April 23, 2010

Hola,
Today we climbed a mountain... We woke up at 8:30 and were out of the house by 10... We got to the mountain we planned to climb and started immediately! In Saudi there aren't national parks or anything like them, so therefore there is trash everywhere and not trails...nothing is preserved correctly. Up the mountain was a little difficult, it was just loose rocks spiky bushes (all they have here) and sheer cliffs... Gabin was on Christopher's back, and Tadhg climbed himself the whole way!

At the top we stopped for a little snack, and then headed down (much easier than up).

I had come extremely prepared (after watching Journey to the Center of the Earth) with everything we would need if we got trapped in an avalanche (bandages, flashlights, headlamps, and spare clothes) ... and of course being the prepared one I was the only casualty of the day... At the very bottom of the mountain I stepped on a thorn, at least 2 inches long... it went straight through the bottom of my shoe and into my foot! However it was thin and so even though there was a big hole in my shoe, and a little blood on my sock I put enough pressure on it on my way back to the car that when I took my shoe off you couldn't even see where it had gone straight into my foot...

We had a wonderful/rainy picnic. Christopher and Christelle laid down their Arabian picnic rug and their Arabian picnic cushions... We had: freshly baked french bread (baguettes), carrot salad, green salad, kiwi, sandwiches, pasta salad, zucchini and chicken bread, cheese and crackers, chips,chocolate muffins, carrot sticks, and water...

Christopher also built a fire and boiled some water for Arabic tea and coffee... It wasn't my favorite but it was quite the experience...

We found some carvings in the rocks that looked like cuneiform... and I didn't have to wear my abaya the entire time! However as soon as we got off the mountain it began to rain on and off and eventually we had to leave...

I rode home with Gabin, Christelle, and Christopher. When we got home I took a shower and hung out at home until it was time to babysit Gabin so that the adults could go out to dinner.