We caught the camping bug. It’s been 4 years since our camping days in Oman and now we’re wondering why we waited so long. I’m not actually wondering — when you see the camping area in Bahrain compared to our surfside tents on the coast of Oman it’s pretty clear why we never bothered to try here.
But we were wrong, because while it might not be pretty, an evening in the oilfields is still pretty fun. Our friends had the coordinates for a sheltered spot to build a campfire on top of one of the rises (there really aren’t any mountains here). They have been a bunch of times, but sitting in the dirt and rocks around a smoky fire with the smell of natural gas in the air (from the drilling that they do) did not sound like the way I wanted to spend an evening. However, after we got a taste of it at the church service in the desert I figured we should try at least one Bahraini campout before we left the island.
And we even had the bright idea to take the dog with us. Probably the most fun he’s had in months. After seeing how happy he was running up and down the dirt dunes I was a bit regretful that we hadn’t done this before.
I had him on the leash for a while because there were several other Bahraini families tucked along the various edges of the ridge and I didn’t want Micah storming their picnic.
Always looking for a physical challenge, Caleb and some of the other kids ran down and scaled this rocky face over and over again. It was not only steep, but this photo shows less than half of the drop — I didn’t consider trying it myself. They were a dirty, sweaty mess before the sun set.
Race to the top and a debate over second or third place.
Camille and a wiser, older friend took the long and gradual climb to the top.
And ran back down to do it all over again.
The dog was perfectly behaved. There was a Bahraini family over the next ridge who was there with 3 little kids around the age of 3. The boy and 2 little girls saw us walking the dog and came running over in fascination and fear. It took them a while, but eventually each of the kids petted the dog and eventually were so comfortable they wanted to walk him around on his leash. Us having a dog is kind of the equivalent of someone in the United States having a pet tiger. You’ve seen them before, but never up close, and the idea of having one in your home is unimaginable.
The family was very sweet and the dad invited us over to his truck to sit and drink tea. I opted out because I didn’t want to bring the dog over to where the rest of his family was sitting and eating, but Josh and the kids sat and chatted and sipped chai with them.
The dog was a champ with all the food temptations and he was rewarded for his patience with the extra hot dogs at the end. People brought everything from steak to shrimp and chicken to hamburgers and hot dogs. I brought hot dogs so the kids could cook their own food, but Josh is a higher class camper than that and made hamburgers for everyone as well.
Then we sat around by the fire while it got dark and the moon began to set (yes, it got lower and lower in the sky as the evening went on).
Happy dog and Josh. It was a perfect night — not too hot for a fire, but warm enough to wear a t-shirt and be comfortable.
We broke out marshmallows and hot chocolate packets and heated water in a teakettle over the coals. I also brought coffee in a thermal carafe that I had brewed before heading out. We learned a few tips from our Oman camping friends — bring the comfort items along!
After they were full of marshmallows and chocolate, the kids climbed up the hill behind our camp and ran the ridge until we ran out of firewood and the fire died down.
We were tucked in a bowl with the rise wrapping around us on three sides and we listened to the crackling fire and chatted with friends as we watched our children in silhouette until it was time to head home.
Almost 4 years in and Bahrain still manages to surprise us.