20231220 AAAA Trip - Dubai, UAE, Cruise day #2, Bashing Dunes and winning O points

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 95/105 - Dubai, UAE Cruise day #2 - Bashing Dunes

We awoke this morning after a good night's sleep onboard Riviera. After breakfast, we headed out for a little adventure today - dune bashing in the desert. Dune bashing is a fancy name for riding in the dunes in a 4x4 with semi-deflated tires.

First, a little history. Before December 2, 1971, there was no United Arab Emirates. Each of the emirates was an independent entity. The Sheikdoms of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Fujairah, and Ras al-Khaimah were under a British protectorate. On that day, treaties were signed with Great Britain and the UAE became an independent country. Today, we left Dubai and visited another emirate, Sharjah.

Our ride for the day - truck #4, and our driver, Raj

We made a comfort stop along the way (that means bathrooms). This was also the prep station for the drivers to partially deflate their tires for better traction in the sand.  

Once the vehicles were ready, we all hopped back in for the short drive to the dunes.

We exited the road and proceeded to bounce and fly around the dunes, thanks to the expert vehicle handling of our driver, Raj.

Part of our caravan

We all traveled in air-conditioned comfort

There was a lot of sand spraying

After about 20 minutes of bouncing, sliding, drifting, climbing, and just having a plain old good time, we made a stop in the desert for photos. 

The sand was fine and a beautiful mix of gold, brown, copper, and other tones

Arlona times three

Making a sand angel

View 360-degree photo

View 360-degree photo

The drivers also broke out air compressors and reinflated the tires to prepare for getting back on paved roads.

We bounced a little more on the way out of the desert as we headed for the second activity, a camel ride. 

On a previous camel ride in Mexico, we boarded the standing camel from a raised platform. Not here. We climbed on the camel as it was lying down and then it got up. Wow!  

The same was true for getting off - we hung on as the camel knelt down and settled in the sand.

After our ride, we enjoyed a soda and then got back in the 4x4s for the ride back to the ship.

We grabbed lunch at the Waves Grill. Arlona got the Kofta.

 I got a burger and didn’t take a photo.

Arlona was dragging a bit this afternoon.  We returned to the room and she promptly fell asleep. I worked on this blog and listened to her sleeping.

They had trivia at 4:30 this afternoon and we attended.  We took third and that was good for one “Big O Point”. Many activities on the ship come with the potential to earn Big O Points, redeemable for Oceania swag (hats, shirts, etc.) at the end of the cruise.

 Our misses:

• What is another name for a rising tide?
• I thought ebb tide - that is the opposite - it is flood tide
• In what year was sailing added to the Olympics?
• We guessed 1952 – it was 1896
• Jessica Watson was the youngest person to sail around the world solo - how long did it take?
• We guessed 101 days – it was 210
• The Greenland shark is the longest-living animal in the world. How long does it live?
• We guessed 175 years – it is 400 years!
• This island country has Male as its capital
• We guessed Malta – it is The Maldives – we should have known that we we recently booked a cruise that will stop there

Dinner tonight was at the Polo Grille – the steakhouse on the ship. Arlona took photos, but I didn’t.

Arlona's Fench onion soup - I had the crab cake and New England clam chowder - excellent

Arlona's veal and lobster - my filet and lobster in the distance

The bottom line is that it was excellent. We were both impressed with the quality and taste of the food.

Tonight, Cruise Director, Paul, ran a second trivia. We met yet another couple from The Villages and played with them as well as another couple from the Minneapolis area. We were successful in winning tonight, netting us three Big O Points.  Woo! The goofs:

• Simón Bolívar International Airport is located near what capital city?
• We guessed La Paz, Bolivia - it is Caracas, Venezuela
• How much storage was in the first iPod?
• We guessed 1GB - it was 5GB
• What candy was marketed to adults as a smoking cessation tool since it resembled a lighter?
• We talked ourselves out of Pez in favor of Tic Tacs - it was Pez
• What city on the Ganges River is the spiritual Capital of India?
• We had no idea - it was Varanasi 
• The 1989 movie, Shirley Valentine, was set on what Greek island?
• We guessed Santorini - it was Mykonos

We were both tired at this point and retired to our stateroom.  Tomorrow, we’re in port only until noon, so we will treat it like a sea day and stay onboard.