Jebail Mangrove Park, Abu Dhabi
This is our first stop on the trip, just outside Abu Dhabi.
Unfortunately, I developed a bluster on my heel and walking was painful. So, I wimped out. I’m concerned it might become infected. That happened a few years ago on my Trans Siberian trip and was a hassle. I’ll take it easy for the next few days.
I like mangroves as they’re liminal spaces; neither sea nor land. A bit like bogs. Brings to mind the Irish term idir eathara, the in between place or between worlds. The boundary between the sacred and the profane is more porous in Ireland. Mangroves and bogs, as well as coastal wetlants, brings this into consciousness for me.
According to their website: Jubail Mangrove Park is the first self-contained educational, nature and leisure destination of its kind in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Here, you can visit and explore a haven for avian and marine species native to Abu Dhabi. But foremost, this is a mangrove sanctuary. Our aim is to enhance the awareness, appreciation and understanding of the important ecological function of the mangrove habitats that include protection of the Abu Dhabi Coastline and supporting biodiversity. A meandering boardwalk will take you through the mangroves and allows you to discover Abu Dhabi in its essence. Jubail Island is a neighbourhood unlike any other located within a protected natural environment of stunning beauty, its surrounding ecosystem supports a diversity of wildlife. Its unique intertidal marine setting provides a welcome habitat for a diversity of wildlife.
So there”’
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