Kitesurfing

So, I've finally found some time to add text to these posts, now that I am in Beirut (I know, of all places...). The first pic os very obviously one of a camel. Mark and I got our act together enough to start taking some kitedurfing lessons down at Jebel Ali Beach, and one afternoon after our lessons we were graced by the presence of a dozen our so of our single-hump friends. They are all handcuffed so-to-speak, with their front legs tied together by a short rope, long enough to walk but too short to run away. This combined with the fact that they are curious to begin with provides one with plenty of photo ops, hence the one below.

The picture below is one of my first experiences in the water behind the wheel of a kite, and boy was it fun! Using a technique called 'body draggin,' you steer the kite into the wind to get power, and then manipulate it in such a way that you can feel the power of the kite dragging you, in this case upwind, in a similar practice as tacking into for sailing. After practicing this for about 15 minutes, my instructor Jakob gave me a wakeboard and let me loose to try and starting planing, which lasted for all of 5 minutes before the wind completely died - seriously. It was fun - I suggest that everyone try kitesurfing at some point in their lives.