Mava decides he wants to go right away for stoning.

We put a small posse together and we are off. Takes just over an hour to get to the Jamarat and the Talbiyah in the tunnels is deafening.
Awesome scenes of people walking towards the Jamarat. You can tell the first timers from the look on their faces.

In the distance I can see the new train. They trying it out with 3000 VIP’s on board. Amazing how they can get a train running but they can’t sort out the wudu facilities in Muzdalifah.

The Jamarat is easy Alhumdulillah. As always we manage to get right up close to it.
Walk back takes a bit longer as we go a different route. Crazy heat but Mava gets us back.

It is amazing the little things you don’t notice in life. Like ice left over in your cup after a drink. Normally you would leave it but not here. Here ice is like gold and can win you many friends.
The meals are very basic but when you hungry they taste so good.
Humans can survive on a lot less. We just choose not to.

You see some tents with mattresses as thick as the ones you have on your beds back home and you think it’s a luxury when all it is, is a mattress. People come for Hajj but moan when they don’t get a five star holiday.

We finally get confirmation on the Qurbani so we snip a bit of hair to come out of ihram.
Really great feeling. Comb comes out and beard gets dealt with.

Mava is a huge blessing. He is like my personal Bat Signal. No matter where I am he finds me. Such a weight off my mind.
We call on him to help us find a barber to shave our heads. In the daytime they were queuing up to cut hair but now not one in sight. Mava finds us two brothers who cut our hair. Great job and a great feeling.

Swansea lad admits that he was upset with Mava for bringing us back the long way as he had his little son with him. After talking to some people in our group, he realises that if we had come back the way we went it would have taken a lot longer than it did. Nice of him to admit that.

I got hunger pains but cannot find a biryani seller to save me life. When you don’t want something you find lots of it. Have to settle for chips instead.

Moshy, our roomie, owns a shop back home and from the looks of things, he has brought most of the shop with him. Oh the treats we have!