The trip back was non eventful. Of course leaving Feynan is always somewhat tricky. I had to leave around 5 AM Monday morning to make it to the airport before 9 for an 11:00 am flight, which had been delayed to 11:20. Leaving Feynan at 5 is always challenging. I did not have a confirmed ride until about 9 PM on Sunday, even thought the search for a reliable driver started on Friday.
The driver did show up about five minutes early and we got off on time. As usual we ended up picking up a person going to Karak, and then one of the guides who was going to Amman. Even after hitting traffic and some confusion about which airport I was taking off from we made it to the right airport before nine.
The plane did not take off until after 12 and due to strong head winds arrived quite late in London. Fortunately I was allowed to go through the fast track line for security and made the connection as they were announcing last call for boarding.
So most people want to know if I would do this again, I guess that is the top level measure, and without hesitation I have responded Yes, to everyone who has asked. I think this is a unique experience and hard to match the life style around Feynan. Then people want to know what was great about it. The things that stand out are the people and I mean all the people. The locals are very welcoming and the guests, in most cases, are very interesting and some are doing wonderful things to help the world. The land itself has something about it that is harsh but calming at the same time. And finally the simplicity of life. While the lodge has many comforts, the mindset is still of simplicity because of the surrounding culture and the focus on Eco-friendly environment.
So how do you conclude such a great journey/experience. In most of my career I closed each major step by writing a poem, but in this case I have already written a dedication to the readers and have had no inspiration to write another poem. So I am picking a poem from my past and putting it here. I wrote this when I changed jobs many years ago. The poem has nothing to do with Feynan, but I think it is a good poem for a major transition.
Corporation
The beastly head of the cobra
The unnoticeable ripple of the dry sand
The unspoken stillness of the venom death
Mars the dry crusted skin of the desert
In it life flows, unseen abundant
Furtive movements, slight, unnoticed
In it flows death, seen abundant
Skeletons dry and crusted
It is here that I dwell among them
One shady spot no different than another
It is here that sand resembles sand
No differentiation among them
The stillness of the night chills the bones
The coldness of the night crawls through the stones
The day and night show uncanny resemblance
The sparkling mirages fill the imagination
The unending mirages give hope to the naive
But in mirages I do not believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment