Aquaba - Lima Trek

Of all the treks at Absolute Adventure, Aquaba-Lima is the most popular. After 2 half seasons here, I still hadn't gotten to do it. Finally my chance came last week.

The weather was gorgeous and the sea was nice and calm for our 45 minute speed boat ride to Aquaba. We left from the Mina in Dibba and sped along the coast where the mountains dive into the sea. This part of the Arabian peninsula is called the Musandam Peninsula and is known for its dramatic fjords.

Fun times in Dibba

    Many of our clients who come from Dubai wonder what we do for fun here in the small town of Dibba. From the outside I'm sure Dibba seems pretty boring. We don't have much- two gas stations, two small convenience stores and one restaurant; plus lots of goats and fisherman. What Dibba lacks in exciting entertainment, it makes up for with a plethora of outdoor beauty. Plus I live with my coworkers- it would be pretty depressing if a bunch of outdoor guides couldn't have a good time in a beautiful place. As my good friend Elise used to say- "I do have a degree in FUN you know..." Oh and our boss gives us access to all the company equipment on our days off. We definitely make the most of it.

Last week, we spent one day hanging out at the beach. Stephen brought his skim board for us to test out.

None of us were good at skim boarding except Stephen who is basically a pro.

The five of us

    Today, we met up with a big group of climbers from Dubai in Wadi Khab A'Shamsi and spent a few hours climbing up some new routes and making new friends.

Tony up on a route.

Plantation Mountain Trek

Recently we had the Victoria International School stay at the Absolute Adventure date plantation camp. We took them rock climbing, abseiling (rappelling), trekking and taught survival skills. I taught orienteering and trekking during their stay. We have a trek we usually take the kids on- the path takes you up a small mountain next to the beach and then down the backside to come down on the beach in the middle of an old fishing village. That trek is pretty interesting and scenic- but this week it was problematic due to some Irani refugees. The Omani army and the local police turned out to scour the mountains for them. Not wanting to get in their way, we had to alter our route. Ram decided to take the kids up a much taller mountain that sits adjacent to our camp. It's a much tougher climb with much more dramatic views at the top. The pinnacle features a knife-edge like rocky ridge which feels really exposed and has panoramic views.


The kids on the way up

Looking out over Dibba Oman and Dibba Fujeirah

Taking a break near the pinnacle

Walking along an edge

Heading down

The kids and me, hanging out under an overhang on a ledge at the end of our trek

Climbing in Wadi Khab Al Shamsi- It's COLD here!

The past few days have been chilly with high winds that make it downright cold - especially in the shade. We decided to make the most of our day off before the Victoria International School arrived by going climbing in the wadi by our house- Wadi Khab al Shamsi.

We headed to the second narrow section where there is some really great sport climbing- it was bolted a little over a year ago. There is good diversity of routes in the second narrows- routes in the 5.7 to 5.8 range going up to around 5.11 or so.


The wind whipped through the canyon which was shaded by the high wadi walls- so we were really cold while we climbed.

Jessa and I snuggled on the crash pad while she belayed.

Tony and Ram took shelter from the wind in the Tahoe.

Stephen hanging out on a boulder watching the others climb

I'm sorry to say I don't have any good shots of us actually climbing. The shaded walls don't make for good photos without remote flashes and fancy camera equipment. The good news is that we've got some project climbs in that wadi and will be headed there lots more over the next few months to get our routes up. I'm hoping to get some good video with my HD video camera as well.

Back "home" in Dibba

I'm currently back in Dibba, Oman to work for Absolute Adventure. I got to celebrate by 26th birthday en-route to Dubai, this time joined by my boyfriend Tony. We celebrated by having a nice glass of wine in the NYC airport before boarding our flight to Paris and then on to Dubai.

I'm excited to be living in the "yellow house" again, a bright house nestled between the mountains and the ocean. We have a really great view of the mountains from our front porch. Its gerat living here- we can go sea kayaking and rock climbing in the same day!


Our work started with a school group from Dubai. Tony and I taught sea kayaking together and had tons of fun with the kids. We were lucky to have good weather while they were here. After the kids left we spend our afternoon climbing in the wadi with our housemates Jessa and Stephen. Yesterday Tony and I took a group of college students from the Petroleum Institute on a dhow cruise up the coast.

Last night there was some rain and lots of wind. Here, any rain at all is dangerous, especially in the Wadi- small amounts of rain causes rocks to fall from the mountain. Rocks of all shapes and sizes are held against the mountainside by compacted dirt. When that dirt gets wet, it relaxes its grip on those rocks- which go tumbling down the mountainside and into the wadi. Heavy rain causes flash flooding that's powerful enough to move boulders the size of houses. We had a Jebel Kiwi trek planned which requires driving way up into the wadi and then trekking high up in the mountains. We changed our plans and took the clients to Smuggler's Bay instead- a hike through the mountains along the coast to a beautiful secluded beach.

Surf Camp: Hot Wax Surf Shop

     This summer at Pamlico Sea Base we had a group that wanted to learn to surf. We took our group to Hot Wax Surf Camp in Emerald Isle. Even though the surf was "mushy" we had a great time. The camp had an assortment of boards to fit all the sizes and abilities of our group. They spent a good amount of time preparing us on land for what we would encounter in the water. We talked about managing the board in the water, the physics of water ad surfing, and did some stretches and practicing "popping up."
     I was really impressed with how the organized getting the group into the water. As a sea kayaking guide, I know how chaotic things can get when inexperienced kayakers set off into the water- a place where current, wind and waves can intimidate new paddlers and spread them out all over the place. Hot Wax surf camp got us into the water in a super controlled, safe way that made everyone feel really comfortable.
     We lined up in two lines on the beach. There were two instructors in the surf zone (where the waves are crashing) and two instructors floating on their boards out in the lineup. We already knew how to manage our big boards in the waves from our session on land, but it was great to have someone right next to us encouraging us and giving tips when we struggled. Once we made it through the breaking waves, we were sent paddling to the instructors floating in the lineup.


     Once we were all safely in the lineup, we practicing turing around, paddling, loosing our boards, retrieving our boards and the "nose grab." When it was time to start catching waves, the instructors were really encouraging and took the time to make sure everyone caught a wave. The camp is designed to give participants the basic skills they need to start surfing. You won't be a world class surfer by the end of your session, but you will have the skills you need to go out with a rental board on a nice day.
     In addition to taking posed photos on the beach, one of the instructors (and the owner of the shop) brought a waterproof camera out surfing to take candid photos of us while we surfed.



Hot Wax surf shop is a great place for families, scout troops, and groups of friends to have a great, safe first surfing experience.

First Trip of the Season

    June 19th, George and I set off on the first sea kayaking trip of the 2011 summer season at Pamlico Sea base. This trip was particularly special because it was George's first sea kayaking trip! We had a small tight knit group of 6 which made it really easy for George to learn the ropes.

On the way to Cape Lookout, we stopped at Bird Island. Dustin found this really awesome knife there. If Davy Jones had a pocket knife, this is what it would look like.

Landing at Cape Lookout

George makes an awesome pirate doesn't he?

The aftermath of shoving a square box into a round hole.

On the way to Great Island Camp (AKA Fish Camp 1) Dustin caught a crab, with his bare hands, as he was paddling. Yeah, he's B.A.!


And then at Fish Camp 1, the guys caught even more!

Blue crab for dinner!


    After we reached Long Point Camp, or what we lovingly call Fish Camp 2 on Wednesday, we looked across the sound toward our Thursday destination, only to see a wall of smoke. There were several peat moss and forest fires burning in the area that had completely blocked our view of the land mass we would be heading to in the morning. All we could see was the marsh grass surrounding the ferry landing. Five miles across the sound, through the haze, was our first waypoint for Thursday morning; Cedar Island Point. Four miles beyond it, in Cedar Island Bay, was our final destination; the Cedar Island Ferry landing.

The view looking out onto the sound, only about a mile of visibility.
Typically you can see a land mass across the water.


Time to get out the map and compasses! We took a bearing from our location to our landing point using the map. It was due North. Even if we had no visibility in the morning, we wouldn't get lost.


  Every night the guys built a fire on the beach, which is trickier than building your typical campfire in the woods. It was really cool watching their fire building technique evolve over the course of the week. By Thursday night, they had it down.


   We got up at 4am Thursday morning to cross the sound. We get up this early because the wind isn't as strong this early in the morning, which makes our crossing easier. We put glowsticks on our kayaks so that any shrimping boats in the area can see us. The view of sunrise from the middle of the sound is always different and always magnificent.

The deck of my kayak ready for a pre-dawn paddle. Compass readied in case the smoke moved in as we paddled.

Sunrise that morning was pretty ominous and apocalyptic-looking. I blame the smokey conditions.

One of the scouts in his boat on our sunrise paddle.

Gimme that horizon...

Tim enjoying a well deserved ice cream at the ferry landing, waiting for the boat.

The gang on Ocracoke