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!
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