Tuesday December 14th 2021 Desert Safari
Annie made oatmeal pancakes for breakfast along with eggs and some salami that made up for the lack of bacon.
At 2pm the tour guide Yasir picked us up at the apartment for our Desert Safari. There was already another couple from Switzerland in the Landcruiser. They did not speak any English but were very a very pleasant couple. We had about an hour's drive to the rendezvous point where we were to join other Landcruisers for our trek across the desert. While there we shopped for the appropriate native attire. I think Annie looked and tried on every kaffiyeh in the shop trying to find one that matched what she was wearing. I'm pretty sure she wound up settling for the first one she tried on. It wasn't long before all the others arrived and we began our caravan across the sand dunes. It was a very, very rough and twisting ride. I think Yasir went out of his way to make it so. We stopped a couple of times along the way for photos and at one stop I tried Sand Boarding. I did fairly well for a novice. I think if I had ever snowboarded it would have been very easy to learn. The ride down was fun but the walk back up to the top of the dune was grueling. There was no support from the loose sand and as such each step only accomplished have the distance as it would have otherwise. We finally arrived at the desert camp and Yasir led us to our tent. The camp was basically a large area with tents arranged to form a half circle. On the opposite side were some merchant's tents. In the middle was a wooden stage where dancers would preform during dinner.
After getting set up in our tent we were led a short distance outside the camp where there were several camels laying down in a prone position. We were instructed on how to mount the camels and after we were up in the so called saddle the handlers forced the camels to stand up. He first straightened his back legs then his front legs. It actually seemed like it was a bit difficult for the camel to stand from his prone position. With such long legs that seemed understandable and the additional weight of two riders probably didn't help. I remember the camel actually groaning as he stood. Poor guy. The camel ride was pretty short in duration but it was definitely the highlight for me.
Back at the tent we were approached by a falconer and took turns holding his falcon for photos. Then we had some free time before dinner and the show so we went and check out what the merchants had to offer. We decided to get a handmade sand globe for Brad and Janet to give as a Christmas gift. Annie picked out the style/scene and haggled for a much cheaper price. I informed the artist what inscription to add.
Dinner was finally served and it was a feast. As we walked through the line there was Yasir serving up one of the many dishes. Yasir was a very nice gentleman and spoke very good English. He was from Jordan and had been in UAE for eight years. He had just lost his wife earlier this year from breast cancer.
The food was amazing and they piled it on. I have no idea what most of it was but it was all good and surprisingly I was able to eat most of it.
There were several different dancers who performed their dances one after the other during dinner.
It was way past dark when we finally got back in the Landcruiser and headed back home. Once again we were exhausted and definitely slept well that night.