Celebrating A New Year
While Dubai was busy with a record breaking firework show on New Year’s Eve, I found myself under a canopy of stars that could rival any ostentatious spectacle with its simplicity and sparkle. I must admit that I have been dazzled by firework displays before, but I am not convinced that a mere six minutes of splendour could have been worth the hours of noise, crowds, traffic jams and a long wait to experience it.
Crowds stifle me and it is peace and quiet my soul revel in, which I always manage to find in the desert. When my friend Marina, better known as the Desert Diva, invited me to go camping with her and a handful of others from her Oasis Offroad club I did not say no.
It was the perfect way to end 2013 and welcome in the new year. The icy cold of the desert at night was kept at bay with a wonderfully warm campfire, quiet conversation, and a lot of laughter.
Followed by a lazy morning, filled with the warmth of the sun, completed my idea of the perfect way to celebrate the arrival of another year. If the start to my year is any indication of what is to come, 2014 can only be good year.
Wishing for all of you magic and adventure in the year ahead, and remember these wise words from Roald Dahl:
“. . . above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.”
* If you, like me, didn’t make it to Dubai, you can watch the spectacle with one click here.
** Find Marina’s blog, The Desert Diva, here.
*** Click here for Oasis Offroad’s Facebook page.
Lovely pics 🙂
Happy New Year!
Thank you. Absolutely love your Lisbon pictures. What a beautiful city. Hope this year bring many more of these adventures.
I hope so, too. Last year was a bit too ‘static’ for me.
Happy New a Year, Jolandi. May it bring wonderful things for us all.
Thanks June. I am sure it will. Good luck with “Project: House”. I am sure it will provide plenty of adventure, if not courage and patience.
Lovely prose and spectacular photos! Buon Anno Nuovo!
Thank you Melinda. May your year be filled with wonderful journeys.
A wonderful window into your world. Happy New Year
Thanks Gwendoline. Hope your year will be filled with joy.
Such peaceful scenes. Happy New Year to you. 🙂
I absolutely love the desert Sylvia. May your year be fun filled.
Hello Jolandi! I want to thank you for following my blog and liking some of my post during the past year. I wish you a Happy New Year 2014 full blessings.
Great desert photos, I would like to be there.
Kind greetings,
Marianne
Thank you Marianne. May your year of exploring be an exciting one!
Totally with you on the crowds thing. Great pictures – I enjoyed my very brief desert experience but it was way too short for all the photos I wanted to take. Must return. Happy New Year!
Thanks Hayley. Yes, the desert is a place to linger. Just maybe you’ll get an opportunity for more photographs in the desert this year!
Wish you a Happy New Year! I do envy the sun you can enjoy being there!
Warmly, Luana
Thank you Luana. We do love and celebrate the warmth of the sun this time of the year, for in summer the heat is sweltering and we hide from it. May you have a beautiful year.
What an amazing way to bring in the New Year – I don’t think any firework show could top that!
Happy 2014 to you!
~Andrea<3
As always your wonderful photography brings the story alive. I love New Year with close friends and one day I will take them all to a stunning location like these that you share.