Episode # 10- Eid Mubarak

 

It feels like it's been a long time since we've had a break.  Eight weeks of school plus two weeks of orientation.. it's been a whirlwind.  And now all of a sudden it's NOVEMBER!  hard to believe.  So the way it works for the Eid holiday is when the moon is sighted the Eid holiday can commence but this is a non scientific process; Therefore it wasn't until the middle of last week that they announced that we would have Sunday Monday Tuesday off this week.  So basically its a 5 day weekend for most everyone.. and a well deserved break for the students and teachers who have been showing major signs of fatigue.

We didn't plan any major travels for the Eid break given that the amount of time off we were going to have was uncertain. But many of the teachers have jetted off to some interesting places including Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and one adventurous group flew to Georgia...  the country not the US state.

We decided on Thursday (which is our friday) to rent a car and keep it for the next month just to try out driving and see if we like or need to have a car.  Our first adventure was driving on friday morning to the beach for my first surf session on my new board.  Jenn hooked me up with the best birthday gift ever... a gift certificate to the local surf shop.

On Saturday we headed south east to the city of Fujairah and the nearby beaches for some camping. We ended up on a long stretch of beach with mangroves about 300 yards back.  We were within walking distance to the Oman border but couldn't cross since you can't take a rental car across.  We spent a really nice day on the beach. The water is the perfect temperature.  Although the bugs spoiled our dinner time, we ended up dragging everything down to the waters edge and slept next to the crashing waves.  Hopefully this will be the first of many camping adventures in the UAE and Oman.

Now tonight, we are headed to a beach bar to watch Fulham play Tottenham. should be a good time.

Happy Eid!

Here is a random assortment of pictures from our recent adventures.

This is at the Dubai Mall when we were waiting for the "Belagio-like" fountains to start.

Waiting for the fountains with Uzay, Adam, and Ella Ashton

During our desert safari the guide took us to a heritage village in Hatta.

At the heritage village.. when you enter it's all dark and the lights are motion sensored.. so when the light goes on.. this is the first thing you see.  Creepy!

Also during our desert safari. We went to a Wadi, a small canyon that holds water year round.

As you leave Dubai rocky mountains appear

This is at the Hatta Dam during my birthday desert safari

beautiful big long beach with lots of sea birds

We went with two other couples to for a quick camping trip near the Omani Border. The black car is Tilda our rental car.. she's a little rough around the edges but has been reliable so far. 

Surfing next to the Burj al Arab. small waves but lots of fun.