The romantic boat ride

It was hard to take one picture that really captured the boat ride. I booked a dhow (traditional wooden fishing boat) cruise for the afternoon on Friday. We were very lucky to have a lot of overcast weather last week so I knew it would be bearable in the afternoon. Everyone I know that has been to Musandam has loved the boat cruises because of the scenery (mountains, fishing villages and dolphins). When Chris and I arrived at the dock it was just us and a Lebanese man that had just moved to the area to work at our hotel. I panicked as we set foot on the boat when I scanned for a bathroom. The boat was much too high to jump off of and even in normal circumstances the chances of me being able to hold it for four hours is highly unlikely, as a pregnant woman I am lucky if I can make it 30 minutes without discovering the nearest bathroom. The good news? I now know every bathroom location in Dubai. All I saw was a rickety ladder that went below deck. That didn't look too appealing either. I looked at the other boats docked next to us. One had a visible toilet by the captains area, oh sorry head for you boat terminology people....I looked at our boat again and found we had the same structure- it just had a closed door. Big sigh of relief, big sigh and laugh from Chris who is still not tired of making fun of my baby bladder. I keep telling him to just wait- it surely won't be getting any better. So at this point I think wow, only three people on this cruise, cool. It would be better without the Lebanese guy but hey it is a big boat. All of a sudden I heard noises, the kind you might hear in a neighborhood around 3pm when the school bus does its drop off. I turned around and a mass of people were coming onto the boat. At last count there were at least 17 Children and about 15 adults. The atmosphere on the boat changed drastically to say the least. The boat became crazy with activity. The Muslim family on the right side of the boat set up a full on Indian buffet, the Hindu family on the left side of the family busted out cans of Bud and a bottle of whiskey. The children ran from one end of the boat to the other- always, always, landing on Chris's big toe. I made Chris get up and check the cooler to make sure there was enough water- I got nervous. The boat ride was so much fun, the kids were of course adorable and well behaved. We got to see dolphins on the way back and after that all of the children passed out with exhaustion- they just collapsed whereever they were regardless of whose body they were up against. I had a couple cuties near me. We noticed some pretty nice looking yachts in the water so next time we might splurge a bit more on the boat cruise... By the way the toilet turned out to be a hole in the floor- no biggie after my peace corps days but a bit trickier when the boat is moving and your whole sense of balance is a bit different...