Desert Safari!!

Day 7, 15th November

My last day, can't believe it, time does fly when you are having fun! And what fun it has been. I have to give Dan and Lisa a Gigantic thank you for their overwhelming hospitality, you are the best. I had tons of fun with your friends too.

Dan had to work a 1/2 day, so Lisa and I hit the pool. It was a really nice facility, this is the one I skipped to go to the beach, luckily, I got my second chance. We spent a couple of hours relaxing and having a nice lunch. This time, I just had an appetizer, feeling like keeping it light. There were 6 fried pieces that resembled footballs (American football) and they had delicious minced lamb and I think some onions. Quiet a creative little thing. For breakfast, I had eaten a previously melted, squished, dark chocolate Toblerone bar; no worse then donuts, haha! I was saving my appetite for dinner.

For my last hurrah here, we've planned a desert safari! I have to say, I can't remember the last time I had this much fun in a 4 wheel drive SUV. We met up with some people that work with Dan at the local grocery store, or the grocery store combined with a department store that was thrown into a Sam's club, is how Dan described it to me. It was pretty insane! Anywho, I digress. 6 people and our crazy driver pile into a Lexis SUV and head to the dessert. The first event of our evening, Sand Dune Crashing.
OH MY GOD... is all there is to say about it. It was a kick in the pants. There were a couple of moments that I really could have thought that we were on the verge on rolling the vehicle. At times the car was going downhill, sideways and then suddenly, we were steered the opposite direction. Or other times, when we see the vehicle in front of us just drop away, showing off its undercarriage. We were bounced and thrown side to side and pushed back into our seats. I can try to explain that it is similar to a roller coaster ride. These vehicles can go straight up the dune and all sorts of other directions. I don't think anything I tell you will give you any depth into the thrill. It was phenomenal!!! We even had to stop once to let the caravan of vehicles cool off. We also had to help tow another vehicle out of an area, at the top of a dune, that got itself high centered. Insane! The pictures I got don't do any justice to the details either. They are cool, but they just can't paint the picture.

After dune crashing, which I have to say, I could have done for hours on end, we made it to our dinner spot. It was a big area, that looked like a little village. There, we could ride camel, ATVs and try out dune boarding. Afterwards was a buffet dinner of middle eastern food. I did ride the camel and I got a henna tattoo on my hand, it's really pretty. I shied away from the dune surfing after I watched someone slide down the dune and I was sure that I would have sand in places that not even the sun shines on, haha. Due to the holiday of Eid, there was no drinking on this safari, nor belly dancing for entertainment, but that was okay, it was a fabulous end to my trip, none the less. Lastly, an after dinner shisha and the ride back to the city.

Wow, what a week! I think all three of us are whipped out. My flight was at 2AM, so once we got back to the house, I showered, packed and headed out. Now I have 2 flights and 24 hours till I'm home. I always welcome the comfort of my bed, but I think I'll dream about this week for a long time.

Thank you for following along on my adventures! Keep an eye out for a blog to pop in January about my trip to Panama!

Cheers friends! Love, Tess