Ahmed the Spud

Al Gueira, in south Jordan --
50k from Saudi Arabia

Today I headed out into the desert in search of an old friend. Cruising at high speed in my non-aircon Datsun cab, I was absorbed by the vastness of the Jordanian desert. From a flat and craggy floor rise round-topped mountains that resemble submissive giants. There are no foothills here. Sheer cliffs soar straight up hundreds of metres. At any moment I expect to see the Roadrunner pull up aside and Bleep Bleep past us between these huge monoliths.

My reverie is broken only by sudden braking, and then speeding again, explained moments later by a warning sign: Camel Crossing. Then a blur at my left catches my eye. I jerk my head around just in time to see a camel's ass pass inches from the window. It was a close call for us and the beast.

My driver, Mazen, is unfazed. "It is more dangerous at night, yes." Suddenly this stretch of Jordanian desert road and the Renous Highway in New Brunswick have something in common, if not the crossing species. The regions also share something else, which is why I'm here.

Around the next bend, we dip into a broad valley between two rows of mountains. The sand is suddenly much more red and less rocky. Then I see what I have come for. In the distance an oasis of green rises in long thread-like rows, shimmering in the heat.

"What's growing there?," I ask Mazen.

"Ah, my friend, this is the famous potato land because the soil is red and sandy -- good for potatoes. We grow them very famous for Gulf countries."

It's PEI seed potatoes growing in the desert of Jordan! I'm surprised by how emotional I feel. Those green lines in the sand are a little bit of home.

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