Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
First of all I would like to say that after readings blog post you should check out my friend Louise's post this month at http://www.louisefreelandphotography.com/2014/02/28/happiness-and-the-to-do-list/
Those of you who have ever received an email from me know that this particular quote is part of my email signature. I read it when we first started our overseas journey four years ago and we have tried to live by it ever since.
Living in another culture is a privilege and an adventure, and we have done our best along the way to explore off the beaten path.
Last weekend we drove out to Hatta, which is out in the mountains of the UAE. To get there you have to pass through Oman and back into the UAE. Very strange set up with a massive fence/razor wire/armed guards and the whole package.
Home in Canada I always feel most at peace when I'm out in nature, especially in the mountains. I can't be called an overly religious person, but out in nature I'm definitely a spiritual one. The mountains in Hatta gave me that same feeling, the feeling of being away from it all and in touch with something greater than myself and I'm happy we took the time to go exploring.
We stayed at the Hatta Fort Hotel that weekend and it was lovely and comfortable. On Saturday we made sure we had gas and a spare tire and crossed into Oman again to try to find the much talked about Hatta Pools. We had an off-road guide that was about 4 years old and there was some confusion as the road was now paved and the directions were thrown off. After about 45 minutes of driving off the main road in random directions we finally got directions from a local guy and found the pools.
What a sight! The pools are down in the wadi (which is what they call a canyon in this neck of the woods) at this time of year they can be dangerous if the weather is anything but sunny as flash floods kill people every year in this region. Thankfully on the day we visited it was sunny with not a cloud in sight. The water in the pools is crystal clear and looks like the glacier water that we see back home in Canada, except it isn't ice cold!!!!!
We hiked up to take a peek and watched some crazy people doing cannonballs into the water. It was beautiful but the graffiti and trash detracted from the beauty a bit. Hopefully the government will help to clean it up in the near future.
We decided to take the mountain road back to the UAE and we are so glad we did, stunning scenery and wadis all along the way. Definitely worth getting lost for!!!!! At some points in the road you could see where the floods came through and there was still water on the road. You never know what you're going to find when you go off-roading in the Middle East. Five years ago if you had asked me whether I saw off-roading in Oman as part of my five year plan I would have laughed at you and said "no way"!
How life has changed. So please enjoy the pictures I took of Hatta and the region.
How life has changed. So please enjoy the pictures I took of Hatta and the region.
Happiness Through My Eyes........The Pursuit of Exploration
\
