Day 6, December 28: Buggies, Jeeps & Camels

The two of us depicted alongside the camel we rode together.

The day began slowly for us, but picked up steam as the hours proceeded. It started slowly primarily because I (Doug) needed to sleep in some more. I had not slept well at all the previous night. I woke up at 3:11am and had been unable to get back to sleep. Now if this was the first and only night experiencing this problem, I probably could have, would have pushed through. However, this was like the third night of this pattern, and it had finally worn me out. Since our morning activity was an optional visit to Kite Beach, I decided to forego it. Patrise was never interested in it anyway. So, I notified Marshall (our guide) that we would not be joining them for the trip to the beach; rather we would meet them in them in the hotel in the afternoon for the trip to the desert. Having notified our guide, I finally went back to sleep for a few hours, while Patrise stayed in the hotel room doing odds and ends.

Once I awakened, we got refreshed and dressed, we went out to lunch. We walked to a nearby bakery that we had visited our first night in Dubai -- the Grandiose Prime Bakery. They definitely live up to the hype of the name. They are a very good bakery, indeed. However, they also serve many non-baked goods foods, so I ordered a burger and {atrise ordered a pizza. Both were excellent, While munching away, we had a very leisurely meal, chatting about life, remembering past trips, discussing our observations about the Dubai trip thus far. Without a doubt, it was the most relaxed meal we've experienced on the entire trip to date. After the meal, we meandered our way back to the hotel and went to the reception lobby on the 14th floor. (This building is both a hotel and residences. The ground floor is an entryway, but not the lobby. Between ground and floor 13, there are several levels of parking and residences.)

We met with Marshall and passed away about an hour, waiting for the gathering time when the fellow travelers would meet us. At 2:30 they arrived and the traveling party of eight -- seven travelers, plus our guide -- piled into two Range Rovers, Marshall, Patrise and I in one vehicle, and the other five, who are a family unit in the other vehicle. We made our way through Dubai City traffic and eventually emerged into the fringe areas of the city, then finally the countryside. Here are some photos of the countryside I took on our way to our first stop:

Top row: desert scenes

2nd row: (l) a farmhouse, (c) another farmhouse, (r) desert vegetation

3rd row: (l) vegetation, (c) a small settlement, (r) distant mountains.

Our day's activities were led by Noble Adventures which takes tourists on trips to experience desert-related adventures. In our case, this meant riding dune buggies, then jeeps or Range Rovers, then visiting a camp where we would come close with a falcon, ride a camel, then witness dance and song culture, while eating a dinner meal. Our first stop was dune buggies. This was a first for both of us. We were not as adventurous as some of the younger riders on the course, but that always seems to be the way. Older people proceed cautiously; younger people proceed recklessly. Still, we traversed up and down several of the dunes, wind blowing around us, and avoiding some of more speedy vehicles on the course. We had a good time.