Jordan: What's a girl got to do to get a shower around here?

Way back in October I spend a week hiking through Jordan. I've been intending to blog about it ever since, and failing miserably. Since then I've also been to Venice, and have just booked a further international trip for late April. I'll try to be a bit more timely about those ones!

Anyway, I spent a week hiking from Dana Nature Reserve to Petra, booked through KE Adventure. The temperature was consistently over 40C, and there was comparatively little shade. Indeed, some days seem to consist of hiking from the shade of one tree to the shade of the next...We were supported by a team of Jordanians driving 4x4s, but all our hiking was on Bedouin tracks, and we only saw the trucks at the campsites. Because of the remote nature of the campsites:


and the arid climate, all the water we used was carried in by 4x4. So, after a full day hiking through the heat, how do you make yourself fit for the group dinner time?

If there's a convenient waterhole, you can sluice yourself off, but without any soap or detergent in that. Or, you can just chill out, as at this stream we came across in the middle of day 3. We'd had an enormous climb that morning, so this was like a little slice of heaven when we descended the col and found a shady stream for our lunch stop:


Assuming that there is neither stream nor waterhole, the first thing you do is gather up your - ideally environmentally friendly - toiletries, and your 1.5L bottle of water. Then you find somewhere to provide some shade and privacy:


You look behind you to make sure you're not going to inadvertently flash an unsuspecting group member or local:


Then you set up your stuff in a convenient niche:


It is - just about - possible to wash yourself, and wet and rinse my shoulder-length with the 1.5L bottle. It's a bit of an art form, but it is doable. And the balmy 30C+ temperature combined with the aridity meant there was no need to towel off! You'll also appreciate - ok, maybe not - the exfoliating nature of the fine desert dust that gets into absolutely everything, and the combination of sunscreen and dust that gave my hair the most body it has ever had. I'm assuming it looked horrendous, however, so I won't be recommending this as a beauty regime any time soon.

And there you are. All ready for dinner at the communal mat: