Wadi Guir hike and lunch

It's been a few days since the last post.
On Wednesday I was going to take out a mountain bike and see if I could make it to Feynan Village and back. However, in the morning as I was exploring this possibility some visitors asked me if I would like to join them for the half day guided tour into Wadi Guir. I decided to try it. The seven of us, the guide, a couple of ladies both archeologists, one from Ireland and one from England, and a family, th parents and their son, and myself, set off towards the south. Then crossed over into Wadi Guir, passing by some Roman ruins. There are quite a few of them here, but they have not been excavated and most of them are buried.
There is a lot of slag on these mountains. Slag is the stone after the copper has been extracted by heating the stone. It is black . Apparently nothing will grow where there is slag; another reason there is very little vegetation here.
Wadi Guir has water all year round from what I hear. Apparently it gets narrower and at some point you are walking in water with rock on both sides, but we did not get that far. I am told there is still a danger of flash floods and you don't want to get caught in the narrow part, so there are no hikes, I should say guided hikes until May. The hike is supposed to be really nice and since I am planning to leave mid April, I am trying to figure out a way to do this hike before I leave.
So we head up the valley walking on the river bed. Soon there is water running. There are irrigation pipes that take this water to the farms further down. It is hot but as we move further up the valley there is more water and the water is cool. The breeze picks up the coolness of the water and like a lazy air conditioner gently blows the air.
It is a pleasant walk. We talk about various things as we walk up the valley.
The water is flowing stronger now. We have crossed the river many times stepping over stones constantly looking for the dry bank to walk on. We finally stop. We collect wood build a fire and the guide makes tea. We drink the sweet tea and rest.
We head back. We do not turn right to head back to the lodge. We continue straight and there is a truck waiting for us. The family of three sit inside while the rest climb in the back. The two ladies sit. I let the guide sit. His back is bothering him. There is no more room so I stand. You can really feel the bumps standing in the back of the truck, and as a bonus you get to see where and how far down you will end up if the truck goes off the path or a bump sends you bouncing out of the back. It is a fun ride and cool back here. We get back to the lodge.
Thursday I stay at the lodge. A couple from Italy will be leaving today. I spent sometime with them the last three days. The guy is a professor at a university in Italy. The lady who is half Malaysian lives and works in Iraq in ER - and I thought Microsoft was stressful. We say good bys as they head out. They remind me of the Swiss couple who I had the pleasure to meet earlier. The lady worked for an ex-Microsoft director of research. She wanted to know why her boss acted in certain ways, describing common MS behaviors. The guy was finishing his PHD in art in Italy
Later one of the guides is frustrated. He is trying to do something in excel. I take a look. We get talking. Another guide joins us. I show them how to multiply two numbers and have the total appear magically. I show them how to anchor a cell. We go through summing up columns and a few other excersises.
Friday I am invited to the house of one of the guides for lunch. We will be having mansif. The guide lives in town, about 8 or 9 miles away. His father lives in a Bedou tent less than 10 minute walk from the lodge. I am supposed to catch a ride with his father.
The day starts around 9 AM and I am back by 4. Lunch takes a while here but the mansif is good.