The land that later became Jordan and is part of the richly historic Fertile Crescent region was the setting for this eighth edition. Its history dates back to 2000 BC, when the Semitic Amorites settled around the Jordan River in the area called Canaan. Subsequent invaders and settlers included the Hittites, Egyptians, Nabataeans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Israelites, Romans, Muslim Arabs, Christian Crusaders, Mamluks and the Ottoman Turks, who imbued this region with a great cultural heritage.

In the 7th century, present-day Jordan was conquered by the Caliph Omar in 1100 during the First Crusade, King Baldwin I of Jerusalem carried out several raids in the so-called Transjordan (beyond the Jordan, with the aim of controlling the camel caravans that crossed the territories of present-day Jordan). During the Crusades, the Franks took control of the whole region. Transjordan then became the “Lordship of Jerusalem”, a vassal of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which lasted until 1189, when the great Saladin occupied all of Transjordan, and remained under the rule of the Ayyubid dynasty until 1259, when it passed into the hands of the Mamluks and then into the hands of the Ottomans in 1517. This eighth edition of the Pelayo Vida Challenge will take place at the very settings of all these historic battles.

At present, Jordan is an Arab country on the eastern banks of the Jordan River, characterised by ancient monuments, nature reserves and coastal resorts. It is home to the well-known archaeological site of Petra, the Nabataean capital dating back to around 300 BC. Petra is nicknamed the “Pink City”, because it is located in a valley with tombs, temples and monuments carved into the surrounding pink sandstone cliffs.

The Pelayo Vida Jordania Challenge against cancer, now in its eighth edition, aims to spread the word about the benefits of exercising during and after cancer treatment by cycling, climbing and diving within one of the greatest cultural crossroads on Earth.

Jordan was the destination chosen for the sixth edition of the Pelayo Vida 2020 Challenge, but due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the next two editions, Vuelta España 2020 and 66 Norte 2021, had to be held in Atlantic waters to keep our crew members isolated. Over the eight editions, more than 1,800 women cancer survivors have entered the selection trials for Kilimanjaro’2015, Trasatlántica’2016, Polar’2017, Annapurna Bike’2018, Andes’2019, Vuelta España’2020, 66 Norte’2021 and Jordania’2022.

Five women who have suffered from cancer will have to mountain bike (MTB) 285 kilometres across the great desert dunes to the narrow canyons of Petra, abseil down the breathtaking Wadi al Mujib (1,300 m in three steps) next to the Dead Sea, climb the second highest peak in Jordan, Wadi Rum (1,734 m of rock) and dive into the crystal clear and deep waters of the Red Sea.

Our five expedition members will also have to face new and demanding experiences and challenges. This expedition has been created for the participants to be part of a team; as such, they will have to cope with the hardness of the route, sleeping few hours, eating in Bedouin tents, not always finding a shower available and keeping the spirit of the challenge alive during the almost two weeks of the expedition.

Moreover, Jordan has started a Sustainable Tourism campaign, whose main lines are as follows: “Stroll without destroying, visit without leaving a negative footprint, get to know without dirtying, discover without destroying, consume without polluting, offer services that respect the environment, all that and more is part of sustainable tourism”, something that all the expeditions of the Pelayo Vida Challenge in all its editions have been abiding by and for which it was recognised by NASA itself in the 2017 edition.