Shell is awake before I am. Like always, she wakes me up by asking me if I am awake until I am awake.
“Even a soul submerged in sleep
Heraclitus
is hard at work and helps
make something of the world.”
She decides we will get up early and head to Kalba. We can watch the sunrise over the mountains.
We head off and realise there is a thick fog. There will be no pictures of sunrises today. Nevermind, we both enjoy a roadtrip.
People camp on the side of the freeway. The desert is fenced off to the public so campers just pitch tents on the side of the road. It s difficult to imagine camping on the side of the freeway being anything other than a horrible experience.
We decide to head for Hatta for a karak. Karak is the local version of masala chai. Sweet, spiced, and delicious.
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future”
Thích Nhất Hạnh
I try for a few photos on the way but nothing really works out. I love the landscape of the Sharjah mountains. Barren and rocky, I feel like they belong to another planet. Small shrubs and grasses cling to the hillsides and fight for existence. It is utterly inhospitable in its beauty.
“The closer you get to real matter, rock air fire and wood, boy, the more spiritual the world is.”
Jack Kerouac
It rained last night, or recently. The roads are all flooded. All of UAE has a drainage problem.
Karak at Hatta in the mountains and it is almost cold. We are at the local market and I should have bought my camel as they offer livestock slaughter. Across the road is a fig farm. Hatta is almost agricultural. Cooled by the elevation, figs and olives grow here. I am not sure if the soil has been trucked in or there are patches of fertile land.
We head to the coastal town of Kalba. UAE sits on a peninsula. You can drive from the Arabian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman in an hour. Kalba is a beautiful city. Wide streets and monuments everywhere. Very different from the Sharjah city.
From Kalba to Khor Fakkan. To get there we pass through the tiny emirate of Fujairah which is basically one big oil refinery.
And then back to Kalba for a coffee on the ocean before driving home.
Another lazy afternoon reading.
No work tomorrow. The only thing better than a three day weekend is a four day weekend.
‘Should we have a glass of wine?’
‘White or red?’
‘Red. Obviously. White wine is for losers’
‘White wine is for losers’
Rachelle Griffin
Tonights wine, red, obviously.
2021 Castello di Gabbiano Cavaliere d’Oro Chianti (Chianti, Italy)
Not a bad Chianti. Certainly good value.
2018 Castello di Gabbiano Cavaliere d’Oro Chianti Classico Reserva (Chianti, Italy)
This is excellent. True Chianti profile. Cherries and spices. Plenty of fruit to support its savoury brilliance. Almost as good as the Fontodi.
