Went herping, Failed.

[smy_749]

Rented a car and drove 5 hours to Wadi Rum desert in hopes of finding V. griseus, U. aegyptia, S. doriae and some other rare stuff. Been dying to go on this trip for a few years now. Anyways, The locals got mad I refused the 100$ Jeep tour and sent me in the wrong direction. Walked for 10 km on red sand dunes and rocky terrain and got lost, saw an old bedouin man who sent me throw the mountain pass and got stuck on a cliff and had to call a rescue crew after dark. Also turns out I missed the reptiles by more than a month, they are all in brumation for the cold winter. Lots of urates/poop on every rock almost and hundreds of burrows, some snake tracks and gecko eggs. Only actual reptiles I saw were two lacerta species I think (haven't identified them yet, will post pictures). They were everywhere, and tracks all over. Dug out like 15 burrows and stuck my entire arm down probably 20 or 30 but they were around 5 feet long with more than one entrance for small lizards..crazy. Makes you understand what "burrow" truly means. The sand turns into cement the farther you get down (sandstone I guess) so its pretty cool. Will have to post pics of the two species I saw, the scenery, and the scorpion.