I am loving this winter weather! Well ok it may be true that one woman’s winter is another woman’s pool party, especially when I look at the “BIG FREEZE” pictures on Sky News every morning (and thank my lucky stars I am not travelling to Europe for Christmas) but seriously it’s cold here. I even wore a polo neck today; it was 16 degrees when I left the house. Brrrrr!
So whilst we may not be having a white Christmas in Dubai it’s certainly perfect weather for braais and sitting outside, opening windows (at long last) and camping in the desert. We have been three times in the last couple of weeks, most recently this last Friday night, and it was pretty fresh let me tell you. The tent and chairs were soaking wet from the morning dew when we got up and the sand was ice cold on my toes, I had to wear socks even.
After getting some valuable advice from a friend who has lived here most of his life, and who also camps regularly, we now only venture into areas of red sand, out towards Hatta. And that is because the red sand contains more iron and the bugs apparently don’t like it. And you may think I am being a scared-y cat but seriously who wants to share their campsite with scorpions? Not I said the fly.
So last week we camped with some friends who brought their little spaniel along. She had great fun running up and down the dunes, and then digging like her life depended on reaching Australia before breakfast. She almost put the camp-fire out at one stage! We even had a moment that felt like we were on safari – just before sunset some wildlife roamed over the dune to inspect our temporary home – about 10 curious (and a little smelly) camels grazed their way into our campsite and then stood there staring at us, not sure if we were friend or foe. And then they were gone at high speed, dashed off when their shepherd (handler?) called them home for a proper dinner I guess.
I am of the opinion that you should never go camping on your own, in just one vehicle, in case you break down or get stuck. Actually I think this is a commonly held view so I can’t claim it as my own. And we did get stuck this last time, well Rees did, in his GMC something or other. Luckily at that point a convoy dune bashing local guys came over the hill, they were very happy to help us out of our predicament. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers!
I’ll take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it), season’s greetings and happy holidays (if you don’t) and a wonderful new year all round. Take care if you are travelling and see you soon.
p.s. did you see that beautiful tree at Emirates Palace Hotel? If not, here it is again (image from Gulfnews)
