Beware of Strangers with Candy and Murex Shells

After the arduous winter we have suffered through in Dubai ;~) Spring seems to have arrived. I ate outside at the Marina couple of nights ago and it was chilly in short sleeves after dark sitting by the water. Today you can walk in the sea and wear a swim suit (no burquini required!) on the beach. For people like me who don't like swimming in Florida waters until July, it will probably be possible to snorkel in April.

Dubai beaches usually have some interesting shells and today was no disappointment. There was a fair amount of shell debris and I harvested some nice small shells. Hopefully, snorkeling will reveal some larger members of the same species.

Since it was so nice, there were lots of other beach visitors, some dog walking, some swimming, some boating, and some shelling. A young boy with his younger sister stopped me and wanted to see my shells. They were looking for certain shells for their mother, of which I had a few so they wanted to know where I had found them. Taking pity on their young age and certain they would not have the patience to find the shells on their mothers "shopping list," I called them back and gave them one each from her list. It was not until later that it dawned on me that their mother was going to be really mad at them for 1) talking to a stranger, 2) taking shells from a stranger, and 3) worst of all, returning so soon! Sorry Mom - hope you at least liked the shells!