The gang are off into Khasab just now to the souk to try and find Janeece some new flip-flops as she blew hers today on our adventure. What an adventure!! The dhow picked us up at 9 AM and after picking our snorkeling gear, we boarded the beautiful old dhow - a long, very wide wooden boat with high curved stern and bow and proudly flying strings of green-red-white Omani flags The entire floor covered with beautiful Persian rugs - burgundy and blue and yellow and all along the sides were big cushions to sit on and lean against. So cool and funky and so comfortable!! The boat was only about half full, so we had the whole back section pretty much to ourselves - spread out ourselves in short order. Aleesa was so excited and had a wonderful day - entertained the entire boat, especially the crew, all day!!
Suddenly the crew started excitedly clapping their hands and we were joined by a school of bottle-nose dolphins swimming alongside - a mother and baby and then pretty soon a group of five - all different sizes - so close you could see them come up and play and roll over on their sides. They kept up with us for several minutes - it was so wonderful I thought I was going to cry - got pretty choked up at the beauty of it.
The captain told us it against the law to kill any wild animals in Oman - they are all protected, dolphins, foxes, goats, donkeys. He also pointed out as we meandered through the fjord, that the five small villages we saw perched on the edge of the fjord and accessible only by sea, are all provided with free education, free drinking water and free health care by the sultan's government. They all are linked to electricity as well for a small fee. ( I like him better and better the longer I am here)
We stopped at telegraph Island, where in 1864, the first cable was installed in Mussandam and, interestingly, on the top of which is the only internet service for miles!! We jumped into the greenest, crystal clear water I have ever swam in , and snorkeled with blue angelfish and groupers and small striped convict fish nibbling on a coral bed that surrounded the entire island. Janeece and I swam/snorkeled all around it, and Jim and Elaine joined us. One of the nicest snorkeling experiences I've had, maybe only topped by the Captain Cook trip in Hawaii - Brian is probably there right now!!
There were three cute young Omani crew and they kept us happy all day - tiny glass cups of sweet fragrant tea, fresh dates from the area, grilled fresh queenfish for lunch, along with curried chicken and veg, rice and always, the best hummus and pita you ever tasted.
A lazy cruise for awhile,with a another stop for snorkeling and one at a long sandy beach where I added to my vast collection of heart shaped stones and coral (Nicole!!!) Back to the pier at 4pm, all very happy and no sunburns!!
Another beautiful, action-packed day here in Oman. They just keep comin' ! It is now dark, I can see tiny lights out in the sea and my family has just now returned with Aleesa sound asleep on Jerry' shoulder - she has had a long day, little sweetie.
We look forward to 6pm , as they cannot serve alcohol at the hotel before then and we are all ready for a glass of wine and a nice supper. Tomorrow, a mountain safari aboard landcruisers - the mountains look pretty desolate from here so it will be interesting!
As always, love to all - hope you are enjoying the long family-day weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment