Scenic Oman

Sunday (regular weekday). We had a horrible sleep last night, probably because we were afraid the alarm wouldn't go off at 5:30 a.m. We were picked up by our driver at 6:30 a.m. as today we will be doing a full-day dhow cruise of a fjord in the Musandam area of Oman (northeast tip of the Arabian Peninsula). It was about a three-hour drive to get there and we had to "exit" at Emirates immigration and "enter" at Oman immigration. Our driver (Rauf) basically handled everything for us, but we had to be with him. On the way there, our trunk was searched, yikes. The car ride there was very interesting and relaxing. The landscape so different. Once we crossed the border, we were in for a very pleasant and unexpected surprise. Talk about scenic. On one side was the mountains and on the other side the Arabrian Gulf. We climbed up and climbed down on hairpin turns, the highways are excellent. Rauf stopped several times so that Ralph could take pictures. He got us to our dhow by 10:00 a.m. and would be back to get us at 4:00 p.m. I had never heard of the word "dhow" before and didn't know what it meant. It's an olf-fashioned wooden boat and you sit on cushions on the floor. We were put on boat 3. We were supposed to leave at 10:00 a.m. but didn't get away until 10:30 as a group of other tourists were late. There were ten guests on our boat. Besides ourselves, the other 8 people were from Germany. We would be out on the water for 6 hours. Tea and coffee was served to all, followed by bananas, apples and dates (always dates, grown here), followed by juices and/or soft drinks. The first stop was in a bay where the dolphins are active. The three dhows stayed together and we did indeed see the dolphins jumping and playing and they like to follow the boats. It was neat, I think Ralph got some good pictures. There were about 4 guys as crew, with Mina (guy from Egypt) doing the commentary, etc. As we went through the fjord, the scenery was beautiful. There are small villages and the way of life in those villages was told to us. I think the next place we anchored was at Telegraph Island. It is the famous location where the British laid underwater cable in 1864 from India to Iraq, to communicate the two countries with England. While anchored at Telegraph Island, everyone (from all three boats) went snorkeling. Everyone, except for me of course! (and another German couple who were on our boat). Ralph had taken his swimming suit with him, and the flippers, masks, breathing tubes, and towels were provided. They were given 45 minutes to snorkel. They were not allowed to remove any coral, but could gather other things. When everyone was back on the boat(s), lunch was served. Lunch consisted of salad, stew, rice, fish and nan bread. After lunch we continued on through the fjord (I forgot my sunglasses and also forgot the sunblock). The next stop was another place that is great for snorkling and they were given another 45 minutes to snorkel. Ralph and I were the oldest (from all 3 boats) but your dad kept up with best of them, ha. While the snorkling was going on, the crew had fishing lines out. Mina was successful in catching a big baracuda. The 5-star hotels in Dubai buy them to serve in their restaurants. When leaving the boat today, Ralph asked Mina what kind of fish we had for lunch and he said baracuda. Had I know that, I probably wouldn't have eaten it, but it was good. We arrived back at the dock at 4:00 p.m. and all the drivers were there waiting for everyone. We left there shortly after 4:00 p.m. and got back to our hotel at 7:30 and the traffic was very heavy. Again, on the way back, we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Oman (mountains and sea), and then in the Emirates, the barren sand dunes. Two more border stops of course, "exit" at Oman immigration and "enter" at Emirates immigration. Even though we didn't do the talking, it's always so intimitating (like Russia - Olga, ha, ha). This time (when entering Emirates) we again stood at the counter with Rauf. Immigration officer looked at our passports and looked as us, and then Rauf told us we could sit down while he remained at the counter for the paperwork, stamping, etc. Soon, Ralph was called back up and I was nervous - it's just bloody scary when you're so far away from home. They wanted to have a better look at him, ha. Meanwhile, two wickets over, a ruckus was going on. We didn't know what was happening but apparently one of the German women (who was on one of the boats) - the page of her passport that contains her picture was torn out of the book (loose). And they're saying (loudly), how do we know this is your passport, sort of thing. I'm not sure how it all played out for her but she and the officer were having words, yikes.

We got back to the hotel at 7:30 p.m., traffic was horrendous in the city, and we were pooped from our adventure. We then had to go out for supper so went to Nando's tonight and ate at the tables outside and watched all the action - people, people, people.

OK, it's 15 to 11:00, Ralph is snoring and I'm falling off my chair.