Wadi Rum in Jordan 2010

Wadi Rum! The spirit of Lawrence of Arabia lives on!

Why would you want to sleep in a rag Bedouin tent in a searing hot desert for a night? Why did the eccentric Lawrence of Arabia come here to regenerate his troubled soul? What is the fascinating attraction?

Sharon, Jean and I had just finished a grueling adventure packed 10 day trip through mysterious Syria and lively Lebanon and wanted to add on a trip to Petra, the lost Nabataean temple site featured in the action packed Indiana Jones movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Sharon, recently retired from Stanford University, is an avid outdoor enthusiast and is always keen to explore new places. Jean, a psychiatrist, is from Alaska and spends her time in Mexico in the mountains. She also is an avid traveler and interested in getting the most out of our trip.

We tried to book two nights at a hotel in Petra, close to the entrance to the World Heritage site, but could only secure one night.  We were given the option of a second night in a Bedouin tent in the desert 40 miles from Petra. Why not? It was not cheap, so we felt it would be upscale….somewhat?

We had camped with Bedouins in Palmyra, Syria but it was with a group of 40 people, all sharing two tents. Not an ideal situation, but we got through it. It was worth it to get up early the following  morning to experience the Roman ruins from the crusader fort from above the oasis.

When we arrived in Petra in the late afternoon, we hurried around to see what transportation options are available to get us to Wadi Rum.  With no buses, we ended up haggling with Mohamed (everybody seems to be called Mohamed) to pick us up at hotel the next day at noon, after we will have toured the temples in the blistering hot sun.

We loaded up the yellow taxi (feeling like it was imported from New York) and headed down the divided super highway which connects the gulf port of Aquba with Amman. It was not long before we saw the Arabic sign to Wadi Rum, with a little addition at the bottom in English.

We had a slight problem on arrival as we did not have the full name of the Bedouin we were to meet, nor his cell phone (everybody over the age of 12 has a cell phone!). We figured that this place in the desert could not be that big and the tribesman will be looking for us. Wrong! We were swarmed by hawkers looking for tourists that do not have reservations, or those that they can steal away from others. Our driver was doing his best to find the Bedouin named Mohamed hired by the tour company. We kept repeating we are with “Terhaal eco tours”. We almost got shipped off to the wrong guy and then our guide Khalid arrived like an apparition in the desert. He was in his early 20’s, dressed immaculately in an ultra white robe and a red checked headdress to protect him from the late afternoon blistering sun. He had a sparkling white smile to greet us. We knew we would enjoy this experience.

Our rough and ready transport was a converted 4 wheel drive pickup truck that had been retrofitted with a canopy and seats in the back.  It looked well used, but practical as there were no roads where we were headed.

Off we went, into the blazing hot sun which seemed to be reflecting off the shimmering hot red sands of the desert. Wadi Rum (meaning valley near mount Rum which rises up to 1800 meters) is inhabited by Bedouin tribes which now have active tourist camps for hiking and rock climbing. It became famous when Lawrence of Arabia used it as his base during the First World War. It was also used for the film in the ‘60’s.

We toured the Lawrence spring, which was dry as they have not had rain, and saw the ingenious water capturing techniques. We went to a cave where there were descriptive lifelike petro graphs from the Nabeteans done around 100 AD. By this time the huge golden shimmering sun was setting over the Wadi and we headed for the camp.

Khalid offered us “Bedouin wine”, sweet tea which was hot and refreshing and we settled into our “rooms” in the tent.  Each was partitioned off into double rooms and very comfortable with mats on the woven rug floor and a door which we would leave open to view the magnificent clear starry night.

There was a Swiss couple who were touring the Middle East on a motor bike to share the wine with, they had been in the camp for four days and found it most relaxing. Soon, the sun started setting so we climbed up on the rocky outcrop above the camp to view the golden globe dropping gently behind the craggy multicolored mountains around the Wadi. It was a spectacle of color and light which gently turned into twilight of pinks and grey shadows.

When we returned to the camp we were told to go out in the desert and find our supper!  I was the first to spot the mound in the sand not far from the camp. Khalid laughed and dug up our dinner out of the sand. It is similar to the cooking method used by the Australian Aboriginals, burying food in coals and having the food simmer for a few hours. It was delicious!

We slept well under the stars which were prolific in the darkness of the desert. Morning came early and we headed out to do some climbing and touring in the four wheel drive. It was an exciting trip which was well organized and presented the Bedouin lifestyle in its best light. We were picked up by our driver mid afternoon to take us back to Petra which would be the end of our travels in Jordan. We are left with some special memories of Bedouin hospitality, searing desert heat, cool starry nights and a spectacular Wadi experience!

Christmas in Canada 2010

Christmas in Canada

It is always a challenge to travel in the great white north in the winter. Christmas hustle, bustle, gift buying and flying across borders increase the stress level, but it does not seem to deter anxious family members to brave the elements and put their shoulder to the wind and get on a plane.

My 2010 Cold Canadian Christmas adventure was no different. Sounds simple doesn’t it? With two sons, the younger one with his new wife in Toronto and the elder and his wife in Ottawa, I would take a plane from New York City to Toronto and fly back from Ottawa.  It would be an easy bus ride from Toronto to Ottawa and therefore no winter driving would be involved. I thought I had Mother Nature beaten; it was not going to stop me from enjoying a family Christmas in snowy Canada.

The first part of the plan went well with my sister in law picking me up at the Toronto airport after an uneventful small plane flight from Newark a few days before Christmas. As my son was at work we swung by his house to pick up “Monty” his 6 year old  Golden Retriever who thinks he is a playful puppy. He will do anything to retrieve a stick, and will keep it up until your arm gets weary. I will divert the story to focus on pets in the Pitt family.

My sons have both had a connection to Goldens since before they were born. Our family has had goldens since before they were born and they travelled everywhere with us in the back of the Volvo station wagon, in Canada, and New York. They even flew back from Switzerland every summer to swim in Lake Muskoka for the period we lived there.

Monty continues the good life with a good back yard and trips back to Lake Muskoka when my son visits his in laws who live by the lake. His life has been complicated by a kitten being adopted by my son, but he has adjusted and seems able to cope with the playful antics of the kitten. While I am a total dog lover, I have no time for any feline creature, period. Of course, all cats know this and immediately start purring, rubbing up against me and jumping on my lap. Over Christmas, the sly playful, hungry kitten jumped up on the inviting kitchen table and started slurping and eating my freshly poured cereal as my back was turned. Wack! I quick backhand sent it to the floor and it was a while before it returned to the scene of the crime!

The family visit in Toronto was a wonderful time with lots of catching up and enjoying each other’s company, and then I headed up to Canada to visit my elder son. There was still no snow in Ontario, but the forecast for the North East to be blanketed was starting to appear. It was bitterly cold when my son’s father in law picked me up in Kanata, just east of Ottawa.

We had a wonderful gift filled, food fiesta Christmas with Andrew’s in laws from Nova Scotia joining in the festivities. Of course “Camy” the Golden had to join in all the fun. She is a 9 month old puppy and acts like one! Having a dog in Andrew’s regulated apartment is a challenge. They have a bylaw which states that all dogs have to be crated or carried while in the building. As Andrew lives on the 12^th floor, each time Camy has to be walked she has to be in the crate, wheeled to the elevator, then to the exit, then put on the leash and taken away from the building to respond to natures calling. Guess who did most of the early morning drills? I didn’t mind to get out into the crisp cold Canadian fresh air, and being with an ecstatic dog bounding about looking for squirrels to chase. The only problem was that he was on a leash with my arm on the end of it, getting longer each time I took her for a walk.

Andrew and Sarah had a beautifully decorated tree and much fun was had opening the presents Christmas morning and the wonderful festival scrumptious Christmas dinner that his mother in law lovingly prepared.

The issue was the blizzard at Newark airport and the lack of preparedness to deal with it. I am sure there were lots of worse stories than mine. At least I was with family and the delay was tolerable, but inconvenient to say the least. Continental Air just stopped flying to Ottawa, refused to allow me to change to another airline. To get back before January 4^th, I would have to buy another ticket, which I did, to get back to my friends in New York for New Year’s Celebration.

Mother Nature had that last word!

Nana....Elsie

“Elsie”  …....Nana

“Don’t bring THAT Catholic girl into this house! I will not come downstairs if you do!”  exclaimed a very flushed Elsie shaking her finger at her rascal of a son Jack.

Elsie was small in stature but the way she carried herself, the impeccable way she dressed, her winning smile and the grand way she entered a room made her a figure to be reckoned with. She was larger than life and always looking for a way to end up on top of a situation.

Which of the many stories and images could I tell to convey the impressions I have of my Nana 42 years after her death? Whether it is the vivid retelling of the colorful stories or my hazy infant memory, but I do remember staying with Nana and Pa in their big house on the pineapple plantation in Queensland Australia.

George and Elsie had a large property and required help during the Second World War because of conscription. They were assigned two Italian prisoners of war to help them.  However, they had a warm relationship with the interns. It does sound fitting with the convict heritage of Australia. I also travelled down from Cairns to Brisbane at the time of my brother’s 21st birthday, and my current girl-friend Carmel was in town as well. My mother said Nana told her “Teddy could not be serious; she is a “tyke” isn’t she?”. It is ironic that her great grandson married a Catholic Italian girl in a fairy-tale wedding in a hill town in Piedmonte, ITALY.

My mother still tells stories of Elsie entertaining the “Yanks” in her house with parties and card games into the night. Of course the Americans, who were stationed in a huge camp nearby because of the Battle of the Coral sea, would bring food and liquor. All of which was contraband, kind of like “ Mash”. Elsie loved to entertain and be the center of attention.

Then there was the time that Mum and Dad were out searching for a business opportunity and left my rambuctious brother Jeff and me with them for a week. We must have been small, probably I was 4 and my brother was 5. There was a colorful rocking horse under the house. All houses are built on high posts to allow the breeze through the building. Jeff and I were fooling around on the horse and somehow it toppled over and fell on Jeff. Pa heard the crash, and came down and grabbed Jeff giving him a spanking with his belt. Only afterwards did Nana find out that Jeff had broken his collarbone. You can imagine the scene when our mother arrived back and found out about the “mistreatment” of her darling boys....we deserved it.

Well, then there was George, Pa. A big proud man who loved the horses and hunting wild fowl with his beloved black Labs. They were deeply in love but the fights were notorious. Elsie had high blood pressure and would get so excited that she would pass out. We also stayed with them on another occasion when they ran a small Hotel at Apple Tree Creek with colourful incidents of snakes in the outside “dunny” and in the local creek where we played.

They both passed away in 1969. Soon after Nana died, Pa went into a deep depression and we all say he died of a broken heart. They had a good life together and raised a close knit family, with lots of bumps along the way, and are lovingly remembered by their descendents.

By the way, Jack did marry “That Girl” and Nana did go to the wedding, swearing up to the last minute that she would not go the the Catholic church. Jack had four lovely daughter and was happily married, with the lovely Dympna caring for him during a long painful illness before his death.