Ever since we arrived in Qatar, we kept hearing things about camping at the Inland Sea. It is apparently "the thing to do" in Qatar. Even though we were really interested in going, we also kept getting told that it isn't something you do alone and that you should go with someone experienced. So that kept us from just venturing out and trying it on our own. We just waited to finally find a group that was going that would invite us along. Our friends, Dawn and Matt actually have a few more co-workers here our age and willing to invite us along on their trip. Just as a reference, here is a map of Qatar and the Inland Sea.
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| The Inland sea is that mass of water on the south end of the country on the border of Saudi. |
For this trip there were two groups going out. The group that could get off work early and the group that couldn't. Micah and I were with Dawn and Matt and another couple in the group that was going late. We, along with Dawn and Matt, had never been out so it was up to the other couple to guide us along the way. However, the other couples GPS once had saved a trail to the campsite but had decided to erase that trail. This meant we were up for some interesting navigation. Once we hit the desert, we let the air out of our tires and started our adventure into the sand in the dark. Personally, I wasn't too concerned since I know that Micah knows how to drive in sand (from growing up going 4-wheeling) and I knew we had enough food and shelter if we got lost and had to stop somewhere random.
What should have been about a 45 minute drive in the sand turned into a 2 hour drive as we searched for the best possible way through the sand dunes. We did have the GPS coordinates to the camp site but since it is the desert full of big sand dunes you can't just drive straight there. Our group of 3 cars made multiple stops to discuss route, call the other people for help, and even once talk to a Qatari who decided to stop and help the poor lost white people. Haha. For me it was just a fun adventure in the desert. At last we found a way through the dunes to our camp and it was time to set up.
The group that arrived early already had our place all set up with the camp fire going. Micah and I had never met any of these people before so it was a fun introduction in the dark and trying to set up a tent. We borrowed a tent from Micah's boss, Chad and luckily it was a really easy tent to set-up. Once we had the tent set-up I got the beds ready and put Jacob down for the night in his pack-n-play. Then we were able to talk, relax, eat a late dinner, and share stories around the camp fire with our new friends. It was a very fun night.
The next morning we all woke up bright and early and had breakfast sitting on top of our dune looking at the beautiful water and the scenery. It was a bit strange to know that the land on the other side that we were looking at was actually Saudi Arabia.
Our campsite was on top of a dune so we had to go down the dune to get to the water. Of course, Jacob wanted to play and swim so it didn't take long after breakfast for us to get in our swimsuits and hit the water. The water is a beautiful blue color and crystal clear but it was freezing! Jacob didn't seem to mind too much. Another couple had 3 kids so Jacob wasn't alone in the playing. Unfortunately, I forgot our camera so I borrowed Dawn's and took few shots. Some of the pictures are from the bottom of the dune looking up.
After lunch we packed up and made our way out of the desert. This trip was much less eventful than our trip in. I snapped a few shots just to give an idea of what the driving was like. It doesn't really do it justice but at least it gives an idea.
We are so grateful for these wonderful people inviting us in and letting us participate in their camping fun.
