Sultan of Oman.
If I remember correctly, this is also the port from which "Captain Phillips"
departed on his way to Kenya before being hi-jacked along the coast of
Somalia.
The first stop of the tour was a stop at a souk and to learn about the many
uses of frankincense which really got my allergies going! Here I came upon
traditional robes for children and purchased some for our dining servers two
boys - they were so cute.
Next up was a visit to the archaeological site of Al-Baled. There was also a
museum with artifacts found and information about the region. Then, the
archeological site of Khor Rori Creek.
We then went to a fishing village. If one wants to be a fisherman, the
government will provide (free of charge) a boat with a motor and nearby
living accommodations. The sardines are starting to come in and during high
season, can scoop them up just by wading out knee high in the surf. They are
so plentiful that they also use the sardines for feed for their livestock
and camels, and for fertilizer.
The beaches are beautiful, but for the most part deserted. The only place we
saw people using the beaches they were foreigners at the Crown Plaza Hotel,
where we had lunch.
The last stop was to Mughsail beach (again, deserted).
Along the way our guide pointed out caves, that people were still living in
up until the early 70s.
I noticed that many were driving large, gas-guzzling vehicles and so I asked
if gasoline was inexpensive here. I was told that it is actually expensive -
the equivalent of 25 cents per gallon for regular and 50 cents per gallon
for premium (he told me that in other countries over here it is even
cheaper).
I saw my first camels here today. Supposedly there are more camels in
Australia, but here, there are no wild camels, every camel has an owner. In
addition to their many uses, they also milk the animals and eat their meat.
Don't know if I will be trying that.
Next up, another sea day, then two days in the city of Muscat.
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