Roadtrip

It is Memorial Day for us Americans, but just a regular workday for the rest of the UAE, so we decided to take our very first UAE Roadtrip. So with map in hand, Friday morning we left Abu Dhabi for the Northern Emirates.

We really did not know very much about it, just what we heard from locals and a few who've been before us. Some friends told us to go to Sharjah. We hoped it would be a small town-quaint and perhaps a truer example of older traditional Emirati culture. It was very nice and a bit different, but it is really a suburb of Dubai.

In Sharjah we went to the Qanat Al Qasba (Kazbah) where we saw the Eye of the Emirates (big ferris wheel) and took a dhow boat out at sunset. It was very beautiful and very nice outside (after dark). We also went to the the Blue Souk, where hundreds of little shops (about 20x10) sell gold, jewelry, clothing and electronics.

It was all very interesting, but we are not big shoppers. There's really not a lot of things we need. And I really wanted to see some mountains! Up until this point we really had not gone outside the major cities, but we decided to go to the Eastern coast, to the emirate of Fujairah. The map showed well developed roads which turned out to be marked very well also.

We did cross mountains; barren, craggy and rocky. The landscape looked so harsh, but still beautiful. I've never seen mountains like that-perfect for goats, which we saw several of. Soon though we were right on the beach. We drove up the coastline with the ocean on one side and mountains on the other. It was all beautiful and surreal.

We knew there were several resorts there and we found a great one-the Rotana (see the mountains behind the resort). Our stay there was almighty refreshing! Finn Sisu surprised me when he told me we were swimming in the Indian Ocean! I had no idea.

Click for picture: The mountains go right into the sea.

A Helping Maid

We have finally gotten our home into some semblance of proper order. Most things have a place and the beds are finally made (just in case you want to come visit). But doing all of that plus cleaning in this very dusty place is just too much. I broke down and did something I said I would not do-I hired a maid (sort of).

We really don't want a full time maid but some help was desperately needed, and much appreciated. I offered a friend's maid a sum of money to come dust, vaccuum, mop and clean bathrooms. She is very shy, so our friend came too and we turned it into an adventure. Maid Tig is very interested in learning about other cultures, especially culinary traditions. So she took a little time out to watch me (and participate) in making traditional Southern dishes: meatloaf and potatoes au gratin.

I fixed iced tea, which is not the norm here, and we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. Miss Tig loved it all. My friend said she wanted to go to the grocery as soon as they left to get all the ingredients to do it all again. She doesn't speak a lot of English so I showed her everything, and demonstrated how to do it all.

She is amazed by Americans, she thinks we are all so very kind and generous. I'd like to believe that most of us are, and hope she never discovers otherwise. I know that my friend treats her well. You do what you can, where you can.