I bought an inflatable kayak!!  It’s easy to inflate and deflate AND no roof rack required!

Yesterday, Michael and I tried it out at Fuwairit Beach!

Michael inflated the boat, so he deserved the honor of first paddle!

Fuwairit Beach

My turn!

Journey to The Pearl

Next  morning I was off to The Pearl for a paddle!

First stop – a breakfast for champions!

The car all packed up!!!  You can see the bottom/hull of the kayak and the slots where the plastic skegs slide in!

The Pearl

Now at The Pearl!  I’m at a location I thought was open to the public, as security let me through….

So off I go and unload…

While I’m there…there is a ginormous school of fish around the dock!

And an opportunistic heron looking for breakfast!

He then flies to the other side of the boardwalk – you can see him flying just after our car, then in the next picture, just past the plank to the dock….where next I video him walking, looking for fish!

Well, this was as far as I got here…security arrived…and as I’m not a resident of The Pearl….I had to leave. Security was very nice about it!  Very polite!  So, I packed back up and was off to….

Simaisma Beach!

I was the only beach goer…as it was blazing hot….and humid!!

The mosque next to the visitor parking lot.

The beach.  It was low tide….and low tide at this beach is a LONG walk to the water. So I packed up as I started to unpack….because I noticed a boat slip on the breakwater, and that location would be perfect to launch! You can barely see the breakwater in this picture…it is on the left….

Looking back at the beach from the end of the breakwater.  I already have the kayak down by the water! Simaisma Beach is one of those beaches where you can walk and walk and walk and walk out in the water and the water doesn’t get deep! That is why the breakwater is so long…to get far enough out to be deep enough to moor and launch boats!

Looking out at the end of the breakwater.

I’m just about ready to go!

And I’m off…..!!!!

It is SO hot and humid!  The water is warm, almost hot because the area is so shallow.

I paddle to the left side of the breakwater I launched from.  There is another breakwater nearby, that is privately owned.  The first picture is approaching, looking towards shore. As I paddle to go to the other side of this breakwater, I pass this: 9 Sea-Doos and two speed boats! The last picture is the home, I think, who owns the breakwater. The house is hard to see as it is hidden by trees!

Beyond this private breakwater was a stretch of beach with what looked to be blue tents dotted along it.  The dark blue rectangles are the tents.

A blurry close-up!

You can see how shallow the water is and how far from shore I am!

Shameless Selfies with my new Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses!

I’m sweating!!  It is SO hot!!!!  The sun is intense!

After an hour and a bit on the water, I’m back on shore…..and have fun with a cormorant!

The Cormorant Wiggle!!

Drying his wings:

Then….he decides to run down the breakwater! Well, waddling run is more like it!!

As I drive off the breakwater, I stop to take a picture of the door of another mosque at the beach!

I can’t wait to paddle next weekend!

S, 🇶🇦