Richard has owned and flown hawks for nearly 20 years and had hoped to have the opportunity during the expedition to see falcons being flown in the desert. Chatting to Eid over a delicious meal of rice and chicken we discovered that in addition to being a singer, musician, songwriter and writer he is also the owner of two Seka falcons. Richard's eyes lit up and Eid rushed off to fetch the birds, which then sat happily in the corner of the room. Fortune continued to smile on us with the arrival of Sa'id, a friend of Eid and Jafar, well known singer and expert falconer who hunts with the Maktoums. He brought with him a Peregrine falcon and, much to Richard's delight, a Gyr falcon - the latter being a magnificent and extremely valuable bird.

Sadly Umberto had to get back to Aqaba to catch his flight to Turkey, but before we left Sa'id mentioned that he was off for a few days hunting in the desert north of Ma'an... and would we like to go with him? Silly question really.

With Jafar's car in need of a serious overhaul we had no option but to take Umberto to Aqaba in the Range Rover - with no back seats it wasn't going to be a comfortable run and I just managed to squeeze onto the central cubby box - not recommended. After dropping Umberto off at the airport we refuelled, stocked up with food and got ready for an early morning start.

9th December 2002

Having collected Eid on our way through Quweira (which meant I faced another uncomfortable couple of hours on the cubby box - it took me ages to straighten out) we drove north on the desert highway through Ma'an and on to the village of Al Mohammadia, in the middle of a large, flat expanse of flint covered desert - which luckily did not shred our tyres. At over 1200 metres, it was also much colder than we were used to - the temperature dropped to a little above freezing at night and only just touched double figures during the day. We met up with Sa'id and a group of his friends, sitting around a fire drinking tea - just what I needed as I had been up late the night before chatting to Rakad and was beginning to flag. With them was a newly caught falcon, sitting quietly on it's perch - it was only when I got closer that I realised it had it's eyes sown shut: a single silk thread closing the outer eyelid. We had seen this method used on a bird in Syria - it is the alternative to using a hood and not something that you see in the UK. I was shocked at first, but the bird seemed calm and not in any discomfort and was happy to eat the food that was offered to it - perhaps it is less irritating to the bird than being hooded for a week.

Unfortunately the weather had changed - a bitterly cold, strong wind had picked up which put a stop to flying. Instead, we were taken to the home of Abu Naef and his family - a traditional Bedouin home, with a main tent (split in two - one end for sitting and eating and the other for cooking) and two smaller tents for Abu Naef's sons and their families. Nearby was a goat enclosure, sheep grazed happily around the tent, a well-kept donkey stood looking mournful as only donkeys can and four camels stood and lay in a group. The camels were completely different from the 'tourist' camels that we were used to - the youngest was inquisitive in the way that a child is and wanted to sniff our hair, face and clothes, all the time making a contented, low-pitched rumbling noise. The mother was superb - very placid, lying with her long neck outstretched and head on the floor while one of Abu Naef's grandchildren crawled all over her.

Abu Naef had wanted to slaughter one of his sheep to feed us as we were considered honoured guest and I was pleased that Sa'id told him that it really was not necessary - we were happy to eat what they would normally eat. A wonderful meal of bread, cheese, potatoes and tomatoes, cooked together on a large metal tray appeared from behind the partition and we hungrily tucked in. The remainder of the evening was spent sitting on cushions around a roaring fire, discussing Shakespear, Lawrence and Jordanian history while the wind howled outside - the birds slept peacefully on their perches and occasionally a pigeon or rabbit would wander through the tent. A wonderful end to a very different day.

10th December 2002

We awoke to a chilly morning but thankfully the wind had died down - time to fly the falcons. Birds and humans raced off across the desert in Said's 4WD - the vehicle is modified so you can stand on the back seats out of the sun roof, leaning against a padded rail. We were searching for Karouan (probably spelt wrong), a migratory bird from Eastern Europe. One bone shaking hour later we came across a group of Karouan, trying their best to hide in amongst the stones and scrubby plants - one took off and the Gyr was released to chase it. The Gyr is a big bird and the wind was strong enough to hinder it - it just couldn't catch its prey, but the sight of it wheeling around was quite magnificent. The Gyr was hooded and put back into the car and the Seka was used instead - another Karouan was spotted and the chase was on once more - we were travelling so fast that Richard and I, standing out of the sunroof of Sa'id's car, were ourselves barely able to breath.

That evening, after another superb meal with Abu Naef, we returned to Aqaba for two busy days of washing clothes (I have no idea how two people can produce so much washing), brushing Wadi Rum out of the car and general preparing for our return to the desert and onward trip to Amman.

2002 Endurance Marathon, Wadi Rum.

14th December 2002

For such a prestigious race there was nothing in the way of publicity and we only found out about the event because we had towed a 4WD full of the race organisers out of the sand on our way to Disi a week before. As a great fan of Arabian horses this was not something I was going to miss so we joined up with Eid and Jafar, spending the night camped near the Kharaz rock arch, and at sunrise the following morning made our way to the start, north of Rum village. The beginning of the race was magnificent to see - over 100 horses trotting and cantering across the sand with about the same number of vehicles (from ancient Toyotas to the beefed up Godolphin truck, emblazoned with the team photographs) following, kicking up an enormous dust cloud. The 120 km race was split into four stages; at the end of each stage the horses were examined by a team of vets - the tiniest of problems meant the horse was out of the race. It was clear to see that some of the team's had an awful lot of money behind them - and, unsurprisingly, one of the Godolphin riders took the trophy.

20th December 2002

Richard and I are now in Amman, staying in the luxurious grandeur of the Regency Palace hotel. It is strange to be in a big city again, even stranger to be sleeping in a bed - and the biggest shock of all is that it is absolutely freezing cold and SNOWING! What is going on?! We are in Amman to pick up our Saudi Visas which hopefully will be a straightforward process - then it is back to Aqaba for Christmas, New Year, servicing the Range Rover and preparations for Saudi Arabia...

The Amphitheatre, Amman

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