Swimming at the top of a Mountain in the Desert?

We were invited to spend the day swimming with some new friends.

It is common to be able to purchase a "day pass" to visit a hotel and use their facilities for the day (beaches, pools, etc...)?

This one was in another city, Al Ain, at the top of a giant mountain, in the desert.

We headed out for the trek and it took about 1 hr 20 mins to get there.









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It's hard to take pics from a moving vehicle....





It is like millions of years of sand compacted or lots of rock that looks like it is going to fall apart at any moment. Thankfully, Brian was driving because it was a near panic-inducing trip as we got closer and the roads got windier.

























Bat caves





At the top of Jebel Hafeet (mt. Hafeet) there is a hotel.....Click here to see more of the hotel

It is a big getaway spot for people from the area but it was fairly empty when we arrived.





I stayed out on a chair with the two other moms and visited, but Brian and the kids got in the water and enjoyed it all. Yep, that's a lovely swim-up bar with Isabella nearby. It was too hot for alcohol but we enjoyed delicious watermelon slushy drinks and lemon-mint drinks. Yum!





The kids loved the waterslides. There was a lifeguard there but the sense of safety is different. Kids were going down 3-4 at a time like a slalom and all was fine until some girl went down with 3 big guys and hurt her back. No EMT on staff, no nurse nearby at the hotel on a mt away from everything. The girl hurt her back and they moved her and called an ambulance and it took over 20 minutes for it to come. Glad nothing serious occurred to us!






It's Brian and Cameron! He had no fear.















Alexander and his new friends: Ethan R and Ethan E. They are both going into 5th grade at ACS too.






Bella and her new friend, Zoe (Ethan E's sister). She is going into 3rd grade at ACS.





Thank goodness this wasn't operating because there is NO way I'd let my kids ride this thing that is hanging off the side of a mountain on shabby-looking scaffolding.





Little building near the roller coaster.






This is where some of the workers live, seriously.






There was also a fun spray park there too.















Cam pooped himself out.






Brian will be dying tomorrow. It's even redder now. I asked if he wanted help with his sunscreen and he assured me he had it covered.....

After several hours, we decided it was time to head home. The drivers were insane!! The speed limit is 120 km/h or 74 mph and there is a 20 km/h leeway or going up to 84 mph. We were going the limit and cars were FLYING by on the left. I wouldn't attempt to drive in that lane, ever. They pass in the shoulder at 90mph+. We saw a car in a fireball on our way there.

During our drive home, we experienced our first sandstorm.















Can you see the debris flying? The side barrier flew up and the car in front of us had to hit their brakes.






Glad we weren't walking in it.

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