Lulu Island

Thursday we were ready for an adventure. The girls have been on winter break for 3 weeks, and due to new baby, we haven't left the house much. Finally we decided to go to the zoo in Al Ain. As we headed out an hour behind schedule, and not much looking forward to the 1 1/2 hour drive, we made a spontaneous decision to go check out Lulu Island. We had no idea what was on the island, or why people go there, but the idea of a ferry ride and a train trip on the island (these were the only things we knew about the place) sounded like fun. As a bonus, the ferry to Lulu Island is just a 10 minute drive from our place. The entry to the dock looked locked down when we got there, so we decided to look around the Heritage Village first - which is just next door. The weather was perfect, so we had a nice time browsing the exhibits. The pictures above are taken from an exhibit depicting what used to be a typical Gulf Arab dwelling. Jon and the girls had to try out the swing. We were amazed at how well the wind tower worked, pulling the breeze into the home. The girls and I agreed living so much in the outdoors seems a lot more fun than our own high rise living. Of course, this comment is made in our perfect winter. We'd feel differently if we were in one of our suffocating summers.


Here we are on the ferry to Lulu Island. Just a short 5 minute trip to a (probably) man made beach spot. After the ferry we hopped onto the "Emirates Express" to take a tour of the island. People would shout whenever we got to a spot they wanted to play on, and the train would let them off. My favorite spot was a beautiful lagoon-looking swim area, complete with waterfall and swing set. In a few months we will go back to try some snorkelling along the pristine beach. There seemed to be lots of sea life, just from what we could see from the dock, so it should be fun.