rocky road into the mountains until we came to a small military station. The soldiers didn't understand us and called their officer. He had just gotten out of bed but was very friendly to us. We told him what we were doing and wanted to drive further up the road. He said no and we asked if we could perhaps look to the left and right. We were also forbidden to do that.
We continued along the Jordan Valley Highway, which runs to the Israeli border. Wadi Araba was to our left. We stopped on the right side of the road, out of sight of the military base, and got out to look. It was a wide open field with some small stones and a little sand. What is happening here is passion. We can't do anything else.
We found here...
Buthacus macrocentrus / Orthochirus negebensis
Next to Orthochirus negebensis, there was some kind of snake or something similar that was digging itself in. A lucky sight.
Since we found a lot here, we decided to go up into the dunes, up the rocks and sandy ground. Before that, we went to the car and put our copy of ID cards on the window in case anyone wondered who the car belonged to. Another sip of water and off we went.
We arrived after about an hour. It was very dark this night. Here are a few night shots.
We stood in the middle of a rock formation with small sandy dunes.
A very beautiful place. But unfortunately we didn't find a single animal and we searched here for almost 2 hours. So back an hour again...
OMG!! Unfortunately, we couldn't find our original way. We were almost back on the road but didn't see our car from the far and thought it was gone. I asked Cornelius where to go because he is very well-oriented. Left or right? He didn't know. Heart palpitations. Adrenaline. What if the car is gone?
I just ran to the right so as not to lose any time and behind a small hill I saw blue lights and 3 vehicles, including our car. I ran faster and stopped just before the road so as not to attract any unpleasant attention. I didn't want anyone to think that there was a madman from the desert running around. But also because there were military and police standing around our car.
I calmly went up to them, introduced myself and what we were doing here. They were armed with machine guns, but were not impressed by me at all. They seemed very confident and knew that I was not a threat, even though I had just come from the desert. They asked for ID. Cornelius arrived 10 minutes later and was visibly nervous. Everything was fine and they told us that we shouldn't stop here any longer. At other times it would have been different, because the border with Israel is heavily guarded. We were aware of that. We drove on to our accommodation in Aqaba
8th Day: Wadi Rum
Today we drive again to Wadi Rum or rather outside to Al Mudawwara to look for Leiurus jordanensis.
The Route
We left very late and didn't arrive until sunset.
Streets & Landscape
In some places the roads have already been renewed and I think that in a few months all the potholes will be gone.
We stopped at a house in the village, a local family greeted us and we told them what we wanted to do. The 5 children (boys and girls), aged between 8-15, asked their father if they could help and his father nodded.
We searched for a few hours but found only a few Leiurus jordanensis. This was probably due to the time of year.
Leiurus jordanensis
We wanted to give the children a little money but they didn't want that, so we gave them lots of sweets and a big thank you. And I will never forget how the young girl looked at me with a smile.
9th Day: Sick in Jordan
You're slowly feeling the effects of what you've achieved so far. We've been on the road non-stop and I've had Diarrhea since last night and can't keep any food or drink in my stomach without it coming out every half hour.
We actually wanted to visit Petra today and use our Jordan Pass. Unfortunately, my usual medication didn't help. I told Cornelius that I would go to the pharmacy later and get something and we could then go together tomorrow. He then drove to Petra alone around midday. I lay in bed with pain all day and had to cope with eating little or nothing. The hostel owner came up to me at some point and asked if I needed anything, which was very nice. Cornelius came back in the evening and brought me cola and pretzel sticks. I drove into town to get some medication and got Nidazole.
This medicine helped immediately and I then bought myself the most amazing things to eat and was happy.
So tomorrow I'll be alone in Petra.
#DeadSea #WadiRum #WadiAraba #HostelRoom17Youth #Scorpion #DeadSeaRoad #MarjAlHamam #AghwarJanoobiyahDistrict #Buthacusmacrocentrus #DarklingBeetle #Orthochirusnegebensis #Solifuge #Ceratobitonstyloceros #Amman #Jordantowerhotel #Aqaba #JordanValleyHighway #AlMudawwara #Leiurusjordanensis #Nidazole #Diarrhea