As you may know, we moved to Abu Dhabi in September so that I could take up a new position as Division Chair for Education at the Abu Dhabi Campus of the Higher Colleges of Technology.
Our apartment building is the Canal Blossom Building. You can see some text at the top of the building – the third from the left.
We are on one of the several canals that run through our new neighbourhood – Al Raha. We very much enjoy this new location because we can come out of our building and walk for kilometers without crossing a street or dealing with cars.
Also, there are several grocery stores, pharmacies, coffee shops, restaurants and other retail all within a 5 minute walk and spread out all through the area. It is very nice to park the car on Friday and be able to enjoy the entire weekend without having to drive anywhere.
We also enjoy sitting out on the deck and being able to see such a view.
Here is a map of the spots highlighted in this post.
Being in the country’s capital city allows us a great many options of things to do. On a recent weekend, we drove down to the Corniche for a lovely walk. The corniche extends for 7 – 8 kilometers along the city waterfront area.
On another lovely day, we went to the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Park (not to be confused with the Jubail Mangrove Park, also in Abu Dhabi). This is more of a walking trail along the water. Abu Dhabi, as you can see, is an island and so has lots of various waterfront areas.
On yet another weekend, we drove around looking for a good beach. One issue we have with Abu Dhabi,is that they have put a hefty price tag on beach access. Saadiyat Beach for example, is AED 200 per person on the weekends (~CAD$ 65). Seems a bit pricey for us Canadians who are used to free beaches.
Even Dubai provides free beach access to all beaches, including Kite Beach, which runs for 7 or 8 kilometers along the water in the heart of Dubai.
Speaking of which, we did drive up and stay with Kym and Morris for a night …
… and squeezed in a visit to the beach. This day was the traditional dhow racing day and we were able to see some dhows at anchor offshore.
I am not sure why they are all tilted over. I think their masts are top heavy to hold more sail. Or maybe their keels are very light to reduce drag???
Check out this video from last year’s dhow racing (2023)
But, back to Abu Dhabi! One activity that we certainly miss from our time in Al Ain was the ability to drive out into the desert just a few short minutes from our villa to have a fire.
We have been scouting the area and tried a couple spots about 45 minutes from home.
I must admit the view was nice, but the fire was nicer.
We tried a couple spots along this waterfront area …
… which stretches for about 12 or 15 kilometers just outside Abu Dhabi. It is a bit barren, but once the sun goes down, the fire is nice and we can see the city lights off in the far distance.
We have had a few visitors in the last couple months …
.. and started getting out more. Al Ain was very quiet.
One other day out was to the so called cultural district of Abu Dhabi, where they are building a number of museums including the Louvre Abu Dhabi and a MOMA Abu Dhabi. We stopped in to see the Abrahamic House …
… just across the street from the Zayed National Museum.
I will leave you with a few additional shots from the last few months here in Abu Dhabi.
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