16-17 Feb 2006

Bill J leading the group

Emirati Women Learn Expedition Skills At AAWC College, 21 Dec 2005 At this time three female students from Al Ain Women’s College, Higher Colleges of Technology have already completed one practice hiking and camping expedition and are in training for their so-called Bronze level qualifying expedition in February. The young women are doing this as part of the International Award for Young People (IAYP) Program that is being offered at their college for the second year. The practice expedition that the girls completed took place over the weekend 8-9 December near Buraimi. They were met at AAWC early on Thursday morning by program instructors including Patrick Berting, Jonathon Snookes, and Anne McCarthy, as well as Brian Holmes of the Emirates Natural History Society who served as the guide for the expedition. During the day the group hiked about 10 km over mountainous terrain carrying backpacks loaded with plenty of water and a lunch. At various points during the hike Mr Holmes showed his deep knowledge of the area’s plants, animals and archaeology with impromptu lectures that were much enjoyed by all. One example of the sights he pointed out was the numerous ruins of ancient copper smelting kilns. The hike’s destination was an abandoned village in a wadi, which was also the spot where the group had lunch. For most of the students taking part this was their first experience of hiking and they found it challenging. At the end of the hike the group met of the area’s few remaining residents, Mr Obaid Al Kaabi who served dates and coffee to the group. Next the group returned to the college where, after a short rest, they set up their tents and prepared supper. During the entire night they were supervised by two female college faculty, Mary Cunniffe and Joyce Zomer. Before bed the students amused themselves telling scary stories and making jokes. The next morning, Friday, which was marked by unusually heavy dew they had breakfast and packed up their camping gear. The rest of the morning was spent with instructor Suzanne Bluff taking instruction in compass use (navigation), and concluded with a discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the girls’ performance during the expedition. Having learned a number of ways to improve, the girls are now preparing for their second expedition which is set for 9-10 February and which will take place at a different location close to Al Ain. It is important to note that only those students who completed a comprehensive training program that took place over a number of after-school sessions were allowed to take part in the practice expedition. These sessions covered such topics as familiarity with camping equipment, clothing and footwear, setting up a tent, emergency first aid (given by an expert instructor) , planning and cooking camp meals, map reading and compass use, and, finally, documenting expeditions with notes and pictures or video. While the expeditions are certainly the most high-profile part of the International Award for Young People, the program has other equally important parts: Community Service, Skills, and Physical Recreation which must be completed for a minimum length of time such as six months, in order to qualify for the various levels, ie Bronze, Silver and Gold. Last year three students took part in the expeditions and two of them met the expedition’s requirements for the bronze level of the program (Khadija and Joukha Al Ameri). Once these students have completed the requirements of the other sections of the program they will receive their bronze level awards. (Patrick Berting, 43, one of the main organizers is a Canadian English language instructor at AAWC and, has had some experience in expeditions through past membership in Scouts Canada, and the Canadian Armed Forces.) ***

3-5 November 2005: We camped for two nights during the Eid break in Oman at the Muscat Yacht Club as members of a group from Al Ain. The trip down was unremarkable except for the hour taken exiting the UAE and another 45 minutes at the Omani border post. Once at the yacht club we parked our car and were happy to stay put for the whole time, whereas others in our group made excursions to the Al Bustan Hotel or the souq. Each day we spent our time swimming or lounging around on the beach. Rachel had a good time playing with Rany, 6, and Jad, 9, two Al Ain newcomers, who were there with their parents Lama and Samir. What I liked was that I was able to have a good rest and stop thinking about work issues. Just after sunset on the second night there was a capsizing incident just off our beach. When we ran over to the place it happened we saw three men who were being treated by the crowd. They appeared to have almost drowned and were eventually taken away by ambulance. We noted that the victims had been asking for trouble as their boat had been overloaded with passengers, none of whom had a lifejacket. They probably could not swim, which made being suddenly thrown into the water that much more terrifying for them, even though it happened only ten meters off shore in shallow water. It could have been much worse if the boat had capsized a long way from shore. We left late in the morning on 5 November and drove back the way we came, albeit with a stop over at Sawadi Beach which was crowded with locals and Indians celebrating their day off.

International Award Expedition 3-4 March 2005
We woke up at 6:30 am, had breakfast and left the National Avian Research Centre at about 9:00. Nancy drove the van with the girls to the Buraimi Hotel where we met up with Suzanne and Gary B and Mary C at about 10:00. Nancy and Phil left, then Patrick and the others drove to the place we would start our hike, which is commonly known as the Hash's Desert Dinner site. (Unfortunately, by the time we started hiking at about 10:30 it was quite warm, so for future hikes all efforts should be made to start earlier in the day.) At the furthest point from the start the group had lunch. Gary and Suzanne had planned a circular route around and through a ridge, but due to the slow speed of the AAWC girls the decision was made to reduce the distance. Another reason for changing the route was to reach the finish point earlier than we would have otherwise. One girl suffered from blisters on her feet as well as having to tie her shoe laces frequently. Fortunately everyone had enough water and food. During the five-and-a-half-hour hike the group covered about 10 kilometers. The hike on Day Two was more strenuous than on the previous day and involved covering rocky ground and a considerable amount of climbing, which led to sore feet and tired legs for many, but the spectacular views over Buraimi with Jebel Hafeet in the background made it worth it. The group made it back to the parking area by about 3:30 and reached AAWC by about 4:00, and the girls were met by their driver shortly afterwards
Sawadi Beach Camping Trip, Nov 2004

On this trip we had a small convoy of three cars: ourselves, Bob S and family (Midori and Aki-Emily), and Dan R and family (Stephanie and Katherine). Friday 12 Nov: After passing trough Omani Customs at Al Jizzi we headed for Sohar Beach Resort where we had lunch. Then we drove south to Sawadi Beach Resort. We had checked in as campers, but when the staff came and told us that we were not allowed to build fires, cook food or park on the beach we got a refund. We drove 400m down the beach to a public park with toilets and a playground, where we stayed for free! We set up our tents above the high water mark and built a bonfire on the beach. Saturday 13 Nov: We spent the whole day at this spot doing various things: swimming, digging for clams, taking a boat ride with an Omani fisherman, and going for walks, including one up to the “castle” on a nearby island. Sunday 14 Nov: We thought it would be nice to move on, so we packed up and drove to Nakhal, where we walked through the impressive fort and then had a look and a wade at the nearby hotsprings (crowded). Next we had a pit stop and bought a few groceries, then drove on to Rustaq, which is a larger town, where we went inside the big fort there. As it was too late to make it to Sur, we decided to return to Sawadi Beach, but first did some grocery shopping at a gas station. (We also scrounged some firewood there.) Upon returning to Sawadi Beach we found the park crowed with people celebrating the start of the Eid Holidays; therefore, we drove to a new spot on a different beach. The wind was quite strong which made setting up tents and cooking a challenge, but of more concern was the various vehicles, presumably driven by young local men that drove in the sand fairly close to our camp. There were wild dogs that got quite close too. Fortunately, the excitement eventually died down, finally giving the adults a chance to sleep. Monday 15 Nov: First of all I had to give Bob a jump start as his battery had run low during the night. That task completed, rather than drive directly back to Al Ain, I wanted to have a look at the town of Barka which was a bit south of us. It was a rather unattractive, functional town, but it did have a nice fort and we enjoyed the drive along the town’s coast road. We agreed that the town (an Oman in general) should do a little more to make itself more attractive to tourists, as there is obvious potential. Not finding anywhere we could stop and have a coffee or snack we returned to the main highway and drove north to Sohar Beach Resort, where we had lunch for the second time. While we were waiting for our food thunder started and just as we were leaving it started to pour. On our way to Al Ain we pulled off the road where some locals were enjoying the sight of water flowing in the normally dry wadi. After clearing Omani customs we stopped at a playground and had a chat before returning to our respective homes. On this trip we drove about 800 kilometers.

Shaikh Zayed 1918-2004
The President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate passed away on 2 November 2004. He had been president since the formation of the country in 1971 and was much-loved. A period of national mourning was declared.
Summer Vacation 2004
The highlight of our summer break in 2004 was spending a week in Copenhagen, Denmark courtesy of an old friend, Martin O. His place was close to the Little Mermaid statue and a quick bus ride or long walk to downtown. The apartment itself was very interesting, being 100+ years old and without elevators -- a challenge considering he lived on the fourth floor. We had an excellent week in spite of the unusually cool weather. Most likely we'll be back. Once in Vancouver, our vacation was in some ways a working holiday as we did very little travelling and spent most of our time going through all of the steps related to buying an apartment, ie visiting real estate sales offices, banks and lawyers. In the end, the effort we put into it should pay off in the long run - and we will have a place of our own to stay next summer. Although we were keen on buying on Vancouver Island, we finally chose a place in Burnaby where family members live. On the downside, I got sicker than I have been for years with a terrible chest infection that eventually required strong antibiotics. Needless to say all my plans for running, cycling and swimming went out the window. An unforseen pleasure for us was enjoying the many opportunities to dine at Korean restaurants and stock up at Korean supermarkets. She can also tell the difference between English, Arabic and Korean writing.

 

East Coast Weekend

24-25  March 2004: The college sent me to Fujairah as part of the team administering the nation-wide CEPA Exam (Common English Proficiency Assessment) that is given to all final year UAE secondary school students who want to go on to post secondary education. They put us up in the Fujairah Hilton Hotel and provided free meals (for me -- J-k and R extra cost). The students were very weak and had difficulty understanding the exam instructions. We drove there and back via Mahda, Hatta, and Munay and went through a couple of tunnels on the new freeway to the coast.

 

New SUV

13 March 2004: We bought a brand new Nissan Pathfinder. It was a big step to take, but I felt tired of messing around with unreliable cars. It has a six-cylinder, 3.5 L engine, which should be powerful enough for the kind of driving we do. I look forward to taking it camping and exploring the far corners of this region. I've just ordered some high quality maps in anticipation of that. I am thinking of getting a GPS to aid in navigation, too.

 

TESOL Conference

10-12 March 2004: My college sent a number of English teachers to attend the TESOL Arabia Conference that was held at the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai. We got rooms at the Le Meriden Hotel, and, while I was at the conference, J-k and Rachel enjoyed themselves, mostly at the pool. There were other spouses and kids around, making it quite a social event. I came out of the conference quite motivated and with a few ideas I'd like to apply.

 

College Art and Culture Day 2005

Salalah Trip
9 January 2004: I ran the 10 km race of the Dubai Marathon in 52:50, which was slower than I had hoped for. There was quite a good turnout from Al Ain this year.

This is what Phil said about it: CONGRATULATIONS to Sue (Evans) and Kevin (Watson) on completing the Dubai 2004 Marathon. At the finish both looked as though they had gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson......and lost!
They say that when the going gets tough the tough get going and both Kevin and Sue showed tremendous courage and determination to finish one of sports most gruelling events. Well done to both. As a reward they will be allowed to run Duncan's Detour tonight instead of the usual 7.5km. Again, well done!

Hats off to all the A2R2 members who descended on the City of Gold and completed the 10kms.
Magic, Anne Mc, Annette, Nancy, Brian, Patrick, Darren, Rob and Sue, Joe, Duncan, Rob (Fay) and myself all ensured that Al Ain was well represented. Many thanks to all for taking part and staying on to support Sue and Kevin.

2-4 December 2003 - Oman Excursion

I led a group of six cars for a trip to the Nizwa area of Oman during the UAE National Day Holidays. Besides us, there were Brian and Rochelle, Julien and parents, Lucas and parents, Aki-Emily and parents, and Mariya and parents.

On the first day (Tuesday) we stopped off at Jibreen Castle, which used to be the residence of the Imams, who ruled the area for hundreds of years. We stayed for two nights at the Falaj Daris Hotel, which while not five-star standard, was still quite nice. The swimming pools and children's play area were well used by our group. Tuesday evening we browsed through the Nizwa Souq and some bought souvenirs.
The following day, Wednesday, I led the group to Misfah, an amazing cliff-top Village that is accessed by a drive up a winding mountain road. After that we drove to the foot of the mountain to have a quick look at the village of Al Hamra, which is famous for being a mud-brick village that is hundreds of years old. We had a friendly chat with some local teenage boys there. That evening, before supper we went to Nizwa Hotel to let the kids use the play area there.

On Thursday morning we visited Nizwa Fort and then swung through Tanuf, a quiet oasis village at the bottom of a mountain. When walking through the village the local children were quite excited to see us and I got to use a bit of my broken Arabic to have a brief chat with some Omani men by the side of the road. (The admission fee at each of Jibreen Castle and Nizwa Fort was 500 Baisa/ Dh 5.)Although we had seen all of the sites before, except Tanuf, I enjoyed giving my friends the chance to see some interesting places without having to try to find them themselves and possibly get lost. Dining with the large group at the end of each day was fun too.

Official Red Bull Race Web Site

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