Dead Sea tomatoes and white knuckle rides.

The day I flew out of Jordan and into Syria started with a white knuckled ride with Yahya, my driver. I didn't think about it too much at the time but a car sporting a wind foil taped to the back should have rung some bells on what was in store. The little car sure had some go. At 160km an hour on a road no wider than the car with camels flying past I had to ask if he could see his way clear to get me to the airport alive today. He replied “ok” and brought the car back to 140km....for a while. We travelled along the Jordan Israeli border headed for a swim in the Dead Sea and to check out some tomatoes growing around that area. Some tomatoes is an understatement, they were everywhere! The climite along the sea is quite mild and I even saw bananas growing right beside them on the flat. Yahya was pretty good to me as he played translator when we pulled up and walked in to see a few fields. Insect control for leaf miner moth was as simple as it was effective. Basins full of water with a little light suspended over it were strategically placed throughout the farm. The moths are drawn to the light, fall in and that's that for them! Simple but effective. The number of trucks stuffed with boxes of tomatoes on the road was amazing, all heading for export. They didn't seem to slow our progress though.

Insect control Jordan style

 

Not every day you see Tomatoes growing beside Bananas

A swim in the Dead Sea is quiet something. You can lay flat on your back and bob around like a cork. I even got covered is the black mud the area is famous for. It was a fun day and we made it to the airport with hours to spare.