Never in my life would I have thought about spending New Year’s Eve in a Bedouin camp. Well, never say never. Our adventure began at the entrance of the Wadi Rum desert in the early afternoon. We left our car at the parking lot and, after traveling for less than 20 minutes in a jeep, with the sun warming our face and the wind blowing through our hair, we finally reached the camp.
It was a beautiful day and the view around us was simply stunning. A portion of the camp was used as a relax zone. While we were trying to find a shelter from the sun under a roof, we found some mats spread on the ground. We were served mint tea and simply enjoyed the view. What more could we ask for?
Those are the moments when one feels at peace with himself and the world, those moments when you realize that life is a marvelous thing, and too often we forget that.
Following our philosophical reflections, it’s time to get back down to earth. We had the opportunity to first explore the area on the camel’s back and wait for the sunset on the top of a small rocky promontory, or walk on foot. We took a walk and enjoyed that moment of solitude, as the other guests of the camp had chosen the other option. Peace of mind.
We returned to the camp, dinner was ready at 6.30 PM. It was December 31st.
We saw that the family hosting us was busy digging in the sand and, with great surprise, they took out a huge copper pot full of chicken stew that they had been cooking since the afternoon, in a traditional way.
It was dinner time, and we were in the central tent. In the middle of it, a beautiful fire was keeping us warm from the cold desert night. The buffet was delicious: meat, vegetables, rice and yogurt.
Now comes the fun part. Our hosts began to sing some traditional songs and invited each one of us (there were twenty of us, all of different nationalities) to do the same. The Russians sang about life and death, the Chinese sang about love… and finally it was our turn. We made them listen to a typical Italian song: “L’uccelin de la comare”. Ale was the lead singer, while two other friends and I were the backing vocalists. An exceptional performance.
Finishing off the evening (at 8.30 pm!!) we went to shoot some fireworks in the desert with lots of hookahs and beating drums. Meanwhile, bright lanterns were flying and shining in the amazing starry sky.
What better way to start the new year.
