It's currently March, and although it is starting to warm up here in Dubai, we are lucky to still have fairly mild temperatures for this time of year. I treat every nice day like it's my last - similar to when I lived in Chicago, except the seasons are opposite.
Last year, I went on a hike every single weekend during the wintertime, which is probably not a shock to those who know me well. This year I worked on my all-or-nothing/perfectionist tendencies and found a little more balance.
Things I have cherished this season:
☀️ More time running outside - I'm sooooo happy to be running again!
☀️ Loads time on my balcony with my cats. The balcony was a Year 2 project, and it is DEFINITELY my happy place. I have a swing chair, a hammock, and of course several places for my cats to lounge when they are not snuggling on my lap. We are out here everyday (yes, even now, while I write this blog post).
☀️ Three very cool hikes! My most favorite hike this season was the third and final one in this post, which also involved a meditation and sound bath while we were nestled in the mountain.
I thrive on the hustle and bustle that a big city like Dubai has to offer, and I am also really lucky to have nature only a short drive away from where I live. I find the UAE to be a beautiful and fascinating place to explore, so this post is a small celebration of that. I find a lot of beauty in the juxtaposition of colors, shapes, lines, and textures in the landscapes here.
Mleiha, Sharjah (about 45 minutes from Dubai)
My first hike this year was on New Year's Day. I did this last year and loved starting the new year in the sunshine and disconnected from technology, so I decided to continue the tradition.
This time, my New Year's Day hike was only about 45 minutes from my apartment. it was a very easy drive because there were not many people awake at that hour. BONUS: I even got to do a little off-roading to get there!
This hike was lead by a local company, and apparently some people in the group camped overnight while the rest of us drove to our meeting location that morning. This was an out-and-back hike, meaning we walked one way, then turned around and (mostly) retraced the same route back again.
We started the hike in the desert and then went up and down a small mountain. It's not connected to the bigger chain of Hajar Mountains that are further east in the country. This mountain is a smaller one, sort of related to the popular Fossil Mountain nearby.
Our guide knew a lot about the history and geology of the area, and he also shared a lot of information about flora, fauna, and animal tracks we saw in the sand along the way too.
It was very cloudy that day, which was actually nice for the hike. We would have been exposed to direct sunlight for most of the trail since we were on a mountain and in a valley, so the cloud cover was much appreciated. It stayed pretty cool all morning and into the afternoon (the hike was about 4 or 5 hours long), but it also didn't rain.
Along the trail next portion of the trail, we saw lizard and snake tracks in the sand. At one point we also saw fox prints leading into a small cave, but we found that it had been abandoned when we looked inside.
My favorite part of this hike was learning how to go down a steep incline on the desert sand. You don't so much walk as you do glide down. I've done this before, but the guide on this hike gave some really good tips that made it way more fun! I was too busy being in the moment to take any pictures at that time, but trust me, it was SO COOL.
Khor Fakkan, Emirate of Sharjah (about an hour and a half from Dubai, on the east coast of the UAE)
The UAE is much smaller than my home country, the USA. This particular hike in January took me all the way to the opposite coast from where I live - which meant I was in the car for just under two hours.
I did a hike last year in Kohr Fakkan and thought it was part of the emirate of Fujairah, but I learned on this day that Kohr Fakkan is actually still part of Sharjah.
This was much further away from home than the other hike I did in Sharjah on New Year's Day, but the drive was very, very pretty. I even got to drive through some tunnels that go through mountains! That experience still amazes this Florida girl, despite decades of being away from my home state and also living in a mountainous region for nearly six years now!
This hike had a much larger group (almost 40 people, not including the guides). We met by a park with an actually parking area, so no off-roading this time.
When I signed up for this hike, it was listed as an 'Easy 4km hike' - out to a beach and back again. During the briefing, the guide said, "We have a nice easy walk up and over that mountain to the beach, about 2km." I had to pretend not to be shocked, as the words 'easy' and 'up that mountain' do not usually go in the same sentence in my world.
Luckily, the 'up' was very switchback-y. That's the shape of a path you might see skiers on a mountainside in the snow, zigzagging back and forth. Switchbacks make the climb more gradual.
But it was still UP.
We passed some very cool old watchtowers on the trail. I have seen watchtowers like this before, as they dot the landscape in Oman too (I lived there for four years before moving here). I've done some research over the years and have read several different sources that claim a variety of origin stories for the watchtowers in this style.
The explanations have a fairly wide range: They were possibly built by Portuguese "explorers" who were in the region a few hundred years ago, OR in the style that originated here in this region and was later copied when those men went back to Portugal, OR maybe somewhere in-between.
We stopped a few times along the way for water and rest breaks. At our second rest area near the top of the small mountain, the sea started peeking out. It was a really pretty view.
The trek down the other side was steeper than the initial climb and had fewer switchbacks. The gravel was a little loose but not terribly challenging. Plus, we had these views!
We stayed at the beach for about an hour. Some people did put their feet in, and a few braver souls went all the way into the water, but the water was way too cold for me.
I didn't know we were stopping at the beach during the hike, but it was a very pleasant surprise. I have to admit, my initial thought was, "We have to sit by the beach for an hour??" (imagine a rather exasperated voice in my head). Then I realized how ridiculous I was being. OH DARN, YOU HAVE TO SIT BY A BEACH ON A BEAUTIFUL DAY.
I sat on a big, flat rock and ate my snack while reading a book on my phone. Sometimes I forget how nice it is to slow down.
After the hour was finished, we went back up and over. I used to dislike out-and-backs but have grown to love them because you do notice different things on the way back.
Between Masafi and Dibba, Emirate of Fujairah (about an hour and a half from Dubai)
In the week leading up to this third hike of the season, I had serious doubts about my decision-making skills. I had to leave around 5am in order to reach the meeting point on time. That made my wakeup call at 4am on a Saturday. What was I thinking??
I found myself dreading that 4am alarm in the days leading up to it, as February seems to be a very exhausting time of the year for teachers. I also HATE mornings, even on a good day.
Despite my misgivings, it turned out to be a fantastic adventure. I had invited two friends to come along and LOVED their company, and this turned out to be one of my favorite hikes so far in the UAE (and possibly of all time!).
Once we were past some sketchy drivers in our neighborhood, it was an easy drive. I didn't miss any exits this time (directions have never really been my 'thing'), and we even arrived a few minutes early.
In our briefing, the guide went over some general safety precautions, reminded us that we are guests on this land - LOVE that reminder! - and went over the itinerary for the hike. He also told us to be prepared to get our feet "a little wet."
You'll see why this statement is hilarious in a minute.
We first had to walk down and then through a falaj, which is an irrigation system that has been used for centuries in this part of the world. Unfortunately for us, we started our hike at the exact time when the farmer opened the dam to send the water to irrigate the land.
That "little bit of water" was much more intense than any of us had expected. It was rushing down, and the water level was well above my ankles and tops of my shoes. I had water sloshing inside my shoes even after we left the falaj, and my socks were completely soaked. NOW it is funny, though at the time I definitely said otherwise!
After the falaj, we hiked in a wadi, which is an Arabic word for a dry river bed. In other parts of the world, these types of formations are similar to what we call valleys, though they typically have much less green and a lot more rocks, boulders, and sand.
Usually you do not see much water in the wadis unless it has rained recently, but this one had several little pools. We saw some small frogs and even some tiny little fish in the water.
There were also lots of minerals and different rock formations. This wadi was super green too, which I loved. Some parts of it felt like we were in Jurassic Park. (Yes, I played parts of the soundtrack in my head but I *mostly* refrained from singing it out loud.)
One of my friends is a middle school science teacher, so it was really fun hearing her describe the what's and why's along the way. Other people in the group actually chimed in and asked her questions too, which I thought was pretty cool. It was a very, "That's my friend!" moment.
There was one spot where one of our guides pointed out a local orchid. I'm not the greatest photographer, but it's in the upper righthand quadrant of the photo below. In person, it was small but quite pretty!
We hiked for maybe an hour, though it felt like much longer after wading through the falaj and then having to hike with sloshy shoes. We made it to a clearing, where our yoga mats were waiting for us. They had been driven up by someone else, which was actually nice so that we didn't have to carry our stuff with us during the hike.
In the meantime, we learned that a couple of people turned back. I guess the water was enough adventure for them that day.
We set up for the sound bath in this really pretty pocket on the mountainside. For those who do not know, a sound bath is a special type of meditation where the practitioner plays on different bowls and/or gongs. The vibrations interact with your body, which is majority water, and the different vibrations affect different parts of your body in different ways. There is a lot of science behind it, which I won't go into here (hello, Google!).
I love a good sound bath. It is incredibly relaxing for me, and I find them very helpful for emotional regulation as well. I've done several of these before and have even previously been to sound bath ceremonies in the desert at night, but this was my first time attending one in the mountains during the early morning. It was very peaceful to hear the sounds of nature and feeling the breeze on my face during the sound bath.
I initially thought about leaving my wet shoes and socks on because the only thing worse than wet shoes and socks is having to put on wet shoes and socks later. I eventually decided to take them off for the sound bath because it felt strange to be on a yoga mat with shoes on my feet.
The woman leading the meditation and sound bath was lovely. The meditation was very relaxing, and after an hour when we were brought back out of it, I absolutely LOVED opening my eyes to the nature around me.
This was definitely a special day.
After the sound bath we had to put our soggy shoes and socks back on (gross) and continue. Several people in the group turned back and returned to the car park after the sound bath, and the rest of us continued on the hike.
Once we got going, I didn't mind the wet shoes and socks so much. I was worried about blisters, but that didn't end up being a problem either.
It was very rocky and gravel-y for a good portion of the next section of the hike, with a tiny bit of scrambling too.
After some time, we had to climb up, down, and around some larger boulders. I have an old running injury from 10 years ago that makes this type of terrain a bit challenging for my hip, but we made it - and it was a LOT of fun!
There was a point where we had the option to stop and rest or continue on a little further. My friends and I decided to go all in, and it was worth the extra effort. My legs did get a little tired once we got back to the gravel-y portion again on the return, but I'm still happy I went for it.
The trek through the falaj on the way back was MUCH easier because the water was more of a trickle, and it turns out that portion was only like ten minutes of the hike. It definitely felt longer when we were battling an open dam.
Like I said, I wasn't so sure about my life choices at 4am that day, but at the end of this hike I was sooooooo happy!
And of course, I was welcomed back home with LOTS of snuggles.
