Roaming in Oman

Yesterday was an adventure, if just for the fact that I drove through the UAE all the way to Oman. Granted, it wasn't a long trip, about two hours roughly. I hadn't been that far out in the UAE before. We drove through areas of desert where there were nothing but sand dunes and scrub brush, random herds of wild camels. When we got into the mountains on the UAE/ Oman border, it looked like the moon. The sun beat down on the rocky landscape, and the banyan trees with their odd shapes and scruffy branches stood out on that hot, dry landscape.
Going through the border control was fast and easy. They took a look at our passports and let us through to Dibba port. There were four cars in our caravan, sixteen teachers in all including my principal and her hubby. We got to Dibba and the guy from the dhow met us at the dock and led us to the boat. Now, this wasn't like a marina in Dubai. There were traditional dhows and small fishing boats. Not a high falootin' yacht to be seen, which was refreshing.

We boarded the dhow around 11am. The dhows are really basic, with cushions on the floor for seating. It was about 106 degrees, so we couldn't wait to set sail. They had emailed us the evening before and let us know that the seas would be choppy and advised us to take something for motion sickness. So glad I did! The dhow was pitching and rolling as we plodded down the coastline. The view of the mountains and the sea breeze was absolutely wonderful.

We docked in a small inlet in near Musandam. The water is so blue that you almost don't even need a snorkel to see down. We saw schools of bright blue and yellow fish, as well as a sea turtle and some needlefish. The water in the Gulf of Oman is very salty. It stung my eyes. The water is very warm at this time of year, like a mild bath. I gathered up my courage and jumped off the second floor of the dhow. All part of my motto "Do one thing every day that you're afraid of". I am sorry to report that it was not graceful by any  means; I landed sideways in the water and screamed like a little girl. But I did it!

The water left a fine coat of salt on my skin. I could actually feel it. I was a good girl. I had my fun in the sun, then put my big floppy hat on and my linen long sleeved shirt with my 100 sunblock. I think I am one of the few who did not get burned. Lunch was a simple affair of biryani rice, chicken, and Arabic bread. And cocktail wieners. That's their "international buffet" ;) Glad I brought some cookies and strawberries!

After a few hours, the boat went trundling back out and headed back down the coast. We were REALLY pitching and rolling then. People were starting to turn a bit green. There was a bad accident when a man was thrown over into some deck chairs. He was okay, but a young lady had been lying sick underneath them and got a pretty bad cut (read: stitches) and a concussion. Luckily, we were towing a motorboat and they loaded her onto it and got her back to Dibba. We ran into her friends when we docked again and found that she was alright. Poor girl.

We headed back up through the mountains and home to Dubai. Granted, the trip would have been better in cooler weather and calmer seas, but any change of scenery is much appreciated. And it's always a good time when spent with friends!