A good rather intensely chalked out week still wouldn't let you solve the problem. There is so much to see, so much to settle in, that a week let me tell you just ain't enough.
I've been in the cold desert since Friday. I don't need air- conditioning to keep me warm. The only suede-like quilt I have does not do its job, rightfully so. The floor tiles at home can't be touched with your bare feet. Its that cold! My cat has been ousted to the balcony with net fencing. She sleeps in a rather worn out cardboard box with some kind of thermocol look alike bed, thrown in with newspapers for comfort. She appears to like it there so much, that even when I let her into the living room, she looks about, smells the furniture and abruptly steps out, takes a whiff of the cold cold air, and snuggles back into her 'home'.
Apart from sleeping like a baby, I've been snorkeling. At this point, I feel like starting an entirely new blog just on adventures! Oman, let me tell you is a wonderful wonderful place!
The diving spots one finds here, are not only the most beautiful in the world, but also some of the rarest. I checked in myself with the Oman Diving Center, for their Diving and Snorkeling expeditions, that happen daily. We started out at 8 in the morning, when the temperature was about 23 degrees Celsius. My group consisted of two Omani instructors, a French couple and me for snorkeling, a German lady diver, a British diver and professional cyclist from Belgium, [who was here for the Tour of Oman, which you can look for HERE], who dives in his spare time. So we set out first to the Novice Bay that can be reached by boat in about 20 minutes after the Shangrila Hotel. The divers jumped in first with the tanks and fins and what not. I just watched them with awe, and a little envy. [I've been told I can't take my course cos I am flying too soon]. The boat then carried us snorkel-ers to the other side of Novice Bay. No word can describe what you see under this world. The belly of this country is beyond the most beautiful emotion.Schools of fish would just sprout out , and I suspect I saw The Emperor Angel Fish, the Sunset Wrasse, and the Blue and Yellow Grouper. Thankfully, none of the cartilaginous ones. The French woman saw a turtle and shouted out to us, but I missed it by the time I reached her side. Oman harbors all sorts of turtles and is quite famous in fact for protecting these almost endangered species. In fact apparently the kinds of turtles found here include: Green Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, Olive Ridley Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, and the visiting Leatherback Turtle.
Anywee, After almost an hour and a half of exploring the Novice Bay, and being very aware of the Black sea Urchins with their thorny protein infested porcupine like spikes strewn around everywhere, we managed to get back on board and moved onto the Turtle Bay. But the sea became turbulent and we moved onto the calmer area called the 'Badar Hiran' [NOT Iran as the second instructor kept insisting!] or something. The waters were by then murky, although I suspect I saw what they call a sea horse! A few more hours later, we landed back on shore, chit chatted a bit and ended up going our separate ways. I still can't get the breathing polyps out of my head, the colors, the structuring of the reefs, and their succulent life, a life so different, so vibrant, it was almost like meditation. I guess it changes you. A bit.
I've been in the cold desert since Friday. I don't need air- conditioning to keep me warm. The only suede-like quilt I have does not do its job, rightfully so. The floor tiles at home can't be touched with your bare feet. Its that cold! My cat has been ousted to the balcony with net fencing. She sleeps in a rather worn out cardboard box with some kind of thermocol look alike bed, thrown in with newspapers for comfort. She appears to like it there so much, that even when I let her into the living room, she looks about, smells the furniture and abruptly steps out, takes a whiff of the cold cold air, and snuggles back into her 'home'.
Apart from sleeping like a baby, I've been snorkeling. At this point, I feel like starting an entirely new blog just on adventures! Oman, let me tell you is a wonderful wonderful place!
The diving spots one finds here, are not only the most beautiful in the world, but also some of the rarest. I checked in myself with the Oman Diving Center, for their Diving and Snorkeling expeditions, that happen daily. We started out at 8 in the morning, when the temperature was about 23 degrees Celsius. My group consisted of two Omani instructors, a French couple and me for snorkeling, a German lady diver, a British diver and professional cyclist from Belgium, [who was here for the Tour of Oman, which you can look for HERE], who dives in his spare time. So we set out first to the Novice Bay that can be reached by boat in about 20 minutes after the Shangrila Hotel. The divers jumped in first with the tanks and fins and what not. I just watched them with awe, and a little envy. [I've been told I can't take my course cos I am flying too soon]. The boat then carried us snorkel-ers to the other side of Novice Bay. No word can describe what you see under this world. The belly of this country is beyond the most beautiful emotion.Schools of fish would just sprout out , and I suspect I saw The Emperor Angel Fish, the Sunset Wrasse, and the Blue and Yellow Grouper. Thankfully, none of the cartilaginous ones. The French woman saw a turtle and shouted out to us, but I missed it by the time I reached her side. Oman harbors all sorts of turtles and is quite famous in fact for protecting these almost endangered species. In fact apparently the kinds of turtles found here include: Green Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, Olive Ridley Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, and the visiting Leatherback Turtle.
Anywee, After almost an hour and a half of exploring the Novice Bay, and being very aware of the Black sea Urchins with their thorny protein infested porcupine like spikes strewn around everywhere, we managed to get back on board and moved onto the Turtle Bay. But the sea became turbulent and we moved onto the calmer area called the 'Badar Hiran' [NOT Iran as the second instructor kept insisting!] or something. The waters were by then murky, although I suspect I saw what they call a sea horse! A few more hours later, we landed back on shore, chit chatted a bit and ended up going our separate ways. I still can't get the breathing polyps out of my head, the colors, the structuring of the reefs, and their succulent life, a life so different, so vibrant, it was almost like meditation. I guess it changes you. A bit.
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