Desert, castle, wadi’s and turtles

Sharqiya Sands / Wahiba Sands Oman, Oman

Sharquiya Sands, Old Castle Museum, Wadi’s & Turtles, wooden boat yard and an Omani wedding.

The past 4 days have been full of adventure and learning more about the culture in Oman.

As you can see by the title of this blog there were many experiences I encountered in the past 4 days. To tell you the truth I’m a little on the tired side this morning.

I did go to an Omani wedding on Wednesday night which is nothing like an American wedding. I will not write about that experience at this time because I still have more questions about what I saw and didn’t see to understand the whole process before I cover a traditional Omani wedding.

Thursday morning Shira and I took off through the chocolate colored mountains of Oman and headed into the desert where we met up with Stewart, David and others. I followed the directions, using WAzE which seems better out here than Google maps. We had anticipated a 3 hour drive. We left earlier so we’d have time to stop in villages. About an hour into the drive, Shira looks at WAZE and it said we had 200 plus miles to go. I was driving and said, “how in the hell did that happen”! To make a long story short we missed an important turn that was not announced on WAZE. Now, WAZE does not look so good to us.

The directions to the meeting place to go to the camp were very specific and we were supposed to be there at an exact time. Not to be late. If we were going to be late we needed to call. Shira began calling the camp but had a hard time getting through due to little reception. I’m hauling ass down the highway getting a major kick out the the camels on the sides of the road like we’d see deer in Maine. Because there are no trees or hills there’s a continuous vista view. Goats, mules and camels is what we saw. Back to the stress we were encountering. Shira finally got a hold of the camp, Stewart and David had questions like Why is it taking you so long? Thankfully the connections were bad enough that we couldn’t get into the reason why. tee heee! I was thinking, because I’m an idiot.

While rushing as fast as possible we ended up in a town where there were many turns. (A bit of information you need to know about driving in Oman. There are no streets signs here.) We were not sure which way to go so we pulled into a shopping truck stop, gas place. And began to ask how to get to Al Wasil. Luckily we asked a young man who spoke English and lived near the our destination. We told him how we needed to be there by a specific time and were in a rush. He understood and said follow me I’ll get you out of town and show you the way. We did as told. After we got out the town he pulled over and he and another young man came over and asked for paper and pen. They then wrote in English short cut directions and drew a map for us. These directions did cut off a lot of time and we ended up only 15 minutes late, not too bad. YEW!!

We followed a caravan into the desert to our destination. The camp is called Nomadic Desert Camp and is run by a Bedouin family. Father, sons and cousins for over 20 years operating one of the first desert camps in Oman. They are very gracious hosts. We met all the others who we’d be sharing the night with and they were from France, Switzerland, Germany. We caravanned further into the desert where we walked up into the sand dunes. The host suggested we do not wear shoes. That was perfect. The sand was so soft, not hot and it was wonderful to be barefoot. Everyone found a place of their choice to sit and watch the sun set to the west while the full moon was up to the east. The wind decided to pick up as the sun went down and it did get a little chilly. We all began to descend down to our cars and were greeted with a small camp fire where tea and dates were served. Back to the camp for a great Omani dinner and a campfire. Stewart and I slept well that night, it was the first cool night we had for a long, long time.

I got up around 5:30 am and it was chilly I was glad I had brought my light weight down jacket, and a scarf to wear. I walked up onto the sand dunes while it was still dark looking out onto the horizon. The desert is magical with its simplicity, the terrain goes beyond where the eyes can see. It’s so quiet except for the sounds of the wind. A good place to be alone with oneself. As the sun rose people stirred and a camp fire was ablaze.Bread was cooked on a bed of coals and breakfast was fruit, hard boiled eggs, yogurt some sort of vegetable masala, humus,coffee, tea and assorted fruit juice. Everything was very good… Then it was time for a camel ride.
The ride was for 20 minutes and I was glad it wasn’t any longer. The camels were well behaved no spitting or rejections from them. I am still a little sore from the ride 2 days later. It’s a slow bumpy ride as with every step they lift each leg one by one and their big flat hooves sink into the soft sand. It was fun being up high over the sand and looking out into the horizon. At one point I noticed my shadow and started clicking my camera which now has become a permanent fixture on my body.

This camp site was rustic and perfect for a stay in the desert. I was glad there was no electricity so the night sky was not disturbed. And the only sounds heard were the wind and crackling of the fire.The facilities were better than I had anticipated. To use the toilet I opened a wooden door and stepped on to a sandy floor that opened to the sky. There was a clean squat porcelain basin to use with a hose…. it worked well and it didn’t smell. The shower was a tiled room and clean but it was cold water.

I loved the seating areas and fabrics that were used for the pillows to sit on and the rugs hanging on the walls. It made it an inviting space to sit and relax and to visit with other guests while looking out onto the dunes. I was very comfortable there and would go back.

We ended our time there shaking hands and saying Shukran (thank you). I find when I place my hand over my heart while saying shukran, it’s my way of saying a heart felt thank you). We nodded our heads to one another with big smiles and off into the horizon we went.

We drove through the desert to find our way to the next destination to Wadi Bani Khalid, (say that fast 3 times) A wadi is like a dried up river bed which is created by heavy rains during the rainy season. This wadi is unique due to the fact there are these natural pools of turquoise colored water, caves and falls. People were swimming in the pools of water. We stopped and dangled our feet in the water it was warm and I could feel the minerals. I’d love to go back and float in this most beautiful blue water. When looking at my photos of the water they have not been photo shopped so you can see the real color. We all would have liked to visit the village of Bidah known for red – skinned bananas. This village looked like the village my friend Mohammed lives in.

Stewart and David had come across a small castle museum and met the owner, Khalfan Al Hashmi, who lives there. They wanted us to meet him. He has made the castle into a museum and has purchased all the items and created these wonderful displays himself. To get to this castle we drove through this really narrow passage into an opening and parked beside the castle. We knocked on the door and this little door opens with this lovely lady greeting us with a smile and she says, “I will open big door”. When the door opens we are looking at the court yard of this wonderful castle. This lovely lady gave us a tour of each room and explained to us many of the items on the walls and shelves. We walked into this small room with 3 steps that lead to a falaj flowing through, where feet are washed before prayer.The photos will explain the museum better than words. After our tour the owner Khalfan arrived and he insisted we sit and have tea and dates with him, which we did. He is a high energy person with a vision. It was really a cool experience to sit in the court yard of a castle and watch the pigeons fly around and listen to their cooing. We had a wonderful visit. I would like to see him again.

The next stop was to have lunch. I haven’t talked much about food in these blogs that should be a blog of its own. But I have to mention this one. Stewart and David had been here and knew it was good. When we drove up to it I thought to myself, this looks like a dive. We walk in and there is nothing special about the place. We order the food and it looked ok. But it was very good. I had chicken masala. While there I could see the baker in the next room, he baked up some fresh Omani bread for us. He had a sparkle in his eyes and at one point when he looked at me I did a thumbs up to him. He smiled big at me. I asked if I could take a photo, he loved the idea and invited me to his bakery. He put on a clean apron and posed beside his oven that was very hot. I took a few photos, we chatted a few minutes and I went back to our table. Stewart had broken his sunglasses earlier in the day and the only tape he could find to tape them together was green so they looked ridiculous and kept falling apart. This baker noticed them on our table came over, put them on and everyone started laughing he was so funny. He had a great since of humor. We left full and happy.

Next stop was the refuge Stewart and David are working at. We got to see the little gazelles and meet some of the people they work with and then took off to our next destination, Sur, Oman. We had plans to go see the sea turtles at another reserve Stewart and David have worked at called Ras Al Jinz Nature and turtle Reserve. This reserve has one of the largest populations of sea turtle nesting areas in the world . To make a long story short we did see a huge sea turtle, it had dug its nest but did not lay eggs and went back into the ocean. We did see two little young turtles that had hatched from a nest further down the beach and watched them go into the ocean. Since bright lights are not allowed I did not bring my camera. The moon was full and we could see it all with no problem, it was a pretty cool sight to see. The beaches are remarkable. I would like to go back there in daylight.

Before we left Sur we visited a boatyard where they are making a large wooden boat called a Dhow. The wood came from Africa.

The last stop before heading back to Muscat was at Wadi Ash Shab. This was an hour hike through a rocky limestone canyon, cliffs and small oasis along the wadi. The pools are inviting to swim in, we soaked our feet and rested for awhile and watched others swim.
The photos will tell the story.