Kay-yakking

The water in the Arabian Gulf is very very salty. Now before all of you chortle over your cup of tea and tell me that all seas are salty, please bear in mind that I have put my little toes into many an ocean: the Indian, the Atlantic, the English Channel AND the Gulf of Mexico. But, never have I experienced the full body exfoliation experience that comes with getting wet in the Arabian Gulf.

We went kayaking (somewhere... can’t be sure exactly), and it was loads of fun. So nice to be in a place where you hear the birds and, when people on the tour stopped yakking, just the sound of your paddles swishing through the water. Peaceful, calm and beautiful on the iridescent turquoise water.

The water is even warmer than in Mozambique, and flat - not a wave in sight. I found out about the tides here - they only rise and fall about 1m every cycle.

The entire tour is about 4-5kms, first through the sea, and then into the mangrove forests, which are “untouched” by humans and in their natural state. The reason I use the word “untouched” so reluctantly, is that the first part of the tour entails paddling through a channel that has been dredged to allow boats to go through. You can clearly see what damage this is doing to the natural banks. Even though the tides are so mild, every time a boat comes screeching through, it creates waves that are bit by bit creating serious damage to the natural vegetation on the shoreline. The tour company we went with keep sandbags on the edge of certain areas to prevent more erosion. But it is pretty much too little too late.

The mangrove forest channels themselves are wonderful. Crabs of various sizes and colours absolutely everywhere. Birds (herons, egrets, osprey...) are everywhere. For how long though, is the question. For me, the saddest and most unconsidered part of dredging the new channels is that it has put the fate of all fish in the Arabian Gulf in serious jeopardy. No research is available yet, but it’s estimated that 70% of all the indigenous fish spawn in the mangroves, and with the vast amount of boat traffic nearby, one can’t help think that this is all going to end very badly. There are projects around that are trying their best to fix this problem, and before I make any more judgements, I will be sure to do some more research.

But back to the exfoliation. It only happens once you dry off. And then your skin begins to form a crust of salt. Sticky and icky. You really feel attractive. Thank goodness for hotel showers and their complimentary “soothing body gels”. Took a whole lot of moisturiser to stop feeling like my skin was about to crack open. On the bright side, I’m sure my top layer of skin needed removing anyway.

And my arm muscles have proven that they DO still exist, even though the reminder is somewhat painful.