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Travels around the world (with Beth and Chris)

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01 Jan 2016

Flic en Flac and NYE

The air is heavy and there is a beautiful island breeze blowing the small potted palm tree on our terrace. There are cracking firecrackers and bursts of lights exploding all around us. I can hear the nocturnal geckos chirping. We are on the African island of Mauritius for New Years Eve. Chris is snoozing on the wicker couch, it is sprinkling (but we are dry under our outdoor awning) and I decide it is time to blog….

Just before 7 am this morning my eyes, become aware of the sunlight streaming through the windows and I realize I had forgotten to pack my contact lenses – a bit of a problem since we had a dive scheduled for late morning and I am blind as a bat without corrective lenses of some sort. We arrived at the Cascavelle open-air “mall” before it opens in hopes of a competent and available optician who can provide me with sight. I am in luck. We walk away with a trial pair of lenses (and suggestions for dive companies in the north of Mauritius) for a small fee from an understanding young woman optician who also loves to scuba dive.

We arrive at the Sea Urchin Dive operation in Flic en Flac and get our refresher lesson from the Mauritian dive master Sebastian with kinky black curls, a super relaxed attitude, and a beautiful smile. We dive at a small boat wreck and surface invigorated as we always do after being underneath in the clear blue warm waters.

Back to the hotel, a welcomed shower and then off to shop for our New Year’s eve dinner – steaks on the grill, crusty sesame seed baguette, fresh green salad, and crisp white sauvignon blanc (it’s way too hot for red!). After a Happy New Year phone call with Derek across the world to Bolivia, we come back and prepare our dinner with candles, the humid breeze, and the crackling sounds of New Year’s revelers, here we are.

Here’s to a peaceful and adventurous 2016!!! Until the next time…..

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30 Dec 2015

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All that glitters is not gold

Dubai is a land of skyscrapers, opulence, wealth, and tourists. An incredible man-made Palm Tree island is built off of Jumeirah Beach that we were able to get a good bird’s-eye-view of from the 52^nd floor observation deck/restaurant of the Marriott.

The tallest building in the world has its home in Dubai (the Burj Kalifa) and is located outside of the world’s largest mall.

It’s full of all these things thanks to the oil found in the 1970’s. Dubai is a nouveau riche place where you will find men in long white robes, red and white scarves (think Arab sheikh), and well-manicured strong hands; the women are wearing head scarves, tastefully dramatic make-up, and beautiful shoes peeking out from under their black abayas. Here in the United Arab Emirates, you’ll also find many various Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Asian “locals”. We experienced these people and sites as well as a touristy, fun, and “slightly” staged desert safari.

Old Dubai along the Creek, where our charming hotel was located was about a thirty minute metro ride away from the glitz. Here, in typical off-the-beaten path Leibs fashion, we saw the less glamorous, but equally relevant aspect of Dubai – full of multi-ethnic restaurants (we even tried a camel burger…), the old souks (including the gold souk, where all that glitters IS gold), and of course the merchants hawking us to buy knock-off bags, watches and sunglasses.

We decided to rent a car for the day and drive south through the Arabian desert to Abu Dhabi, and were met with more over the top affluence. We’ve been to many mosques during our travels, but nothing rivals the gleaming Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.