Road trip
This weekend, I decided to hit the road with the kids, go to Fujairah, the only emirate I haven't seen yet and camp on the beach while the weather still permits it.
Fujairah is the only emirate that has a coastline solely on the Gulf of Oman and none on the Persian Gulf like the other six emirates. It's also the only one who it almost completely mountainous.
It started pretty well, as we quickly found a beautiful beach where camping is allowed. The place was not too crowded and quite clean so I thought we could just stay there for the night.
When the wind is turning
Some friends of a friend joined us later and upon their suggestion, we decided to move to another beach that was supposed to be better for camping. We packed our stuff and drove there, to find a busy, rocky beach, where it was impossible to plant a tent. So we moved to the other side of the road, where the ground was great for the tent and where trees could provide a bit of shade.
As soon as we started to unpack and try to set up the tent, a strong wind began to blow. It was really difficult to try to insert the poles or do anything to make it straight. Then it got even worst, some pegs broke in the ground because of the strength of the wind, and after two hours of trying to erect the tent, I was so exhausted (and my poor son too!), I gave up. At 7pm, it was getting dark, we had no tent, things and dust were flying everywhere and it was impossible to make a fire, so we couldn't even think of sleeping there.
Change of plans
We unexpectedly ended up in the only affordable hotel that had a room left. I was so happy to have a shower that night!! We ate our pic-nic, jumped on beds, and fell asleep as soon as the light was turned off. The wind blew all night, I could hear it whistling through the windows, and thanked Allah that why were safe and comfortably resting in our little beds...
We woke up to find an amazing view (it was so dark the night before, we couldn't even see outside!). Palm trees, sea, flowers, mountains... and not a bit of wind. We profited from the beach (despite the thousands of jellyfishes in the water) and the hotel pool and left to explore more.
Empty beach and old buildings
We drove for about 20 minutes and got to a small hidden beach that I had seen on the map. It reminded me of Gaspésie beaches, half-sand, half-rocks, with lots of beautiful stones and even seaglass. After an enjoyable beachcombing time, we ate our lunch there, soaking in the sun, with the only sound of the waves. We still couldn't swim because of the (gorgeous purple and pink) medusas so we decided to leave because it was getting really hot.
On our way back we passed by an interesting place where we could see the oldest mosque in the UAE, dating from 1446, and two watchtowers on the hill behind it. That was our last stop before heading back home through the mountains and the desert.
Challenges, surprises, discoveries, change of plans... These are the best trips. Do you enjoy roads trips as much as I do? When and where was your last one?
