Wayfinder Ali

Happy New Year from Dubai

Tony and I watched the amazing fireworks show at the Burk Khalifa- we found a good viewpoint from the barrier of the highway- and were soon joined by hundreds of people who parked in the middle of the road to watch the spectacle.

Here's the amazing fireworks show Dubai put on at the Burj Khalifa-

Christmas in Dibba

My Christmas day here in Dibba was so different from any Christmas I've ever had. For twenty six years straight, I have spent Christmas in Nashville, Tennessee with my mom, my dad and mom's side of the family. My two cousins have literally never had a single Christmas without me, and I have never spent Christmas away from my family.

Initially I thought that Christmas would feel like any other day here- it was warm and sunny just like it is 99% of the time in Dibba- definitely not the Christmas weather I'm accustomed to. We live in a Muslim country- so Christmas is just business as usual for all of our neighbors and many of our clients. There were no Christmas lights on houses or music playing in stores.

Our local grocery store Lulu did sell Christmas decorations- much to our amazement. I tried to take a photo with my iphone to show you guys- but the security guard wouldn't let me. Lulu had fake trees and ornaments and bows and garlands and everything! We bought a few stars and garlands to hang up around our house. Jen bought adorable cards for everyone and presented them to us on Christmas eve- which definitely helped get everyone into the mood.

Christmas morning I got up at 3:30am to skype with my family back home who were 9 hours behind me. As I walked through the dark of the living room to the front door, I found a package in my path. It was a large tin, full of chocolates. There was a note on it-
For the yellow house, stay good, Love Santa
I have to say, it was really awesome to get a present from Santa all the way over here on Christmas morning! Then I was off to the office to get on skype.
My family was about to sit down to Christmas eve dinner, but they made time to gather around the glow of the computer screen to talk to me. It was so nice to see everyone and chat for a little while. I felt like I wasn't missing out entirely on Christmas.

When I came back home, I had to get some sleep, for I had to be at work at 8am- Tony and I had a paddling and climbing trip with private clients to lead. When we woke up, Tony pulled out a present for me- a big bag of mixed chocolates- included chocolate covered Cocoa Puffs (where were those when I was 5?) We had assumed our clients would be Muslim- who else would schedule a trip on Christmas day? But much to our surprise (and delight) our clients were American! They were here on vacation. Two of the women were from Texas and one was from New Jersey. I have to say we really enjoyed hearing their southern accents- they brought a little feeling of home to Dibba. We took them climbing in the wadi in the morning, then we went paddling in the afternoon.

Trying to get into the Christmas spirit, Tony and I wore our Santa hats on our kayaking trip- of course they looked ridiculously out of place in warm waters of the Omani gulf.

Me paddling in my Santa hat

Tony in his Santa Hat

Tony- the sea kayaking Santa!

When we landed on the beach, some of our friends were there to greet us. Matty bounded through the water toward me, gave me a big hug to say Merry Christmas. Meg and David were taking amazingly ridiculous photos on the beach and wishing us well. We pulled our boats out of harms way, said farewell to our clients, and headed to Christmas dinner which all of our coworkers had been slaving away all day to prepare.

Meg and me, excited for Christmas dinner

Everyone gathered at the "brown house" for dinner. Our coworkers roasted two giant turkeys, and made all the fixings you find at a traditional British Christmas dinner. All 17+ish of us sat down to a huge table to feast, complete with lit candles and a small speaker playing Christmas songs. Sitting around the table, surrounded by friends in a warm, comfy home- it definitely felt like Christmas. It was really nice to find comfort and fellowship with our friends and coworkers so far from home, and so far from our families.

Our massive table

Before we ate, we had to have a toast, and pull our "poppers," small, tubular things in wrapper paper that you pull apart with a friend. If you win, you get what's inside- a prize, a hat, a joke and a proverb. We all got paper crowns in various colors. Tony got a maze game, I got the world's smalled sewing kit, and Callum (across the table from me) got a tiny water gun, which he promptly used to squirt Luke with.

Tony and me

Callum squirting Luke with his new water gun

We had roasted parsnips & carrots, cranberry sauce, turkey & dressing, brown gravy, bread sauce, sausages wrapped in bacon, rolls, Yorkshire pudding and mashed potatoes.

My plate, the first serving

Aaron is excited!

Poor Nick! We ran out of plates!

After dinner Santa Matt handed our our Secret Santa presents. I got a really nice box of chocolates, and Tony got a travel mug.

Dessert included mince meat pies and Griz's chocolate log. Griz's chocolate cake log was probably the most amazing desert ever- sorry Mom, Dad, Deborah, Nanny and Lou! I could have eaten the entire thing.

Griz's amazing Chocolate Cake Log

So, what are these weird dishes we were served? Here goes:
Bread Sauce: a creamy, semi-lumpy sauce made with milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and shredded bread, you're supposed to put it on turkey- shocking, I know
Yorkshire Pudding: Imagine the moist versions of cornbread- but without cornmeal- made with smooth wheat flour
Mince Meat Pies: small pies filled with chopped, spiced fruit and sprinkled with powdered sugar
Roasted Parsnips + Carrots: Slice carrots, parsnips and onions in large pieces, drizzle with honey, sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper and bake. MMMMmmm so good!

After desert we all sat down to play Wii together, with Matty's multiple remote control cars zooming around at our feet, and Dee's new remote control helicopter zooming around our heads, the Christmas music still blaring in the background. I kicked butt at Mario Kart racing, by the way. When the residents of the brown house started saying goodnight, we moved the party to the yellow house- for cheese and wine.

On the front porch of the yellow house, enjoying our selections

Krispy Kreme Cruller

Last night I had a video chat with Mom, Dad and Nanny. They were eating breakfast at Nanny's house- a scrumptious looking breakfast of pork sausage with cream cheese wrapped in Pillsbury pastry dough. Needless to say I was envious of their indulgent meal. So now for some food payback!
Ready?
There is a Krispy Kreme Dougnuts in Mirdif City Center- and guess what they have?

Yes. That's right. GLAZED CRULLERS!!!

NOM NOM NOM!!!

Big Waves, Big Fun

Last night we had powerful winds here in Dibba, which made the sea extremely rough. Late in the night and this morning, the waves were around two meters- a rare wave height here. We spent the morning daydreaming of surfboards. Jen and Matt took advantage of the waves and took out the company body boards and went out at lunch. By afternoon, the surf had calmed down a bit - was between two and five feet. We decided it was a good afternoon to do some rough water kayak training. Griz, Meg, David, and Nick came out to do some training, and Matt and Matty came out to have fun. I prepped Griz, Meg, David and Nick for their launch- describing what they would encounter paddling into such large waves, and how to paddle through them. Griz and I were side by side blasting through the waves. Each wave we encountered threatened to flip us over, and pushed us towards the shore. It really takes perseverance and power to muscle through big breaking waves. At one point we faced a monster wave, our only option was to dig in and shove ourselves into it. We blasted over the crest and caught huge air on the backside.

Paddling out was exciting and challenging. Everyone was laughing and smiling when we regrouped beyond the surf zone. Then it was time for some work. The team got some practice doing capsizes and rescues in the big seas- which really wasn't so bad thanks to the rolling swell. Nick let go of his kayak and got to experience the difficulty of swimming to a kayak that was floating away from him. It is definitely hard work, and nearly impossible to do in high winds.

Nick! Your kayak is getting away!

Nick sprinting to get back to his kayak

We all took turns towing each other. I wanted them to feel what it was like to tow someone in large swell- the line jerks as the kayaks go over waves at different times- which is very unpleasant for the tower. We talked some about strategies for reducing risks while towing. I had hoped to do a few more advanced towing procedures but the waves were a bit high and the surf zone was too wide. Hopefully we'll have a few more days of choppy seas in the next month to do more training.

Matt headed for ta wipeout

After their practical skills, it was time to practice landing. Landing in large surf is difficult and can be most dangerous part of sea kayaking. We discussed how the kayaks would react to the speed and angle of waves. It is very typical to experience your kayak turning sideways and then dumping you when surfing in. The more dangerous possibility is that your kayak will nose dive and go "end over end" launching you like a catapult toward land. After listening to these horrors, there were worried looks on a few faces. Just then Matt showed up in the short surfing kayak to show us how it was done, turning sideways and wiping out right at the end. He popped out of the foam smiling. Emboldened by Matt, they charged forward. Griz and Nick were the first to go- both of them got flipped by big crashing waves. Then it was time for me, and Meg and David in their tandem, to land. We all, of course, wiped out but had tons of fun charging down the face of the wave.

Grizz catching an epic wave

The thrill of catching a wave is worth the bumps and bruises from the wipeout. Our training session turned into a massive surfing session- we paddled out over and over to catch more waves. We all cheered when someone caught a massive wave and wiped out. We even drew a crowd- a bunch of locals and western expats were camping on the beach, and came to watch us surf. I even managed to catch a wave backwards in the little surf boat, and rode it backwards all the way to the sand.

PADDLE!!!!!!

Success!

Merry Christmas!

Hidden Oasis Trek in Ras al Khaimah

A few days ago, all the staff from Absolute Adventure headed out to Ras al Khaimah with Ram to learn a trek that until now, only Ram knew. We drove to a wadi in Ras al Khaimah where there is lots of new construction. I have to say I was sad to see the new construction on the road. I went climbing in this wadi last year, and much of the really amazing rock climbing has either been blown up to make way for the road, covered by the earth used to build the road, or is completely unaccessible. Some of the climbing still remains, though it is harder to get to. Thankfully, the wadis we trek through are so remote, they remain completely untouched by the new construction.

If you would like to go on this trek, you can head out with Absolute Adventure.

The trek began with a pump up a steep rock ledge that ran along the wadi rim. We looked down as we hiked to see water flowing between the boulders in the wadi below us. The ledge slowly levels out and continues horizontally for a while before descending back toward earth, where it meets up with the top of the drainage that was once below us.

Walking along the edge

We stepped off the ledge onto flat ground, surrounded by the ruins of a very small village. After passing through the village, we arrived a a large drainage filled with huge boulders.

The massive boulder field

Weaving around boulders, we found and followed an ancient path, small stone stairways hidden among the enormous rocks. We had fun jumping from rock to rock and finding different vantage points from atop the house-sized rocks.

Tony climbing old steps up a massive boulder

Summiting the drainage rewarded us with a sudden view of green; an oasis of palm trees, tucked between the cliffs.

The oasis high in the mountains

Beyond the oasis we entered another dramatic canyon with vertical walls. It rained recently, so there were dark streaks where little remnants of streams flowed down the rock walls.

A dramatic canyon

Deeper into the canyon, we scampered up rocky staircases and ladders formed by dry waterfalls.

Walking up dry waterfalls

Climbing up waterfalls

Stepping out of the canyon, we walked on steeply sloped mountainsides, headed to the highest point of our trek. At the summit of the mountain, we could see all the way to the sea.

It was at the top of this mountain where we came to Musaibat village. Musaibat village is a small, and extremely remote village surrounded by towering peaks. There are several Pakinstani men who live in the village and care for the goats that belong to the families who own the village. These men live in extremely rustic houses without running water or electricity. They were very welcoming to us- it seemed they were excited to have company. Ram, who is from Nepal, speaks fluent Hindi and Urdu in addition to his own language, which made it easy for us to communicate with the goat herders. They invited all fifteen of us in for tea, which they made by boiling water over an outdoor fire.

The two goat herders boiling water over a fire

An inside view of the small house

Waiting for tea

Ram pours us tea

The tea they make is very sweet. I think they make it with Lipton Yellow Label, goats milk and tons of sugar. We were thankful for their generous hospitality, so we compiled a bag of goodies from the contents of our packs to return the favor.

We thanked them warmly and headed out. As we began our descent, I looked up to see one of the men taking our photo with his cell phone. We all got a kick out of it, smiling and waving for the camera. I was happy that they were as curious about us as we were about them.

The trail along the mountainside soon transformed into another lofty stone ledge that hugged the side of the mountain.

That's me pausing along the ledge for a photo

Goofing off on the ledge

Our views change as the ledge snakes around the mountainsides- we see the valley below, sheer rock faces around us, and the sea in the distance- a brilliant magenta mirror reflecting the setting sun.

Traversing the mountainsides, look how tiny we are compared to the mountain

The ledge fades into the side of the mountain, becoming a rough, rocky trail. As we descended down a slope we passed a tiny but lush date farm surrounded by a high metal fence. We stopped to rest next to a remarkable sight- two small rock pools filled with freshwater, ferns and mosses thriving around them. Ram explained that this is a natural spring that flows all year. The locals have built these small rock walls to form pools to collect the water.

The tiny date farm on the slope

One of the pools, magical in the setting sunlight

We reached another drainage filled with boulders, and began rock hopping in the twilight. By the time we got back to the cars, night had begun.

Pages