'I pray that I may never see the desert again'

Ok 5 points if anyone can name the movie my title quote comes from...... anyone? no? well maybe it'll be clearer before this entry is through!

Day Two - 4x4 Adventure and Oh My!
Day two started off late, well 8:00 to be accurate - but as we were to discover later in the holiday, this was a lie in! After a quick shower, we headed up to breakfast, having already booked our expedition for the afternoon following our arrival in port. Breakfast was a lazy affair as we chatted to the waiters and discussed what we were most looking forward to in the week - for me it was all about the next day and Petra (it was the reason I begged to go on this cruise above all others). For Claire it was just the sights - and sun- in general, so as we finished our morning cups of tea (an essential) we decided to hit the deck for a couple of hours of sun before we had lunch and headed out.

That plan went rapidly down the drain as over the speaker came a notice of a practice for emergancy evacuation. So much for catching some sun! with a shrug and a bit of a groan we headed down to the cabin to grab our lifejackets and await the alarm. The whole procedure was a bit of a hoot really and had we thought about it, we would have got the camera's out the safe to take a picture of us looking stupid, but we didnt so you can't have a laugh - sorry. By the time we got up to our required meeting point, half of our 'lifeboat' was already there and we located the two ladies we had to check in with. Well, it was about this point we realised sunbathing wouldn't have happened anyway! there was a massive crosswind and whilst it wasn't cold, it would have taken its toll on the skin if exposed for too long. Meanwhile the crew were all trying not to be blown overboard whilst demonstrating how to use the life jackets - they survived, however, several of their caps didn't - I hope they have some spares!

So after a windswept 40 minutes and a lot of appologies (those life jackets are wider than you think) we headed back to the cabin with the single focus of fixing our hair - which now looked like it had been dragged through a bush backwards. A quick brush through and the addition of a couple of grips and we headed out again to explore the ship properly having not really had chance the night before. Several miles later, too many sets of stairs and a lot of introductions to staff onboard quickly ate up our time and we headed back to restuarant for a light lunch before checking off ship for our trip.

Our first adventure was a 4x4 desert run through the valley of Wadi Rum - famous for........ well this is where that quote comes in. Wadi Rum is where Lawrence of Arabia (the real one) spent much of his time and where Peter O'Toole later returned to film the 1962 blockbuster of the same name. We saw everything from the Pillars of wisdom to the trade route stopping points and the original settlement where the arab fighters used to hide in the valley when fighting for their independance. There's a feeling in that desert that history has never really entered into the past - it's truly incredible, and well worth the bruises we acquired from our mode of transportation [flat bedded toyato's with metal seats and very little padding]

Me at the starting point of Wadi Rum - In the background you can see the pillars of wisdom

Our mode of transportation - It was an experiance lol!

We finished this adventure at a Bedouin village where we had tea and live music. It was a brilliant end to what had been a highly charged 4 hours out in the desert, giving us time to relax before getting back on the coaches and to take stock of the bruises we had acquired - my left hip still isn't right! lol!

Our Bedouin Stop

We headed back to ship, unsure of what the night had in store, but content. As we watched the sun set behind the mountains we contemplated what dresses to wear - very important as we didn't want to clash, but also we didn't want to pull out the best dresses at the start of the holiday - and settled on the buffet dinner, as it gave us more flexability to see that night's show and still get in time at Liberties (the bar) and dancing. 

 

Sunset behind the Mountains of Wadi Rum

After dinner (and laughing at our arrival photo - it was truly hidious) we gave in to the plees of the ship photographer to let him take a better one before heading into the show lounge for that nights performance - Concerto. It was a high energy show of some of the biggest and best songs throughout the years and showcased the talents of the team that we were to witness time and time again throughout the remained of the cruise.

Me and Claire

As planned, the night finished in Liberties where we steadily worked our way through the cocktail menu and listened to some music, well listened to the music and appreciated the band members who were...... oh my! were they ever easy on the eyes (and ears). It was a deadly combination and from this point on, they were the singular reason we stayed up until all hours.
Having made sure we (by which I mean Claire) had been noticed by the band, we headed to bed about 2am and got a little under 4 hours sleep before the alarm clock rang and we rolled out of bed for the daytrip I had been looking forward to the most - Petra!

Next time - Petra and Paradise