Wadi Hassa!

What would happen if you combined the Narrows canyon in Southern Utah and the jungles in Swiss Family Robinson? Wadi Hassa. That's what happens. Some call it a tropical desert. The trip didn't start out very tropical. Definitely more on the desert side of life. In fact, there wasn't a single, growing, green thing in sight. As we approached the river that runs through Wadi Hassa, everything remained brown and dry. However, along the banks of the river, green reeds and other living things were in abundance. Looking at the horizon while standing next to the river, you would see a green strip right next to the river where everything was growing. Following that would be a brown strip where nothing was growing. Finally you would see a blue strip that had no white clouds to mar the pattern. I didn't spend a lot of time staring at the horizon because shortly after getting outfitted with helmets and life jackets we were heading down the river. The first part of the adventure was the first of many “water” slides. Basically we slid down some slippery rocks. It was pretty great. Only a short while later, we reached the first pool. Most of the pools had big rocks or cliffs to jump off of, while we simply chilled in some of the other pools for a while before moving on. Two pools in particular had great cliffs to jump off of. The cliff at the second pool was the picnic spot for lunch. Lunch consisted of sandwiches, fresh tea and almonds. I think it's pretty great that Arabs love their tea enough to haul around all the equipment necessary to fix tea while sitting on a rock that has a small river on one side, and a hill that is nearly a sand dune on the other side. The worst part about eating lunch was that we had to stop moving momentarily and we weren't in the water. Because of that, the flies had a chance to catch up to us. I think I had nearly twenty flies on one sandal. I also think that the spot we stopped for lunch was the worst spot because it was around so much standing water. Other attractions in Wadi Hassa included but was not limited to standing behind a waterfall, walking through the reeds that line the river, spotting some frogs, birds and other wildlife, and sitting in a natural hot pool that didn't smell like sulfur. Believe it or not folks, water in Jordan isn't naturally hot unless it's been sitting out. However, this one stream of water is heated by unknown means that haven't always been in place. Until a couple of years ago, this stream also contained cool water. Since the water is pretty warm and bordering on hot, a few rocks have been placed strategically to dam off the stream a bit and create nice place to sit and rest at the end of the trek through Wadi Hassa. It would have been even better if it had of actually been the end of the trek. But after climbing out of the water, we then had to walk up the dusty road to where the bus was waiting to take us back to Amman. The walk itself wasn't too bad, but I definitely gained new appreciation for the significance of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles. It had only been one day and we were in water for most of it. However, that dust wasn't just sand. It was a fine powder that stuck to your skin and didn't fall off once it dried. It simply caked on more layers. The drive back to Amman was nearly as exciting as the trip down the river. As we climbed up the mountains on the side of the river, the only evidence that Wadi Hassa exists lay is the green line snaking it's way down the canyon. We had only traveled about 2 km, or less than 1.5 miles, and it took us five hours. It's crazy how time flies when you're having fun!

=)