"Yes We Can"--Have More Consistent Blogging

Masirah Island, Oman. Sunrise.


That's right, I'm going for it. I just spent the last four days in gastrointestinal Hades, and during one of my dehydration-induced delusions, I promised the person hovering over me--couldn't tell who he was, but he looked familiar, almost famous, spoke to me, but not for a very long time; it looked cold where he was standing, and crowded--that I was going to DO MORE, because I COULD. SO I am.

This is actually a completion blog to completely catch you up to date with us.


December 2008, After Christmas

Masirah Island, Oman
So we decided to FINALLY make the 12 km ferry ride over to this desert (go figure) island off the central Arabian Sea coastline of Oman. The ferry is a crap shoot--we've heard daunting tales of hours spent at ferry landings, ferrys sticking on sandbars at low tide, and slightly overzealous drivers fighting for a spot on the boat. Ahh, life is an adventure for us though, and it turned out fine for the most part (1 1/2 hour ferry experience going to Masirah, 3 1/2 hour return). However, it was well-worth the effort:


Home Away from Home



Up One Way...


Down the other--NOT A SOUL FOR 2 1/2 DAYS.


A Fleet of Omani Fishing Dhows








As a sidenote, I did take a board "just in case", but alas, when I DID find a wave, the tide was receding so rapidly that I knew I would not be able to surf this little point. It was a verrrry long wave, breaking over almost totally exposed limestone rocks. Bigger waves (about 1 1/2 foot faces) were easily 100 yards long.


Looking for the "Green Flash!" Emma swore she saw it; nobody else saw it.











How do you pass 3 1/2 hours on a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride? READ!!




New Years Day, 2009

We spent New Year's night at a desert camp with some friends (sorry, no pics). Re-entering civilization, we stopped at an old Omani fort that had been renovated not so long ago. We had lunch in there (funny, it was a museum, but the curator no problems!), Omani style: on a mat we brought in, on the floor in a corner of the open-air courtyard.

Mintarib Fort



















This is in a corridor in the fort. I don't know what it is--the lighting, the candid I happened to catch when I stopped and said "HEY, LOOK!", the colors, whatever--but I like this shot. Hope you do too.









One of the highlights of the year so far has been the 2009 Arabian Cup Championships, hosted by Oman and held right across a wadi and over a hill from school, in Sultan Qaboos Stadium. We were actually able to get in to watch Oman pummel Iraq, but had to watch the rest of the tournament on t.v. Oman ended up winning the tournament, beating Saudi Arabia (4 time World Cup qualifiers!) 6-5 in a shoot-out after double overtime. Here are some shots:
















But that is not the biggest event I wanted to share. This is:


THE FIRST TOOTH GONE!!!

It had been loose for a while, tempting the biologist to extricate it, but it was a bite out of a cheese stick tonight at the dinner table that plucked Kai's first loose tooth cleanly from his gums!!

Emma thought it was "AWESOME!!"




Don't get used to the frequency, but I'll see what New Year's resolutions I can actually stick to this year, consistent blogging being one of them (unless you consider once a year consistent). Ma salaam a.

The MUCH Demanded For Blog Update

(I AM Four-Year-Old; Hear me ROAR!)

Ok, Ok...so I'm not the best blog-keeper. I admit my faults. SO I'll save you the effort of having to read all of my writing and share with you August through December of '08 with minimal commentary...(all of you can express resounding sighs of relief since I won't be able to hear you anyway...):

August
A hidden beach full of sea turtle nests (camped on a ridge above the beach and saw dozens of turtles nesting at night!)


















September

Camping on one of our favorite beaches (about to be full of resort hotels--we're getting it while the gettin' is good)















TINA(Turtle In Need of Assistance--Shawna coined the name!) the turtle Shawna was an integral part of rehabbing (160 kilo green sea turtle found sick and with gas in her shell, not allowing her to submerge. She was successfully released at the end of November!! Good Luck TINA!!)





October (NOW we start to get busy!)
Kai starts little league soccer:



Note the goalie gloves on Kai--he loves "tackling the ball"!!
















Halloween:

The Ghost and the Mermaid!


November:

A morning hike just up the road (Wadi Sa'al):



This is a shepherd's hovel we found tucked away in an overhang in the wall of the wadi.























National Day (Oman throws a party for my Birthday--actually the Sultan's b-day is Nov. 18)
Camping in on a hidden Tiwi beach: (note the red tinge to the water--we had red tide from the beginning of October all the way into January! The worst case I have ever seen; the water looked like fresh brewed ice tea and smelled like the death it was)



We also had an incredible experience swimming up Wadi Shab through a keyhole into a cave; alas, our camera is NOT waterproof, so no shots. It was a 300 yard or so swim walk. I include this to say that Kai made the whole swim with minimal assistance!!


December

Dubai, we finally made the border-cross to the UAE. Malls and skyscrapers and more malls and superfluity and gross excess. But Ski Dubai was fun--keep pumpin' fuel into those good ol' gas-guzzlers!! It pays for the world's largest deep freeze--it was a constant -6 C (21 F).

(Ski Dubai is that big tube-thingy shooting up through the middle of the picture, in front of the new tallest building in the world...)

Inside the "Big Fridge":


It was very weird to see shoppers in shorts and sleeveless shirts gawking at us!!
















We also took a trip to Masirah Island, which I want to include in a separate blog--it was amazing!!

One last note, as I compose this, a MAGNIFICIENT rainstorm is filling streets and flushing wadis! It's the first time in a year that we have had rain here. Funny how everything looks brighter when all of the dust is washed away!!!

Stay tuned! The camera is filling up again and I will try to be more consistent with this blog.