In the Arabian Gulf.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to view Dubai from a new perspective: the water! We took a two hour sunset boat cruise with Seven Seas Marine.

Seeing the landmarks we’ve all come accustomed to from a new angle felt like quite the treat. Highlights included the Burj Al Arab and Atlantis. Although we were initially told we’d tour the World Islands, boats aren’t allowed to cruise very close. All we could see was a streak of beige on the horizon. A sheik somewhat recently built a palace there and subsequently “put security around ‘The World.'” At least that’s what we were told…

Atlantis

photo by Sarah

photo by Sarah

Jen got the wettest seat on the boat. Photo by Sarah.

photo by Sarah

photo by Sarah

photo by Mike

photo by Sarah

We purchased our cruise via GoNabIt, a group-buying site for the Middle East. Have you joined a group-buying site where you live?

when you’re living abroad.

It seems like just yesterday I was arriving in Abu Dhabi. Not. More like a lifetime! (20 months and 24 days to be exact*)

But see how quickly time flies in this time lapse video:

xo, jill

*don’t check my math.

…cadabra!

Shauna just sent me these photos from her visit in March. After spending the first half of the weekend in Oman, we continued the fun by exploring the older parts of Dubai.

This is us crossing the Dubai Creek on an abra.

Still one of my most favorite weekends!

xo, jill

I am getting so hot…

It’s officially too hot for ice cream. It was a race yesterday to eat my delicious lemon and strawberry “natural ice cream,” which I’m pretty sure was just gelato. It dripped everywhere, including my elbow and down the front of my dress.

The fog on my lens gives you another clue to the heat and humidity.

It’s only getting hotter.

xo, jill

“Hold the paddle like this. It will all come naturally.”

If you live in the UAE and are interested in the outdoors, for the most part, you’re out of luck. Fortunately, there’s Noukhada Adventure Company. Noukhada offers a variety of adventures from biking to sailing, but they are most popular for kayaking trips in the mangroves. The employees and guides are fun and friendly and clearly enjoy their job.

Realizing it had been far too long since my last trip (October 2009), I set up a tour for this past weekend. (For those living in UAE, there’s a coupon in the Abu Dhabi Entertainment Book making the trip only 150AED for two!)

Six of us set out in three double kayaks, plus our guide and a non-swimming businessman. Like before, the water was calm making the paddling pretty easy (unless you’re the businessman, he had to be towed…the entire two hours). We were glad to have a 7:30am start considering the sun was already heating up.

We stopped for a little swim break.

Mike made friends and then enemies with a little blue crab who took a snap at him.

Screen shot from Allan’s Facebook. / See the crab on the very edge?

At one point the waterway gets quite small. Hopefully I didn’t do too much damage to the mangroves smacking my paddle at them.

Photo by Sarah.

Unfortunately, a lot has changed since my first kayak trip in the mangroves. Back then, a resort was scheduled to be built. Now, it’s about halfway complete. It’s so sad to see a once protected area developed. But don’t worry, they are naming the resort after the mangroves so it’s pretty much the same thing.

Photo by Sarah.

And did you know that mangroves are like mini desalination plants? They are also the habitat for many fish and crab species. Abu Dhabi has a plan to protect the mangroves, but we’ll see.

Photo by Sarah.

xo, jill