Musandam Dhow Trip

Musandam is a beautiful area on the northern tip of country. It is actually part of Oman, but you have to drive through the UAE to get there. We took a weekend dhow (boat) trip with friends in mid-April. We were treated to leaping fish, snorkeling, a few rainclouds, some kayaking, and lots of good company. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

A man's castle....

The villas here in the UAE are like no other dwelling that I have seen in my travels. Apart from the often impressive size and acreage of the property, they are often very elaborately decorated right down to the smallest detail. The saying "A man's castle is his home" rings very true here because many of the villas are the size of castles. Here are a few pictures of some local villas and one that is in the process of being built. Upon completion it is sure to dazzle...

Theo's passion....

Theo was introduced to kite surfing by one of his close friends in Seattle and once he tried it, he was hooked. He has taken lessons here in the UAE, in Oman, in the Philippines, and in the States. He loves the power of the kite and how free he feels when he is out on the water. Kite surfing has become his weekend passion. Here are some pictures of a great day at a beach in Dubai.

Camping in the desert

We were lucky enough to be invited along with some very seasoned desert campers a few weeks ago. This was our first time taking our little 4x4 out into the desert dunes, so we had to learn the ins and outs of dune driving - letting air out our tires before driving on the sand and pumping them up again once out of the desert. Theo had a blast driving over the dunes and I was a very enthusiastic co-pilot. We loved sleeping under the starry sky and we had some very curious camels come by to say hello in the night. It was a great experience and we look forward to doing it again next winter. Here are some pictures from our fun....

Back to Blogging....

After a long hiatus from blogging....we decided that we missed chronicling our adventures, and we also missed sharing it with our friends and family. It has been quite some time since our last entry....and we have had many, many adventures in the interem. We have traveled to Oman, Jordan, Egypt, the Philippines, and India over the last two years, but we are going to start from the present. Over the last few months we have learned to camp in the UAE (yes, it requires some special skills). We have been on two amazing camping adventures - one in the mountains and one in the desert dunes. The mountains provided lots of breathtaking views and wild goats, while the desert provided wild rides over the sandy dunes and many curious camels. Here are some pictures from our fun.

Bull Fight in Madrid

We were fortunate enough to go to a bull fight with our Spanish friend Jose and his lovely wife. They explained the history and strategy of bullfighting in Spain. Although at times it was very difficult to watch, it was an interesting cultural experience.

Tour de France adventure

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that our trip coincided with the Tour de France, so we made a point to stop and see the show. Here we are in Peripignon, France. We waited for three hours for 30 seconds of action!