Lovely Feinan and Other Adventures!

I just drove back from a fabulous overnight in Wadi Feinan. The Feinan Ecolodge, set mid wadi at the base of the mountains is lovely, and managing to survive without electricity is a refreshing change. The special niches in the rooms reserved for candles is charming and we were glad that the one exception was in the bathroom where there was power for one energy saving light bulb!

Yesterday I drove my car to the village of Ghreighra where we parked at the Feinan reception area. We then tossed our bags in the back of a pickup truck and were driven the next 10 kilometers over a rough road to the lodge. Today we did the whole thing in reverse but instead of just tossing our bags in the truck, three of us rode back there too. Another refreshing change from confined cars with confined seatbelts!

Thoroughly exhilarated from our adventures of visiting ancient ruins and the famous Feinan copper mines (which were first used in Neolithic times 8500 BC – 4500 BC) we headed home via Ghor Safi, where we stopped to see Lot’s Cave. Sadly, the newly built museum has yet to be opened, so we passed it on our way up the hill to the staircase that took us to the Cave, the Church of St. Lot and the monastery. Once back in the car the two of us who had counted quizzed the other two about how many steps there were up to the site! Neither guess was close and even we had a discrepancy between us as to whether it was 290 or 291? The guard who was there told us that there were 300 steps, so I guess that settled it for all of us.

Continuing our drive home, I suddenly became aware that the car was quickly running out of gas. Thankfully we managed to get to a station, the first one on the road leading up from the Dead Sea. Unfortunately they didn’t have any unleaded gas, but I was able to put enough super in the car to get us home. Our only unpleasant incident of the day was when we pulled in the station and saw the attendant filling the car ahead of us while smoking a cigarette!! When we protested both he and the driver of the other car assured us that it was okay…no problem. We made them VERY aware that there WAS a problem and he put the cigarette out before filling my car. This is not my first experience with this kind of ignorance, I have had the same thing happen at the one station in Aqaba where one can get unleaded gas. Does anyone know who we can report these incidents to because these stations should be shut down until it can be proved that their attendants don’t smoke!

Thankfully we weren’t blown to smithereens and we arrived home safe and sound with future plans to try out the other ecolodges that are springing up around Jordan. So…where next….Dana….Ajloun, or the new place that I just heard of in Azraq?? One thing for sure, next time we might be safer if along with our overnight bags, we took a jerry can of gas to prevent exposing ourselves to “explosive situations” by ignorant smoking gas station attendants!!
kag