Moreeb Dune, U.A.E. to Bush Camp near Al Ain, U.A.E. November 12, 2022

I had the worst sleep ever.  About two  clock some yip yo was out on the dunes with a vehicle.  They only quit when it backfired four loud times and stopped working. I tossed and turned all night because our tents were all set up really close to each other and I could hear everything: people turning on their air mattresses, snoring, zippers opening and closing, people walking by to go to the toilet and farting etc. I wasn’t silent either as my new air mattress is very noisy.  To top it all off, call to mosque was about 5:15  and then again at 6:15. It sounded like a speaker was right in my tent!  Tonight I am away from everyone so I am hoping for a better sleep. 

We had an 8 am departure.  Our two drivers are from Pakistan but live in Saudi-

We left the dune heading for Dhafeer Fort-

It was rebuilt in 1996 using mud brick- 

so this structure isn’t very old.  The original was probably built about 1915.  Houses at that time were made with beams and palm fronds.  The lower enclosure is for the protection of animals in case of a battle.

We stopped at a date factory but unfortunately because it was Saturday the only thing open was the gift shop. They had some very interesting products, all made from dates including marshmallow butter with dates and coconut, date toffee, date syrup and date jam as well as date balsamic vinegar –

Cookies-

and date ketchup-

Dates-

Moving on-

Eventually we got to out bushcamp.  Here’s my tent-

The fly has a black out lining so this morning it was pitch black in my tent but daylight outside. That’s pretty cool! I also have a new blowup mattress that is not self inflating. At first I thought I had to blow it up myself which would be nearly impossible but then realized I need to attach a big bag to a valve, fill the bag with air, squeeze the bag so air can enter the mattress.  It is very slick-

Cook group making chicken curry-

We are off to Al Ain in the morning to a hotel for our last day/night in U. A. E.!