48 Hours of Fresh Air

Before moving to Kuwait, a teacher at Box Hill College told me that I would spend 90% of my time in Kuwait indoors.  I thought, “She doesn’t know me very well.”  Both Bob and I love fresh air and take every opportunity we can to be outside.  But my teacher friend was right!  The outdoors in Kuwait has not beckoned us often, in part because of the heat and in part because Kuwait is geared towards automobiles and shopping malls, with few sidewalks in our neighborhood.  (We DO live near the beach, where I enjoy a brisk walk a few mornings a week.)

Last week we discovered the true and beautiful out-of-doors in Kuwait.  First, we went north to the Mutlaa Ridge.  We hiked in the desert along the ridge, amazed at the elevation that we had not known existed in Kuwait.  A bonus was juggling with the small watermelon-like fruits we found on the way.

Second, we went south to Wafra Farms, where we had visited last year.  We recalled the hospitality of the man whose farm we happened upon who invited us into his Bedouin tent for tea and a tour of the grounds. 

Third, we went east to Al-Khairan, a resort area on the coast where some of our students have weekend chalets.  We found an isolated place on the beach to set up our tent, on the edge of a welcoming family’s property.  Then for 48 hours we enjoyed simply being outdoors.  Clear blue skies and sun by day with crisp air and a full moon at night—it doesn’t get any better than that.  Bob and our friend Sam found enough wood on the beach to make huge fires both nights.  We had a veritable feast cooked over the fire the first night, and on Night Two, which we hadn’t planned on (but couldn’t resist), we savored the little hummus and bread we had left as well as a cucumber, a tomato, and some fruit.  We played scrabble, read, napped, walked, and explored the sea.  We did what you do at night around a fire—conversed, made music, watched the flames, gazed at the stars.

We came home suntanned and happy to have soaked up two days’ worth of fresh air.  How great it was to discover and experience genuine out-of-doors pleasure in Kuwait.