Day 179 Jordan 16/3/2011, al-Karak – free camp Wadi al-Hasa. 27.43miles/43.67km, 3hr25minutes, Av 8mph.

Leaving the functional, if not particularly great, Hotel Cairwan behind we set off out of al-Karak into a strong headwind. So much for our hopes that the wind would die down over night! For the next 10km we fought the wind and long dragging hills until we reached the town of Mu'ta.

Mu'ta turned out to be a town of mixed emotions for us. Firstly we stopped in a shop for some snacks and were greeted warmly by a customer who wanted to pay for our food. We declined the generous offer, but it was nice to see the warm, hospitable side of Jordan again. The second incident wasn't so great. Getting to the top of a steep hill a few lads ran across the road to have a chat. They were a bit cocky but were generally OK, one of the smaller lads spoke a bit of English and was genuinely pleasant. When Debs joined me she asked if they were any trouble and I said no. Waving goodbye we carried on up the road. As we passed the lads I watched one of them pick up a stone and then try to hide it when he saw that I had spotted him. The warning I gave him obviously didn't make any difference as he threw it and hit Debs in the leg. Clearly they weren't expecting me to turn round and go after them, as all bravado left and they hid behind a lorry, before running off down the road. The lorry driver told me to let them go and apologised on their behalf; it was probably just as well that I didn't catch them. Twice in two days the ugly side of cycling in Jordan has reared its head and I am pretty certain it is going to happen again. I steadfastly refuse to just ride off and do nothing though.

Debs was fine just a little shocked, fortunately when we reached the town of al-Mazar we were invited into a shop for tea, by some of the loveliest people we have met in Jordan.

The country is turning into a real enigma, the moments of warmth and then reckless stupidity seem so at odds with each other.

The hard work climbing against the wind was rewarded as we left al-Mazar by a long descent down into the beautiful Wadi al-Hasa. Sitting on a couple of rocks overlooking the valley and numerous Bedouin camps, proved to be a perfect place to have lunch. It was another great reminder of why we are doing the trip, something that on the difficult days it's nice to have.

When it comes to cycling 'whatever goes down, must go up' and we soon found ourselves slowly climbing out of the valley. The wind was still against us and we were rapidly reaching the warmest part of the day. Looking for somewhere to camp became our main priority. Fortunately it seems in Jordan that you can pretty much put a tent up anywhere. We soon found a nice, if somewhat exposed spot and set up camp.

We will climb out of the valley in the morning; it should be our last long, steep, climb until we head down to Aquaba and the Red Sea. Expect these words to come back to haunt me!