Spring can be a wet time in the UAE, with March being statistically the wettest month here in Fujairah. The country has a varied geography with some remarkably pretty and majestic landscapes. I was prepared for the open deserts but not for the rugged mountains which ring the Emirate where I live, and it’s those mountains that have held my attention this month, in between rainstorms.

Ras Al Khaimah is the neighbouring Emirate to Fujairah, and it is mountainous. Threaded through by many steep-sided wadis, it provides an absorbing landscape for exploration. Wadi Shawka I have mentioned before here, but it is a large network of wadis and subvalleys and is a great place to lose oneself for a weekend

There are feral camels here, and Bumblebee being a Camel Trophy Land Rover, some photobombing was in order

A Camel Crossing….

But the real appeal is, of course, being able to lose oneself in the wild

Brewing up a dawn cuppa in the embers of last night’s fire

The UAE has a sweeping peninsula to the east, with Umm Al Qawain, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah, Ajman and Fujairah occupying most of it. However the tip of the peninsula is actually a part of Oman, technically called an exclave of Oman. This is Musandam – socially and geographically cut off from not only Oman but also the UAE as well and inhabited by locals who are ethnically more Persian than Arabian.

I headed up to Musandam, once the Pirate Coast, for a poke round two weeks ago, and was wowed. Lovely place, great people and fantastic landscape

Sunset at the north tip of Musandam, overlooking the Straits of Hormuz, narrowest point of the Persian Gulf.

There is still smuggling and piracy in the area and the dhow I sailed on to explore the coastline was checked out by Omani military boats more than once…..

An absorbing and wonderful landscape. Lots more to see yet!