May 29, 2012

Linda arrived this morning at 5:00 AM. Yesterday I did a practice run to the airport, so I was able to go to the correct place to pick her up. Her flight was a bit early and she was through customs in 25 minutes. I made it back to the apartment by 6:15, my usual time to go to school. Very nice to have her here, she had a bit of a rest in the morning but right now crashed about 7:00 PM. A 25 hour journey can be tiring, Vancouver to Muscat! Temps in the mid 40s today, it is a hot place.

Masirah day 3: We left on the 7:30 ferry which left at 7:52. There wasn’t such a mad scramble for room on the boat in the morning. We left with an almost full load.  The water was choppy and waves hitting us side on but the ferry was very stable and not even rocking. It took about an hour and 45 minutes to cross. Immediately after we left the ferry we passed Km of salt flats. Apparently the sea water floods in and is trapped and of course evaporates, in the +40 heat. We stopped to watch a fellow scooping salt into bags. He was bare feet on the salt flat, gathering the salt into piles and scooping it into bags with his hands, without any tools. He looked tired and not overly happy, I‘d say, an example of almost salve labor.  We continued on through the desert, taking a different road then we arrived on. More scrubby vegetation, hardy shrubs and trees in some areas. More camels and goats roaming freely, had to stop to let a camel cross, they go where they want to go, so we had to be careful. Hitting a camel would be similar to hitting a moose. We took a short off road trip in to see some white cliffs, didn’t get stuck, but the heat was unbelievable. Later on we stopped in Adam, it is a walled city with mud brick walls, that was inhabited up until the early 70s. It is located in a beautiful oasis, lush with date palms and lots of greenery. On the last leg of our trip we came upon a huge group of dunes. They were so beautiful, but with a lot of drifting sand. We  arrived home by 8:00 PM, a great break from work.

Ferry on the way back

Trying to get off the ferry while cars jockeyed positions to get on the ferry.

Gathering salt from salt flats, with bare feet and bare hands.

Real sea salt

desert

Off road excursion

Dunes are art.

Dune art

Our 4x4 by dunes

Blowing sand and masked gas attendant

camel crossing

Old walled city at Adam

Date palms

May 27, 2012

We stayed at Danat Al-Khaleej Hotel  a 3 star hotel just past the ferry dock. We had supper there for two evening and it was very good, we ordered Indian food. They must have some electrical problems, for every night when we were eating the power was going on and off. Thursday morning we were up early and off to explore the island. We stopped at many beautiful beaches, some with white sand. They all had coral and such beautiful shells, we picked buckets of them. We found a dead turtle, very large, about a meter long that had been killed for its meat.  Since we had a 4x4 we were able to go off road and explore areas a car couldn’t go.  We saw many old shells probably fossils in the wadi (dry river) beds and in the sand dunes. We climbed a hilly mound and found flakes where some ancient person had been chipping on red chert to make arrow/spear heads. On the way down we saw an old graveyard. They don’t use large tombstones, just some rocks standing upright. The graves are covered with mounds of stones.  We did a circuit around the island.  All over the island there are many camels and goats foraging without fences. Fences are a rarity; instead every home is surrounded by a brick wall. 

camels by the road

blue sponge

This is a dhow, a traditional Omani fishing boat

All these mounds were made by burrowing crabs

Old dhow

Roadside camels

Old, old shells

desert vegetation

Camel pruning the trees

old Omani graveyard

white beach

Where we stayed

Foraging camel, in garbage, on street, in town.

Driving in a wadi

Burrowing crab

Large turtle

white beach Misirah

Dhow

May 26 2012

Wednesday we got word that due to to high temperatures the school day will be shortened by and hour and the students will go home a week earlier,June 13th. We also have a 2 day holiday the 16th and 17th of June. The news was received with happiness by students as well as teachers. Wednesday afternoon we 4 left school and drove to Masirah Island. We rented a 4x4 and packed it with lots of water and food. It was a five hour drive. The drive was long but interesting. We traveled through all types of dessert. Some just sand, some high sand dunes, low scrubby bushes, taller bushes and trees pruned by camels. The roaming camels can only eat so far so the trees are green on the upper branches. In some places the sand was drifting on the road just like snow. We saw donkeys roaming the roadsides and many goats. Some of them were perched in the tress nibbling on the leaves. We drove past salt flats and arrived at the ferry. Forget your normal ferry loading. We were lucky to arrive about a half hour early so we were assured a place on the boat. In the last few minutes the drama began. The boat has only so much space and it is the last crossing of the night. A transport stuck pulls up and although there is obviously no room for him he has to try squeeze on the boat. After a few tries he gave up and backed off. They three trucks come racing up all hell bent on a place on the boat. One is a Toyota truck, one a SUV and the other Toyota truck with a boat hanging off the back maybe 20 feet. All 3 are nose to nose trying to get on the boat. After a lot of arguing the truck with the boat on back left and the other 2 squeezed on. We sailed over, it took about 1 hour 45 minutes. It was a little rough and the truck in the middle was swaying quite a bit, but we eventually made it across to our hotel, just past the ferry dock.

Desert

Fisherman's huts and boats

On the way to the ferry

Ferry

Corner store

Raodside camel

Masked local lady

Truck, SUV and boat/truck all arguing about getting on.

SUV makes it on, boat/truck hoping for a spot on last ferry

Truck/boat trying to get on

Sure we can fit on, even if you can't shut the gate!!

Giving up

On our way

May 22, 2012

Very hot day as it was all week. I’m changing the website where I get my Muscat temperature readings. The BBC has a much more accurate site.  Today was 44 +, my glasses fog up when I go OUTSIDE, opposite of how they fog up at home. The children wear shorts and T-shirts under their disdashas. The disdashas are made of a heavy cloth, not some light fabric. The boys are soaked with sweat when they come in and that is not from playing. It’s too hot for football anymore. Although I still am comfortable in the heat, I am sweating and have to drink about 4 liters a day. After school tomorrow several of us are taking a trip to Masirah, an island off the East coast of Oman, 95 km long north-south, between 12 and 14 km wide, with an area of about 649 km², and a population estimated at 12,000 in 12 villages. (Wikipedia). We go Wednesday and get home on Friday evening. Was at yoga again this evening, sweltering hot, but a great workout. Our instructor is the very best. Linda arrives in a week, next Tuesday, can’t wait.

May 19, 2012

Time going by so fast, Linda will be here in 9 days. Went to the Al Shati Beach again tonight, the water is so incredibly warm.  Stopped in for Indian food on the way home from school, the butter chicken was so great served with Chapati bread.  Last night after swimming we stopped for sharwmas (my spelling). They are a wrap made of a thin circular flat bread, with meat, vegetable, potatoes and sauce. They are so very good.  I fill my car up for about 3.8 Rials ($9.00) and drive it for 2 weeks.  My Proton Gen X has proven to a nice little car after all. It costs me 160 Rials a month., but you just can’t have a comfortable life here without a car. We are on the out skirts of town and there is no transit or bus system.

The weather is getting more humid, which makes it seem hotter. Today was about 38 but it was humid so it felt a lot hotter. Classrooms are very comfortable with the AC cranked to 16-18. Planning a weekend trip this weekend, we will go about 6 hours down the coast to the South.

Date Palms

May 17, 2012

Finally was able to get my hair cut. Not as good as what Jon MacNeil does but it will do. I spent the rest of the day doing report cards comments. I have 19 boys, and have to make comments for 3 areas. I am trying to write about 75 words per comment, so …… about 225 words per boy and these are hardest reports, just like October, for I am just really getting to know them.  I hate doing this so much, but so far I did 9 boys today. 10 left to do tomorrow. They are due the 30 of May but want to get them out of the way so I can have a decent weekend next weekend. 

View from bedroom window: Construction on a new mosque to the West. We are situated between two large sandunes. This is the West dune.

This is the project going on the North side.

View from bedroom window: This is a huge construction site to the West. It is just beside the Mosque.

May 16, 2012

Wednesday all over again, time flies, can’t believe it’s the ‘weekend’ again. Looks like we may have a holiday in June, that will be perfect timing, hope it is on a Saturday to make a long weekend when Linda is here.

Just arrived back from the Majan Beach. The water was wonderful and when snorkeling I saw several long thin fish, perhaps a meter or more long (trumpet fish I think), also saw the sea turtle. We were there for about 5 hours and got to see the phosphorescence in the water again. It is amazing, green sparks in the water.  Such a nice evening, we all bring some food, and sit around and swim. The air is still very warm so we aren’t cold when we get out. 

Fishermen at the beach