This year, Reese has been studying the eastern hemisphere, and as she moves to each section, she is to choose an adventure to help her study the area. Currently, she is studying the Middle East. It's really interesting to read the books with her. Brooke and Jordan both read these books when they were in fifth grade, but they didn't have the same meaning to us since we had never seen these places or experienced their customs. These books have all come to life for us! For her adventure, she chose to visit the Caves of Hofuf. Bruce rented an SUV and drove south for 2 hours until the GPS had no idea where we were. Here are the pictures from our adventure.
We drove south along the blue line to Hofuf. However, we spent the entire morning (9am-noon) trying to find the rental car office next to the Al Rashid Mall in Khobar and packing food & water for the trip. Bruce filled three large bottles with water (just in case!)
At first we could feel a little wind and see the sand blowing across the highway.
But it got dustier and dustier and we drove along.
We couldn't see anything in the distance until it was upon us, so it was a long two-hour drive.
Jebels and buildings would just rise out of the dust and whiz by us before we knew what we were seeing.
When we started to get close, our GPS couldn't recognize where we were and we just continued driving in the direction we thought we should go. We were off the highway and winding through small towns at 30 mph with constant speed bumps, construction, and pot holes. Since we didn't leave until noon, it was getting late, and I was concerned that if we did find the caves, would we find our way home tonight? If not, where would we sleep?
We saw some magnificent homes in some of these little towns... we had no idea where we were. What caught our attention, were the ornate doors on the outside walls of each home. One day, I'm going to take some pictures of doors and gates and post a blog on the many doors and gates in Saudi.
Saudi isn't unfamiliar with donuts and Kentucky Fried Chicken!
...or Pizza Hut.
This mother and daughter were taking the trash out.
As we drove, we began to see date palms rise out of the dusty horizon; they seemed to be everywhere. Bruce explained to us that Hofuf was an oasis and is built on a date palm orchard.
Selling watermelon on the side of the road.
This is a mosque.
Finally! We found some rocks and something that looked like a cave, but when we saw cars parked in them, we figured this wasn't it... so we kept driving.
...and we just kept driving until we miraculously found them! It was very windy and hot, hot, hot!
We couldn't believe it as we neared the entrance to the caves--it felt like the air conditioning was on.
If you look closely in this crack, you can see a bird in there. There were birds flying overhead, in and out of the many holes and cracks; calling to each other.
We climbed up high...
There were two desert pups hiding in here, and someone had left the remains of their lunch at the opening of the cave for the pups.
Inside, we were met by some Arabs who insisted we share some coffee with them. The guy sitting down has a shirt that says, "Save the drama for your llama." Pretty funny... Arab humor? I need to get one of those shirts for my girls!
The guard even shared some coffee with them.
They even insisted that we eat little chocolate cakes. Sorry about the blurry pictures... it was pretty dark in here and I couldn't tell if my pictures were clear.
We thanked them for their hospitality and continued on. In some places, it was pitch black until we shined our flashlights (or I snapped a picture.)
At one point, we realized we weren't alone, and found that an Arab boy was hanging around with us... probably curious. He spoke a little English and helped us find our way around. When we came to an intersection, we found his dad and brother smoking hookah.
I read that most hookah smoking countries serve Naklia shisha which is a combination of foreign tobaccos, honey molasses, and dried fruit. The smoke is filtered through ice cold water to make the smoke cool and soothing.
You can vaguely see Reese at the top of these two big boulders.
My abaya was filthy!
RUN!... Indiana (Brooke) Jones!
Here we saw the two desert pups making their way up the rocks.
When the sky gets real dusty, this is what the sun looks like.
The girls left us and climbed higher and higher to take a picture of this egg.
When we got to the parking lot there were more tourists arriving.
...and adjusting head scarves.
We were parched and hot... but there was an ice cream truck just waiting for us!
By the way, if you're wondering what all the dots are on all of my photos, it's dust in the air.
We dug into those three large bottles of water that Bruce brought along, and headed back home, not sure if we'd be able to find it. The GPS map completely gave out on us from here on out, so we used it just to find out what direction we were going and hoped we'd hit the main highway eventually.
We drove for an hour winding through little towns on roads with pot holes and multiple speed bumps.
When we sat here for a minute to get our bearings, I watched children come from this dirt road to the corner store to buy candy and treats. Here are two girls leaving the store.
We saw more beautiful homes.
I love this guy's plaid thobe... maybe it's really his pajamas!
We finally made it home after dark. We found the highway and after that, it was a straight shot home. We had a terrific day together.
Jordan was hoping to get together with her friends later tonight after they got back from the prom, but she's fighting a cold and isn't feeling very well. I'm sure all the dust she breathed today didn't help!
- Pattie -
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