It's our last full day together. This sad thought made me wake up at 6.30am. But it was spectacular to see the sunshine gently bathing the mountains of Wadi Rum. 

My early start began with lots of laughter as Haider was already up, taking pictures of our Bedouin camp and some of the tourists who had come to stay at the Captain's Camp the night before. Best of all, our guide Awad was already here to say goodbye. Awad, Haider and I started clapping and playing the 'Dembuka' but soon stopped because we realized people were still sleeping. 

We all had breakfast together and thanked Awad for making our stay so special. It was really sad for me to leave the desert as its serenity and beauty are truly magnetic.

After a long breakfast, we drove off and saw the most spectacular sight - a train passing on the history-laden Hijaz railway. It was as if the desert was saying goodbye to us and honouring us with this rare sight.

We headed to the Dead Sea via Aqaba and followed the King's Highway. At around 3pm we arrived at the Dead Sea's Amman Beach Complex, which is a public beach. 

Floating in the Dead Sea – the lowest point on Earth – is great fun because the high salinity makes it impossible to sink. Ali and I covered ourselves with sulphorous black mud and looked like we were wearing diving suits. 

We arrived back at our hotel, The Imperial, in Amman at around 5.30pm and at 7.30pm we had a press conference attended by our special guest His Excellency Fuad Al Maauda, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Bahrain Embassy in Jordan, as well as several local journalists. We all shared our stories about our adventures in Jordan and our life in Bahrain and later had dinner together. 

This trip has been an amazing experience. The words Friendship Arabia mean so much to me. I have learnt a lot from my team and especially Ali. People skills are the most important asset we can possess. 

This was also the first time that I appreciated that although my Arabic is still extremely broken and hard for me to learn, it is paying off. Getting the gist of the jokes of my team, and at times even understand them, to asking the Bedouin family some questions, learning funny sayings, is all part of the power of language... and friendship building in Arabia. 

I really don’t want this trip to end for me...

Maria Ramos