Desert Sunset – Abu Dhabi

After our tour of the city, Malcolm suggested we ride out into the desert to watch the sun set… I have always been a sucker for a good sunset, so there was no arguments from me…!!

We headed south along the highway I had ridden into Abu Dhabi on, and after about half an hour turned off onto a minor road that led out into the desert… We passed a camel farm and a short while later turned off onto a dirt road that bordered what seemed to be a long abandoned farming operation…

Once out of sight of the main road, Malcolm parked the Landcruiser, and we began trudging across the sand, out into the desert…

A sea of sand...

The Wrigleys of the Desert...

It was great being back in one of the elements I enjoy the most, and feeling the fine sand slipping through my toes reminded me of the many other deserts I had spent time in…

We tramped up and down the dunes, following the ridges formed by the wind...

We found a spot on one of the highest dunes in the area, and settled down to watch the sun begin its slide into the sea of sand…

Enjoying another sunset, this time in the desert near Abu Dhabi...

After a bit of juggling, Malcolm gets to play with fire...

Shadows begin flitting across the sand as the sun sinks lower...

We stood silently watching as the sun sank inexorably toward the far horizon...

It was not one of the best sunsets we had witnessed… A light wind had been blowing when we arrived, and far out in the desert, a dusty haze hung over the dunes… But it was nevertheless a sunset to remember, in this far off place, in the comfortable company of Malcolm and Elspeth…

"I parked the car around here somewhere, Honey...!!"

We drove back into the city, and Malcolm took me to find the Saudi Arabian embassy, which I intended visiting the following morning to try and get a transit visa to ride across to Bahrain and Qatar…

We then sat sipping red wine while discussing the various places in the Emirates and Oman that the Wrigleys had already visited, and recommended that I too should take in on my return from Bahrain… I checked my maps and made notes of the routes Malcolm had suggested, and then went off the start getting my kit together…

If all went well, then I would begin my ride towards the border before noon the following day. Although the border lay only 360 km to the east, I would never make it all the way into Doha in Qatar before nightfall, unless I was in the saddle when the sun peeped over the horizon…

I planned to overnight at Al Ruwais, and then ride to Doha from there…

But first I would had the Saudis to deal with…!!

©GBWT 2011