I'm currently back in Dibba, Oman to work for Absolute Adventure. I got to celebrate by 26th birthday en-route to Dubai, this time joined by my boyfriend Tony. We celebrated by having a nice glass of wine in the NYC airport before boarding our flight to Paris and then on to Dubai.

I'm excited to be living in the "yellow house" again, a bright house nestled between the mountains and the ocean. We have a really great view of the mountains from our front porch. Its gerat living here- we can go sea kayaking and rock climbing in the same day!


Our work started with a school group from Dubai. Tony and I taught sea kayaking together and had tons of fun with the kids. We were lucky to have good weather while they were here. After the kids left we spend our afternoon climbing in the wadi with our housemates Jessa and Stephen. Yesterday Tony and I took a group of college students from the Petroleum Institute on a dhow cruise up the coast.

Last night there was some rain and lots of wind. Here, any rain at all is dangerous, especially in the Wadi- small amounts of rain causes rocks to fall from the mountain. Rocks of all shapes and sizes are held against the mountainside by compacted dirt. When that dirt gets wet, it relaxes its grip on those rocks- which go tumbling down the mountainside and into the wadi. Heavy rain causes flash flooding that's powerful enough to move boulders the size of houses. We had a Jebel Kiwi trek planned which requires driving way up into the wadi and then trekking high up in the mountains. We changed our plans and took the clients to Smuggler's Bay instead- a hike through the mountains along the coast to a beautiful secluded beach.

     This summer at Pamlico Sea Base we had a group that wanted to learn to surf. We took our group to Hot Wax Surf Camp in Emerald Isle. Even though the surf was "mushy" we had a great time. The camp had an assortment of boards to fit all the sizes and abilities of our group. They spent a good amount of time preparing us on land for what we would encounter in the water. We talked about managing the board in the water, the physics of water ad surfing, and did some stretches and practicing "popping up."
     I was really impressed with how the organized getting the group into the water. As a sea kayaking guide, I know how chaotic things can get when inexperienced kayakers set off into the water- a place where current, wind and waves can intimidate new paddlers and spread them out all over the place. Hot Wax surf camp got us into the water in a super controlled, safe way that made everyone feel really comfortable.
     We lined up in two lines on the beach. There were two instructors in the surf zone (where the waves are crashing) and two instructors floating on their boards out in the lineup. We already knew how to manage our big boards in the waves from our session on land, but it was great to have someone right next to us encouraging us and giving tips when we struggled. Once we made it through the breaking waves, we were sent paddling to the instructors floating in the lineup.


     Once we were all safely in the lineup, we practicing turing around, paddling, loosing our boards, retrieving our boards and the "nose grab." When it was time to start catching waves, the instructors were really encouraging and took the time to make sure everyone caught a wave. The camp is designed to give participants the basic skills they need to start surfing. You won't be a world class surfer by the end of your session, but you will have the skills you need to go out with a rental board on a nice day.
     In addition to taking posed photos on the beach, one of the instructors (and the owner of the shop) brought a waterproof camera out surfing to take candid photos of us while we surfed.



Hot Wax surf shop is a great place for families, scout troops, and groups of friends to have a great, safe first surfing experience.