Still hot in Hatta...

Having settled comfortably back into life in Dubai, we decided to take another step towards full integration by driving the Dubai highways rather than relying on taxis to navigate the wild and speedy traffic.

Securing a great deal through our finally operational local credit card, we picked up our Budget rental car and headed through the city en route to Hatta, an inland enclave located on the eastern side of Dubai territory.  Situated in the Hajar mountains, Hatta is a little bit cooler that downtown Dubai and thus is a popular summer getaway for the locals looking to escape the intense summer heat.

Thanks to Geoff's excellent road skills, we enjoyed an easy drive across the territory and arrived in just under two hours.  Unfortunately, our arrival at the Hatta Fort Hotel - the nicest AND the only hotel in Hatta - was not quite as smooth.  Although we had a hotel confirmation about our booking, they had somehow forgotten to enter it into the system and at the same time overbooked for that evening.  This left us in a bit of a predicament, especially after their initial offer was to put us up in a hotel "right down the street" which actually turned out to be steps away from our apartment in downtown Dubai!  Unwilling to accept anything less than the room we had paid for, we eventually managed to find a solution and settled into our lovely lodgings.

Unlike most of the guests who opted to laze around the pool and enjoy the relaxing surroundings and slightly cooler temperatures, we had a busy 24 hours.  We  started with a visit to the Hatta dam, then checked out the historic fort (and another fort, which actually turned out not to be a fort but rather the enormous private home of a local), toured through the town and then made several turns around the pesky roundabout in front of our hotel before heading in for dinner.

After watching the hotel concierge quietly laugh at us for thinking we could make it out to the Hatta Pools the next morning in our tiny Chevrolet Spark, we opted to hire a guide with a four-wheel drive vehicle to take us to Oman to swim in the Pools.  This proved to be a good move, not only because we would surely never have made it through the rough and rocky terrain in our compact car but also because our guide was a 28-year touring veteran and a superb host.  He was knowledgeable not only about the pools and its role in supplying water to the surrounding areas but about all parts of the Emirate culture.

As we approached the Oman checkpoint, the customs officer checked our passports and allowed us through because we looked "European" and thus he felt confident we would not litter.  The officers had made the unusual decision to start limiting access to Europeans (aka. the people they felt were "least likely to littler") earlier that week after some spirited Eid celebrations left far too much garbage at this wonderful tourist site.

We arrived at the Pools to find some celebratory leftovers and some unfortunate graffiti sprayed on the rocks.  Nonetheless, we plunged in the gorgeously warm waters and were not disappointed.  Being the first ones to arrive at the pools that day, the surroundings were calm and quiet and we swam in an almost hushed tone so as not to disturb the majestic surround or incredible sounds of rushing water making its way through the crevices and over the rocks.

After an easy trip back to Dubai and a car returned to the dealer before the deadline and without any "driving fines", we were thrilled about our first Dubai road trip and couldn't wait to start planning the next one.