Time to renew our visas again and this time we needed to leave the country, so a few days in Dubai were a welcome break from the heat on the boat.

We flew direct from Salalah in company with Sol Maria, Miss Tippy and Jackamy. Sheila and Lisa also joined us from the UK after Amy volunteered to look after all the children so it was wonderful to be reunited for a few days of fun and chill.

Thank you Amy !

We arrived on the 7^th May and the following day was Brian and Pauls’ birthday. We had a great day out, catching the metro to the marina followed by lunch at Atlantis on Palm Island, then in the evening drinks and hubbly bubbly on the hotel rooftop and a fantastic Thai meal including a birthday cake with fireworks.

Paul & Brian proudly wore all their birthday gifts, ‘Discover Salalah’ T-shirts, ‘I Love Oman’ hat for Brian and a rather attractive Camel hat for Paul.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, just five minutes walk from the Mall of the Emirates – very handy !

The mall had lots of UK shops, a huge Carrefour and cinema complex but the highlight was the indoor skiing complete with chairlift, alpine restaurant and two runs on real snow.

What a team !

The four nights went far too quickly and on Thursday morning it was back to reality with our weekly meeting on the quayside in Salalah Port.

This is our executive conference room – if you get there early you can sit on the shady side !

Good news - our ship is getting closer !