Getting Our Just Deserts

Liz and I flew out to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to spend a week with our great friends Piotr, Magda and their son Tomek - my Godson.

It was a really relaxing week - spent lazing on the beach, receiving an indian head and body massage, shopping, sightseeing and spending time with our friends.

I was particularly glad to see Tomek and get to know him a little more. He turned 2 last December, and has really changed since I saw him at his christening last year. He is a very happy, well mannered little boy, and I had a lot of fun spending time with him.

On Sunday, the day after we arrived, we all piled into Piotr's shiny new 4 Wheel Drive and headed out to Hatta, a little town a couple of hours from Dubai. As soon as we left the edge of the city we were immediately in the desert. I was expecting to see nothing but miles and miles of sand, and was surprised by the diversity of landscapes we saw on the way - many different types of sand colours, lots of mountains and of course plenty of camels (I found out later that there are no wild camels left in the UAE - they are all owned by locals).

After lunch we visited a local tourist village, and then headed out of town to do a little off-roading. We didn't venture very far into the desert, but far enough to feel like we were on a real adventure.

The afternoon sun was very warm, and bathed the entire landscape with golden colour. Just before dusk, it turned into a large, round disc of red and orange flames that hung low in the sky before slipping under the horizon. It was amazing - I have never seen the sun look like that before.