A Footnote to Our Trip to Oman and the UAE

By Joyce, on December 2nd, 2014

Sultan as a Sea to His People (although not necessarily to his hired help) We heard this phrase in both the UAE and in Oman. It generally refers to how the Sultan (aka, King) channels the country’s great wealth to its citizens to improve their lives and their children’s prospects. Certainly, the sultan and his [Read more …]

The Omani MountaIns: Nizwa, Jebel Shams and the Wadi Nakhr Gorge

By Joyce, on November 30th, 2014
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After the thrill of seeing turtles digging holes and little hatchlings running to the sea, we began the final leg of our Oman journey: a trip that took us up Wadi Bani Khalid Drive up the 3,000 meter Jebel Shams (the tallest mountain in the country) and into and through the beautiful Wadi Nakhr Gorge–plus [Read more …]

Digging with the Turtles at Ra’s Al Hadd Turtle Beach in Oman

By Joyce, on November 28th, 2014

We have always wanted to catch a first-hand glimpse of turtles laying eggs and hatching. We previously tried to catch them one night in Costa Rica, but the turtles weren’t cooperating that evening. In spite of spending 6 hours waiting in the visitor’s area for some action (we weren’t allowed to go to the beach [Read more …]

Driving Down Oman’s Coast

By Joyce, on November 25th, 2014
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The next two legs of our Oman trip, organized by Timeless Tours, generally followed the coast south of Muscat to the beach at the town of Ra’s Al Hadd. Although only 220 kilometers from Muscat, we spent most of the day driving south, generally paralleling the coast, but through mountains, many, many barren, rock-faced mountains, [Read more …]

Exploring Muscat Oman

By Joyce, on November 22nd, 2014
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  From Khasab Oman, we took a plane to our second stop in Oman: Muscat. Since our plane did not arrive in Muscat until early afternoon, and we had to leave early the next morning, our options were limited. Unfortunately, neither the Jalai and Mirani forts (16th century Portuguese) or the Sultan’s Palace are open [Read more …]

Oman: Musandam Peninsula and Khasab

By Joyce, on November 20th, 2014
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We made our way from Dubai to Oman, which is independent of the UAE (United Arab Emeritus). Oman is roughly the size of Kansas, but with much, much more variety. With its combination of oil, gold, minerals and fish, it is almost as wealthy as the UAE. Unlike Dubai and other areas, it [Read more …]