al Areesh Camp, Wahiba Sands

(the two bumps far in the distance just below the sign: two camels!)

Before I start, I just want to say that our shipment of personal belongings has FINALLY ARRIVED!! It's been almost 3 months that we have "camped out" here in Muscat. No, it has not been too unbearable--everything we could possibly want or need is here and we have bought things as we have needed them, but MAN it is great to have all the kids' books and toys, and Kai's bike, and my boards... And our house here is not bad at all: three bedroom three bath two story with a nice big kitchen and a blossoming garden in the back. Well anyway, so you know we're fine and comfy; ON WITH THE UPDATE!!

Jebel Shams got us really hooked on getting out and about into the countryside of Oman, so on Saturday, when we returned to school (remember: weekends here are Thurs. and Fri!), Shawna noticed a flyer for a weekend special to the Wahiba Desert; how could I refuse??!! We've been wanting to hit the desert ever since I skirted the northern perimeter of it on the way to the surf, and returned with an amazing description of what I only thought was the Wahiba; little did I know!

The Wahiba Sands is an expansive desert region in northeastern Oman. You'd think it was barren, but it abounds with people and wildlife. There are, of course,
camels

and goats, but there is an abundance of birds and invertebrates there, and even a species of monitor lizard! Not too many trees though...

Thursday, October 13
We met the tour group at the US Embassy. As it turns out, we went with five other embassy families, including one of the head honchos with the Army! (His wife and I have started a writers' group with 3 other expats, one a published poet and novelist who is British but has lived here for 25 years, and an Omani--The Wadi Writers! Catchy, huh?) The tour guide, Salem, is an Omani rep. with the US Embassy; he's a really nice guy.
We left at 1 p.m. for the two hour drive to the camp, which, incidentally, is on the northern outskirts of the Sands. Along the way, we drove through the twisty, windy Wadi Mansah, a 40 km drive through the Western tip of the Eastern Al Hajar Ash Sharqi Mountains. If I had not been driving, I'd probably have been sick from all the twists and turns and rises and falls. We arrived to the Wahiba at about 3:30, after two brief stops.
Entering the Sands is amazing--the dunes rise up from the desert floor; there are dunes there with peaks of 300 meters! The perimeter is essentially a giant wall of sand through which we entered via a small pass. The dunes are hard to fathom.




At about 4:30, as the group was settling in, Salem (the owner and guide) rallied everyone who wanted to go dune bashing, taking the 4x4 vehicles through the dunes. Shawna did not think it would have been good for the kids (it turned out to not be so bad!), so she said I could go. I don't think Kai would have wanted to go in the first place--it was his first time to get to "surf" since we left Galveston (sorry, no pix coming down the "wave!):


Kai and Emma with my student, Elise:



Shawna and the kids relaxing while I bash some of the Wahiba!


What an experience! One of the families there was the Withers family, an embassy family whose oldest duaghter is in my AP 11th English class. So, I loaded up with her, her dad, Don, and some others, and we all hit the dunes! I could go into lengthy detail about the drive, but see the pix and use your imagination! Just know that I knew when the fun drops were coming when I could see the entire under carriage of the car infront of us!!

Overlooking the flatlands.



Top of the Wahiba!





The Final Descent--HOW STEEP IS IT? (and how far...)



Going Down...





We returned to camp after sunset, just in time for a delicious Iftar dinner.

A brief sidebar: Ramadan is the holy month for Muslims; it is based on the lunar calendar and is 11 days earlier every year. During this time, practicing Muslims fast all day; refraining from food AND water! (The devout do not even swallow their spit!) They do this as an inner and outward purging of their bodies: inward in that they "suffer" and can better understand the idea of sacrifice; outward as a way to symbolize their faith. They abstain from sex and practice a more peaceful lifestyle by choosing forgiveness and humility in times that may provoke anger. They wake up at 4 a.m., two hours before the daily fast is called, and eat breakfast. Then, at 6 p.m., they have the breaking of the fast with "Iftar" which is a huge multi-course affair.
After dinner, Kai and Emma played with Salem's two sons and all the other kids who went on the tour, and we finally went to bed to prepare for the next morning: Camel riding!

Friday, October 14
Emma, as usual, awoke at 5:30, and I took the opportunity to grab some coffee (mmmmmm, the kahla here is fantastic!) and nab some shots of her in the pre-dawn light:

Emma of the Sands!!





After a hearty breakfast (generous to westerners during fasting!), we went to the bottom of the hill that camp was based on and woke up the Bedouin boys who were offering the camel rides. Kai went nuts. Shawna and I EACH had to ride with Kai so he would be satisfied; Emma would not have any of it--she was too enthralled by the Bedouin women and their goods for sale:


Shawna, Kai, and the Camel





And... Brady, Kai, and the Camel





Emma, trying to "haggle a deal"


After a fun morning, we opted to skip the extension tour to Wadi Bani Khalid, an oasis swimming pool deep in the Hajar Ash Mountains but only another 45 minutes from where we were, and headed home.

We're hooked on the outings here. Just think for a moment: I've surfed waves that have rivaled anything I have caught anywhere in my life, we've seen the top of Oman, and we've bashed and surfed dunes in the desert--ALL within 4 hours from our house. We were planning a trip to Sri Lanka over Eid (the end of Ramadan and the Muslim Christmas), but we've decided to scout around here some more and save Sri Lanka for winter break (planning a 10 day outing there--great surf and mountains), and that's only a 5 hour flight! After all we've seen so far, creative inspiration is flooding out of both of us! I cannot stop writing and Shawna can't wait to get back into photography now that she has time. And we've still only scratched the surface of Oman.
Take care and I'll update you soon. I'm just realizing as I write that you have not even seen our house yet! Well, PICTURES TO COME! Stay tuned...