I did not have much information about the place before coming here.
This place is quite isolated. It is about 8 km, 5 miles from the road. The terrain is quite rough for these 8 km taking almost half hour to travel by truck. From the road it's probably another hour to any major city, and 3 hours to Amman if taking the direct route.
This place is off the grid both by choice and by the fact that there is no electricity in the area. So far the temperatures have ranged from the low forties at night to high seventies during the day. When it rained last week the temperature did rise beyond the low fifties during the day, and the wind made it quite chilly. There is a big difference in temperature between a shady spot and a sunny spot. Maybe as much as 20 degrees.
The lodge generates electricity through solar panels. Howeve most of the lodge is lit up with candles. The guest bathrooms do have a bulb. The rooms are also lit with cancels.
There is no heat or AC in the rooms. There are a couple of fireplaces, one at the reception and one in what I call the living room. This is where people gather at night. They burn what is called "jift". After crushing the olives for olive oil, the left over is compressed and this is jift.
This much I knew before coming here, so how do you pack for this. As the picture shows I brought with me a medium size bag and a medium size backpack, and light hiking boots.
The strategy was to have multiple layers of clothing. I packed
3 pairs of hiking pants
1 long john bottom (haven't used it yet and don't think I will need it.)
1 pair of light sweat pants. These have come handy in the room.
3 pairs of medium weight socks
2 pairs of light wait socks. So far I have only worn the medium weight socks, but by mid March the temperature will rise and by April it will be in the eighties. I figured if it gets really cold I can always wear the med weight over the light weight.
3 short sleeve t-shirts,
2 long sleeve t-shirts
2 long john tops ( these have come quite handy both during the day and night in the room when reading or writing.) All the t-shirts, and long john are made of organic cotton. It feels really good against the body. I know the debate about heat when wet, time to dry ect. Despite all that I am very happy with this choice.
2 polo shirts, if I need casual dress up.
2 shirts, SPF 30 or more. These can also be worn as dress shirts.
1 pair of minimalist sneakers, very light
1 pair of flip flops
1 pair of five finger shoes (I have not worn these yet, but they are a good backup for any shoe, good in water and extremely light and hardly take any space.)
And I wore a pair of pants, boots, socks, shirt T-shirt and a jacket.
2 safary hats,
2 regular caps,
2 flashlights, a small one that easily fits in my pocket, 2 extra AAA batteries, a large rechargeable flashlight.
1 small first aid kit,
1 sewing kit,
1 swiss army knife,
1 knife with a locking blade,
2 toothbrushes,
2 toothpaste,
1 soap,
1 solid bar shampoo,
1 bug repellent,
3 chap sticks
1 bottle of iodine pills,
2 aluminum thurmos water bottles. Granted these are heavy, but I don't like plastic and I don't like camel back drinking system.
1 light weight SPF 30 jacket.
2 pairs of rag gloves. One fingerless, this has come real handy both at night when reading or typing and during the day walking.
That's about it for necessities. I also have a 35 mm camera with an 18-200 mm lens, a tablet and a smart phone.
So far the only thing I have missed not having is a sweatshirt or a sweater. While I have used the jacket when needed it is not as easy to carry as a sweatshirt.
Hope this helps those looking to pack light and go to remote places.
Good tips :)
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