On the 19th, we were invited to join the Smuggler's Bay trek. We start walking from the beachfront property toward the mountains. The trek is really challenging. To get to smuggler's bay, you hike up and then back down several mountains which are incredibly steep and covered in sharp scree (loose rock). One of the descents is so steep you feel like you're rock climbing. When you get to the top of the first mountain there is a beautiful view of the Daba port and the ocean.


Once you get to the top of that, you follow the back side of that mountain, which runs into another mountain, and then there is this really steep ascent. I was definitely the slowest hiker. Devan (our guide) does this trek several times a week and smoked all of us up the mountain. When you get to the top of that mountain, you can see smuggler's bay in the distance. There are clothes and empty bottles and all sorts of other things scattered around the entire way. When you round one corner, you can see across this very narrow and steep valley/crevasse to the actual trail the smuggler's use. We don't take this path because it isn't as direct and because we're more likely to see Iranians along the way.

Then there is a heinous descent- I got attacked by a couple of rocks. Eventually you end up in the bay. Its a huge relief to reach the sand.


The water here is slightly warmer than the other beaches, incredibly calm and clear. I brought my snorkel mask and did a little underwater investigating and saw a few fish and lots of coral and trash.


We had lunch at the beach before heading home. We returned on a different path. Imagine a stream filled with large boulders, running down the seam between two mountains, now take away the water. That was our path back. Lots of scrambling and big steps and balancing. We saw first hand the dangers of smuggling...

Then there was one last big mountain to summit before the descent back home. Will snapped a photo of me getting to the top.

We were all sore and tired by the time we got home, and went out for a well deserved plate of biriyani.

Over the past 5 days we had our first two school groups. The first group was 6th and 7th graders, the second 9th through 10th graders. They stayed at our new plantation site, which we are now calling the "adventure center" we've added a free standing, portable climbing tower, which we have also been enjoying. Over the 5 days, we all taught different classes; team building games, camping skills + leave no trace, mountain biking + climbing, and trekking. This week, I taught team-building games at the beach. We walk 30 minutes from the center to the beach where I lead the games and then let the kids go swimming. I've been putting sunscreen on religiously and haven't been burned, although I do have the "raccoon eyes" from my sunglasses. I had lots of fun with most of the groups doing the initiatives, took underwater photos of the kids, and collected lots of seashells. The weather this week has been really interesting. Its really hot during the day, I'm guessing around 95 degrees F, and very cold at night, probably in the low 50s. When I stay at the adventure center in a tent, I sleep under an open sleeping bag stacked on top of a very thick blanket. For hanging around at night, I had to borrow a knock off Mountain Hardwear fleece from the gear closet at Paul's house. When he goes to Nepal he can get lots of cheap knockoff gear that he uses as back ups for guides and customers. I know you're probably thinking its just me, but I'm not the only one! you should see the locals. They're wearing even more than me!

Next week we'll have another group and I'll be either mountain biking or trekking. W e have several days off before our next group arrives which we plan to fill with plenty of adventure. There is a great place to go deep water soloing up the coast which we plan to check out with kayaks this weekend. Our new coworker Mike will be here tomorrow. We're also contemplating a trip to Dubai to check out all the traditional souks.

The day before our first group arrived, I got to go on a wadi trek with the Absolute Adventure guys and a large group of customers. The wadi was really amazing and dramatic. Wadis are dried up river beds that sometimes experience flash floods during the "rainy season." The rainy season isn't really that rainy, as it only rains an average of 7 days a year! To get into the wadi, we had to scramble down an incredibly steep 40 foot slope. I was even a little nervous! I bet the customers were pretty scared. The area of the wadi where we began our trek was extremely wide and steep, and slowly as we progressed the wadi became narrower and narrower. Eventually we would have to walk along narrow ledges, climb up through water falls and scramble over boulders to get through. At one point, there is a decent amount of water in the bottom its so narrow the only way through is to swim. It's only about 40 meters and really chilly! There was also a small cave with bats in it. I had a great time and was pretty exhausted at the end of it. I befriended the family that rode in the Taho I drove to get there, and the mom offered to take a few photos of me :)
the beginning




swimming


the bat cave

We had a pretty late night Wednesday night. We spent all of Wednesday working on lesson plans until it was time to go to the “gear shop.” Ram drove us to Ras al-Khaimah (in the UAE on the Western coast) to the gear shop. The “gear shop” was really bunches of boxes stacked to the ceiling in a wealthy couple’s large house. We were there to pick up a large order of gear for our camp. Of course, this was a great excuse to have a look around ourselves. We just started exploring and digging through boxes. Paddling gear in one room, climbing in another, packs in another. It was like Christmas walking around opening boxes to find out what goodies were in them. Jesi bought an outfit and Micah and I bought climbing shoes. I was told I wouldn’t need them so I didn’t bring mine from home. As it turns out, there is TONS of climbing, and I desperately need shoes. I bought a pair of Red Chilis that are pretty sweet. They fit much better than my shoes at home. Hopefully there will be some action shots of them soon.


In Ras al-Khaimah we stopped at this pretty impressive mall for fast food. Pretty much everyone in the mall was a local. I had fun people watching. The lines were long and slow, so we all just stuck to something easy- McDonalds and Hardees. During the long drive back, we learned that the caterer’s were preparing food to be sampled at the camp. We were already late when they called, and still an hour away.

At camp, there was an impressive spread of food with dishes influenced by culinary traditions from around the world. The new traditional seating area was complete and welcoming. One of the other attendees took some awesome photos, which I hope to get my hands on soon. Unfortunately we couldn’t relax because we still needed to head to the internet café. I think the night ended somewhere around 1am last night.

Thursday morning we woke up without electricity and Ram had the car. We really needed to work on programming (with computers) and we needed to send emails, but could do neither of those things. So in an attempt to save the day, we walked to the plantation to do some risk assessment and planning. While we were there, we hiked up one of the small hills nearby. There are half-fallen stacked stone structures everywhere here. You can hardly walk anywhere without stumbling into one. There were at least six or seven on that single hill alone. The top of the hill provided views of the ocean, our plantation, and the resort to one direction, the mountains and our neighborhood to the other. In those little buildings, there are pottery shards everywhere. Someone spread a selection of them on a flat rock for others to see and admire.

Jesi and Micah at the top


The mountains to the West


Jesi and Micah looking out over the Gulf


Really awesome pottery shards


A partially standing stacked stone hut


Looking out over the Gulf. Our plantation is in the foreground and the Golden Tulip Resort is the other large object in the distance by the water.


Now, Friday, I am sitting in the local internet cafe in Dibba (the one in UAE) after stuffing my face with amazing Lebanese food. Saffron rice and lamb, with an optional tomato-y sauce and dhal. It was so good I wish I took a photo of it. The girl who works at the internet cafe is blasting Enrique Iglesia. We are listening to "Bailamos". Its a bit odd listening to Latino music in the Middle East.

a temporary remedy to my photo problem: changing layouts! This will be my new layout until I get back to the states (with better internet service) and can alter the photos to fit my old layout. Enjoy!

***Every single photo you see on this blog that were taken in Oman were wrongly cropped by blogspot. I can't figure out how to remedy this problem. Please check back in a few days and review the photos to see the actual picture. They look horrible the way they are right now. If you are friend with me on facebook, you can see the photos in their original condition.***

We spent most of Monday the 8th writing lesson plans for the program. We finally understand how our employment works. David Jenns has lots of experience in the education sector and has worked with the Abu Dhabi government on developing education. He understands the value of experiential educational programs. Paul owns and runs Absolute Adventure, a small adventure tourism company based in Dibba, Oman. Their website is www.adventure.ae. They have pretty amazing experiences to offer, but they mainly work with small groups of adults and aren’t equipped to deal with large numbers of kids. David and Paul are working together to form Absolute Adventure Education, for which we now work. Paul and his Absolute Adventure guides have figured out what activities are available in the area, have developed established routes for trips, and have developed a healthy relationship with the locals. The bright yellow 4x4s and trucks we all drive are well recognized. Neither he nor his guides are trained outdoor educators. David’s job was to find and develop a location to host large school groups, as well as a staff trained to work with them. When we arrived, the site (which we call the plantation) was not finished. It should be finished in the next day or so. David had given the schools a rough outline of a schedule and activities but no actual program had been developed. For the past few days, Jesi, Will, Micah and I have been writing programs, lesson plans, and a risk management plan. On the 9th, David drove to Dibba from Dubai to talk to us about our work. We headed to the plantation to check out the progress. The site is actually a date plantation. The plantation is an experiential education center in the winter and a date plantation during the summer. The kids and adults will be staying in large traditional style tents surrounding a large common area and fire pit. In the shade of the date trees (which look a lot like palm trees) there is a covered area with traditional carpets and seating, an outdoor buffet for meals (it even has a sink, storage and cooking areas!) and lots of benches for participants. The bath-house is much nicer than the one we had at Sea Base.