Seeing Abu Dhabi from the Water

I was able to visit Louvre Abu Dhabi: The BILLION Dollar Museum right after I arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but since then I have been teaching each day of the Sunday through Thursday work week they practice out this way.  Today, I had the chance to get out on the water courtesy of the good folks at The Yellow Boats who have a 90 minute tour to see Abu Dhabi from water level.  I made it to the marina and met up with Capt. Dan and our RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat).

After we got all loaded up and out into the Arabian Gulf, I had this view looking back on the harbor where you could really see the smog of Abu Dhabi.

First sight was the UAE Presidential Palace that is nearing completion.

I think I remember Capt. Dan saying they have already spend over $5 billion on this massive complex!!  As you can see in that last picture, we then saw some of the newer, more Dubai-ish looking, skyscrapers.  Again, notice the heavy smog.

When pushed on and went under the "Bridge to Nowhere" (what it might be going to someday), saw more wild architecture, and viewed many gigantic waterfront homes owned by rich sheikhs of the UAE.

We were event greeted by some humpback dolphins although the only picture I was able to capture was not all that good.

We then saw, from a distance & from two different points along the way, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which I am looking forward to seeing up close and personal before I leave Abu Dhabi.

That took us to near our turnaround point on this out-and-back boat trip; the Al Maqta Tower.

Capt. Dan took ANOTHER one of his fun sharp turns and we started heading back to where we started from.

Unfortunately, we had a failure with one of our two engines on the way back and had to putter with the remaining engine at less than 50% power the rest of the way.  Needless to say, that powerful sun in our faces was taking its toll.  Fortunately, we got to take a few more photos of the skyscrapers and the the iconic Atlantis hotel as we got closer to the harbor.

Finally, I present a shot of the Emirates Palace that the marina belongs to.