What next?

As the kids needed to take a nap and I wanted to continue driving, we decided I drive ahead to the Wadi we wanted to explore and check out where we could stay for some days. So I drove on and found this beautiful green Wadi, with a river running through. It was a magical place, most wadis are dry this time of the year and I hadn't seen green and running river for quite some time . I looked for a lovely spot, parked, set up the van and went for a walk with Rex.
He was the happiest I have seen him on a very long time. Running through the water, jumping in and out, happy smiles, fishing sticks out of the water. When I contact S&B to send them the location, Steffen tells me, they were in some Wadi as well when his "escort" tells him, it was very dangerous to sleep in a wadi, as rain in a far away region can cause flash flooding. Well, knowing this from Oz I think about it and feel uncomfortable. I check the weather report, and the radar maps. No clouds in sight, but still... ok. I just roll in the awning, then I can quickly go to higher grounds should water arrive. But then...if I sleep deeply and don't hear anything??? The thought doesn't let me rest, so I decide with sadness to leave this beautiful spot. So I back out... And get stuck in the river sand. Man! Do I get stuck!! My spade, my sand boards...nothing helps! I dig, I shove, I reverse, I dig, I shove, I reverse... the sun goes down, it disappears, it gets dark, darker, darkest and still I dig, I shove, I jiggle forward, backward. Until I realise, (now i am really ashamed, it's not the first time I get stuck after all) I had not locked my hubs!!! REALLY!!! And then it worked. I just had to prune some trees so I could get out without getting stuck some more and badly scratching my new paint.
I slept well, but dirty, that night. I was too tired to prepare a shower.
The next day, I am being woken up by a man who looked like Ali Baba, wearing a turban, an adventurous beard and a kneelength kaftan over his pants, the kaftan being held by a colorful belt with a dagger stuck on his side. And, unlike Ali Baba, a mobile phone on his ear, talking to the police, I assume. What I was doing here? Considering I was woken from deep slumber and being quite struck by this apparition I hardly managed to to find a single Arabic word to explain my presence. But happy enough he disappeared. What a shame! Or was it this woman in bed that caused him discomfort?
Later that day I wanted to take Rexelby for a long walk down the wadi. We are both enjoying this hike along the river, needing to cross it a few times, enjoying the refreshment it offered. Walking along dense shrubbery I suddenly hear hooves galloping and a donkey's neighing and suddenly, out of the dense bushes runs, no, flies a donkey towards me, closely followed by Rex, who loves nothing better then chasing fleeing animals. So here comes this donkey right at me. I just see his eyes, wide open in panic! I try to dodge it! The donkey tries to dodge me and WONK!!! It runs right into me! I go flying! I hit the ground! I don't know what hurt more, where the donkey made contact or the parts I hit the ground with. I move a bit, everything still working, then I sit there, tears from pain running down my face, but I have to laugh ... And laugh. Being run over by a donkey!!
Slowly I make my way back. Rex trying to tempt me with a stick to play with him. You got to be kidding me!? YOU are the cause of this excruciating pain!
Finally the van comes into sight. A car parked beside it. Limping closer, I see that two guys are looking into the van and are trying to open the doors. I call out to them. They sit down on my two chairs. The normal greetings ritual. The guys, late teans, early twenties, sitting down with their legs splayed, check me out from top to bottom. They want to see the inside of Lola. I don't like these guys, don't trust them, so no sightseing today. But you know what, I would like to sit down on my chair, injury you see, donkey... No, they say, we are not getting up. After quite lenghty "discussions" I tell them to leave, but they don't. Now I am getting quite furious, an emotion you should never show in Saudi! This deminishes your position, but what can I do. Where is an "escort" when you need one!
At the end I ring Aziz to talk to them. No idea what they said, but Aziz advises with emphasis to pack up and leave.
So I ended up leaving this beautiful place without having explored the wadi. And there was supposed to be a waterfall as well!Read more