Well, it has been 2 weeks since our last adventure, so it must be time for another fun weekend with Heather and Cory!! This time we decided to head over to Oman, to Dibba (as it is called in the UAE), or Daba (as they call it in Oman). Dibba is a picturesque little fishing town located in the Musandam Peninsula, on the tip of Arabia.
We drove over (about a 2.5 hour trip). Driving and navigating is always a "fun" experience here. You're never quite sure (even with a map) which way to go and for sure, the roads are mostly unmarked. Even when you turn onto a road and think it might possibly be the correct road, sometimes you can drive for miles before you see any signs....and then find out it's the wrong road!! Along the way, we drove through a little place called "Friday Market" and then through the Masafi mountain area. We had to go through the Omani checkpoint, but it was quick and easy. Our final leg of the journey was on a road Kim fondly (NOT) called "Mario Kart" road. It was under construction and had so many different one-way directions and speed "humps" that we were both cursing the decision that sent us that way!
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| Traveling on one road, we encountered these "mobile" dunes (Seriously, that's what the sign says!!) They travel and take over the roads..... They don't look that bad, but when you hit the sand, it can be like driving on snow or ice. Some crazy drivers pass on these dunes, and make driving even more hazardous! |
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| This is a HUGE dune that formed up against the side of a mountain on the "mobile dune" road. |
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| Same road: Poor camels....searching for a little cooler shade... |
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| Here the goats came to greet us. You can see the Gulf of Oman in the background. I don't think I can ever be blasé about seeing the beach: I get so excited every time! |
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La Brea Beach (you know, like the Tar Pits)
Kim walks along the beach at the hotel. This is just before we found out there was tar/oil on the beach. How disappointing! (That could be why we got such a good deal, right??!) When we got back from our walk, our feet were coated with black tar. You can't see it on the sand. It's just below the surface, but it sticks to anything it touches! |
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| View from our deck, overlooking the pool and Gulf. |
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| View from the Gulf, looking back at our hotel, nestled at the foothills of the mountains. |
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| Sunrise over the Gulf |
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| Kim was so excited to get a full breakfast.....uh-oh....the bacon and sausage was beef jerky and hotdogs--ha-ha!! |
The next day, we decided to take a dhow cruise along the coast of Musandam. Along the way we could see the white, salty mountains and beautiful carved caves. We ended up anchored inside a fjord at a deserted village, named Haffa. These little inlets in Musandam give it the nickname of "Norway of the Middle East" because they resemble the fjords of Norway.
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| Here we are loading onto the Dhow--not yet aware of just how rough the waves will be! |
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| Kim and Heather get ready for "take-off." We're sitting under a canvas shade on Bedouin style pillows and carpets, à la Sindbad the Sailor. |
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| 30 minutes later, the only one still smiling is Cory. Even the hardiest of us were just barely holding on! For some reason, the dhow captain took the waves side on, so we rolled side to side as well as front to back. The wooden dhow was creaking and weaving like a drunk sailor....ha-ha! |
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| This was Cory crawling to the stairs so he could get us some seasick pills. Everyone who tried to stand ended up falling down...HARD! He was our HERO!! When he came back with a packet of pills, all the people around us were desperate to have some. |
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| Cory's excited we are finally about to head into the fjord, which means NO MORE ROCKING WAVES!! |
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| Dhow on the water |
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| Looking down into the Gulf |
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| The color of the water in the fjord |
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| The naturally carved limestone cliffs were truly breathtaking against the turquoise water |
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| Looking back out of the fjord into the big water and the mountains |
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| Aren't they cute? And happy, now that the boat was anchored!! |
The snorkeling was disappointing. I learned that in 2008 there was an algal bloom near Dibba, which destroyed 95 % of the coral reefs. The reefs looked really bad. We heard the snorkeling is much better in other areas of Oman, so we'll try out some of those another time.
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| Looking over the boat's rail at the shore: this was truly beautiful country! |
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Just before swimming
Par for the course, there were no instructions. We had no idea how long we would be snorkeling, whether we were taking a boat to the beach or fishing (which was part of the deal), how to get in/out of the water, what to do if we needed help, etc. Apparently we were just supposed to "jump" off the side of the boat--ha-ha! When we did leave to head back home, the dhow had to stop after about 10 minutes and wait for a small boat to pull alongside to pass off some people who were apparently left behind......go figure!! |
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Shells on the beach at the hotel.
Heather and I each sacrificed a pair of Old Navy flip-flops so we could walk on the tar beach. I have quite a nice collection of shells and coral now from various beaches. |
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| Lonely starfish... |
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| Heather "saves" him! :) |
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Goats on the beach ~
As we walked toward them, they headed into the small opening you see on the left side. Sadly, there was lots of debris for the goats to eat. Nobody throws trash in a can. Even on our dhow cruise, people got off the boat at the end and left all their trash wherever it fell, even though there was a big trashcan right beside them! |
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| You can just see our hotel in the distance at the foot of the mountains |
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| Looking back at our hotel from the farthest point we walked. You can see the jeep that came roaring down the beach to check out what we were doing with the goats... |
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| We hit the "Zebra Bar" and had a fun evening talking and catching up on the news. Hmmm....I wonder where they came up with that name.... |
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| Sitting outside one evening, Kim found this cute little gecko. He brought him to the deck, and then the little guy jumped on me. Heather was trying to snap a picture and laughing so hard because he kept running up and down and all around my shirt. Amazingly enough, when we got back to the UAE, we realized he apparently stowed away inside our wet bathing suit bag and Kim found him crawling around on our floor! Uh-oh, that means we brought a live animal across the border.....yikes!! |
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| He's currently living in the lemon tree on our deck. |
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Outside the hotel, we saw date palms with these green bags around them. The dates are covered with bags to protect them from the birds or to keep the dates from falling to the ground (I've been told both versions).
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After the fun weekend, it was back to school for the final week of exams. Our "graduation" is supposed to be next week, so it will be interesting to see if the students quit coming. Not sure what to expect....
But stay tuned for the next exciting installment of the adventures of Kim and Lynn.....
Abu Dhabi Time