The Shifting Sands

The mast shrouds on the right and the sail on the left It all needs to be reversed as you Khaiyoor (gybe) Dan, an old friend from the Army, has a 26 foot Jalboot, the Zou Zou. It is a local, wooden sailboat traditionally used for fishing and pearling.  The boat had been conveniently moored for free at a great little Marina at Umm Al Qwain where Dan lives.  Unfortunately,  there was a change in policy and only local fishermen were now permitted to use the Marina.   Dan discovered this when he saw a large sticker plastered onto the Zou Zou telling him, in no uncertain terms, that he had to move it or be subject to a large fine. Dan was still a member of the Ras Al Khaimah Sailing Club where he was previously the Commodore so he had organised to moor the boat at the Club.  Dan’s car had died and could no longer tow the boat on a trailer, so I committed to help sail the boat the 60 km from Umm Al Quain to Ras Al Kaimah. ...

While the Al Qudra cycling track is easy to access and has great facilities, after some time you get a little tired of the terrain and you wish for something a little more. While most of the UAE is flat, the border region with Oman provide some smooth and wide roads to the mountain tops on the border. The car park at Jebel Jais with a shelter shed and clean toilets. Impressive! My first outing was to Jebel Jais, on the western edge of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, about 120 km north of Dubai.   For this little adventure, I convinced Paddy, my running buddy and neighbour, to dust off his bike and join me for one last adventure before he and his family relocate back to the UK. We set off at 0430 hrs under a starlit ski and no wind but by the time we passed through Sharjah, 20 minutes to the north, everything had changed. The scene would have done George Miller proud,   Sharjah was doing its best impersonation of a apocalyptic wasteland.   Winds ...

A liitle sore after riding bareback On Monday afternoons i go horse riding at  Emirates  Equestrian Centre. It is amazing there I love it. My favorite horses are Silver, Sharon, Moss,  Emerald  and Hollie. I learnt to canter on Hollie :). Emerald and I can have quite a  lesson   because she understands my teacher so he can do the listening for me. If you come near me when I am on Sharon watch out!  No one can take us down, have you seen her, she is as big as a draught horse. And last but not least Silver my favorite as you can see right below we take it to the text level. My teacher is Madame Jenifer she is amazing. I know I not supposed   to gossip, but a girl in my class played Annie on Broadway. Well maybe I am exadgerating a little bit. You might be wondering how we get our horses? Well we do it Indian style, all the keepers line up with the horses and the main ...

Ada has had a couple of surfing lessons at Wadi Adventure, the white water and surfing facility at Al Ain.  It is an easy place to spend the day and keep everyone occupied. Here is a couple of clips of her surfing and body surfing.

Biking in the UAE couldn't be any more different than India or Kathmandu.  Aside from the obvious differences between the desert, the tropics or the mountains it is the the biking facilities that make the UAE amazing. They say you should never get the photographers shadow in a photo! A 10 minute drive from where I live is the Al Qudra cycle path.  A dedicated, butter smooth 85 km bike path shaped like a lollipop with a 18 km stick and a 49 km loop at the top of the stick. At the bottom of the stick there is a car park, showers and change room and at the intersection between the stick and the loop is another large car park, change rooms, first aid facilities, coffee shop and bike store! The terrain is pretty flat through the desert but the nature of the desert changes from sand dunes to rockier areas.  There are shaded rest stations every 10 km for those who get a little weary but at this time of year it is cool enough for long time residents to don cold wea...