The mangroves

This morning I drove to Um Al Quwain - one the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates that I had never been to before - and joined a group that went out in a large pontoon boat.  The boat hooked up to a buoy and we spent several hours floating in the Persian Gulf.

This is a mangrove:

Here's the same picture, cropped:

Basically, they are trees in salt water.

 Like this pair, I piloted a kayak out to them.  I was unwilling to risk the iPhone getting wet so I didn't take it with me to get pictures.  The trees are in very shallow water - maybe a foot deep - and surrounding by thousands of shoots maybe six inches apart.  I don't know if they will grow into trees someday if they are simply part of the root structure.  Anyhow, I'm not a botanist but it was more interesting than expected.

 The double decker pontoon boat afforded great views on the trip and while anchored.

On the trip we came across lots of birds and flamingos.  The flamingos were too far away for a  picture with iPhone.  I had brought a better camera but didn't bring the battery I had put the charger last night.  Oops.

Anyhow, it was an experience.  I am glad I did it.  I might do it again.  I might even have had fun today... if... if it weren't so brutally cold.  Most passengers were, like me, wearing little more than a swimsuit and t-shirt.  None of us expected a cold, forceful wind.  There was no sheltered area on the boat.  The only time I was warm all day was when I was in the kayak.

Earlier this week it hit 90 and all of us were thinking, "Uh-oh, spring is here."  Thursday a cold front passed through and right now you'd think it was mid-January.  Given that the heat the coming back very soon and it will remain relentlessly hot until November I'm OK with freezing my butt off today.