Day 70 - At Sea

This morning we got up around 8 and had coffee in the cabin since it was cool and quite windy on the verandah. I posted an entry on the blog, checked e-mail and we went up for breakfast at 10. We went out on the back deck while we sailed through the Hormuz Strait with Oman on one side and Iran on the other. At its narrowest, it is only 30 miles wide. We went to the photo shop at 1 to pick up more pictures and then back to the cabin so I could complete the blog through Dubai. Glenda went down the hall to the laundry room to press some of our new clothes. We went to bingo and Glenda and I and another woman bingoed on the same number in game one and received $7 each. We were close on game 4 but didn't succeed. We got another special invite to the welcome party for new guest in the Crow's Nest as did all of the regular customers there. After dinner we got to play slots for over 45 minutes for our contribution. We had one drink in the Crow's Nest and went to bed. We have to get up at 6 am for our tour of Muscat and the Markets tomorrow.

Day 69 - Dubai, U.A.E. - Day 2

It was raining when we got up today. We had breakfast in the cabin and got ready for our tour. We boarded the bus and drove through the downtown area filled with skyscrapers, all built in the last 30 years, most more recently, and the Burj Dubai which will be the tallest building in the world (twice as tall as the Empire State Building) when finished on September 9, 2009. Then we drove to Jumeira, the palace and upscale residential area of Dubai. We went to the Jumeira Mosque for a photo stop and to the beach to view the Burj Al Arab, currently rated as the world's tallest hotel. Rates start at $2100 per night with a 3 day minimum stay and dinner or lunch there runs $200 to $250 per person. We did not attempt to eat there. Its architecture replicates a sail. We next visited the Dubai Museum, located in the Al Fahidi Fort and shows what life was like in olden days. Then we took an abra (water taxi) across Dubai Creek to the Spice Souk (market) where we bought some spices. We then walked a few blocks to the Gold Souk, where there were dozens of jewelry shops selling 22K gold things including massive necklaces, figurines, tiaras and other expensive items. We didn't shop there, but found a small store in an alley and I bought a white Arab robe and Glenda got a Dubai cap. It had rained off and on all during our tour, but we didn't really get wet. We got back to the dock around 1:15 and went to the post office in the terminal to mail postcards, visited the duty free shop, and ask the falcon man to see his baby owl we had heard from another passenger yesterday that he kept in a basket. We went back to the ship and since it was raining a good bit, we decided not to go back out, even though we didn't sail until midnight. We relaxed on the back deck and visited with some new passengers until time to get ready for dinner. After dinner, I was not feeling so hot due to a cold I've had for a couple of days, so we went back to the cabin for the night, missing the sail away party. We have one day at sea before Muscat, Oman.

Day 68 - Dubai, U.A.E. - Day1

Today as we sailed in around 11 am, the city was obscured by haze and the forecast was 50 percent chance of rain for our 2 days here.  Apparently it rained a lot yesterday and they even had a rare hailstorm.  According to some guides, it has been over ten years since it rained 3 days in a row.  The desert, the last place we expected rain.  After the ship was cleared, we went into the terminal where we held a hunting falcon and did a lot of our shopping right off.  We took our purchases back to the cabin and went down for our 3 pm tour to the desert.  We rode in 4 WD Land Rovers (4 passengers per except ours had the ship's photographer as well) and went 45 minutes out of the city and stopped for a toilet break at a gas station.  The toilets were out of service for about 10 minutes and the women's line was very long after they opened them.  We then went further out and pulled off the highway to allow the drivers to deflate the tires and then we hit the dunes.  Quite an exciting ride.  Next was the camel farm where I took the camel's butt pictures.  We then went to the camp for camel riding, henna painting, water pipe smoking, sand painting, sand sledding and a marvelous barbecue dinner.  This was followed by a belly dancer, who pulled me up for a dance.  It threatened to rain, sprinkling several times during the evening, but it held off until we were on our way back to the city.  A really great tour!  We got back around 9:15, had a drink, showered and went to bed.  Our tour tomorrow for the Highlights of Dubai is at 9 am.