Teacherinegypt: 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.