Our last day - really this time!!

Ola and I rose right after the 5:30 call to prayer and were out in the dark to hit the beach for a walk and see the sunrise.  It was actually a bit chilly, but beautiful and I was amazed at how many other people there were out for their exercise!  Beating the heat makes a lot of sense, I guess. We watched the sky turn to pink and the city wake up, felt so safe on the beautiful. pristine clean beach.  We walked for two and a half hours, talking and talking, not realizing how the time was flying by, until it started getting pretty warm and we didn't even have water!  What a great way to start a day, tho - Ola and Jerry plan to do it whenever they can.

beach sunrise

Gotta love a city with no building taller than 9 stories!

Omani mounted police - out strolling the beach in the morning

Back to the house for breakfast and then off to the spa for a wonderfully relaxing massage - we are also being treated on Women's Day - and then joined everyone at the Hyatt Resort for a lovely buffet lunch and a day of relaxing by the pool and swimming in the ocean.  Elaine is just about 100% now, what a relief!  The sea here is the perfect temperature for swimming - balmy warm - maybe even warmer than I remember Hawaii!

All good things have to come to a close and we spent the early evening shuffling our luggage around to get the magic 23 kilos per bag - I am over of course but resigned to pay the piper - it's been worth it!!  Probably haven't mentioned how much I'm bringing home - those darn Indian tapestries are so heavy!!  But we sailed through and were saying our very sad goodbyes much much too early.  It has been the trip of a lifetime - Jerry and Ola have been marvelous hosts.  I really hope they stay here a few more years and that I have been a good guest - I'd come back in a heartbeat.  Oman - I love you!

Final few days in wonderful Oman!

We're relieved to have Elaine home, tired but much better, sleeping off her nasty bout of food poisoning.  It gave me the opportunity to finally repay all the hospitality offered me and cook a meal!  Jerry and Ola asked me the first day I was here if I'd cook a stew one day - well today was the day!  Off to Al-Fair, Muscat's Safeway, to get beef and veggies - all of which we were able to find - even turnips!!  I got to peek into the "Pork - only for Non-Muslims" section - very self-contained and out of the way - like the "nasty" section of a video store.  We  both wondered why there are Pop Tarts in there tho??  Had a lovely morning, dredging and chopping and so nice to have Ola's company, perched on a stool in the  sunny kitchen, chatting about family and life in general.  Seemed so strange, though, to be cooking a winter-day meal on such a hot and gloriously sunny one!!

Off to pick up Aleesa from school and then down to the beach for awhile - what a great way to spend a few hours everyday - she is a lucky little girl - having a wonderfully free childhood, so much of her time is spent out in the fresh air, unencumbered by heavy clothing and footwear.
The neighborhood is very close, many other children out and about, riding their bikes, in and out of each others yards, closely watched but given lots of room to roam by loving (and lovely) nannies who also seem to be a very happy lot: great friendships and companionship.  Even the gardener lovingly plays with and watches out for the kids - he was helping Phoebe, the little girl next door, learn to ride her bike one afternoon.

Aleesa's face lights up whenever she sees him - they have their own sign-language even - she makes a scissoring. well pruning, I guess, motion and he returns the gesture and they both laugh.  I admired all the lovely flowering trees in Jerry's yard, and discussed them with him often. The day before we left, he came to me,
"Madame?  When you leave for Canada, I will dig a small tree for you to take home!"  How sweet - how I wish I could have!!  I do have bougainvillea blossoms pressed between the pages of my journal, from when they fell on the table - that is as close as I will get, I am afraid - to having these lovely green things in Canada!

Aleesa loves to help Jaiya

Ah - bougainvillea!

In Oman, if there is no room on the street to park - you park on the sidewalk!  And in Ola's case - with flair

The flowers of the beautiful tree Ranjeesh wanted to send me home with!

The view of Aleesa's world from the roof-top patio

Elaine came down and had some supper tonight, tentatively of course, but she is stronger all the time.  We watched "Up" and after everyone else had gone to bed, Jerry and I watched "Toy Story 3" - suddenly we both had the sniffles -hmmm...  I haven't had a chance to watch kids movies for so long!

WE are not leaving for Cyprus until Tuesday night, so it has given Elaine time to fully recover, and gives us more time to spend  together as well.  I had the chance to treat Ola  to sushi lunch -she's the only fan of it in this household - we had a great afternoon at a beautiful sun-drenched sea-side restaurant; Jerry joined us but opted for the fish 'n chips -not a lover of raw fish!!  They served lovely sushi - the fish is really FRESH here!! Then we picked up Aleesa from Tender Buds Nursery School (great name, eh) and off to Carrefour Mall to get Jer some new flip-flops - I NEVER saw him in anything else EVER this whole time, so he goes through them quickly.  I'm sure he must wear shoes to work but I can't picture him in anything else - lucky man.

Aleesa and I stayed at Magic Planet - an indoor play park - while they shopped.  After watching her for awhile in the 3 story climbing structure - very similar to the one at the Calgary Zoo - I decided there would be nothing wrong with my joining her - so I did - what a blast!! Probably the most exercise I've had since I arrived - up and down the levels - down the three- part slide and then climb back up (bare feet are remarkably sticky)  We laughed ourselves silly - and when Jer and Ola returned to find us, Jer just rolled his eyes and laughed - so much for his days of sitting and just watching her anymore!!  Now I gotta find a kid and a not-too-busy day at the Calgary Zoo so I can try it again!!

We dropped the girls off at Ola's friend's for the evening and Jerry and I decided to pick up Indian take-away for supper.  I am not at all familiar with Indian food and what a treat I had in store!  It was a small Pakistani restaurant that a friend had taken him to,and we ordered way to much food of course, including a dish called Mutton Rogan Josh (phonetic-give me a break!)- yikes was it ever delicious!!  Chicken tikka, dahl, roti, chicken lollipops, veg in curry, wonderful golden yellow rice - a great supper!  Elaine declined, wise girl, but the rest of us had a feast!!

On Monday, Jerry commandeered me to help him make preparations for the next day - a very important one f0r Russian women - March 8th is Women's Day - very much like our Mother's Day,but this one does not exclude unmarried or childless women - very inclusive!!  In Oman, men go to men masseuses, and women go to women masseuses, no questions asked.  He cannot even go into the spa to make a reservation - so I went in for him and booked time for two of us - will see if Elaine is up to it by tomorrow.  Then we were off to the florist to put in an order for roses to be  delivered tomorrow and to Alamaira Center buy a cute new (pink) Cannon for her.  Hmmm, such a great deal I bought myself one too!  Only mine is orange. And it is just like Elaine's.  Jer will be in fine standing tomorrow!!

We picked up Aleesa at school and back to the beach once more - this time she slowly got wetter and wetter playing in the surf that finally she was down to just underwear - frolicking like the little mermaid .  We took her home wrapped in Jer's T-shirt and I hear the tub had a layer of sand after her shower!!

Ola cooked us another lovely Russian supper tonight, her salads are great - no lettuce - just very finely, finely chopped cabbage and assorted veg - cucumbers, onion, green peas,etc. and a super light oil dressing.  Delicious!!  Jer and Jim barbecued lamb chops and beer-can chicken, and because it is a new month,  we had wine again! The Muslims don't drink alcohol, (or at least cannot buy it) but the ex-pats must each  have a liquor ration card - looks just like a passport, and are restricted to a certain amount each month.  Needless to say, we ran out early in February!

Nizwa and the Al Hoota Caves

An unfortunately late start from Muscat Friday morning meant that we missed the famous live goat and camel auction at the Nizwa market, but we did see the beautiful old 17th century fort with its striking circular keep and poked around in the ruins running alongside; amazing construction, mostly rocks stuck together with mud, wooden framed windows and doors; old. old, beautifully carved wooden doors.

ancient doorway- but still standing

entrance to the old fort

Clay water jugs - filled with water and kept cool through evaporation

yet another beautiful old door

Beautiful courtyard in afternoon sunlight- men and boys just leaving mosque

abandoned homes - how old?

  I think the doors are one of the most beautiful details of this beautiful country - never, even on a garage or a shed, do you see a boring, plain door.  They are colorful, decorative and usually very brightly colored, richly carved, and of all sizes. Very, very few windows are ever square or rectangular but of that beautiful rounded to a point at the top shape, I think it looks Persian - must do some research. They are lovely!!

We had reserved spots to tour the Al Hoota caves outside of Nizwa and drove on through lovely countryside, small villages, oasis and the towering Al Hajjar Mountain range above us.  These caves are over 2 million years old, discovered by a goat shepherd in 1960 when he lost one of his herd and while searching for it, found one of the openings. They stretch over 5 km underground, and we were able to tour, with a guide, through parts of them, now partially lit by electricity and with  walkways and steps.  Huge stalagtites and stalagmites,  deep caverns and enormous precariously perched boulders all along the way.  No photos allowed, but such a beautiful place.  Only three animals live in the caverns - a small bat, a type of spider, and in the very dark, very black lake, a blind fish. We actually managed to tour through it without Jim making me jump out of my skin!  I asked our guide if anything ever shifted or fell from the ceiling and he explained that they have "glasses" strategically placed throughout and if there is any breakage they will close the caves.  But for how long, I wondered??  And what are these "glasses"?The limestone sides were very smooth and in places, the vast ceiling was very low and so completely flat above our heads.  An amazing place.
An interesting and very beautiful drive back to Muscat but unfortunately, we arrived back to a very ill Elaine - not sure if it was food poisoning or the flu but by 9 PM we were at the Muscat Private Hospital with her and she ended spending the night there, on an IV to counteract dehydration.  Not something to fool around with in a desert country.  So, our trip to Cyprus has been delayed for a few days, to give her time to get back on her feet, poor girl!
We are stuck in a very beautiful, interesting place, for a few more days, with the most wonderful hosts, things could be so much worse.

Holy Leapin' Dolphins, Batman!!!

Would you believe a pod of 200 plus dolphins, a mile out at sea? Swimming alongside and in front of our boat for over a half hour, jumping and rolling and seemingly leading us along.  I'm pretty sure there were some teenage boy dolphins in the crowd, because all of a sudden, one would jump straight up into the air, twist around and plunge back in. Sure looked like a beautiful showing off performance!!  Many times there would be at least a dozen beautiful shiny black backs arched high in the air in a ripple of  perfect choreography.  Such an amazing sight!!!

Can you even count how many there are?

We had missed the first boat out, at 8:30 AM, so we re-booked a 10 AM boat, and had a lovely relaxed breakfast on the marina in the morning sunshine, ogling the fabulous yachts tied up to the docks.

I was laying my head on the table when I took this one.

  This second boat only held 10 passengers, much smaller than the first, and the captain, when we asked if there would be any dolphin sightings, only smiled, shook his head and said,
"Inshallah..." God willing. Apparently, this is a common response, as in, "Will my tire be fixed by 4PM?" "Inshallah..." Very appropriate answer when it comes to wildlife spotting!

  We were only out for a few minutes,enjoying the cool breeze on the water,  when up ahead  it kind of looked like a thrashing, splashing feeding frenzy of fish, but as we got nearer, we realized just what we were seeing - hundreds of beautiful, frolicking dolphins! Seriously, hundreds!! Jerry had a brand new lens and it was clicking; no, whirring like a National Geographic photo-journalist!!  It was almost surreal - like it could just all disappear any moment, it was so special -but they seemed to like our company and played around us, showing off and having dolphin fun!  We were able to video for a long time, and cannot wait to show it to you all!!  The guys got some amazing photos!

  Another hugely memorable and very moving moment in my very memorable trip to Oman!

But now, I have to get off the computer, as there are three patient  little girls really needing to watch some Disney after a long day of  swimming at the beautiful Dolphin Club..  Tomorrow is our last day here in this beautiful, amazing country.  So hard to think of leaving - it has gone fast but been so full of wonderful experiences.  We go to a live-animal market tomorrow in the desert at Nizwa, and then to see some very old caves and forts - an early morning start!  I love the trips to the villages here - such great people watching and a look at such an old culture.

Then off to Cyprus!  New adventures await!

Wadi Shab

We parked under a bridge after another steep downward drive through a small hilly village called Tiwi - goats clinging to the hillsides and small stone and plaster  homes with beautifully carved wooden doors - glimpses of very colorful abayas and the occasional young boy squeezed against the wall as we passed on the very narrow road.

Entrance to Wadi Shab

We parked on a gravel bed under a huge new concrete overpass bridge and packed our supplies for the day -water bottles for everyone plus  two extra 4liter water jugs, apples,  granola bars and our new favorite desert snack, dates and Nairn Scottish oatmeal cakes.  We headed out on a dry riverbed, large white gravel stones underfoot, and I heard the stories about how very different it was since the cyclone in 2007.  This
 gravel bed had before been a wide grove of palm trees, with a sandy path winding through it. The storm came through with an amazing intensity, to move boulders this size!

Once a grove of date palms before the cyclone of '07

Hard to capture the enormity of these boulders

 We soon came to increasingly larger rocks, boulders strewn throughout and huge, craggy reddish cliffs, towering over us.  Palm trees lined both sides and we started to climb - like the hundreds of goats we have seen here in Oman, winding our way up the wadi.  Every so often, a path would emerge, but mostly it was scrambling.  We came to the same beautiful green pools that we had seen at Wadi Bani Khalid, but this was a much wider, opener space. Remnants of ancient stone houses,high up in the cliffs.

Finally, we came to a very large pool, filling in most of the space between the canyon walls.  We stowed our backpacks and jumped in. Cool, clean, wonderfully refreshing!  Janeece and I swam ahead, but Jer called out that I couldn't go on any further. (?)  He caught up and started video taping - we swam around a big corner and ahead was a cleft in the stone wall, actually just a crack,  the water was very deep; enough that we  had to tread.  WE got close enough to see that the crack went deep in the wall and you could see through the very narrow cleft and see sunlight beyond.  This water was so green it almost glowed and as I got closer, the crack, which they  told me is called the keyhole, was only just wide enough to fit your head through,and for a distance of about three meters , treading water and holding onto the sides of the cleft as you moved through.  Absolutely freaking scary but amazing! Definately not for the claustrophobic!


Opening to the cavern - that little bit of light is the pass-thru!


 We emerged into a huge partially open cavern, with sunlight streaming in, and beautiful bright green sections on the steep,very high walls and asmall waterfall streaming in.  I was in awe!  And Jer captured it all on a video!!  We swam around, treading water, enjoying the amazement of the place.  I was the only one who hadn't been there before, but it was a wonderful exciting reward for all of us after the hot tough scramble up.

Inside!



Made it


And then we had to swim back out through that tight little entrance - just as much of a thrill as going in!!
Swam back to our packs and had to hoof it back as we were late to get Jai back to Muscat for her flight back home to Calgary.  Her and Jer went ahead to get the truck, with the intention of driving as far as they could up the dry wadi bed to meet us.  We were well on our way when we saw Janeece jogging toward us - the tide had come in and we were going to have to take a boat across to where our truck was parked!!  A helpful and slightly opportunistic Omani with a small fishing boat ferried us across and soon we were back on the road back.
What a day! What an adventure!!  And, the great part is that yesterday, while Jim and Elaine had a day to themselves, Jer and I drove back and did it again!! And it was every bit as much fun. I will insert photos later.

In between, we had yet another wonderful experience, and that will be the subject of my next blog.

We are having a wonderful vacation, and we are entirely safe, despite what sensationalist things CNN is broadcasting..

The Wadi- my new favorite place on earth!!!

Ah, the wadi!  What a place!! Our first stop was at Wadi Bani Khalid (say it out loud, fast -such a great name!) After miles of desert and scrub land, we arrived at a small town, and drove down a winding road ; the surroundings getting more and more populated with greenery - huge palm trees, green bushes and reeds.  We parked at the bottom and started walking along a falage - a very old but very clever system of stone ditches built to carry fresh water from the wadi (river) to villages for their consumption.  We encountered a pack of adorable, very friendly children, sitting on a small bridge. "Hey, whatcha doin'?"
 
Their families were picknicking in the trees, the women and girls lounging on wadi matts just off the path, the men grilling delicious smelling kabobs.  They called us over and the teenage girls were so eager to hear about where we were from and tell us all about their lives.  They insisted on Elaine and I having a drink and some dates and  a very yummy but very spicy kabob was somehow in my hand! I talked for awhile, but wanted to join the others, so I left Elaine in their company and went on ahead.

 The path opened up  into a wide canyon, huge boulders on both sides and the most beautiful, inviting-looking green pool of water suspended in a bowl formed by the rocks. I just wanted to dive in, but  I forged ahead, hoping to catch up with Jim, Janeece and Jerry.  The boulders were a good scramble, but not impassable, and I could see pools of water down below at several points.  It was smoking hot and I was in a full sweat by this time!  I ran into two young boys on the path, very friendly, who called out to me and asked if I was from Canada. They said my friends were up ahead and very soon I spied Jim.  He gestured way down and  there were Jer and Jai - in the beautiful water!!  It looked pretty tricky to get to but Jer insisted I  join them.  With Jim's help from above and Jer's from below,  I was soon there and plunged into the most welcome, cool, clear fresh water--it was heaven!  We were able to swim all the way back down to where we started , with a little scrambling over rocks between pools,  the sun shimmering off the white limestone walls all around us.  The most refreshing swim ever!

In the last pool, there were scores of tiny fish which nibbled at your feet - I think you pay big bucks for a fish-pedicure in Japan!

 We met Jim and Elaine at the bottom -she had email addresses from the Omani girls and great stories about their lives and their curiosities about Canada.
This was just the first wadi experience - little did I know what was ahead of me the next day...

What a time!!!

It has been a whirlwind!! We arrived, finally, after 25 hours in planes and four airports, to a beautiful, balmy Muscat welcome.  It was 4 AM , a warm breeze, a very happy Jerry!  Of course, we had to sit out on his patio and have a glass or two of wine just to unwind and suddenly the 5:30 call to prayer was calling out over the loudspeakers - the first of many - five times a day in fact! The sun started to come up and we decided we'd better try and get some sleep and see about getting ahead of the jetlag.

A very excited 3yr old Aleesa awoke us at noon, so happy to have her grama and grampa and her aunties here - I soon had Pez Mickey Mouse beside me on the pillow! Our first jaunt out into Muscat - a lovely poolside lunch at the Intercontinental Hotel and then my first taste of some of the small souks close by  here- just a taste of what there is to see.  Such gentle, sweet and not at all pushy merchants - they all know elaine and Jim and were happy to see them again - Elaine's sixth trip here and Jim's fifth!  Good customers.  Looked at some beautiful Indian tapestries and pashminas - I am going tohave to borrow a suitcase from Jerry for my return;  it is a paisley heaven for fabrics!  Then we spent a few hours (really) grocery shopping, Jer and Ola have beena way in Dubai.  I thought it was fun to grocery shop in the US - well this was just amazing - spice aisles, exotic fruits and veg and even the labels - beets from Iran, oranges from China!!  Lots of fun looking at all the new and different "Food Stuffs and Other Stuffs".

Out and about, the Omani people are so interesting to watch - the men all wear long white robes, called dish-dashes (sure that is not how you spell it) and a small round cotton cap.  Their robes are so startlingly white and perfectly pressed, with  a white tassel on the right shoulder that hangs down on their shoulder blade  and apparently they put perfume on it and if there is a bad smell, they just turn their head and smell  their scent! The women wear long black abiya, some cover their faces and some don't - we are all curious about the diferences.  See  a lot more men about, in groups of two or three, than women.  Jery says you will never see two couples out together - inappropriate for the men to be associating with someone elses wife! The gawker that I am is having a heyday here!! So many interesting people - and they are allmost all very beautiful/handsome - women wear very perfect make-up and lots of jewellry, but thats about all you see! Yesterday we were getting gas and a man came out of the station in his perfect white dish-dash and jumped into a dumptruck and drove away!!
We stopped by the Suntan's palace yesterday wow - beautiful place-found stairs up to the old Portugese fort but they were gated off to the public - not sure why but we will try again! 

Drove out to the Oman Dive Center  through the rugged mountain coastline - stunning scenery. To Qantab Beach, where there were old ruins from a fort built to protect the shore and Janeece and I climbed into one of them.  Built of stones piled up and then plaastered on the inside and out.  The plaster had fallen away in most spots, leaving precarious walls of reddish  stone exposed.  Roof falling away, made of reed thatch.  Such  a beautiful place, and the light inside was so incredible.

 
We have decided to camp there, take our gear and hire a boat to take us around to a secluded beach and camp right there on the sand!  Also going up north to the Musandam fjords, staying a few nights, have booked a dhow to take us exploring, and a snorkelling trip.  Also plan to go to the turtle sanctuary and some dune and wadi bashing!! Sounds like adventure awaits!  Today we are off to the big souk at Moutra(sp?) and then to the Muscat Festival. We are busy!

Hoping all is well with all of you - I'll try to be better about writing but we are on the go every day, all day!