Joel & Tina in Oman

God Save the Queen

2010-08-20T22:00:00.014+04:00

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford"

- Samuel Johnson (poet and writer 1709 - 1784)

We left Istanbul with one eye on our final destination, Vancouver, and the other on our next short stop - London. We were hoping to meet our good friends Matt, Cora and little Frank but sadly they were out of town but kindly let us use their house.

Upon arrival we made our way out to their area of town and bumbled our way out of the tube at 11pm that evening. Emerging out onto the streets of London we were first hit by the cool northern air and then by the sudden re-entry into "western culture". Within steps of the station, with backpacks on, we bumped into a group of three exiting the local pub. Being fairly inebriated one of them quickly watered down the wall of a nearby building while the other two started to get to know each other a little better. Classy.

Following Matt's directions we made to their friends place, received a map and keys and marched on to their new home. Their home is located in a very attractive, leafy area of the city and the home itself is complete with garden and large yard. We were tempted to extend our stay as squatters in the backyard but wisely decided against it.

(Iconic symbols of London)

(London from the eye - did Joel sniff glue?)

Both of us were excited to be here as Joel had enjoyed London previously and Tina had yet to spend any length of time in this great city. After a night spent practicing our English accents and inserting phrases like "bloody hell", "jolly good" and "cheerio" into our vernacular we were ready. For some reason most Londoners looked at us like idiots when we tried out our new lingo. Bloody hell.

(Tower Bridge)

(St Paul emerging on the Thame's shore)

We spent the first day checking out the most popular sites of London town. We started at the photogenic Westminster combination of the Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. A walk across the Thames and we were on the South Bank where we strolled the next few hours. Clouds and intermittent rain welcomed us this day and we were glad to have it. We wore jackets and pants for the first time in many months and actually enjoyed it. That'll wear off quick.

(Does it get more "London")

(Looking over the Thames from millenium bridge)

A stop at the Tate Modern where Joel again faked interest for a few hours. A remarkable collection of work , it was a nice place to shelter from the summer rains, people watch and appear cultured while exiting.

Crossing back over the northern side we checked out the stoic St. Paul's cathedral, sucked down a tall Pims (Joel's man points were lost), fought the mobs at Buckingham palace, chased massive ducks in the park and ended our day with a curry on Brick Lane.

(Nice hat)

(part of Buckingham's surroundings)

Having done enough of the site-seeing we started our final day of travel by taking in the different market areas around London. Taking into account the relative strength of the Pound and weakness of our wallets it was more window shopping then anything else but a great way to take in the air of the different areas of this impressive city. Jolly good.

While seemingly half the city's summer population appears to be tourists like us, London has several layers of intrigue. Romanticized in both literature and popular culture, everywhere you turn is another moment that grabs your attention. Part of this allure is the theater district of London.

We decided to spend our final night of travel in the Apollo Victoria Theater watching "Wicked". It was such a fun performance and was a perfect way to end such an enjoyable and enriching three years of our lives. Good on ya London.

(Picadilly Circus - where are the clowns?)

(The other side of Oz)

An early train ride out to the airport and we were on our way to our new lives in Canada. We have tremendous appreciation of our time in Oman and the travel that it allowed. We are sure that this experience will help us as we re-settle in Vancouver.

Hello/Bonjour Canada!

Turkey Delights!

2010-08-01T22:45:00.027+04:00

"Gorunen koy kilavuz istemez". translation: "The one who enters a Turkish bath sweats".

(Used to point out that one's actions detemine the consequences and therefore one should not complain about them later.)

~Turkish Proverb

(Pictures: Aya Sophia and inside the Aya Sophia)

Making our way up through the Middle East we were ready to start our slow transition back to Western cultures. Sitting at the meeting points of the "east" and "west" Turkey figured to be the perfect launching pad to the next stage in our lives.

Arriving at the border was a smooth and orderly affair. The only hiccup was that in the line-up for passport control a "number 2" sat on the ground. Seriously. The painfully slow line of people discreetly examined the intruder followed by a customs guard breaking off a Turkish conversation to say in perfect english, "what is that!". As far as entries into a country this had to be on the low end. It had to get better from here. It did.

(Pictures: Entrance to Topkapi Palace, Sultan's Harem Room)

Joel's parents had traveled through Turkey 40 years ago and spoke glowingly about thier experiences here. As they traveled from north to south they recalled Istanbul being a gateway to the Middle East and North Africa. For us coming in the opposite direction it's our re-entry into Europe. Cobble stone roads, tramways, a language using Roman letters, these were all comforts that we didn't realized appealed to us so much. The "Europeness" of Instanbul is unquestionable but the influence of Central Asia and Russia are instantly reconizable. Combined with the Arabic and Islamic inprint on society makes for a facinating cultural mixture.

Aside from having one of the greatest skylines in the world, possessing the waters of Europe and Asia lapping at it's shores and boasting a cosmopolitan city infinitley proud of itself Istanbul seems extremely liveable. Within hours of our arrival Tina decided that this was a place we could live. Maybe not soon, but it seems very appealing.

(Pictures: The Blue Mosque)

Just wandering around the streets of the city you can't help but stumble upon the remnants of the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Turkish civilizations. Standing at the Aya Sofia reminded us of being at the Taj Mahal in Delhi or Winter Palace in St. Petersburg - it's a human creation that is truly stunning. Walking inside felt like touring a functional piece of art. Along with the fantastic aestetics, the history of the building flipping from mosque/church/museum echoed the history of the country underlining its importance as an embassador of Turkey.

Highlights of the city not to be missed are the Blue Mosque, Palace, and underground cistern. The only drawback of course is that the rest of Europe already knows this. This is the first place in the last three years of living and travelling that we have been overwhelmed by tourists. We surely aren't blazing a new trail here but it's incredibly impressive.

(Pictures: Underground Cistern and Medusa Head Pedestal in the Cistern)

(Picture: Spice Market, Istanbul)

After a few days in Istanbul we had to pry ourselves away to see other parts of the country. We had our sites on the cave dwelling villages set in the region of Cappadoccia in Central Anatolia.

During the Roman and Byzantine times Christians settled in this region to protect themselves from persecution. The towering pillars of limestone were large enough and soft enough to allow these people to bury there homes inside of the rocks. Whole communities lived in these rocks creating homes, churches, monasteries and schools that would do Barney Rubble proud. Presently the towns are still inhabited but the caves are used for travellers to stay in. An unforgetable experience.

(Breathtaking Cappadocia Landscape)

(Pictures: Goreme Open Air Museum and Painted ceiling within Cave Churches)

We spent several days exploring the region hiking through the valleys and taking trips to neighbouring communities. In these trips we found incredibly detailed frescoes on the walls of cave monasteries, detailed rock embedded communities and entire underground cities.

We took a trip to see an underground city that plunged 8 floors beneath the earth's surface. This city included living quarters, animal quarters, schools, monasteries, kitchens and eating areas. It was capable of holding a population of 5000 people at any one time. The Christians lived in these underground cities when under threat from invading armies and a system of warning lights relayed this danger from as far as Jerusalem. This trip was one of the few times that Joel celebrated his vertically challenged build.

(Picture: Pigeon Valley)

(Picture: Hiking in the Ilhara Valley)

We planned to stay only a few days but extended our stay to both gain an appreciation of this "Star Wars" setting and take a few days to relax. We met some interesting travellers during these days and boarded the bus still gazing out the windows in wonder.

(Picture of other people taking balloon rides in Goreme)

With our departure time quickly looming we returned to Istanbul to experience some of her real pleasure - nightlife, a Bosphorus cruise and a day in a Hammam (a Turkish Bath). A good travel friend from Asia put us in contact with her relatives here and they kindly took us out in Istanbul. For a couple that are often in bed before 10pm this was a scary proposition. The evening was eye opening in that the country is 95% Muslim but this night was nothing like the evenings of juice sipping and sheesha smoking on the 'wild streets' of Muscat. Our hosts discussed this with us and explained that this proves a point of contention in regional affairs. Fun to see so many people (including ourselves) having such a good time.

In the morning we headed to one of the oldest Hammams in Istanbul. Neither of us were particularily looking forward to the event but when in Constantinople....

We've been married for about 6 months and Joel now admits that Tina has competition - he's old, fat, Turkish and doesn't speak a lick of english. But for an afternoon he tossed Joel all over a hot stone slab, grunting inaudible instructions, looking scornfully and scrubbing 30 years of dirt off him. The fact that he splashed soap in Joel's eyes causing him to flail miserably in pain did little to deflate the love.

(Picture: Taksim Square, Istanbul)

(Picture: Bosphorus River Cruising)

(Picture: Cemberitas Hammam in Istanbul)

As we prepare to leave Instanbul if any of you are thinking of travelling to Turkey we greatly encourage you to do so. It's no secret but you can't blame a great destination for being popular. The mix of cultures, histories and current political changes make it far more interesting than merely the terrific sites that it offers.

This stop has suitably started "westernizing" us and our next stop will ensure our Engish is up to par.

London's calling...

The Promised Land

2010-07-20T20:10:00.012+04:00

"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

~Albert Einstein

(Jerusalem Old City from the Mount of Olives)

For several years one of Joel's travelling goals was to set foot in "The Holy Land". Tina was in it for the Hummous. Regardless of your religious persuasions it certainly is the center of our world's politics and history. This intriguing combination of religion, politics and history promised an interesting trip.

We started the journey by travelling through Jordan and attempting to cross the border near the Dead Sea over the King Hussein/ Allenby Bridge. I write "attempting" as this is a very difficult process with tight security and the very real possibility of being sent back. Given our time in the region we have collected some stamps that are undesirable in the Jewish State of Israel (as is also tru in the reverse).

The process was long and surprisingly chaotic with plenty of lines and checks, and lines and checks until finally we got to the border gate. At this gate we waited a long time and got to know some of the others in the line. One story sticks out:

A guy about our age was travelling from Jordan to Ramallah with his elderly parents to his engagement party. His wife to be is Palestinian and many of her family would not be permitted to travel to Jordan for the wedding later that week, thus they decided to hold the engagement in the West Bank. Therefore his parents must make the trip today so they could be engaged in the traditional manner. He told us the last time he tried to get through here he was forced to wait 11.5 hours until they let him through. His parents were of moderate health and were not doing very well as the wait progressed.

His father explained that he is Palestinian but worked as a labourer in Kuwait when the war of 1967 happened. He lost everything and was unable to return. He was granted assylum into Canada. He now lives in Jordan but said Palestine is still his home.

Finally, when they got their turn ahead of us they were told "no". No explaination was provided but if they did cross they would stamp his parents passorts (not done previously) and they would be unable to return. Just like that the engagement event couldn't happen.

At this time we also got sent to the waiting room and denied immediate entry. As we waited an hour or two a few phone calls were made and he was finally allowed to cross with his parents. He was very gracious but told us quietly that considering his parents being there and having to tell her family that he was "humiliated" by this ordeal. An interesting look into how politics effects the everyday lives of people in the region.

Soon we as well were granted entry and off we went on the road to Jerusalem.

(Picture: Jeruselam- Wailing Wall during Shabat/Temple Mount )

(Picture: The Western Wall aka The Wailing Wall)

(Picture: Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount)

(Picture: View from wall of the Old City)

Walking the streets of Jerusalem's old city was something we'd always dreamed of doing and it did not disappoint. With the spirituality of three of the most popular montheastic religions, their holiest sites, and the climate of occupation the streets are absolutely alive.

Arriving at sunset on Friday (Shabbat) we headed straight for the holiest of Jewish sites - The Wailing or Western Wall. Having no prior exposure to this religion Joel was wide eyed at the orthodox clothing and system of Torah recital at the wall. The area was completely packed with worshipers praying, singing, dancing and reading from the Torah. What an introduction.

On our first full day in this magical town we arrived early at Temple Mount. This site is the third holiest site in the world in Islam and without question the most photo-genic structure in the city. The Dome of the Rock marks the position that Abraham was meant to slay his son and where Mohammed ascended to heaven alongside Allah. Either way, it's really is jaw dropping.

After leaving Temple Mount we walked the stations of the cross. Many a Sunday growing up the pictures of the stations on his church wall were the last things Joel saw before he dozed off. On this day we had the privilage of walking this route. In a city teeming with pilgrims an Italian group walked with us carried a cross, sang, chanted and added a great deal to the atmosphere. The stations end at The Church of Holy Sepulchure - where Jesus died on the cross. Regardless of your thoughts of religion to walk the steps of this historical event was very impactful.

(Via Deloroso - Stations of the Cross)

(Picture: Church of the Holy Sepulchre)

The next day we set out for the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Going across to the West Bank requires crossing the separation wall. This is a wall that Israel has built around the Palestinian territories. It's shocking. hundreds of km's of concrete wall stretches around the country with look out towers throughout. To pass through is similar to crossing a border with papers presented and bags checked. We had tea with some young guys in the West Bank that day and they had never been allowed beyond the walls. Israel claims it needs the wall for protection, Palestine claims that the wall is designed to break their will and refer to it as the Aparteid Wall. Either way it's bewildering that it's come to this. There is graffitti covering the Palestinian side and we walked along the wall read some of the work.

Walking the small alleys of the town of Jesus' birth and seeing the spot where the event occured was humbling. The town remains small and it's importance to Christians worldwide evident by the pilgrims present on this day.

(Picture: The Wall between Isreal and the West Bank; Graffiti Art on the Wall)

(Picture: Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem)

On our final day in Jerusalem we walked up the Mt. of Olives where Jesus is said to have been arrested and ascended to heaven following his death. We went for the view. Overlooking the walled city you notice the only gate that is filled in - The Golden Gate. All three monotheistic religions beleive that this is where judgement day will start. Helpful hint - if you start seeing bricks breaking away from this gate you better get your life in order quick.

We were genuinely sad as we walked out of the gates for the last time. It was a mesmerizing city and a time in our travels we won't forget.

(Picture: Golden Gate - and Dome of the Rock)

From Jerusalem we headed north to the city of Nazareth. Aside from being the home where Mary and Joseph raised Jesus it was a really nice chance to see life in the north of the country. Nazareth is a small, almost entirely Arab (Muslim and Christian), town that is charmingly understated. We took a walk around the town and got some inside knowledge of daily life.

(Picture: Grotto where Gabriel told Mary she would have Jesus)

(Picture: Basillica of Assumption; Nazereth)

(Picture: Old City in Nazereth)

From there we took off for the coast to stay in Jaffa - southern part of Tel Aviv. This place was entirely different then the rest of the country that we saw. We often just people watched as it was beach life everywhere. Although religion must play a part in the lives of the citizens it seemed to take a back seat to tanning, surfing, and enjoying life. Very different.

(Picture: Tel Aviv Coastline)

(Picture: Using your head at the Beach in Tel Aviv)

Israel/Palestinian Territories promised to be a place of great interest - religion, politics and history and it did not disappoint at all. It was an incredibly facinating, eye opening and unsettling place to see. It's where we've been, why we're here and hopefully not where we're going.

From here we are off to Turkey for kebabs in Istanbul. Getting closer to Vancouver.

Leban-ON!

2010-07-14T22:34:00.008+04:00

"An eye for an eye, and the whole world would be blind. "

- Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese artist, poet, and writer born in B'charre.

Recovered from our hike of Mt. Sinai we prepared for a "leisurely day" crossing into Jordan via the Egyptian ferry. Arriving at the terminal at 11:30am and ready to take the 2pm boat due to arrive on the Jordan side at 3pm we were all set. So we thought. Fast boat tickets were sold out so we opted for the 2 hour slow boat at 3pm. We have been in this region long enough to know that all those times are estimates at best but this was a personal record. The boat didn't leave till almost 7pm and dumped us on the other side at 12:30am. On the bright side the boat was well kept and we traveled with a great Danish/American couple that kept things fun.

A bus up to Amman and a bag full of DVD's later and we were off for our next destination - Lebanon.

Arriving in Beirut were were smacked in the face with how different it all was. On one hand it was a city of opulent lifestyles - huge expensive SUV's, numerous pool bars around the Mediterranean Corniche, elegant fashion, expensive restaurants, art galleries and luxuries shopping. On the other hand there are tanks rolling in the streets, soldiers armed in bunkers at street corners, frequent power cuts, heavy air pollution, begging street children, refugee camps and bullet ridden buildings.

Walking around you can't help but wonder how does this all work? Equal amount churches and mosques, people fully covered and others wearing virtually nothing, incredible wealth beside staggering poverty. Does it work here? Can it work here?

A few days in the city is hardly enough to comment but it seems the only way this works is the people that inhabit this place. They seemed resilient and welcoming regardless of the situation. We soon had our fill of this busy, hilly, humid, hot city and set our sites inland.

(Beirut Cornish and sunbathers)

(Martyr's Square and Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque)

(Beirut Holiday Inn post-civil war)

(Beach Clubs and Barb Wire in Beirut)

(Pigeon Rocks, Beirut)

We hopped in a cramped mini van and headed for Baalbeck in the Bekaa Valley. The beautiful drive up and over the mountains immediately took us back home as the terrain matched that of the interior of BC in the summer months.

We headed to Baalbeck to see arguably the most important and well preserved Roman ruins in the Middle East. Baalbeck's temples were initiated by the Phoenecians, and the Romans extensively developed this grand complex well into the 1st century AD. Always used as a site of religion - be it pageon or christian - it was a place of great importance for hundreds of years.

This tiny cobble stoned town was again very welcoming, and home to the best hommous of our trip so far (no small feat). It is also well-known as the head quarters of Hezbollah. The flags and images of this party are all over the city and the prayers over the loud speakers seem laced with party messages. It was slightly unnerving to wander through the ruins, listening to the loud speakers while "booms" of the military "practicing" echoed all around us. As safe as we felt in the city it was still time to go after a day at the ruins.

(Baalbeck Ruins)

Finding our way out of the Hezbollah countryside and into the Christian dominated hills offers no public transport. A few service taxis later we found a guy willing to take us up into the beautiful mountain villages of the Cedars. We headed straight for the tiny town of Bcharre which most resembled a village in the Alps then one in the Middle East.

The town is home to the famous poet Kahlil Gibran and many ancient Maronite monasteries carved into the mountain valley below. We spent two days hiking through this gorgeous region stumbling upon grottos, monastaries and elaborate churches. Gibran is buried in the hills here and a museum was put over his tomb. Art in the Middle East is something that we have not seen a great deal of but here in Lebanon they champion artists and it was refreshing to see. Joel still can't figure out why this guy was so famous when his poems didn't even rhyme! There's no accounting for taste.

(Bcharre and the Qdisha Valley)

(St. Elisha Monastery)

(Hiking in the Qdisha Valley)

(Khalil Gibran Museum and Tomb)

From the hills we headed back to Beirut for a day of rest and then another "leisurely day" of travel back to Jordan. Wanting to skip the cost of a taxi we opted for a public bus to the airport. Assured of our destination by the driver off we went. Needless to say it was the longest 2 hour, 6km drive of our lives. Time was ticking and the route and traffic just kept getting worse. Soon we were in the south of Beirut in an area we were told not to walk in (refugee camps). We realized quickly (not quick enough) that we were well past the airport and the driver had forgotten about us.

We jumped out of the bus, departure time approaching and needing to get a ride. We ran to some vans and arranged a ride through two guys and off we went. We thought. We were explaining our rush in Arabic and they began fighting with each other. They blocked each others vans and argued. Time kept ticking. We continued in our broken Arabic and finally it was agreed we were off with the second guy. So we thought again.

Now speeding down the highway the first guy drives up and they shout at each other, he cut off our van and slammed on our brakes. Jumping out of the van in the middle of a highway we switched to the first van and off we went with the first guy. Crazy finale to a unique Middle Eastern country!

Our next stop: The Holy land
Inshallah things will be smoother...
Je t'aime Lebanon!

Endless Treasures and Countless Tour Buses

2010-07-05T16:45:00.015+04:00

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt"

- Mark Twain

(OK so that quote has nothing to do with this blog but it's one of my favourite old man sayings)

Ending our time in Oman we began our journey home to Canada. This trip will take us through Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel/Palestinian Territories and Turkey. It began fittingly with utter chaos at the Dubai airport. A line-up to bus to the next terminal turned unruly when a herd of US Army soldiers heading home from Iraq met up with the masses of regional travellers "queing" for the bus. Pushing, arguing and yelling proceeded and delayed the 10 minute exercise to a two hour ordeal. Perfect way to mark this weird time in our history.

On board the flight to Luxor we were immediately in Egypt. The red eye flight consisted of people yelling at eachother over seats that were already assigned, gentlemen playing their cell phone radios loudly on board and the predictable bumrush to the doors as soon as the flight touched the tarmac. Literally overhead bins were being opened as the brakes were still asserting themselves. This ensuing rush to the exits was combined with yelling and pushing. The fun begins. Tina trembled at what perhaps Egypt may have in store.

True Joel had been to Egypt six times previously. But these were all school trips filled with herding teenagers of varying maturity levels around the pyramids, falucca rides and trips to the Khan Al Khallily. Not exactly "Egypt". So it was with excited fresh eyes that we both entered Egypt for the first time.

(Luxor Temple and City Square)

Luxor is a marvel of tombs, temples and ruins meant to be the religious center of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. This time of year it bakes at 50 degrees and we struggled through our first day - Tina convinced of her own near death experience - while seeing a tourist buckle under the intense sun. In a combination of long walks, boats, and mini-buses we took in as much as the heat allowed. Although Luxor temple, Karnak temple and the Nile are all strikingly beautifuly in there own right it is the ancient sights of the West bank that are most memorable. Plunging the depths of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings the colourful, detailed walls and ceilings left you gasping for air - well that was actually the combination of thick sub-terrainian air and Joel's B.O. but let's stay with the inscriptions instead. Descending the nether world of Tuthmosis III's tomb and stumbling upon his giant mummy casing lieing as it did for 4000 years was worthy of the innapropriate swear words that fell from Joel's mouth. A sweat filled but exceptional start.

(Pictures: Karnak Temple and Hatshepsut's Temple)

Quickly we hopped a train and headed south to the southern most region of Egypt - Nubia. Nubia is the area from Khartoum, Sudan to Aswan in Eqypt. We based ourselves in Aswan and we were immediatley taken by its magical souk filled with the familiar sights and smells of our Arabian markets as well as the African wears we recalled from previous trips. Surely the gateway to Africa. The slow, hot, intoxicating feel of the town was perfect for us. But our motivation for entering this region were the temples of Abu Simbel.

(Pictures: Aswan Souk and Falucca on the Nile)

Abu Simbel is further south of Aswan (by 280km) and near the Sudanese border (about 40 km from the border). Due to the unstable state of the area we had to join a police convoy. All vehicles heading that direction meet at 4am at the police station and then travel together for 3 hours through the desert. Finally breaking from this convoy we arrived at the temples at the waters edge of Lake Nasser. Slowly walking around the backs of the hills we saw this absolutely breathtaking piece of architecture. Four massive statues of Ramses II cut into the walls of the hills towering over the water were surely meant to intimidate the peoples arriving from the south. The impressive outer walls were matched by the detailed, intimate interior. Aswan and Abu Simbel were definite highlights of Egypt thus far.

(Abu Simbel)

We trained through the night and arrived on the pulsating streets of Cairo in the early morning hours. For a city of 20 million inhabitants Cairo is an extremely enjoyable and safe place to spend a few days. The prevalance of Islam keeps the violent crime low despite poverty at every turn. Our single largest challenge was crossing the street. Black cabs acted as short range missles as we attempted to cross the street to catch a local bus (further complicated by the "bus stop" being located in the middle of an off ramp). A few tears later and we were on our way.

(Pictures: Khan Al Khalili and Coptic Cairo Church)

The Egyptian museum (surely the world's most famous dusty warehouse), Coptic Cairo and the deeply facinating old Islamic area were high points of the city. Of course the Pyramids set against the suburb of Giza "towered" above them all. It was so nice to sit there and just look at these wonders asking all the usual question - how, why and whom? Having answered our questions satisfactorily we headed back into the streets.

There were a few moments of note while traversing the streets of Cairo. Tina found us a Sufi (Muslim mystics) ceremony, which included some whirling dervishing, to watch in the old quarter. Beautifully dedicated followers made the area absolutely come alive with their drums, horns and chanting. Additionally, on our final day wandering the city we came across a huge Friday street market. Suddenly with the sighting of the police the whole market just vanished around us. Brilliantly chaotic. Joel was almost clobbered by coat rack weilded by a fleeing salesman. His lovely wife snickered to herself once she realised he was safe, reminded of the time he was assaulted by an unhappy cow in Jaipur, India.

From Cairo we set our sights across the Suez canal and into the geographical oddity of the Sinai. We relaxed for a few days on the Red Sea coast, soaking in the views of the Gulf of Aqaba and Saudi Arabia. Saving our energy before taking an all night hike up Mt Sinai to the sight where Moses recieved the 10 commandments. The only commandment that Joel recieved from Tina on this night was "don't puke like last time wimp". Noted.

Egypt has been a great time. The people are so friendly and engaging. It has allowed us to attempt to use as much Arabic as possible and have a few laughs along the way. From here it is transiting through Jordan via ferry and bus and onto Lebanon.

Pharaoh-well Egypt

Beirut awaits. As does the hummus.

Ma'asalama Oman

2010-06-21T15:10:00.013+04:00

"You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place, like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way again."

~ Azar Nafisi (Author of Reading Lolita in Tehran)

Sadly for us this is our final post from The Sultanate of Oman. The last three years here have been a very special time in our lives and will be cherished. It has been a busy month or so as we have put the final touches on our time here.

Recently the last of a great string of friends and family came to visit - our good friends Serey and Marcus from Canada. Sitting at our wedding a few months ago they made plans to visit and we were really glad that they were able to.

These two were taking a break from their busy lives in Calgary to venture through Turkey, Oman and Dubai. They visited in the hottest time of the year and with only a few days here they made the most of it! They saw Muscat, the local forts, drove into the desert, saw the nesting turtles and completed one of the best hikes in the country - Wadi Shab. Its was great to have them with us!

Additionally while Marcus and Serey were here I decided to go on a drastic weight loss program. Here is how it works:

1. Great pain in the abdominal area
2. Go to Hospital
3. Appendix about to rupture
4. Perform surgery
5. Wallow in self pity during recovery

It's a tad expensive but I look good for bathing suit season now.

While I have been spending all our hard earned money on surgeries Tina has been taking a few art classes. She completed a pottery class and a soft sculpture class as well. In the soft sculpture class Tina created an Omani scene that will find its way into our home in Canada.

In early June Oman recieved news that a cyclone (hurricane) was coming our way. It had been 3 years since cyclone Gonu had devastated these shores so the memory was very much alive. The country ordered two days off of work and people busily stockpiled food, water, sandbags, ice, etc.

The cyclone hit at Sur on the coast. Here in Muscat there were high winds, heavy rains and flooding but nothing compared to the effects of Gonu. The people of the coast are still recovering but Muscat is now almost back to normal. As a side note, my brother Matt informed me that the best defence against a cyclone was to run really fast in the opposite direction. This proved inneffective.

Amidst the visits, storms, surgeries and art classes we have been busily packing up our lives and memories from this great place. Goodbyes are never easy but we are sure we will run into many friends again in the future.

On June 23rd we leave Oman and head through Egypt, Jordan, The Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Turkey and London before touching down in Vancouver on August 6th. We will do our best to post updates as we travel.

Oman has left us with such a vibrant experience with which to look back on. As the above quote alludes to, we are happy to be moving on but sad that the people we are right now won't be coming with us. It is definately time for us to be home but we will fondly remember this place and it's people.

Ma'asalama Oman.

Mexican Wedding

2010-06-12T10:17:00.020+04:00

" Who travels for love finds a thousand miles not longer than one."
- Japanese proverb

When both Tina and her brother became over the age of 25 and started moving in with their significant others and even moving to the Middle East, I think Tina's mom had given up hope that she would ever see them get married. Well, Tina and her brother somehow decided that in 2010 they would pack in both of their weddings within six months of each other! Cory and his new wife Hayley threw her an extra curve ball announcing their wedding would take place in Cancun, Mexico!
Joel was unable to attend as the wedding would be in May and being a very important PE teacher he would be irreplaceable at work. So Tina set out for a Mexican fiesta on her own. After a major delay in London due to volcanic ash being spewed from the Icelandic volcano and a night sleep on the Miami International Airport floor - Tina said 'hola' to the heat and humidity of Cancun! (Leaving 45 degrees in Muscat she was confident she could handle any heat - but the humidity surprised her and she was soon partaking in afternoon siestas! (As was Kyra on Grandpa's lap!)

Tina was soon joined by her parents, the bride and groom, Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Ed, along with Cory's good friends Ryan, Aubry and the Stearn family. Hayley's parents, aunt and uncle, good friend Theresa, her brother's family and her sister's family and her cute nieces and nephews! There was about 28 guests visiting for either one or two weeks. We quickly made our way out to one of the many pools at the resort in Tulum and began soaking up some rays and enjoying ChiChi's and Mojitos!

One of the days before the wedding, Tina and her mom and aunt and uncle set out for a tour of Coba (Mayan) ruins. Coba was located about a 40 minute drive from the resort and Tina and Carolyn climbed to the top of the ruins for a view of the jungle and ocean. We also stopped for lunch at a traditional Mayan village where we made tortillas with the daughter of the local shaman.

On May 12th, we got all gussied up for Cory and Hayley's wedding. I had the honor of walking Kyra down the aisle and helped her throw out flower petals. The ceremony was held in an outdoor gazebo overlooking the white sand beach and turquoise waters! Breath taking!!

The groom was smiling!

And the bride was looking beautiful!

The flower girl very happy to be with daddy after the ceremony!!

The dinner took place immediately after the ceremony in the resort's restaurant 'Tequila' and we then enjoyed some dancing and drink by the pool! Kyra got to sleep over in Aunty Tina's room; we had a great night but I think Tina jumped up every time time Kyra snored!

I was very happy and proud to see my big brother get married and see him so happy with his new family. It was nice getting to spend more time getting to know Kyra and Hayley as well as Hayley's family.

Bogans, Kangaroos and a Wedding

2010-05-14T17:16:00.010+04:00

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today it's already tomorrow in Australia."

- Charles Schulz cartoonist (1922 - 2000)

This past springbreak Tina and I had the opportunity to attend our good friends Lucas and Tennielle's wedding. Seems like an easy call right? Except that the wedding was in Melbourne, Australia. Turns out it was an easy call. We packed our bags, boarded a plane and prepared ourselves to set our feet on the dry soil of the lucky land.

We initially met Lucas and Tennielle when we arrived in Muscat three years ago. We quickly became friends spending time exploring Oman, travelling through India and complaining about our daily lives while polishing off mediocre cans of beer. It had been almost a year since we'd last seen them.

We arrived Down Under late at night and were whisked back to chez Craig/Tripp on the wrong side of the road amidst strange perversions of the english language. Catching up with them took us well into the early morning and well into their stash of grog. It was ace seeing them again.

Melbourne is long reported to be among the most liveable cities in the world. We were looking forward to judging for ourselves. A day spent walkng around the city, along the Yarra, watching street comedy in Federation square and a pub lunch had us thinking the rumours might be right. Then an evening at the world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground watching Aussie Rules Football complete with a few pregame beers and a meat pie had us won over.

I had grown up watching the occassional game on TV at early morning hours and spent the entire time totally confused but loving every minute of the knuckle-chucking action. Nowadays, the mullets are gone, the labcoat clad officials are no longer present but the action is fast, the crowd is wildly entertaining and the experience is very unique. Such a completely Aussie event was a perfect to start our entirely too short stay in Oz.

There are certain stuffed animals that I spent my childhood believing were created by stuffed animal companies just for us young kids to enjoy. But my Aussie friends assured me that these things really existed and insisted they could prove it. Off they took us to prove it. Congratulations Australia your animals - kangaroos, platapuses (platapi?), koalas, etc - are incredible.

Tennielle and Lucas are incredibly generous people and they took a week before their wedding and swept us around the stunning coastline of Victoria. The trip took in the world famous Great Ocean road. The road is filled with brilliant coastal views, small colourful towns and monstorous rock formations plunging into the bright blue waters.

We stayed in Apollo Bay, waited for the 50 year storm at Bell's beach, and soaked up the beauty of this area of the world. As a side note we happened upon Bell's during the Rip Curl World Championships. In the few minutes we were there the woman's world champion was changing into her wetsuit right beside our car. As the cool guy that I am I filmed it. What a total loser.

We continued the roadtrip taking a ferry across the mouth of Port Phillip bay, enjoying a meal at what has to be the most stunning pub view around (Portsea pub) and staying at Tennielle's beach house. Finally, we headed to Phillip island to march with the Penguins - appearantely not as many as usual but a pretty impressive sight regardless.

Arriving back in Victoria's capital city it was time for the whole reason we made this trip. A beer at the Young & Jackson. Just kidding. Lucas and Tennielle got married in a garden that they used to walk in when they were first together. It was a really nice afternoon and the service was perfectly fitting.

The reception was held in a nearby pub and was complete with nice speeches, plenty of laughs and aussie classics. Lucas and Tennielle's family and friends are all incredibly welcoming and full of fun. It couldn't have been a better evening to celebrate these two people.

Australia has always struck me as such a strange place on the map. What is this vaguely British influenced culture doing way down there? And what language are they all speaking anyways? In way too short a stay I know that we are glad we made these friends and sure that we will be back again and some point in our lives.

Bloody oath.

Special Visit

2010-04-27T20:31:00.007+04:00

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness"

- Mark Twain (stolen from Sayaka's blog) - http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/69478/Old-Muscat-4

Over the course of the past few years Joel's brother Chris has tried to schedule a time to visit but to no avail. We were always hopeful that this would happen but realized the difficulty in getting away from work and family. But when Joel's nephews put on the charm and convinced their Grandparents to watch them for a week both Chris and Sayaka could make the trip over. We couldn't have been happier to have them both with us.

Their visit was short and their energy was high, so we did our best to cram in as much as possible. After a 3am arrival they whisked themselves around Muscat dodging the erratic drivers and taking in the sights of our city. I believe they spent the first 45 minutes whizzing around the same roundabout Homer Simpson style. Off to a good start. We concluded the night at the market and enjoying an Arabian dinner under the stars.

The next day we took a day trip out to the forts and souks of the interior. Driving through mud bricked oasis towns while weaving through herds of goats we quickly caught up on lost time . We should have had these two folks with us here long ago as we saw camels in the most obscure locations. We climbed up and over the mountains and drove home via the beautiful Wadi Bani Awf.

When Chris and Sayaka first mentioned that they were coming we asked what they'd like to do. Sayaka answered, "turtles, all I want to see are turtles." Alright then, turtles it is. Down we went to Ras al Jinz on a search for nesting turtles. In an effort to protect the turtles the government has done a much stricter job of closing the beaches off. This is the slowest time of the year so we were hopeful that some Turtles could be found. If not, tina was prepared to throw on a fake shell and flap around in the sand while a yelled, "Look at the turtle" as I bumped over the flashlights. Anything for our guests. Lucky us there were turtles up on the beach and we even got to see the eggs being laid. Very cool.

Waiting till sunrise as the turtles went back into the ocean we strolled along the beach. The cliffs in this area are stunning and being the Eastern point of Arabia the sunrise is brilliant.

From the waters of the Indian Ocean we drive into the interior and hit the Wahiba Sands. This rolling orange-sand desert was filled with fun for us. Chris got to play older brother again and throw Joel down the dune while we all took turns in flying photos. A relaxing evening spent on the dunes was followed by a morning camel caravan. I think Chris' camel was a little jealous of the camel carrying Sayaka. Just kidding.

It was so great to have both Sayaka and Chris with us. They were always game for the next adventure and seemed to really enjoy themselves. We were so lucky to be able to share part of our final few months here with them both.

Muscat Moments

2010-04-06T20:44:00.012+04:00

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. "

- Siddhartha Gautama

Four days after Tina and I got married in the cool winter air of Vancouver we headed back to life in Arabia. Having this time with our friends and family in Canada was a special time for both of us. But it was time to head back to the land of frankinsence, camels and khanjars for our final few months here.

As we returned to Oman we were treated to a reception thrown by our friends here in Muscat. Catching up with friends, getting roasted in a toast and sharing a very creative cake (Joel's likeness is uncanny!) made it feel like we got married a second time. But with a much better price tag!

In the weeks after our reception Tina and I acted like responsible adults and allowed work to get the better of us. Very disapointing. We spent countless hours planning a program that sent all of the kids camping for a 'Discover Oman' week to destinations all over the country. Just our luck - it poured. Winds, rain and floods helped make this week one to remember. Not our finest time. Finding ourselves looking to the future we started to take the time to enjoy our daily lives again.

Soon after we got back into exploring the area and took a few days around the capital. We took a hike from the Sultans palace to Sidab, a small fishing inlet . With a quick climb over a wall we were on a path leading from watchtower to watchtower along the jagged hills seperating the crystal clear ocean waters from the traditional buildings of Old Muscat.

Having explored this area by foot we decided to take our kayaks out on the water again. We launched from Muttrah and paddled in the morning sun along the coast until we pulled in next to the Palace. A quick visit from a police boat quickly reminded us that being here can be a "big problem" and we should leave. Its an awkward paddle struggling your way through head winds as a police boat motors right next to you the whole way. In classic Omani style the police chatted with us about where we are from and welcomed us to Oman at the same time as kicking us out of the water. I love this place.

As our time winds down here Tina and I are trying to get to some favourite spots before the weather gets too hot for camping. One of these spots is Bar Al Hickman. The drive is half the fun as you leave the tarmac and drive along little sand dunes, salt flats and into deeper coastal sand for an hour before pulling up a spot at any piece of the beach you fancy. Our friend Pat joined us on this trip and we enjoyed showing her this place. Along the beach Pat found a whale bone and off we went to check it out. It was huge. Of course, this needed to accompany us back on the 5 hour journey to Muscat. We folded the back seat down and the bone reached from back window all the way to the front windshield. The smell was only a slight factor on the drive.

We arrived back in Muscat excited because Joel's brother Chris and our sister-in law Sayaka were due to arrive in Muscat in a week. It will be great having them with us here.

Winter wedding

2010-03-18T07:25:00.010+04:00

"The real act of marriage takes place in the heart - not in a ballroom, or church, or synagouge. It's the choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again - and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife."

- Barbara De Angelis

This past winter Tina and I returned to Canada to get married. We were extremely moved to be able to share this event with so many of those that are close to us. Our writing cannot do justice to how wonderful it was to have these people with us.

Instead, we will post a few pictures of a day that was very special to both of us. As well, we have included a few pictures that we took ourselves in the desert here in Oman.

Thanks to all of those that attended and to those who's pictures we have stolen for this blog.

Many apologies for being so late getting this post up.

Calm Oman, Crazy Dubai

2009-12-13T15:37:00.016+04:00

"The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is to at last set foot on one's own country as a foriegn land."
-G.K Chesterton (May 29th, 1874 - June 14, 1936)

A few weeks ago the Muslim world celebrated the Eid Al Ahda holiday. The Eid celebration marks the annual Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. This journey is one of the 5 pillars of Islam and a lifetime goal for many Muslims around the globe. Rather handy for us, it also creates a week long holiday to go exploring. As you may know, in a few weeks Tina and I are getting married so we made the money-smart descision to spend this holiday around Oman.

For a month or so, we had heard rumours that there was a track would allow us to cross the Wahiba Desert from north to south along the coastline. Apparantly, this track leads through the sand dunes but adjescent to the brilliant coastline of the Arabian Ocean. We decided to head out on a 5 day camping trip to find this track and meet up with friends farther south.

Sure enough we found this track and it lead to a stunning drive. The giant powder white sand dunes soared to our right as the evening sun lit the shimmering ocean to our left. Along the jouney we passed through tiny, desolate bedoiun fishing villages that combined the hardiness of both desert living and living off the sea. It was an absorbing mix of cultures. As the sun fell on our first night we turned to the sea and set up camp along a hardened sandstone area that dropped into the ocean.

As the morning light spread it's colours over the ocean waters we were treated to a giant whale trolling for fish along the beach (less than 70 meters out). There is something serene about these massive creatures as they plod through otherwise calm water. It all happened too quickly to reach for the camera.

The desert sun warmed us as we continued travelling through the dunes the next day. On this day we saw a tow truck that had literally been swallowed by the sands. We had been warned about this as several drivers had smashed the tow of the truck as the rest has been consumed by the desert. Of course, the day had its moments of digging and being pulled out of sand but it really was a great new area for us to explore. After we got back to a paved road we were treated to the local haggling practices. As we drove along a one lane road a Bedu pickup truck screamed up beside us. Fearing for this trucks safety (and ours) we were shocked as he rolled down his window to try to buy the kayak off of our roof or as our neighbour suggested 'perhaps it was for Tina?'. All while travelling at speeds upwards all 120km/hr in the wrong lane. I love this place.

That night we met up with some friends in a beautiful area named Khaluf. This location has a calm bay that backs into rolling sand dunes as far as you can see. We've seen flamingos, dolphins and sharks at this location in previous visits but not this one. We took the kayak out a few times and enjoyed the relaxing nature on the area. We finished up our camping adventure by meeting a few other friends farther south on the white sandy beaches of Ras Madrakah. A few more tough days of turquoise water and soft sands and we were headed back to Muscat.

After we had cleaned up in Muscat we headed out for the second part of our holiday - the Rugby Sevens in Dubai. As stated in previous posts I am no fan of Dubai, or the consumerism it promotes, but the chance to see this wild event before we move from here was too much (also it was my birthday gift from Tina).

This is the 40th year of the event held 30 km outside of Dubai in the desert. Amongst a desolate landscape they have created this rugby oasis complete with a 50,000 seat stadium and 5 other pitches surrounding it. I wonder why they're going broke eh? The 16 best Sevens nations are invited annually. Additionally, this is the expat thing to do in the region and thousands of Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans,Scotts, etc descend on this place full of beer and national pride. It's sold out every year - 100,000 over two days. Crazy.

As Tina said the players are as big as doorways and unbelievably fit. The games are short, the action fast and the crowd in full roar for two straight days. An absolutely great time.

This blog got out a month or so later than planned so we have actually already arrived home from the winter vacation. In a few weeks we will update our blog with stories and pictures from our wedding.

All the best and belated happy holidays.

Breaking news...

2009-11-30T19:55:00.005+04:00

"Them's the breaks"

- Chuck Nelson (said several times to his boys between the years of 1986 - 1994)

The quote above was often used by my father to explain the "breaks of life". The context of the message clearly indicated that although this is the way it is at that current time pull your socks up and get going. So we did.

A few weeks ago I was playing a manly game of ultimate frisbee and I dove for a disc. Not only did I come nowhere near the disc, but I also broke my hand in the process. Worse yet, it was the bone in my hand that connects to my pinky finger. Them's the breaks. Some men have battle scars, others tattoos and still others brandings. I have a broken pinky finger. Tina was proud.

Surgery in a developing nation is always exciting and I had an Omani doctor with a scottish accent prep me for surgery while still wearing the traditionaly disdasha (long white gown) and kuma (embroidered hat). Good show I must admit. I woke up hours later with my arm tied above my head to an IV cart. They put a plate and three screws into my hand and sent me on my way. Certainly not the Monday evening I was hoping for.

Given the healing time of the surgery we have been forced to do some different things with our time. We took an excellent day trip through two coastal wadis that we had not explored yet. We linked two wadis - Souway and Dayqah through an off road route and were shocked at how wet these wadis were. These valuable water sources were guarded by several impressive ancient watchtowers. The wadi edges rose dramatically on either side of us and changed from reds, to oranges and shades of brown. As we drove on through dry patches we would soon reach another deep green oasis. As long as we've been in this country it still is amazing to see people reaching into the depths of the earth to harness the water needed to exist.

Additionally being our last year in Oman we are taking in events that we otherwise have not attended. One of which is our school's formal Ball. It's an event attended by local bigwigs, embassadors and important people like us. We put on our best digs headed to the swanky hotel and had a good time.

Last year you might recall that Oman rocked to the beat of the Arabian Gulf Cup. The Omani soccer team won the event and the country went nuts. This year the national team had the opportunity to host two major international matches in the same week - the first against Australia and the second against Brazil. It was a great week to be a soccer fan here. The Bazilians played all of their stars except the guys that play in Brazil. Kaka played as did all the first team players available. Oman didn't fair as well this year going down 2-1 to the Socceroos and 2-0 to the Samba Boys.

In a little over a month Tina and I will be celebrating our marital bliss. With that in mind our colleagues here have gone out of their way to help us celebrate with them in Muscat. There was a wedding shower held in Tina's honour. About 40 ladies attended dressed all in white for an evening of cocktails and appetizers. Quite classy I must say. Not to be outdone, some fellas got together and we threw around a football, drank a few beers and headed to a low-brow local establishment. Not nearly as classy as the ladies. Next weekend we will get our final send off event as the families throw us a "this is your "future" life party". Their kids will be encouraged to run amok, they'll all look exhausted the whole evening and constantly tell us what a great decision we are making. Should be fun.

This coming week is our Eid holiday. We are looking forward to a 5 day camping trip going through the Wahiba Sands and ending up in two of our favourite coastal camp sites. The second part of our holiday will be spent in Dubai at the world famous Dubai Rugby sevens championships.

The Magic of Oman

2009-10-16T13:35:00.007+04:00

"The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hands of man".

- Author unknown

Having lived in this country for the past two years we occasionally find ouselves driving by sights, people and events that previously seemed so exotic to us. We have officially confirmed with our school that this year will be our last and we are determined to take none of this time for granted. Although the title of this blog is inspired by our most recent camping experience we have always felt this way about our host country. It has been a busy month and this blog attempts to recap it.

Earlier this month Joel finally hiked a trail we had heard of through friends. The hike is called "The Chains" and is named quite literally for the chains found on the hike that are used to climb a small rock face. This worried me as the last chains I used involved locking my bicycle up in the 2nd grade. Waking early in the morning a couple of vehicles set out and reached the starting point a few hours west of Muscat. The walk took us through the base of a Wadi and consisted of short undulating portions followed by sections filled with water. Additionally the nesessary use of the chains added to the uniquenes of the hike. A team of middle aged men struggling over rocks and wobbling up chains surely must have been hilarious to any villager passing by.

Having heard of a beautiful wadi that we were yet to explore deeply we headed out to Wadi Tanuf a few weekends ago. At the mouth of the Wadi sits the ruins of a mud bricked city that was bombed out in the mid 1940's. As it was still roasting hot we decided in our wisdom to hike up the side of the Wadi until we found a cool enough altititude. So we hiked up and in late evening we found a cave that previous shepards had cleared out. Well, this looked perfect. We set up camp and revelled in our stunning view. As the sun fell and the darkness surrounded us so to did the mosquitos. The buzzing swept over us on all sides and we were done for. Swelteringly hot and covered in mosquitos we tried to escape but it was too dark to climb down. So we sat, sweating and itching waiting for our bright idea to end. On a positive note there are a swarm of mosqutos fat and happy on our blood. You're welcome.

This year we decided to spend our Canadian thanksgiving at home and help spread some Canadiana around Mucat. Having attended a thanksgiving dinner on Thursday evening we hosted our own on Friday. Sadly, no Turkey was available so our dinner meat consisted of Rotisserie chicken. I gamely felt that it would be appropriate to slaughter a goat for such an occassion but I was wisely overruled. All the other fixings were present so our patient guests looked past it.

This past weekend we just got back from a fantastic trip down the coast. Our friends Keith and Pat had not seen the nesting Green turtles along the coastline. We were interested in going again and wanted to find a new location we had heard about. As we got to the sparsley populated coast we consulted our directions - follow the faint tracks to the left 12 kms after the turn. Nice. We followed the tracks and they lead up and up and up over the rocks towards the ocean. Sure enough we wound our way to a beautiful lookout point but well above the beaches we had intended to find. Two fishermen were tying their nets nearby so we approached them for directions. In my broken Arabic they understood what we wanted to find and hopped in their truck and lead us to a stunning beach hidden behind the cliffs. At the beach we met a few kids that assured us (again using shamefully poor Arabic) that this was a beach that Turtles frequented.

To say this was a great campsite would be an understatement. The white beach was entirely surrounded by red sandstone cliffs and filled with deep bunkers dug by nesting turtles. At one end sat a sandstone ledge overlooking the sand a mere 2 feet below. We set up on the sandstone and anticipated the evenings activities.

In the early evening we sat at the edge of the shoreline as the waves rushed to our feet. There was no moon, and a blanket of stars covered us. The water was filled with phosphorescence that created a glowing, illuminated body of water that crashed brightly lit, gentle waves towards us. We sat contemplating the beautiful view as giant shadows began to emerge from the water. The 500 pound turtles crawled up at a distance from us and began digging their nests for the night.

* Turtle photo from previous spot

We sat there taking in this strange beach, in this little-known country, watching a flourescent sea crash at our feet, under a stunningly star filled sky surrounded by giant creatures climbing ashore to lay their eggs. We couldn't help but think that this may be the only place in the world where we could have an evening like this all to ourselves. At any rate, we will convince ourselves that it is and attribute it to the Magic of Oman.

We are looking forward to taking in as much as we can in the time we have left in this special place.

Eid Mubarak - Southern Arabia style

2009-09-25T09:58:00.015+04:00

"For this cruel land can cast a spell which no temperate clime can match"

- Wilfred Thesiger (first European explorer to cross the Empty Quarter)

Here in the Middle East, and around the Muslim world, the holy month of Ramadan has just concluded. Following this month of fasting during daylight hours and focusing on prayer comes a festive holiday period called Eid Al Fitr. For Omanis it is a time spent with family and for expats like us an opportunity to travel. Coming with a week off of work, this is quickly becoming one of our favourite holidays!

This year we decided to head down south with our friends and neighbours Tom and Julie to the Dhofar region of Oman. As mentioned in previous blogs this area is unique in the country in both its people and its geography. During the summer months (June to mid September) Dhofar is hit with the "Khareef" (winds of plenty)- Indian monsoons bringing high winds and tremendous rainfall. The resulting lush landscape is in complete contrast to the arid conditions stretching from the edges of this area to the shores of Muscat a thousand kilometers to the north. We have travelled to this area many times but have never seen this phenomenon.

As we drove the 10 hour journey through the Hajar mountains in the north, then the sand dunes of the eastern deserts, and finally the gravel plains of the center of the country we openly mocked the pictures we'd seen of the green mountains and flowing wadis of Dhofar. Everytime we'd been to the area it had been brown and dry and we expected possibly a subtle difference at best. But as the road finally dropped from the high plateau towards Salalah we were shocked by the immediate change of our surroundings. It looked more like the lake district in England complete with green rolling hills covered in mist and not the desert landscape of Arabia. There we were taking pictures of grass and rain. How embarrassing.

The first full day was spent in the glorious cool rains at the tail end of the Khareef. Coming from hot days in the mid 40's a cool rinse was welcomed. Thankfully Tina stopped me as I was carrying my towel and bar of soap outside. Classless.

We drove up into the mountains to see the Jebali people and their environment. Walks through lush, water filled wadis filled with fish, cattle and bird-life couldn't have been more different than the Oman we knew. After a short picnic with a few friendly Jebali men we took back to exploring the mountain. The young Jebali fellow had told us of a thousand camels on this hill. We accepted this with the knowing nod you give to a child with a vivid imagination. Again, we were shocked as we rounded the corner and saw more camels in one spot then could be imagined. We sat for several minutes as the camels blocked our path and a friendly jebali gentleman tugged at the Kayak we had tied on our roof while a "less-friendly" herdsmen gathered rocks to heave at our vehicle. We'll consider that a mixed signal maybe. Our vehicle emerged unscathed, and the camels remain lumbering along that mountain in the hundreds.

The road continued along until it reached a sign that read "closed". That obviously only applies to other people as we drove around the sign and continued along the perilous mountain route. The road was a sloggy, muddy wreck from the rains of that day and other idiots driving this path like us. We slogged our way through until we reached a group of men stuck on the hill with no chance of making it either way. As we got out to help one might figure that the worst place to stand is behind the back tire right? In hindsight I would agree but that's exactly where I placed myself for the first push. Covered in wet mud we continued on our way. On the path shortly after we came across the Balbob tree forest that we had been familiar with from Africa. We trekked into the forest and found a tree that was about 10 meters in diameter. Chopped and bundled we were ready for a campfire for the next month. Just kidding.

The next day we took off for an area of the region that had intrigued us all. In the far south east corner of the country was an area none of us had been to and had no dirt track connecting to the northern coast. Off we went and were greated by a 3 hour drive with white sand beaches and tourquise water to our right and sheer rusty cliffs immediately to our left. The drive must rival some the greatest drives in the world. When we reached as far as we could manage we were greeted by a herd of 50 camles and pitched our tents for the night. The area was once prosperous through small ports trading in Myrr and Frankinsence. In more modern times it was prosperous again through the fishing of Abolone. Now that that the stores have dried up it is back to a coastline of sleepy fishing villages and stunning scenary. Much more recently this area has been again the center of attention as a micro-organism believed to be the oldest form of life ever found was discovered in the hills of this coast.

We launched our kayaks shortly after our arrival and a 40 minute paddle around our immediate vicinity resulted in seeing 10 giant turtles coming up for air around us. Turtles in this area include the Green, Leatherback and Loggerheads. Sadly our confidence in our kayaking abilities did not allow us to bring the camera along.

Rising in the eerie fog the next morning we moved back down the coast exploring various small towns that once prospered as ports of varying degrees during the heyday of frankincence trading.

As we headed back north towards Muscat we ventured towards another point of interest on our trip - the lost city of Ubar. Leaving the lush green hills of Dhofar behind we headed into the desert at the Southern tip of the Empty Quarter. It is here that the legendary city of Ubar is thought to have existed. As the story goes Ubar was a very rich settlement on the caravan route of Arabian goods (frankinsence, myrr, gold) to the rest of the world. Life there was lived in excess (think Vegas) and was punished by Allah and vanished into the desert. Reaching its peak in 3000BC, there is evidence of people as late as the 12th century AD and perhaps beyond. Many adventurers have looked for the existence of this place and through satellite imagery it is believed to be at this active dig site. Very cool.

Now that we are back in Muscat we are already looking forward to our next trip in Oman. Even if we don't return to Dhofar again it has left us with many good memories and we will recommend it highly.

Home

2009-08-22T19:19:00.011+04:00

"You can never go home again, but the truth is that you can never leave home. So it's alright".
- Maya Angelou

We have never fogotten how much we miss our family and friends in Canada, nor had we forgotten how beautiful British Columbia can be but it is always nice to be reminded. This past summer we were reminded again and again as we spent evenings with those close to us, traveled throughout our province, attended two fantastic weddings and remembered just how fortunate we are to have such a place to call home.

The first few days were spent catching up with our friends and family in Vancouver. Although seeing everyone was a highlight meeting my nephew Brady for the first time and reaquainting with my young Godson Jaxson again was precious. Over a few cold beers we got caught up. Sadly, I have been trying to get Jaxson to recite my name with little prodding but all he keeps asking for is "Tina". That's the last round I buy for the guy.

After a couple of days we headed up to Kelowna to see Tina's parents as well as out to Tina's brother Cory's house in Pritchard. The land is in the beautiful rolling hills overlooking the Thompson River. Despite the presence of a few Great Danes and several horses the unmatched highlight was meeting meeting both Hayley and Kyra the women in Cory's lives. At about 7 months old Kyra had mastered cute and we relished getting to spend a few days with all of them. It was a very meaningful trip.

Following a few restful days in Nanoose Bay with my Aunt Judy and Uncle Roy, Tina's Stagette on Saltspring Island (thank you girls!) we headed to Toronto for our first wedding of the summer. Trying to make our money stretch a little we opted for the budget route : drove to Seattle, flew to Atlanta overnight, flew to Buffalo in the morning, grabbed a bus and arrived in Toronto the next afternoon. Ridiculous. It was our first time in the Big Smoke and we were both pleasantly surprised. Tina's friends Alex and Dixie showed us around town and we were impressed with the different enclaves around summer patios.

A few days later Joel's brother Matt and his girlfriend Alisa arrived in Toronto fresh off a year of travelling the globe. It was great to see them again and we all hopped in a car and headed to Tobermory in Bruce Pennisula National Park for Paul and Sandra's wedding. Paul and Sandra are a terrific couple that Joel met years ago while teaching in Seoul. We have kept in touch ever since and we are always glad to see them when we do. As unique as these two are their wedding suited them perfectly and we got our first taste of 'cottage life'. It was a very meaningful event for all that attended.

To end our summer in Canada we planned to attend Tina's friends Kath and Ryan's wedding in Whistler. Set in a stunning location at the edge of a small lake surrounded by towering mountains it was another grand affair. After a couple of fun evenings of festivities we left at 4am in a bid to drive to Vancouver and fly back to Oman. 36 hours later we walked through our front door in Muscat and back to our life in Arabia.

Although we are always happy to be back in Oman our summer back in Canada will always stand out as a memorable holiday. Thanks to all we saw, and to those we didn't we look forward to seeing you soon.

Tick tock, tick tock

2009-06-09T20:51:00.017+04:00

"Don't worry because it is over. Smile because it happened"

- Dr. Suess 1904 - 1991
(adaptation)

Since our last post we have obviously been very poor at getting another entry up. Many apologies for that of course, but soon we'll be able to beg forgiveness face to face to those living in B.C. We will be home in just under a week and we will be in Canada for about 7 weeks before we fly back for our final year in this wonderful country. In the past month we have been quite busy so let's get right to it.

Immediatley after arriving back in the Sultanate from the charms of India I left again for a school trip to Cairo. This is the fourth time to Cairo in the past two years but it's never the same and always intoxicating.

With bags freshly unpacked Tina and I took off with our India travel mates, Lucas and Tennielle, for a short adventure up the coast. We took a couple of kayaks, loaded up our tents and food and paddled in the tourquoise water for a weekend of camping. Looking to launch in a logical place our navigational skills took us to an entry point completely unfit for our vehicles. Instead, we carried the small boats over the hill and down to the water. To make matters more embarrassing we paddled around and around until finally deciding on the perfect spot. In the morning we discovered we had paddled in circles and were now mere minutes from our original launch sight. Idiots.

The mercury levels here have been soaring lately. It actually hit 52 degrees in Sohar and Muscat was right there as well. Scary hot. So we decided to get one last camping trip in and headed south to the sandy coastline of Bar Al Hickman. Following the memories of old directions and a handy compass we headed across gravel desert, small sandy dunes and stunning salt flats until we hit the lagoons and finally the beaches of our destination. We plan to return yet again next year and emplore our readers in Oman to do the same.

As expatriates, the end of the work year always brings about the loss of good friends. Such is the case this year as our Aussie buddies are heading back to the home of koalas and kangaroos. As a farewell tour we took them on a scavenger hunt around our fair city taking in new sights, and others filled with memories. Amidst many highlights was lunching in the middle of the "golden jugs" roundabout at midday. Although we dined alone men of all races and creeds honked their approval and flashed the "thumbs up" sign wildly. Somehow comforting to know that stupidity translates across cultures far easier than great discourse ever will.

With little time left before we head back to Canada we squeezed in a quick trip to Dubai to ring in Tina's 30th year and then took a weekend journey to some hard to reach places in Oman. Our journey in Oman took us first into the depths of Wadi Sahtan. It's a great wadi that we've been meaning to get to but hadn't reached. Amongst the highlights were completely isolated villages, watering systems squeezing drips out of the mountains, and the sheer drops at the heights of this fine summit. The enviromentally responsible sign pictured warns against the cutting of trees. Probably an unnessesary reminder.

Next, we journeyed into the interior with the plan to climb up and over the Eastern Hajar mountains descending to the coast near Fins. With a rented vehicle we climbed and climbed and climbed until we reached the Salmah Plateau. Up at these heights are 90 or so ancient burial tombs that rise some 9 meters off of the ground. They are about 5000 years old and look like they were made yesterday. They were truly breathtaking. Its hardly your easy to reach destination so it feels exceptionally authentic. Just beyond the tombs is the entrance to "Majlis Al Jinns" (Meeting place of the spirits) which is the second largest cave in the world. Its unmarked now, but some village boys showed us the way. For a large black hole it was pretty fantastic. We threw a rock into the abyss and waited until we heard it land. It took over 7 seconds.

Lately, our days are spent wrapping up another school year and spending time with friends we may not see again. We are losing quite a few that we enjoy as they are off to such places as Kuala Lumpur, The Dominican Republic, Australia, China and elsewhere. We wish them all the best of luck and look forward to hearing about their adventures in the future.

For now, we have our sights firmly set on getting back to Canada for the summer. We will be back June 21st and return to Oman August 8th. Hope to see many of you soon!

Inshallah.

Incredible India!

2009-04-17T18:56:00.019+04:00

"Anything is possible in India!"

- shouted out by a dusty cycle rickshaw wallah in Rajasthan, India.

Five years ago on a backpacking trip through Asia Joel stood in Kathmandu and had to make a decision with his travel mates whether to push on into India or double back through southern China and into South East Asia. Although the resulting journey was marvelous he has always had an overwhelming desire to make up for lost time and get to the Sub-continent. Tina, on the other hand, had always wanted to see the Taj Mahal, loves Aloo Gobi but wanted to avoid Delhi belly at all costs. Decisions, decisions.

So we got together with our good friends Lucas and Tennielle grabbed some Imodium, a good sense of humour and headed to the sensory overload of India for our spring break vacation.

Walking through the dusty, crammed, loud, chaotic streets of Old Delhi we all savoured the feeling of being back, travelling through Asia. Amidts the motor cycles, motor rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, cows, goats and people we took in the forts, mosques, streets, and buildings that Delhi is famous for. As a side note learning how to swear in Hindi during my 9th grade Science class really came in handy here. I knew there was a life lesson there somewhere.

We boarded the train and headed off into the province of Rajasthan's capital, Jaipur. Train travel is not only essential for travel in India but appears to represent the arteries of a nation whose political heart is hundreds of miles removed from most of her citizens. The bustling platforms, small scale business associated with each station, shanty towns along the tracks and the tremendous ability to link Indians of all areas combine to underline the importance of this system.

We unloaded at Jaipur and took in the "Pink City". In 1876 the Maharaja had the whole city painted pink for the visit of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. (Possibly a Valentines gift gone mad?). Amongst all of this pinkness the bustling of the streets is the real draw. Camel carts, big moustaches, donkeys, etc all give the dusty city its charm. After a few days in the old city we decided to hike up to the overlooking fort. On the way down in the winding alleys we walked by our 418th cow that day. Thinking nothing of it we walked by until it reared its head and gored (maybe an overstatement) Joel in the back, tossing him across the alley and into an oncoming motor scooter. The driver was actually angry that my leg ended up under his wheel until he saw the gash across my back and sped off thinking he was at fault. What an upstanding man. Sadly, the sacred cow that in fact had caused my wounds felt no remorse. Only in this country would the rest of the people on the street take the bovine's side but alas I had utterly no defence. At the end of the day we decided to take in our first Bollywood movie at the famed Raj Mandir Cinema. The roof looked like a giant marshmellow, the crowd was lively and the movie was way over the top. Brilliant. (Odd side note - the Bollywood movie was filmed in Alberta?!?)

Patched up, we boarded a local bus and headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (courtesy of Sayaka/ Chris). Getting dumped off in Agra and hopping a rickshaw to our hostel we first caught a glimpse of the Taj. Our hostel's rooftop overlooks that grounds and we watched her all evening. Many descripters have been thrown at it over the years but it really is simply "perfect". It didn't dissapoint at all. Additionally in a trip filled with remarkably atrocious smells Agra produced the foulest of them all. Well done. Leaving late at night in a torrential downpour and howling winds our rickshaws weaved through the dark streets dropping us a block short of the train station as a billboard lay across the road. Wet and dirty we boarded the crowded night train for Varanasi.

Varanasi is a sacred destination for Hindus as they come to wash their sins away in the Ganges river and hope the die on her banks. It is where the spirituality of India's people are evident all over the colourful ghats. The shaved heads of the devoted, the ritual-laden prayer of the pilgrims, the washing of the clothes, the splashing of the children, the ringing bells, the incence burning, the creamated bodies floating, the cricket playing is all so other worldly. The river is so remarkable in that it is so unremarkable except for the peoples devotion to the mother Ganga. Its not especially long, or wide, or powerful or beautiful. But its importance to the people over rides all of these things and makes it completely facinating. We spent a few days here and took row boats up and down the area in the mornings and evenings and tried to soak it all in. It's a place that becomes more and more complex the further you look at it but is well worth the effort to linger. A highlight without question.

Back in Delhi we headed to Gandhi's memorial site at the location where he was assasinated and checked out the New Delhi part of town. A day of shopping and some well earned Kingfisher 's later our India jaunt came to a close.

It was one of the best places we've been together and can't wait to get back there soon. It was really special to travel with our good friends Lucas and Tennielle as they are returning to Australia after this school year.

Thank you India.

Maple Leafs in Muscat

2009-03-27T20:08:00.010+04:00

" Take off, you hoser!"

- Bob and Doug McKenzie of Strange Brew fame.

In the weeks that have passed since our last blog entry we have been busy soaking in the life of an expat within Muscat and the regions surrounding. We have a few weeks left before the really hot weather kicks in so we have to get "out and about" before then.

The first expat oriented event we attended this year was the biggest pop concert ever to hit the confines of humble Muscat - James Blunt. Yes, that James Blunt. For those of you giggling away at your computer screens right now I admit to being slightly ashamed. But James Blunt is a well known international musician and Muscat never sees one of those so we were excited. We walked to the outdoor concert along the beaches from our friend's apartment. He started out the concert by explaining that he has a "long list of miserable songs and this is the next one...". I actually do like James Blunt (written in hushed tones), but given the lack of cheer in his lyrics we were happy that this was a "licenced event".

Speaking of licenced events, this takes us to our next Muscat activity. Every year the local Canadian Club puts on the Canadian Stampede. This devoted group attempts to recreate a small version of the Calgary Stampede complete with line dancing, country music, beer and nanaimo bars. I like neither country music nor line dancing but the consumables got my attention. Its an event that sells out every year and reminds us of the bizarre place that we live. It was really good fun and for one night only we waved the flag proudly eh?

In addition to being couped up within the walls of Muscat we have been heading out of town as much as possible. We did some nice hikes and completed the snake canyon Via Ferratta. Apparently "via ferratta" is Italian for "iron way" or something along those lines. Originally it was used during the second world war to get soldiers across the mountains quickly. Four of us headed to the canyon knowing very little about the undertaking. We'd heard varying reports such as it's"a little hairy", "awesome" and " pretty scary". Thanks for the tips.

Basically you climb, scamping, boulder , etc across the canyon 200m up. You clamp and unclamp yourself as you climb along a steel chord attached to the rock face. Every once in awhile you get to a zip chord and zip across to the other side. The final test is a "monkey walk" where two chords run across the canyon's gap. The one above you, you are to clamp onto while walking across the chord below. A little like a tight rope with training wheels I guess. It was definatley "a little hairy", "awesome" and "pretty scary". I look forward to offering advice to the next in line.

Finally, we just arrived back from a beach camping trip to Khaluf on the east coast. We headed down just after work on Wednesday night hoping to reach a guest house by dark. We reached it, but they were full. A guest house on the edge of the desert full? We were completely surprised. With little else on offer in this desolate area to drove on until we could pull off and camp in the desert. We were very careful as we didn't want to offend anyone by being to close to the road, nor attract attention as we pulled off. Our two trucks found the "perfect" location in the pitch black night. We set up our tents and slept. As the sun rose so did the roosters, goats and children in the Bedioun camp about 50 meters from our tent. Darn. Soon enough we were invited in for tea but passed on the offer as we needed to continue on.

Khaluf's secluded beaches kept us entertained with white sand, a warm ocean, schools of dolphins and flocks of pink flamingos. Our list of favourtie camping places in Oman just keeps getting bigger.

At the end of this week we are headed off to India. We will be there for about two weeks and we are looking forward to the sensory overload that awaits.

(Secretly we have also started our countdown to seeing Canada again in June and July)

Good things come to those who wait

2009-02-21T20:40:00.011+04:00

"It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. "

- Rita Rudner

This blog is much shorter than usual but we just wanted to send you a quick note of good news. After several years together Tina and I got engaged on the evening of Feb. 19th. I know, I know, most of you are rolling your eyes saying “about time buddy”.

I took Tina on a surprise trip to her favourite spot in Oman in the very south of the country - the city of Salalah. At sunset we went to our favourite white sand dunes that crash into the turquoise Indian Ocean. With a blind fold on I told her to wait a few minutes and then follow my foot prints. Sounds nice, but very poorly executed. I peeked over the dunes to see Tina walking in the opposite direction, thrown off by all the camel prints. Thankfully, with a few shouts she got back on course.

Since I am a terrible shopper I opted to propose in a slightly different way and do the heavy buying together later. Previously, I had an Omani man take me through the old market and select special antique Omani wedding rings for each finger. They each have unique meaning.

Thankfully she said yes.

In true Oman form, moments later as we stood on our isolated sand dune a Bedouin man came racing towards us out of nowhere. After finding out what we were doing he offered us his rings too and drove off declaring Oman our country. I don’t think he has the authority to grant such a gift but the gesture was nice.

We enjoyed a special dinner on the beach that night and spent the next few days relaxing in the southern region.

In the weeks previous we have been busy with varying work duties. Tina helped put on an Aladdin production and then we each took separate student groups out on week-long trips in the country. Tina ventured into the mountains on a multi-day hike and camp trip. I took students down south for five days. Many of the pictures on the side of this entry are of the scenery, camels and rugged mountain people from the latter trip.

We are glad now to be back in Muscat, rested and happy to share our news with all of you.

Welcome Matts and your ladies

2009-01-23T16:17:00.019+04:00

Craic: "an Irish word roughly meaning fun, enjoyment, abandonment or lighthearted mischief; often in the context of drink or music. There is no english equivalent"

- Wikipedia

On the plane back from South Africa we had moments to reflect on the trip before looking forward to our awaiting visitors in Muscat. In fact, we were both so looking forward to having these four in town that while we were driving amongst the marvellous wildlife of Kruger National Park we were busily planning for our guests. Ridiculous,but true.

Matt Murphy and Cora Clarke are a couple that I met several years ago in Tibet. Together we negotiated our way across Tibet, got stuck in the middle of Maoist rebellion in northern Nepal for several days and took in the luxuries of Kathmandu. Since then they have been out to Vancouver and we attended their wedding in Donegal, Ireland. They’re great craic.

They actually arrived in Muscat a day before we did. We sent them maps, directions and instructions to get to our place. Unfortunately the Sultan was hosting the regional conference and decided to shut down the roads for 5 hours. So within 2 km’s from our place Matt and Cora stood on the side of the highway waiting for the tanks, helicoptors and SUVs to roar by before they could proceed. Welcome to the Gulf. Luckily our good friend Keith picked them up and brought them home.

The next morning on Dec 30th we arrived, and so did Matt and Alisa. Matt and Alisa have a taken a year off of their lives back in Vancouver and are travelling. They started in South Africa and came up the East coast as far as Ethiopia. From there they flew to Muscat. After Muscat they are heading through part of the Middle East, North Africa and on to South America. They will conclude their trip in Trinidad in July. Since they are at the halfway point of their journey we proved to be a much needed resting place for them. But first we wanted to show them our adopted country.

On Dec 31 we rented a big 6-seater SUV and headed out for a 3 day trip in the country. We headed down the east coast and drove into the orange sands of the Wahiba Desert. Everyone took turns sliding and bumping through the sands on the way to our camp. It was great to catch up with each other in such a bizarre environment. We stayed at a fancy desert camp for the night and exchanged resolutions at the edge of a dune under a sky of thousands of stars. Sitting up there, 2008 ended perfectly.

We started 2009 with a morning swim in the ice cold desert pool and then headed back over the dunes and into the interior of the country. We stayed in Nizwa that night and headed to the goat market at 6am the next morning. After a morning of lively goat haggling and rifle swapping we took in the local forts and castles before heading up and over the Western Hajar mountains. We drove up to one of our favourite spots in Oman; the top of a mountain pass that is always empty and barren. But today minutes after our arrival a fleet of 35 Porsches from the Muscat Porsche club joined us at the top. Then, so did a collection of 20 cyclists touring through the region. What a ridiculous scene. We all took turns winding our way through the hills and through the oasis villages below.

Back in Muscat the regional soccer tournament – the Gulf Cup - was starting. Oman was hosting the event and the country went bonkers for it. We went to a night of matches featuring the Emirates, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. We joined the ladies in the “family section” of the stadium and enjoyed the festive atmosphere created by the passionate, alcohol-free fans. After a few more evenings, including an English dinner they supplied, Matt and Cora were off back to London. They were such great people to have with us and we are looking forward to seeing them again soon. Inshallah.

With Matt and Cora back in London our travel-weary guests geared down a little and rested while they planned the rest of their journey. While in Muscat we got fully immersed in the Gulf Cup attending several games, including sliding down a wall and running through an open gate for admission. We stood the entire game in the stairs as there are no tickets and way too many people in the stadium. After each Oman win the city would fill with revellers sitting on their cars, waving their flags and having a great time. We took in the final game {Oman vs Saudi} at an outdoor shisha place on the beach. The packed crowd erupted when Oman won on penalties with everyone singing and dancing. To cap it off we got a national holiday to celebrate the next day.

During their restful time here the four of us celebrated “Christmas” on Jan 4th as well as our 30th birthdays at a party that Tina and Alisa organized for us. It was really nice to celebrate such meaningful moments with Matt and Alisa here.

After some freakish weather (rain and hail in Oman!) we were able to take them away for a day trip into the interior. As a side note the rain resulted in a day off of work due to flooding. Our first ever “rain day”. Hilarious. On our quick trip we took in a few old villages and tombs from 2000 BC. Although the weather kept us from taking Matt and Alisa to other areas of the country, it allowed them to rest and recover before heading out on the rest of their journey.

Of course, we wish Matt and Alisa all the best on their journey and are grateful that they could make us a stop on their trip.

*All photos came courtesy of our guests.

Deck the Falls

2009-01-20T20:33:00.011+04:00

"God is really only another artist. He invented the girafe, the elephant, and the cat. He has no real style. He just keeps on trying other things."

-Pablo Picasso

Leaving the beauty of Cape Town and the varying attractions of Namibia we headed towards Botswana, the Caprivi Strip, Victoria Falls and finally Kruger National Park.

Ringing out our clothes and tent from the rains of Namibia we entered a country so dry that its currency – Pula – means rain in the local language. Botswana is an economic success story in the region. An influx of investment associated with diamonds has propelled the country from a dire situation to a bright future. Years of civilian governments, strong health care and relatively little corruption are points of pride. But the country is being ravaged by HIV infection where the life expectancy hovers around 33 years old. With the diamonds set to run out in 35 years coupled with such a high infection rate many difficult decisions need to be made in the coming years.

We spent most of our time in the rural wonderland of the Okavango Delta. An area of dense vegetation and shallow waters hosting hundreds of crocodiles and Hippos. We spent a pleasant day “poling” on Mokoros (dugout canoe) through the waters amidst crocodiles as one of our guides “fished” for baby crocs with his hands. After an ill-advised piggy back fight in “Hippo-free” water we continued on through the Caprivi Strip towards Victoria Falls.

The Caprivi Strip is a narrow strip of land that extends from northern Namibia to the border with Zambia. It’s a part of Namibia that has constantly been fought over as it acts as a corridor connecting west and east Africa in this region. We had the pleasure of staying near a small village and seeing real life unfold. As well, we had a brief game drive that while the guide told us about “gestation times” and “life expectancy” our seedy Afrikaan friend explained how to grill the respective animals and what they tasted like. Classy. He topped our safari off by explaining at special events his family puts a giraffe on a spit and it feeds 250 people. We are looking forward to the invite.

On Christmas day we crossed a river from Namibia into Zambia. It was us, rich illegal diamond dealers, trucks sitting in line for a month to avoid Zimbabwe, and people with tanks of gas going back to Zimbabwe to sell. Maybe not the Hallmark edition Christmas morning but there we were. Finally, in the early afternoon we arrived in Livingstone and reached our destination – Victoria Falls. The water pounded down and mist covered the surrounding air. It was well worth the travel. We spent the afternoon walking around the falls as tons of Zambians did the same wishing all a “Merry Christmas”. That evening we enjoyed Christmas dinner on the Zambezi River.

The next morning we woke early and prepared for our “micro light” flights. On the recommendation of my brother Matt we decided to take a flight in this two seat riding lawnmower with wings. It barely exceeds 50 MPH and stutters in the air but it was marvellous. Dipping and diving around the clouds to get a good view was as memorable a way to see the falls as I could imagine. After swearing like a trucker, shaking profusely and peeing myself I am so glad we both did this.

After landing we caught a cab to the real airport and boarded our flight to Johannesburg. Far less exciting, but mush more comfortable, we arrived in Jo’burg picked up our car and drove to Kruger National Park. Again the rain followed us but this time so did the animals. Groups of Rhino walking around our car, Elephants within a trunks reach and leopards sunning on the rocks above was a great way to cap off our trip.

As we boarded our flight for home we were excited to get back to Muscat and more so because waiting for us there were good friends Matt and Cora from London and Matt and Alisa as well. We were really looking forward to seeing these familiar faces again.

Southern Africa Swing

2009-01-09T15:53:00.013+04:00

"Never, never, never again shall it be that this beautiful land experience the oppression of one by another."

-Nelson Mandela

After a brilliant time in East Africa last summer Tina and I decided to explore a much different region of the continent this winter. We headed to South Africa, Namibia and parts of Botswana and Zambia.

After very little preparation we packed our Omani tent, loaded our backpacks and headed for Cape Town.

Arriving in Cape Town was a breath of fresh air. After a year and a half split between here, other areas in the Middle East and a summer in East Africa, Cape Town was amazing. We were both a little homesick before we left and this city oozed Vancouver. It is set on the ocean, with a backdrop of mountains, the city is clean, relatively safe feeling and the population is sporty. Sounded very familiar.

The first day was spent walking through the streets and harbour in the gale force winds of the season. After Tina’s contact flew out of her eye (seriously) we boarded a boat for Robben Island. Robben island was the infamous prison for political prisoners during the apartheid era. An inspirational place of struggle, resolve and learning. Being taken around by a former prisoner made the place very alive. It’s on all the tourists lists but is well worth the crowds.

With clouds frosting the peak of Table Mountain a climb was sadly missed. Instead we took a trip around the coast to the Cape of Good Hope. An afternoon spent driving amongst deep green vineyards, tiny colourful coastal towns, shimmering tourquise waters and busy white beaches helped us gain a better understanding of the area. Along with the beautiful sights were several, heavily secured prisons, endless townships in the Cape Flats and a staggering view into the disparity of the country. The rewarding day was capped with a stop at the Cape of Good Hope and an hour or so watching the Penguins of the area play.

South Africa is a country that has left me more puzzled than almost any country I’ve visited. It’s a “nation” of European infrastructure, beautiful roads, widely spoken English and a large Afrikaans population. Standing shoulder to shoulder with this description is rampant HIV/Aids infection, extreme poverty, appalling violent crime and a life expectancy pushing 40. We read several books on the country and where its heading and no author seems to be entirely optimistic. The motivation seems pure but the troubles so deep, so convoluted and so challenging. Hosting the World Cup in 2010, we can only hope that this proves to be a positive catalyst for change. Inshallah.

Left with more questions than answers we boarded a bus headed for the Namibian capital and after 24 hours of travel complete with “come to Jesus” videos we arrived in Windhoek. Having felt “saved” from the bus ride we rented a car, put our tent in the back and headed for the North.

Our first destination was Etosha National Park. After 32 hours of continous bus, taxi, and car travel we entered the gates and were greeted with herds of giraffe and zebra. With an earlier rainy season this year finding animals proved to be a bit of a challenge. Armed with our complete lack of animal knowledge, and tiny car we set off. Afternoons, of lions, rhinos, giraffes, etc were fantastic. During the night we were treated to watching a Leopard fish in a pond next to our camp for its dinners. Very impressive.

From here we headed to the deserts in the south of the country. Winding through a wonderous mountain road our little car chuggd into a farmland town named Solitaire at the foot of the Namib desert. And it was well, solitaire. We stayed on an Afikaan man’s farm and it was just us, his three dogs and the eerie quiet of the farm. The next morning we explored the dunes and with little knowledge of what we were looking for got lost and thankfully picked up by a truck on its way out. Rookie error, but by luck we actually found the “sights” of the area.

For those of you reading this in Vancouver the idea of rain for you is a daily issue. In Oman it is non existent and in Southern Africa it falls in a familiar seasonal pattern. Not this year. The rains came heavy and they came earlier. All of which meant that our little, porous desert tent was earning its keep.

From Namibia we headed to Botswana, the Caprivi strip and on to Victoria Falls in time to have christmas at the foot of the falls. We'll post these stories and pictures in a week.

Great visits and new places

2008-11-23T09:40:00.012+04:00

"The ornaments of your home will be the guests that frequent it."

-Author unknown

Since our last post we have have been busy showing around more guests, travelling to new areas of this country, and making decisions on where we will be living next year.

Days (actually minutes) after our last post my parents arrived for another visit to our home here. In a clear admission of my lack of intelligence their arrival was anything but smooth. They were supposed to arrive at 3:55am on Monday. We arrived at the airport and waited and waited and waited until we finally had to pull the plug and head to work. Checking my emails I quickly realized that we were sleep deprived and worried for no reason. They were to arrive at 3:55am on Tuesday. Great. So back we went the next morning and waited and waited and waited, and they never turned up. Again! This time we got a call and they missed their connection. Relieved, tired and embarrassed I came back to the airport later that day and picked them up. We were happy to have them in. Really.

They had just completed a fantastic safari through East Africa and decided to pass through on their way back to Canada. It's always great to have them with us and they make for such fun and easy guests. Our few days together consisted of taking in the finer side of Muscat at one of its most exclusive restaurants (they obviously lowered their standards substantially to allow me in), a few trips through the souk, a boat trip around the coast, and hiking through the "Grand Canyon of Arabia" to an abandoned village. It was a quick few days but it was really great to have them here with us.

Following shortly after my parents were our good friends from Vancouver - Kat and Brad. They as well were on their way to East Africa and stopped here for a visit both before and after their African jaunt. Again, this visit was much appreciated as they are a fun couple to spend time with. As a side note, our alcohol supply was put to good use.

We ventured down the coast with the light of a full moon chasing us along the ocean for the entire drive. We camped to view the turtles and had great luck again with several babies scurrying around and a few mothers digging their nests. We even had the fortune of witnessing the laying of a mothers eggs. The next morning we continued to the desert for a hike up the orange dunes, the worlds slowest sand boarding trip and another night under a full moon. Brad and Kat headed off to East Africa for 10 days shortly thereafter. When they triumphantly return to the Sultanate we plan on taking them on a trip into the mountainous interior.

While they were away Tina and I found time to head out of town with our Aussie mates and drive down the coast parallel with the desert. Passing through tiny towns covered in orange sand flowing from the desert to the beaches of the coastline. A remarkable contrast in lifestyles merged in these places. The rugged, unforgiving life of a desert nomad with the sea faring life of the fishermen.

Having found a suitable camping space we quickly found a way to get their car stuck. Putting on my superman cape I tied ours to theirs to pull them out and promptly sunk ours. Only three wheels were touching the ground. Very pathetic state of affairs. By the morning we were able to get them out but all "tough guy" points were totally gone.

The journey back took us inland through a few small desert settlements that are very conservative. At one point (1820) they denounced the rule of a former Sultan and the area still carries a distinct air about it. Wandering through the crumbling town as the noon prayer was belted out over the loud speakers and into the empty streets was ominous. Doors covered in pictures of guns and swords made for an uneasy, yet fascinating stroll.

This week Tina and I have to decide what we were going to do for next year. There are many variables that play into this decision and we will keep you updated when we decide.

White Sand Holidays and faces from home

2008-10-30T14:45:00.011+04:00

"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits".

- Satchel Paige (1906-1982)

Since we last updated our blog we have been busy spending our Eid holiday on the south-east coast of Oman, touring around a few friends from Canada and taking students on another trip to Cairo.

Here, and around the Muslim world, the end of Ramadan is marked by the Eid Al Fitr holiday. For us this means a five day holiday in which we could explore regions of the country we had yet to get to. This year we joined our friends Tom and Julie and headed down on a 6hour drive to an area famed for its coastline and fishing – Ras Madrakah.

We spent several days camping on the white sand beaches and Kayaking to the islands that lay close to shore. Crystal clear waters and massive, colourful fish made the paddling and swimming exceptional (including getting dumped from our boat – we didn’t need a dry lunch anyways).

Along the route we met several of the most open Bedu that we’ve met thus far. Fully covered ladies that initiated handshakes and exchanged small Eid gifts (Pepsi products). These small interactions are, strangely, very enjoyable and seem to make us feel closer to the country.

Soon after returning from the holidays our good friend Jacqui Moffatt and three of her friends joined us here for just under two weeks. They were great fun and ready to try anything. Tina enjoyed the sudden influx of female companionship while I found many new ways to express myself in mixed company.

With the girls in town we managed to spend a few days down the coast and in the interior, sleeping in the desert for a night. Luckily in the camp with us were the Omani Ministry of Sport on a weekend retreat. They had a music troupe brought in from the coast for entertainment and put on a party that they invited us to. It was ridiculous but great fun. All the girls even got up with them at 6am and did Yoga in the middle of the desert. Picture 40 out of shape Omani fellas struggling through Yoga in the sand. Brilliant.

Tina took the ladies through the interior as I took another group of students to Cairo for 5 days. In the interior the ladies were tempted to spend their hard earned money on such items as goats, camels and rifles. I fear that customs may confiscate a few purchases. The Cairo trip was great and our team won the regional volleyball tournament. Cairo is always crazy and with 3 trips in the past 7 months its beginning to feel like a second home. Ok, that last statement is a huge lie as I am still amazed by the crazy driving, the constant sell and unfinished buildings everywhere. Thankfully they have those pointy old buildings and that long River to make up for the craziness.

This weekend we are relaxing in Muscat before my parents come for a 5 day visit. We are extremely happy to have them in for a second visit. They are currently in East Africa travelling with Matt and Alisa for a few weeks. The day after my parents leave our friends from Vancouver, Kat and Brad, will be joining us for 2 weeks.

We are very thankful to be having so many guests this year and can’t wait to continue the trips around the Sultanate.

Sharks, Scorpions and Turtles

2008-09-22T16:02:00.015+04:00

"Behold the turtle. It only makes progress when it sticks its neck out."

-James Bryant Conant (1893 - 1978)

We arrived back on the dusty Oman soil 6 weeks ago. The first few weeks were spent coordinating the new staff arrivals and getting ourselves reaquainted with "working" again. Fortunately soon after, we had time to take off and venture out into the various regions of the Sultanate. We really missed this place over the summer.

The first free weekend we had we headed down to see the giant turtles nesting again. We had heard of a secluded beach up the coast that a friend of ours had found. With the directions in hand we headed out with our friends (Lucas and Tenielle) to hang out with these pre-historic, shelled marvels. Leaving the roads behind we headed up and over a small cliff and then walked to the edge overlooking the lapping sea. Just before sunset we found the beach and it was filled with hundreds of giant craters (nesting sights). Between 10pm and midnight we wandered around in the darkness and saw 40-50 giant Turtles struggling onshore, laying eggs and then heading back into the ocean. Truly mind blowing to have this all to ourselves in the middle of nowhere. Facinating.

The following weekend we took some kayaks out along the Muscat coastline. Paddling past the Sultan's Palace, the sailor burial sites, and through secluded inlets was a wonderful way to spend the early morning. As we beached in an inlet we saw several sharks darting around the shallow water. I stepped out (not seeing the sharks) of the Kayak to push it ashore. A shark half the size of our double Kayak zipped behind my leg. In our ignorance we were sure that they were reef sharks and nothing to worry about. A day later we found out that they are Bull sharks and very aggressive. There were four full sized ones (3/4's the length of the kayaks) and the smaller one that was behind me. Ignorance certainly is not bliss.

Last weekend to decided to head up to the cool mountains in the interior. Ourselves and four of our friends hiked along the inner ridge of Omans highest peak (Jebel Shams) until we hit an old abandoned village. We camped here for the night on the terraced fields of the former inhabitants and enjoyed a view into Arabia's "grand canyon". One of the best "campsites" I've ever been in. Just the six of us and the scorpion that scurried around us at dinner.

In the next few weeks we have a 5 day holiday that will see us head south to the area where the desert meets the ocean. Additionally our good friends are getting married and we are excited about this and all the festivities surrounding that event.

We are glad to be back in Oman and looking forward to sharing it with friends soon. We have lots of visits this year starting in early Oct. and continuing through Feb. We couldn't be more pleased to show our friends this wonderful country.

Zanzibar....

2008-09-13T09:17:00.018+04:00

“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.”

-Etty Hillesum

After the jaw-dropping wildlife, wonderful people, bumpy roads and rolling hills in the interior of East Africa we made a push for the coastline and the intoxicating island of Zanzibar for our final week of our adventure.

Arriving on a fast ferry we docked in the port at Zanzibar town (the largest town on the island). Coming into shore the electric blue water, white beaches and stone forts come into view and it is exactly as you picture a place called "Zanzibar".

Zanzibar has had a turbulent past and has been touched by African, Portugese, British, Persian, Indian and Arab traders. It is this mix of cultures that makes the island such a facinating place to laze around. Part of the draw of Zanzibar for us is it's intertwinned history with Oman.

For much of the previous centuries Oman was the most powerful sea-faring nation in the region. Muscat gained tremendous wealth through the goods traded through Zanzibar, including the infamous slave trade. The nations are so connected that for a brief period Zanzibar was the capital of Oman and home of the Sultan. Seeing the clothes and customs of Oman in such a far off island was comforting in some strange way.

We started in Stonetown and spent a day wandering the streets and admiring the Arabic influenced arcitecture. This is by far the most tourists we saw during the entire trip. There are all ranges of people, families, and nationalities wandering the winding streets. It is little wonder why people flock in such numbers. After a day here we headed to the East coast and an area called Bweju.

Bweju is a quiet, less busy area of the island and we stayed at a place called "Mustafa's Nest". Our days were filled with lying in the white sand, swimming in the crystal blue waters, reading in hammocks and getting Henna tatoos (Tina). Life was hard. We met several interesting people ending thier summers on the same beaches as us and enjoyed sharing our final few days of holiday together.

After a summer spent on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, in the lushness of the Ugandan country side and in the mist of the Rwandan hills, the warm waters of Zanzibar was a perfect conclusion to an unbelievable summer.

Since Oman is filled with beautiful beaches of its own we were not regretful to be leaving that aspect of our summer behind. Instead it is the colours, smells, singing, drumming, laughter, and smiles of East Africa that we are the most sad to leave behind. A co-worker, who has lived in East Africa for three decades, told us that the earth in that land is "alive".

She couldn't have desribed it more perfectly.

We have already been back in Muscat now for 6 weeks and in our next post we will highlight some of the things we have done since returning.

Rwanda

2008-09-06T19:51:00.014+04:00

"I feel more comfortable with gorillas than people. I can anticipate what a gorilla's going to do, and they're purely motivated".

- Dian Fossey

"In their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda".

- Kofi Annan

* To support the Gorillas check out: http://www.gorillafund.org/support/donate.php

* To learn more about the 1994 Genocide check out: http://www.kigalimemorialcentre.org/old/index-2.html

Arriving at the packed border we waved goodbye to the 9 Ugandans we had shared the tiny car with (including 2 wily men that jumped on bikes to ride around a police check and re-enter the car) and walked into Rwanda.

Growing up in Canada the Rwandan crises was a news story that filled our teenage years. Since then we've read several books and had a keen interest in the country. The excitement of walking into a country that had been so "far off" and "exotic" as a youngster was humbling. We are very fortunate to have these opportunities.

As we packed into the nearest minibus we weaved through the towering, terraced hills that characterise this immensly populated country. Not an inch seemed spared as the fields were being worked with hoes and machetes the entire 3 hour journey from the border to Kigali.

We must mention the inevitable unease that accompanies being in a country so soon after a tragedy as occured here 14 years ago. Although we both knew it was foolish, you could not help but look around at anyone over the age of 25 and think they either did something terrible, saw something terrible or were forced to live through something terrible. Of course, these thoughts soon passed but the reality of those events still filled everyday. From the accused genocidaires in the pink prison uniforms working the streets to the horrific injuries people were walking around with, you couldn't help but be affected.

That being said, the county's current slogan is "WE are Rwanda" and they seem to be living by it. Presently citizens are picking up ID cards that do not distinguish between "Hutu" and "Tutsi" but merely "Rwandan". The aid dollars are pouring in and from the outside looking in the progress is stunning. Above all there seems hope despite the tragedy.

Arriving in Kigali we walked the streets reliving the stories we have heard. The city is remarkably French, extremely organized and almost European in its atmosphere. A world away from its neighbours it is an entirely different "Africa". A long afternoon of struggling up the hills of the city we ended with a beer at the pool of the Hotel Mille-Collines (Hotel Rwanda). Being little more than a decent hotel, with a garden and tall hedge its hard to picture this as a scene of such heroism.

The following day was spent at the Genocide Museum in Kigali. It is very well done and presents the tragedy as respectfully as posisble. During our visit a group of visiting Rwandans around our age walked with us. As we all walked on many became overwhelmed with the awful images and stories on display. The screams and tears of these young people was heart wrenching. Living through the death of their nation and now reliving it through this museum is a feeling very few can ever empathize with.

A few days spent in the surrounding towns later we had both a better perspective on daily Rwandan life and a bad haricut (at least I did). While waiting for a bus that was coming "soon" I thought it a good idea to get my haircut in the street. Sure enough there was a willing participant and he assured me through hand signals that he knew what he was doing. I walked out with a shaved head and only the bottom half of my beard intact. The crowd approved but I wasn't setting Tina's heart ablaze with my new look. Fairly ugly fella.

Eventually we made our way to the North East of Rwanda and the hills made famous by Dian Fossey's "Gorillas in the Mist". After getting to the staging post we set out with 8 others, our guide, two soldiers and a "trail blazer" (dude with a machete). We tracked the gorillas for 3 hours through the thisk mist until we came to a clearing and saw the magnificent animals. We were surrounded by the 39 members of the Suza family. We spent the most speechless, unreal hour of our lives watching the movements of our hairy cousins. They are truly without peer.

This family is the largest in the region and includes four 400lb silverbacks, two twin babies and "Poppy" from Dian Fossey's research. No words I can write can approach describing them so instead we will fill these pages with their images. It was an honor to visit them.

Having spent several days in Rwanda we met many interesting aid workers, researchers, an old friend and people trying to "make a difference". These people are doing wonderful things but it is the Rwandans themselves that have made the biggest difference. They are Rwanda.

From here we made a mad dash towards our final destination of the summer - the white sands of Zanzibar.

Uganda - The Pearl of Africa

2008-08-29T17:07:00.019+04:00

"The person who has not traveled widely thinks his or her mother is the best cook".

-Ugandan Proverb (does not apply to our mothers)

Leaving Tanzania we had both been very ill for several days. When we felt ready to board our 16 hour bus (when are you ever ready?) and off we went. One breakdown, a bus change, two border crossings, several problems later we arrived in Uganda 35 hours after departure and at midnight. Emerging from the garbage filled, cramped, sweaty bus we stepped out into the dark streets of Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

Uganda is a country filled with a tumultuous post-independence history. Much of the remnence of Idi Amin’s rule is still visible today and glamourized in the book and movie “The Last King of Scotland”. The country is poor, the people are very kind and the land is lushly beautiful. When John Speke first arrive he declared it the “pearl of Africa” and one would be hard to argue today.

A few days spent in the busy streets of Kampala and we hitched on to a budget safari heading to Murchison Falls National park in the North West of Uganda, along the Congolese border. Having not planned or budgeted for a safari we were thrilled to jump in our little vans with pop off roofs for a few days of camping in the national park.

Driving into the park monkeys, baboons, warthogs, and buffaloes scurried around our vehicle. Spending dusk at the Falls we watched the sunset over the source of the Nile and listened to the animals in the distance.

At dawn the next morning we grabbed a ferry across the river and drove into the densest part of the area. Seeing the array of animals in this savannah setting was utterly surreal. It was not as packed with animals as areas like Kruger, the Serengetti and Ngorogoro crater but it was stunning for us.

As our van drove through the tall brush all the animals in the area had stopped and looked our way. Suddenly out from our left sprung a pride of seven Lions almost into the side of our truck. We had accidently arrived in the path of their hunt. Seven lions circled our truck looking beyond us to the animals in the distance that they had been stalking. We stared in awe.

We floated in a tiny boat down the Nile to the base of Murchison Falls. The fiver was filled with hundreds of Hippos, crocodiles, etc. From our small boat we could appreciate the sheer size of the hippos and grace of the elephants on the shore. Very cool three days.

From here we grabbed a bus and headed to the south-west corner of Uganda and an area called Lake Bunyoni. It’s a giant lake sprinkled with several islands and a great place to escape the hectic environment of the mainland. Being awoken by dawn drums and singing from the distant islands, using lanterns as your only source of light and enjoying food that requires 5 hours of warning to prepare you can’t help but relax. We met many interesting people in this area both local and aid workers. Its cross section of populations as you can look into both the Congo and Rwanda from the surrounding hills.

After a few days here we piled into a local shared taxi (10 people in a tiny car with the driver sitting on someone’s lap) and headed to the Rwandan border. We have both been interested in Rwanda for many years due to its recent history and the presence of gorillas. We were about to learn much more about both in the coming days.

We will post these stories in the next two weeks.

Hope your summer is winding down well where you are in the world.

The roof of Africa

2008-08-13T09:04:00.011+04:00

"Where there is a will there's a way"

-some idiot that obviously never hiked at altitude before.

We arrived in the Tanzanian unofficial capital of Dar es Salaam in the early afternoon on a bright June day. Immediatley the bright colors of the orange dirt, clothes that people wore and the lush vegetation was welcomed after a year living near the desert. Even as our plane prepared to land on the shores of East Africa the colours of the earth and vegetation were vibrant.

After a day in Dar we arranged an 8 hour bus to the Northern region at the foot of Kilimanjaro. The trip was filled with tiny villages boasting all types of tribes with their colourful clothing, spears and piercings. All attempts to pierce my lips and hunt with a spear proved pathetically futile. We based ourselves for a few days in the larger, friendly town of Moshi.

From this northern city we started our climb of Kilimanjaro. Along with our support staff we also had a Spanish couple join us. They had just gotten married and he was a true, slightly out of his mind, mountain man. But she didn't really seem to know what she was getting into. (this made for rather entertaining exchanges of Spanish passion on the hill - translation: "what the hell have you gotten me into you...".) He planned this part of their trip and glossed over many of the challenges with "no problem, no problem". Loco.

For 4 days we slowly hiked for 7 hours a day towards our final climb. These days were very easy, very slow, very tame walking days. They say the key is to go "Pole, pole" (slowly, slowly in Swahili) and we certainly did that. The final summit day starts at 11pm when we are awoken and prepared to go up. On this final day we cover a 2000m climb (combined day and night) in about 12 hours. We start that day at 3800m and end at 5800m. Victoria (the Spanish girl) fell very ill that night so we went on without her.

In the freezing cold dark we climbed and climbed using our headlamps to find the way. Our lead guide was awesome and sang through what has to be a challenging physical experience for anyone. I just followed behind Tina. She climbed and climbed. I puked. Then she climbed and climbed some more. I puked again. What a tough guy eh? The altitude really played with my stomach and head on this final climb. The walk was steep but the illness would simply come out of nowhere. We continued up at a steady clip.

After 5 hours of climbing we reached the craters edge. Tina jumped for joy. I puked. As we continued along the edge high above the clouds, the sun rose over Africa. It was a stunning. We reached the highest point in Africa just before 7 am. It was a massive moment.

We had to descend all the way down to 3800m right away. I was feeling ill and the drop in altitude was helping. As a side note the Spanish guy climbed later that day when his wife was resting and climbed in near record time. Loco.

After a day of recovery in Moshi we boarded a 16 hour bus for Kampala. At least that was the plan. After some breakdowns, pot holes, dirt roads, no lights, bus changes, etc the journey took an epic 35 hours by bus. We have both been on long, dirty buses in various parts of the world but this was at the bottom. The fun was just beginning. We had entered the "pearl of Africa" - Uganda.

We will post those stories and pictures in a few days.

Hope you are enjoying the summer where you are.

Road Rules

2008-06-14T15:01:00.018+04:00

" When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

-Yogi Berra (1925-)

- Oman's interior region is painfully lacking in towns. This sign gives all the info needed.

Apologies for our lack of “blogging” of late. Our school year has just come to a close, good friends have moved on and we are currently preparing for the summer. As well, we went to a Proclaimers concert (which we treated as if they were U2), attended Oman's World Cup qualifying games vs Japan (very sweaty) and made another trip to Dubai (for winter clothes!).

Amidst all of this movement, the temperatures have continued to reach mercury levels we are both unfamiliar with and our heads have begun to spin. Before everyone journeys out on the road for your summer vacation we wanted to explain the road here in Oman.

Oman’s roads are a new addition to the country. As recently as 1970 the country had one paved road running from the Palace to the airport (at least those are the rumours). With relatively inexpensive gas and a population that appears to enjoy owning vehicles new roads are being built by the minute.

This blog is mainly dedicated to an aspect of roads that few in North America are familiar with – the Roundabout. Functionally speaking, they are designed to slow traffic at converging points and allow vehicles to flow in and out of these points with little inconvenience. Realistically, they are the points where traffic races into and out of playing multiple games of chicken and expressing our undying love for our fellow travellers in several hand gestures.

Here in Oman the Roundabout is also used as an avenue for civic pride. The middle of the Roundabouts are decorated with giant books, fountains, etc. Some of the best are included in this blog. Enjoy and be safe on the road this summer.

-Nothing like a giant, glowing lump of Frankincense to say "turn left". Ruwi.

- Anyone got the time? Salalah.

- Sadly, no Mad magazines in the pile at the Book Roundabout. Nizwa.

- Coolest Roundabout. Fort,clock,cultural painting combination. Bravo Nizwa exit. Seeb.

Golden Jugs. Very popular photo op. Muttrah.

- Re-creation of Sinbads boat. High points for creativity. Near Al Bustan Palace, Old Muscat.

We are off to Africa next week and will try to blog while travelling. If not, have a great summer where you are and we'll be back in August.

Searching for new treasures

2008-05-09T18:01:00.010+04:00

"Goonies never say die!"
-Mikey (Goonies character, 1985)

We have just completed our first week of days all over 40 degrees. It has inspired us to hide in the air-conditioned house today and finally get out this overdue blog.

Since our last post I have returned from another trip to Cairo. This time it was with our track team that went to the regional meet to compete against teams from Africa, Southern Europe, and the Middle East. The team did extremely well and it was a great time meeting people from all over the region.

Since returning to Muscat we have tackled a couple of things on our "to do" list. Wadi Shab is an exceptional wadi a few hours down the east coast of Oman. We have heard numerous accounts of its beauty prior to Cyclone Gonu of last summer. Since we can't vouch for the stories from the past we headed down to find out the present day state.

Navigating the drive down the coast is easy - ocean to your left and a wall of mountains to your right. Funneling down the coast, just before the town of Tiwi, the mountains break and Wadi Shab bursts through the mountain wall and displays its palm fringed floor and tourquise waters. A breathtaking site that we understand was even more phenominal before the storm. We parked the car and hiked in.

We trekked on the wadi floor, with the towering rock walls straight up on either side. Starting in sand and through palm trees, the journey continous over barren rock and around pools of spring water. The rocks get more and more important as water greets you on all sides. As the water gets deeper and deeper it became obvious we needed to dump our bags and swim on. Finally, our dog paddling got us to "the key hole" - a tiny opening in the rocks just big enough for the top of your head. Struggling through this dark, "aqua tunnel" we emerged into a huge cave complete with plunging water falls. It felt straight out of the Goonies. Only One Eyed Willie's pirate ship was missing and of course Sloth, swinging down saying 'heeey you guuuuys'. That woulda been cool.

As we hiked out of the wadi we realized that you sometimes forget where you are in the world. We passed two gentlemen and exchange pleasentries without raising an eyebrow, before realizing they were walking their donkeys, carrying their rifles and probably wondering why we were dressed so funny. What a great place.

Closer to our home here we also wanted to check out the The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. We pass it at least twice a day since its right next to our house on the way to work. The Mosque is said to be one of the finest in the Gulf and the Sultan went all out, including the worlds largest handmade carpet. What the Great Wall of China is to "Greatness", the Grand Mosque is to "Grandness". Sparing you the numerous impressive details the 416,000 square meter complex can house 20,000 worshippers at a time. None of which would leave saying, "good golly, if they had just spent a bit more on the marble floors this place really would be grand." Rest assured, its pretty grand.

We have been spending our evenings firming up our details for our summer vacation. We will be spending nearly 2 months in Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. We are very excited and already starting to count the days down.

We think of our friends and family often and wish you well in your corner of the world.

A smugglers paradise

2008-04-11T18:29:00.013+04:00

"Solitude never hurt anyone. Emily Dickinson lived alone, and she wrote some of the most beautiful poetry the world has ever known... then went crazy as a loon."

- Lisa Simpson

The past few weeks have been filled with Tina spending all of our hard earned Rials on a shopping weekend to Dubai and me hiking and camping in the cool air of the mountains. This past week was our school's Spring Break ("spring" at 40 degrees?), and we set our sights on Oman's isolated northern region - Musandam.

Musandam is a strange piece of Oman as it sits totally detached from the country on the other side of the UAE, as the southern point of the Straight of Hormuz. Go ahead, get out an Atlas. It's there and it's strange. This unique geography has leant itself to a curious history and an isolated development. The rocky cliffs plunging into the sea create fjords and give this region the name of "Norway of Arabia". Very little blonde hair, no high taxes and a complete absence of cross country skiing-Biathletes may call this reference into question but the fjords are impressive.

Until only a few years ago the only way to reach these hardy people was by boat. Evidently, those wily Iranians have been motoring over on small boats (Iran is a mere 45 km away) and bringing illegal cigarettes with them. In exchange they return with a boat load of goats and the task of arriving home secretly. The smugglers are still around today and this "what trade?" exchange has appareantly been going on for many, many years. I guess things would really get complicated if the goats started smoking eh? The gig would surely be up then.

We spent our nights camping up in the hills in the interior of the area. The air was cooler there and the tiny villages we past on the vertiguous dirt road were facinating. Our first encounter with a scorpion prompted us to move sites our second night and we ended up in an Accacia forest. Our days were spent walking through villages, checking out the fort and taking a Dhow boat ride through the fjords. Several dolphins trailed our boat during the trip and we even had the 'privilege' of snorkelling with Jelly fish. We have safely determined that the sting of a jelly fish here is the same as at home. I'd be glad to tell you that I bravely pee'ed the sting off my own body but sadly I didn't have the stomach for that and merely waited out the pain. A good story was missed.

The interesting geography of the area, the multiple border crossings, the stunning scenary and the eclectic mix of individuals that made up the area combined for a memorable spring break. As a final note on the people of the land, the men are famous for carrying a "Jeerz" with them. In the rest of Oman, it is my understanding, that older distingushed gentlemen walk with a walking stick ("camel stick") that signals a certain status. Here in Musandam, the wooden end of the stick is replaced by a sharp medal axe head. It is for work, protection and "keeping kids in line". Classic. I have found a new addition to my teaching strategies.

The Frankincense trail

2008-03-25T22:22:00.012+04:00

" Who do you think you are, the Queen of Sheba?"

-UK and Canadian saying, implying the person thinks that they are of great importance.

Since our last blog entry Tina and I have been tangling through the day to day events that keep us all “busy”. Finally we decided to take off with our friends Lucas and Tenielle and head south to the city of Salalah for our 4 day Easter weekend.

Along the northern coastline of Oman is where the vast majority of the population lives. The Muscat area contains the masses and the settlements trickle off in the either direction until you hit the UAE in the West or coast too rugged to settle in the East. South of Muscat there are the long, jagged Hajar mountains running from east to west slicing the country in half. Beyond this range is a desolate, unforgiving desert plateau that stretches for nearly 1000km until it plunges abruptly into the warm ocean at the southern tip of Oman. Where this plunge occurs is the site of the ancient city of Salalah.

Although many have never heard of Salalah it is famed as the alleged home of the Queen of Sheba, the bearer of Frankincense, among the most important trading cities in ancient Arabia, and host of one of the most important wars that nobody has heard of. Admitedly it may not have massive international appeal but it was enough to hook us.

To locals the main draw of the city is the summer monsoon season of constant rain bringing beautiful green hills and vegetation sorely lacking in the rest of the region. As much as we laughed at the idea of this “draw” it really was quit amazing to see vegetation, water and green again. As a side note ruining the serene setting by yelling "Canonball!! Everybody in!!" and plunging into the water, doesn't go over really well with the locals. Who knew?

The first day was spent exploring east of the town. We drove through secluded bays filled with white sand, tourquise water and dolphins chasing schools of fish. In one of these bays lies the site of the Queen of Sheba’s palace, where she controlled the sale of Frankincense in the south with King Solomon in the Holy Land to the north. We continued along weaving around countless wandering camels, passing through sleepy coastal villages, enjoying the green lushness of a flowing Wadi, and finally hiking over the large sand dunes and enjoying the clear ocean that awaited us on the other side. With the increase in traffic at a previously isolated spot I think the local fellas enjoyed us as well. In fact two low flying helicopters flew by as we swam. Everyone was very poilte just very interested. As much as it pains me to admit, I think neither Lucas nor I were of any interest at all.

The second day was spent journeying towards the Yemen border. Taking in Jobs tomb, Frankincense sites, active blowholes and beautiful scenery we forgot one important item. As we climbed through the mountainous coastline that leads to Yemen we became painfully aware of our low supply of gas and the complete lack of places to fill this need. After one Army checkpoint we had to head back as it was clear we’d be out of petrol quite literally in the “middle of nowhere”. Since it was illegal for us to cross at the border anyways, the only thing we missed was the chance to get turned away by a surely border guard. Another time.

Our final day was spent in the town itself and we filled our time walking through the fruit plantations, eating at huts, strolling along the beaches and through the frankincense laden markets. In the market they have a strange combination of frankincense stores, perfume stores, and gun paraphanalia stores. I guess you want to smell nice when you're shooting stuff.

It was in the market that a man bumped into Tina and he was wearing no shirt, a sarong, a large traditional knife on his waist and carried a rifle on his shoulder. Upon further review, he gets the right of way. Naturally, our Aussie mates pulled out their knives and said, "You call that a knife? This is a knife". (Ok, so Paul Hogan wasn't with us but it would have been great) We saw several old men carrying rifles with them around town and these are the Jebali men from the surrounding hills.

It was these men that fought for their independence from a British-backed Oman in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This began as a local fight but the rebels soon began being trained by the Russians and the Chinese Marxists of the time. Many theories abound but a well recognized theory is that the communists of the time wanted control of Oman through this battle so they could control the Straight of Hormuz. The Straight of course, is the mouth into the Persian Gulf. Speculation spins wildly from that point but it has been called a “crucial but forgotten conflict” of the cold war period. We four sun burnt tourists posed no such threat.

In the coming weeks we will enjoy our Spring break that may take us to the Nothern point of Oman, Musandam.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter break and that spring has "sprung" for you wherever you are.

In the desert, the mighty desert…

2008-03-03T19:31:00.030+04:00

For all the toll the desert takes of a man it gives compensations, deep breaths, deep sleep, and the communion of the stars.
-Mary Austin

Since you have last seen me I have become a desert expert… or least I should be. In December, I finally got to run up and down and roll around giant sand dunes when we traveled to Wadi Rum, Jordan. This is something I had wanted to do since I can remember, maybe not advisable with the hard contact lens I wear but I nonetheless loved it! Now under my belt are several other journeys to the dunes in Oman known as the Wahiba Sands or Sharquia Desert including both Joel and my parent’s visits.

My true desert experience though came along due to the fact that the High School was short on female chaperones for its annual ‘Discover Oman’ four day field trip week. I, temporarily forgetting my ‘immense’ fear of teenagers, eagerly agreed! The trip I agreed to chaperone along with one other male teacher was known in the High School as the ‘camel trek’ and was the most popular trip to go on!

We set out the morning after Joel’s parents left. We drove about 45 minutes by 4X4 into the sands (about 2.5 hours from Muscat) when we came upon our ten camels and 3 guides awaiting us and there we were quite literally dropped off the middle of the desert. (The 4X4’s were gone before we could say … ’I change my mind…’).

The first part of the trek (where ½ the kids rode camels and then they alternated mid-way) was 6 km to our night’s first camp. To say I think camels are one of the most interesting animals to photograph and watch is an understatement (ask Joel – we still stop on the highway every time we see one); traveling with us was also two young camels (~1 yo) that walked along beside their moms. Camels make the most unreplicatable noises and their lower lips bounce up and down as they walk.

I learned how to read the dunes to tell where the sand was a bit crustier so I wouldn’t sink too far in. It really is an art to walking in the desert; I wore my running shoes the whole time and am still removing sand from them! However others preferred to walk in their socks or bare feet.

Our first night we set up Bedouin tents to protect us from the chilly desert air (~ 3 degrees Celsius at night) on the top of one of the 32 major dunes that travel north/south and span what is the Wahiba Sands. (Check it out on Google Earth – it’s amazing to see from above!) Our food and tents were brought to our camps by trucks and the camels slept several meters away on the other side of the dunes from us, their Bedouin caretakers by the fire.

The next three days we trekked up and down three of the major dunes (~ 25 km) and stayed the second night in one of our Bedouin guides camps (he and his extended family live in ~ 3 huts year round). The treks up the dunes were tiresome and you feel the sun beating on you, but the excitement of reaching the top of a dune to see what awaited you on the other side kept you going. Once on the top of a dune, you could cool yourself by running down the other side and letting the wind air you out!

At nights, we listened to Bedouin music by the guides, made Arabic bread in the fire (similar to making Bannock) and of course told ghost stories. The good thing about doing so much walking in the sun was that the kids were usually so tired that this shy, soft spoken chaperone didn’t have to tell anyone to be quiet or worse ‘Get out of the Boys Tent! They were great; everyone was super at drinking plenty of water and applying lots of sunscreen!

Every evening from ~ 5- 6 PM just before the sunset the students wrote in their journals and I had some time to sit on my own dune and reflect on how enjoyable Joel’s and my life here in Oman is and imagine how we made it here and how far away it seemed from where we were last year! It was also a great time to take photos. One truly can never have enough dune and camel shots and these moments are my favorite from the trip.

About a week after Joel and I returned from our respective Discover Oman trips, my parents came over from Kelowna. It was fun to show my parents around a lot of the places we love here in Oman. Unfortunately, their visit coincided with Joel having to be away in Cairo, Egypt for a sports event and so my parents only had me as their guide! But thanks to their visit, I am now finally confident enough to brave the Omani highways and roads, something I had only done a handful of times since arriving here (usually to get myself to the mall to shop!).

We had a few days in Muscat with Joel and then we took off down the coastal road where we stopped for a picnic lunch (after unsuccessfully trying to find the “sinkhole”). We saw some of the devastation along this road caused by last June’s cyclone, ‘Gonu’ and how they are slowly repairing things.

Our destination was the 1000 Night’s Desert Camp where we had gone with Joel’s parents which is about 30 minutes into the Wahiba sands. My dad took the reins as I was too chicken to drive in the sand and let’s just say we only had to get the KIA ‘unstuck’ once with the help of a Bedouin man driving by who got the car out by deflating the tires to increase traction. We all had to sigh and say ‘this is fun!’

The next day we drove from the desert to the town of Nizwa where we went to the 7:00 AM Friday morning Goat market which was bustling with even more activity than when we had been there before. My dad estimated about 300 people milling around and about an equal number of goats, cows and bulls.

My parents and I traveled to a few forts before embarking on what Joel and I have dubbed the ‘up and over’ which is a 4X4 trip that literally take you up and over the Western Hajar mountain range (2500 M high). The south side is steep but paved and the north side is not paved and contains many switchbacks. My dad once again drove and navigated us down the road through several mountain villages with date palms and canyons ending in a dry river bed known as Wadi Bani Auf. The trip was reminiscent of the drive we had to take to get to Tembagapura (where my parents lived in Indonesia).

It was wonderful to have my parents here if even it was for a short time! It was hard to see them off! My parents were off to Portugal next for some golfing! Sorry for the length, I have trouble sitting down to write these and it was definitely my turn!

Familiar faces

2008-02-08T08:33:00.000+04:00

"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. We make discoveries about ourselves."

-Gail Lumet Buckley

Shortly after returning from Syria my parents came for a 10 day visit. It’s been 6 months since we were last in Canada and it was fantastic to see them again.

The first few days were spent getting over their jet lag and re-enacting Christmas dinner here. Under the fine leadership of Tina and help from my mom “Christmas” was fantastic. After that it was time to take off to various areas of the country.

We first ventured into the interior to Nizwa, the former capital of Oman. Very early on Friday morning, after a night’s stay complete with ants, we met Bedouin from the region who were converging on a small goat market. Here they swap livestock in an extremely lively bartering session – goats, camels, cattle, etc are all paraded around and auctioned off. It’s a truly unique atmosphere. In fact, I got so caught up in it I traded Tina for 17 goats. Afterwards we headed to some of the Gulfs finest forts and castles, and wandered through a walled village known to be the home of “spirits”.

Following a few days on the beaches surrounding Muscat we headed off to camp in the Wahiba Sands desert. Driving through the red sand dunes for 40 km we hit our camp for the weekend. A few hikes up the dunes and some failed “crazy carpet” attempts later we shook the sand from our nether regions and departed. On our way back we drove beside a young Bedouin boy running his camel. He was equally as interested in us and for a brief moment I considered his offer to trade camel for car. Having doubts about my earlier trade of Tina for goats I passed.

After a short 10 days my parents were off for Jordan and Egypt. It was great having them here and we only wished they could have been here longer.

In a few days Tina's parents will be making their Middle Eastern debut. We are really looking forward to their stay.

On our next blog we will detail Tina’s 4 day trek through the desert with camels.

Yalla Syria!

2008-01-28T20:58:00.000+04:00

"We, in Syria, our point of view stems from our experience".

-Bashar al-Assad (President of Syria)

As we prepared for this trip and told people we’d be traveling to Syria we got two very different responses. Those that have been there told us how much they wish they could return. Those that hadn’t asked, “Why”?!? If, for nothing else our anticipation was peaked by the unknown. Leaving Jordan we wondered what the next few weeks would have for us. (Tina for the most part was wondering if there would be heat in the rooms or hot water?

Crossing the border from Jordan by bus immediately brought us back to the time we spent in Russia. At the border the toilets were filled with large women washing their stockings in the sinks, the men smoking like chimneys and the border guards sorting through stack and stacks of old passports. We crossed the border behind a truck that the guards revealed to be carrying loads of people under canvass sheets. As they got waved through we were fairly sure that we too could enter.

On New Years Eve we arrived in the Old city in Damascus. The city lays claim to being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It is a center of Islamic culture and a wonderfully charming location. We spent the next few days wandering through the walled town and soaking in the thick atmosphere of the old souk. It had been a very long time since I felt that a city had such an incredible air about it. But Damascus truly is special. After a relatively sober New Years we pushed on to the interior and the desert ruins of Palmyra.

Palmyra is an ancient ruined city that was the major site of Roman influence in the region. At one point the female leader turned on Rome and defeated the empire’s armies several times before the Emperor himself was forced to drive her from the city. There are very few tourists and you walk onto the site for free and can wander around as you like. The atmosphere is remarkable as you stand in the desert at the edge of the palm fringed oasis (hence the name “Palmyra”). It really had the feel of a far flung Roman outpost. We were tempted to head north east to the sparsely populated region dominated by the Kurds but as time was an issue we turned instead to the interior city of Hama.

Hama is well known through the Middle East as many claim that the moaning sounds of the wooden wheels echo through the region. The wheels are used to help scoop water from a painfully low river to the irrigation system above. The city is also well known for being destroyed in the 80’s by the government troops for sympathizing with rebel groups. We trudged into town in the pouring rain, slightly lost and getting cold. Thankfully we found our way and in the next few days enjoyed the town and a trip through the rolling country side that included an Ismaili castle and a giant castle the Crusaders left behind. Having played “hide and seek” for hours we carried on to our final stop, Aleppo.

Aleppo remains a more traditional city and the souk (market) is still alive with day to day shoppers. The atmosphere of the covered souk is unreal. We strolled by stores selling meat from a camel carcass, intricate rugs, thick incense, gold, silver, and all items of daily use. Brilliant.

Leaving Syria we felt that the sites of Jordan were very impressive but that the atmosphere of Syria and the kindness of the Syrian people was truly special. It was not uncommon for one of to hear a passerby murmur a ‘Welcome’ that only could have been directed to us. Our journey to another section of the Middle East has increased our knowledge and understanding of many of the people of the area. No longer I feel, will we solely associate these wonderful areas and peoples with the newspaper headlines they have come to be ‘known’ by. We were tired and cold but immensely impressed with both counties as we headed back to Oman and life in Muscat.

As we missed a New Years edition blog entry, we’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

The Hashemite Kingdom

2008-01-12T23:41:00.000+04:00

" Jordan has a strange, haunting beauty and a sense of timelessness. Dotted with the ruins of empires once great, it is the last resort of yesterday in the world of tomorrow. I love every inch of it. "

-King Hussein I

Smack in between Iraq and the Palestinian Territories, Jordan offers some of the most intriguing sights, hospitable people and fascinating landscape we’ve seen. Two massive surges of Palestinian refugees and a recent surge of over 100,000 Iraqis, brings a very diverse population that has somehow remained the most stable in the region. Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, etc all in the midst of the Israeli/Palestinian situation…we were excited to see what it was all about.

After landing in Amman we headed to the southern point of the nation renowned for its diving – Aqaba. Sitting on our balcony staring across the gulf at Israel’s cities, and Egypt’s desolate Sinai it was a bizarre crossroads to be in. To add to the mystique thousands of people from all over the Middle East were returning from the Hajj pilgrimage through this bustling port town. People watching aside, since we both forgot our water wings we didn’t get in the water but instead turned to the land of Lawrence of Arabia….Wadi Rum.

Wadi Rum is a landscape filled with red sand poured between massive red monoliths resembling blobs of melted candle wax. Christmas Eve was spent rocking to the lumbering beat of the camels we rode and attempting to make sense of the views in front of us. We continued on with the help of our one-humped friends and stayed the night in a Bedouin camp with two young guys from the desert. A full moon was out that night and we walked through the moonlit desert while one of the boys sang from his tent. A different, but brilliant, way to spend Christmas Eve. Rest assured Santa did drop off a few gifts in the desert that night and we spent the next day hiking around the area and sliding down rock faces on ill advised decisions. Getting older, but not smarter.

As the sun went down Christmas night we made our way to Petra. As a solid member of the 7 wonders of the world (as well as highly recommended by Tina's grandmother), Petra had a big billing to live up to. With no one else there we went through the gates around 6am and started up the Siq. The Siq is a natural, thinly sliced path through the rocks that winds for 1.2 km and adds so much tension to your anticipation. Finally seeing the Treasury (as seen in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) emerge as you round the final curve couldn’t have been done any better if they tried to create a “tourist entrance” today. Truly jaw dropping. We spent two full days hiking as much of the area as we could in this ancient Nabataen site. As a people that gained their wealth charging taxes on the traders that past through their area, they might very well be some of the worlds most famous “middle men”. After two long days we entered the gates on our final evening to walk the Siq and see the buildings illuminated with 1,500 candles and the stars above. Tons of tourists, very cold, lots of walking but man was it incredible.

From Petra we pushed on to some of the political and historically intriguing aspects of the country. We based ourselves in the small town of Madaba, filled with ancient mosaics and holy relics near the River Jordan. From here we went to Mount Nebo, where Moses finally saw the Promised Land (coincidently so did Tina) and looked onto Jeruselem, Bethleham, the West Bank and all that it encompasses. Winding down through the hills on the King's Highway and into the East Bank we drove past donkeys, camels and Palestinian camps as we headed for the Jordan River. Washing our faces in the river at the exact site of Jesus’ baptism was a moving, memorable experience.

Our final stop was the lowest point in the world – the Dead Sea. The sea is 30% salt (ocean water is normally about 4%) and got its name due to the inability of anything to live in its waters. A misty thick cloud of evaporating salt water hovers over the site and adds to the unease as you first enter. Admitedly we spent way too much time laughing and floating around in the water to be taken seriously. It was ridiculous but was unlike anything we’ve done before. As I side note I now know the exact location of every cut on my body. A few tears were shed.

The incredibly varied sites that Jordan packs into such a small country are staggering. Hopping around the country you can really appreciate the difficult position of the nation and be impressed at the stability amidst all the tensions of the populace. We stayed the night in Amman as we prepared for Syria.

From here we set out on the road for Damascus…..

Masirah Island and Merry Christmas

2007-12-14T21:06:00.000+04:00

" I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end".

- Margaret Thatcher (1925 -)

Our last blog entry was all about our friend Tish and his visit to Oman. Unfortunately, Tish left at the beginning of a long holiday weekend. His flight departed at the pleasant hour of 4am and sleep deprived and weary we left at 7:30am for a camping trip. Wise planning.

We headed, with our good friends Lucas and Tennielle, for Oman’s largest island – Masirah. We had heard that getting to the ferry crossing at the earliest possible time was vital. We did not heed that advice and decided we were waaayyy to wise for these words. Five hours of driving later and we arrived at the “ferry crossing”. The scene was filled with piles of cars all vying for the opening that allegedly lead to a future boat. Having just missed a boat we began asking around about the ferry, etc. The predictable flurry of contradicting answers ensued with all having one thing in common – “tide going out, no good. Next ferry, than 7pm (dark).” Uh oh. So as the next floating collection of metal parts chugged into the “terminal” we got into our cars and joined the massive game of chicken. Forcing our way towards our rightful place in line we arrived at the loading point only to see all the cars had filled the deck. The deckhands all waved us on, and with swirling hands and wobbling heads convinced us to contort our car onto the rear loading flap. We grabbed anything we valued out of the car as they placed wood boards around
our wheels and raised the flap, lifting our car to a 45 degree angle. One wise gentleman kindly leaned his head into my window and said, “handbrake”. Yeah buddy, I got that.

Arriving on the other side we drove around the sparsely populated island and found a place to camp on the southern end. The scene is other-worldy. The middle of the island is piled with Hershey Kiss shaped hills, followed by gravel desert leading to the white sand beaches that ring the island. Vegetation was extremely limited and there was very little protection from the elements. The days were spent swimming in the crystal clear waters searching for the turtles that had dug holes on the beach the night before and watching herds camels feeding together. The nights were not as relaxing as they were spent holding our tents down from the winds that were tearing them from their supports.

We departed to a similar ferry scene taking the expected one hour and forty-five minutes to cross the 9km straight. Next time we’ll bring our own oars.

Christmas:

As you might imagine for a pair of Canadians celebrating Christmas in 30 degree heat is not the norm. For whatever Oman lacks in “festive spirit” we’ve been attempting to add our own as we decorate our 3 foot tree, download Christmas movies and I moonlight as Santa (I can’t lie about that one, Tina has pictures). We will be away for Christmas and are very excited for our trip.

We will be in Jordan and Syria for three weeks. We will be spending Dec 24th travelling on camels through Wadi Rum (Lawrence of Arabia) and staying in a Bedouin camp that night. Christmas morning we will ride the camels back and then head to Petra that evening. We are hoping to have Christmas dinner at the foot of the Petra site. We will fill you in on the rest when we return.

As excited as we are for our Christmas, we will greatly miss our family and friends this season. We wish you all the very best over the holidays.

Merry Christmas.

Tish's visit

2007-12-01T20:40:00.000+04:00

"Only your real friends tell you when your face is dirty."
- Sicilian Proverb

We chose the quote above since that’s the kinda thing Tish revels in telling you about. Then, he brings it up in awkward moments for years to come. Classy man.

For those that don’t know Tish, he is a good friend of Tina and mine from back home in Canada. He came all the way out here to visit us, consume our limited alcohol supply, and see a piece of the Arab world. We gladly agreed to all three.

Tish arriving on a plane from Dubai seemed no problem, except for the fact that his flight was sandwiched between planes from India and Pakistan. Both of which were filled to the brim with labour workers that are hassled through customs and then herded onto a waiting bus to go to work centers. If it wasn’t for a few quick waves, our Canadian friend of Indian/Fijian heritage might well be still somewhere in Oman, wearing a blue one piece suit working way too hard. Heavily moustached faces wobbled in agreement as Tish and I exited the airport averting a near misunderstanding that would have lead to years of good banter.

In the first week in Oman we took Tish around our city and into the surrounding hills. We headed to the mountains as soon as he dropped the bags at the house and weaved through villages, past camels and palm oasis’ on the way to Oman’s highest peak. The rest of the week was spent in Souks (markets), beaches and around the city sites. After a few days we headed Dubai.

Shy of social commentary I will merely suggest that for all the economic brilliance of the Emirate it is an environmental catastrophe. But it sure is crazy. We drove in late at night and had no idea where our place was. We ended up in the old area of town and it was great. It was seedy, extremely fluid and very multiethnic. Our place catered to East African traders that were in town on passes as their boats lay in the creek. They could only enter town to go to the grocery store or trade goods. If they abided by the rules they could leave tax free (all this info comes second hand) Made for a lively lobby as the men piled their goods in the entrance and stayed up all night watching it.

The newer parts of the sprawling city are all the modern shopping malls, luxury hotels and audacious development that make Dubai the world’s largest water consumer and an architect’s dreamland. Indoor ski hills, island communities shaped like palm trees and the world, underwater hotels and 7 star resorts on the water left you shocked by the disregard for the environment, impressed by the architectural brilliance and humbled by your inability to afford any of it. We couldn’t even afford the entrance fee to walk into the lobby of the Burj Al Arab.

Apparently all of this development has helped Dubai to lower oil to only 2-3% of its GDP and will enable it to be prosperous beyond the drying up of its oil reserves estimated to be in the next 10 years.

After completing our weekend in Dubai we headed back to the border stopping briefly to rip around the red sand dunes wearing goofy helmets and giggling like little kids. We capped off the trip back in Muscat with some relaxing evenings outside and some days at the beach before we had to send Tish back to the cold realities of an upcoming Canadian winter.

It was great having him here and look forward to our next set of visitors soon. We would love to show as many of you as possible this wonderful part of the world.

Enjoy your holiday seasons. You are in our thoughts.

Lesson Learned

2007-11-10T20:21:00.000+04:00

After a day's walk everything has twice its usual value.

-George Macauley Trevelyan

Many apologies for the delay in writing. As always excuses will fill the first paragraph and then we will get onto our stories.

We helped host the school volleyball finals for the region - hosting schools from Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Syria and Oman. Report cards were due and Tina was helping with our school's musical production. All took time and energy away from sitting here and typing away. Excuses over.

For some time now a few guys at school and myself had been wanting to do this trek we had heard about. Rumour had it that it was a 24 km, old donkey trail, 2100m rise and fall, 2 day, hike through barren, empty hills from the coast to the interior. We would split into 2 groups of 4 starting from either end, pass each other in the middle and drive the other groups truck back home on the final night. Our group had tons of experience with guys that have done the Pacific coast trail, written books about trekking through Egypt, etc. No problem we thought. So on we went.

Our group of 4 started at the ocean and after a 400m climb on the wrong trail, came back down to have the boys of the village lead us to the start of the proper trail. This "trail" was nothing more than sporadic paint markings on stones made for travellers coming from the opposite direction. With no landmarks we relied mainly on GPS and old notes about the trek. The heat rose sharply and we started going through our water much faster than we had anticipated. For many km's we followed the bells of a couple of donkeys we saw earlier on the path. Passing only a cave village, the odd goat and two young herders the entire first day we "had the place to ourselves". We realized quickly that we would not make our agreed upon meeting point to camp with the group coming the other direction so we trudged on past an old cemetery until night fell and laid down as the sun sank.

At dawn we rose to cover as much ground before the sun became too strong. We finally passed our friends we were to have met the night before. Neither group looked good and neither group passed on good news to the other. We left knowing we all needed to hurry to beat nightfall and ration our water as we were all down to our final 2 litres (started with 6.5L). At one point our group of 4 was lost, with precious little water, and completely exposed in scorching heat. We were greatly helped by finding an abandoned donkey trough and drinking from it, along with finding the occasional cave to huddle in for shade.

After 10 hours of hiking on the final day we trudged into our destination and savoured the water in the nearby village. The other group arrived at our starting point (their end point) hours later. They were in tough shape and the boys in the village below carried water up to them and helped them make it down the steep decline in darkness.

We collected our stories today and have been totally humbled by the desolate elements. Lesson learned. That mistake won't be lost on any of us.

Meanwhile, Tina had a "girls weekend" with one of the other halves of the treking guys. Her weekend was a world away; filled with lounging by the Grand Hyatt pool, sipping cocktails, watching 'Biographies of Supermodels' and relaxing. Sadly, where she had hoped to get a manicure and pedicure had no available appointments - should teach her to pre-plan. No debate here on the smartest gender.

We are very excited to be getting our first visitor from home. Tish arrives next week and we are going to take him to Dubai and out to camp in the sand dunes near our place. Should be great and for those of your that know Tish, it will be full of ridiculousness.

Thanks again for the many notes that you have passed on and the mail we've received.

Eid Mubarak!

2007-10-19T08:58:00.000+04:00

“I like this place, and willingly could waste my time in it” – William Shakespeare

In our last entry we quickly tried to explain the Ramadan holiday in Oman. At the end of the month-long fasting period comes a holiday called Eid ul-Fitr. This is a brief period of family time and feasts to rejoice the end of Ramadan. The Sultan here decided to extend the holiday time to a week for all private workers and we took our cue and headed off camping with two Dutch friends and their visiting family members.

They had heard of a beautiful place called “Bar Al Hickman” that’s a little peninsula that juts off the east coast in the center of the country. Armed with directions from 2001 that consisted of “drive through a village till you see a cluster of trees, then head south across the desert until you hit the water”. Filled with doubt about these “insightful tips” we followed them and it was spectacular. 7 hours after starting out we hit the cluster of trees and got out our compass and drove through hard sand, soft sand, salt flats and small dunes until we saw the turquoise water and white sand beaches of our destination.

We spent three days in our chosen site with the vast desert behind us and the beautiful ocean water in front of us. Our interactions consisted of Pink Flamingos in the sky and in the water, Giant Turtles swimming in the water and Camels lumbering around our tents. Although the cyclone of last summer hit the area hard there were few remnants of damage, except for a fridge that was somehow plopped down in the middle of the sandy desert. Truly ironic as our cooler quickly ran out of cold we started eating foods of questionable quality towards the end our trip.

A hard life spent snorkelling, swimming, laying on the beach, playing desert bocce, star gazing, and enjoying our friends company. Alas, the week had to end and we got back on the long journey back the Muscat. Roads here in Oman are never dull as they are filled with goats, camels, wandering locals, racing cars, and over stuffed expats vehicles. The mixture of all of these keeps the entertainment comedic and is fodder for easy conversation.

As we head back to work we wanted to pass along our best to our family and friends and thank you for the emails and comments you’ve sent us.

“Eid Mubarak”

Heroes in a half shell

2007-10-05T18:37:00.000+04:00

We turtles don't know the meaning of the word 'defeat'.
-Leonardo (intellectual leader of TMNT)

"Tonight, I dine on Turtle Soup"

-Shredder

For the previous month here in Oman, and for Muslims around the world, it has been the holy month of Ramadan. Most stores are closed during the day, business runs painfully slowly and the streets are relatively empty as all devout Muslims abstain from food and drinks from sunrise to sunset. In Oman, it is illegal for anyone to be seen eating or drinking (Tina’s midday bake sale in front of the nursery school across the street was in poor, poor taste indeed).Through this time we have tried to get out of town as much as possible and take in the natural beauty of the country.

Oman possesses one of the largest sites of migrating giant turtles in the world. Since both of us being massive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans we loaded up the car and migrated. A violent hurricane (cyclone here) hit the area last summer and we couldn’t get any news on the current conditions of roads or infrastructure. So in our infinite wisdom we shrugged our shoulders and drove. Travelling through dirt roads, around construction vehicles, sign-less routes and having no experience we were soon doubting our “wisdom”. We emerged on a newly paved dual carriageway with no lines or signs, that failed to appear on any of our maps. In this country where the labour speaks Hindi, the bosses speak Arabic and we speak English everyone just kept smiling and waving. We can’t understand each other at all but at the very least it was pleasant.

The road wound beautifully through coastal villages lined in tourquise water, by palm filed wadis, around roaming camels and dropped us off into the beautifully barren landscape of our destination. – Ras Al Jinz . Ras Al Jinz is home to over 20,000 migrating Turtles per year. The Giant turtles emerge from the sea in the middle of the night and haul their huge bodies (as big as 160 kg!) onto the beach and lay between 60 – 140 eggs at a time. They then spend the rest of the night digging a separate large hole in the ground to trick the birds, foxes and crabs that prey on the baby turtles. We camped beside the beach and watched them late at night as they crawled along the beach. We estimated 25-35 of these plodding creatures visited the beach through the night. (As a side note we didn’t see a single Hare challenging any of them to a “rematch”). At sunrise they were crawling out of the holes they created and “speeding” towards the crashing surf with baby turtles hurrying to reach the water.

On our way back up the coastal road we pulled over to speak with an old Omani man on the side of the dusty road. We was walking to a town that was a 2 hour drive from there. We exchanged smiles (a quick exchange as he had precious few teeth) he climbed in the car and gave us a tour of the coast – the extent of his “English” was town names and “this” as he pointed the way. In exchange for his help we exposed him to an array of music including Nellie Furtado and the Pussy Cat Dolls. We have cemented our place in an unfavourable afterlife I am sure. I may have seen a hint of a “cabbage patch” and “running man” combination in the rear view mirror but sadly I lacked the Arabic skills to ask him for any pointers.

We hope you enjoy the pictures and to all of you in Canada, Happy Thanksgiving. We’ll eat an extra Shwarma for you on Sunday.... after sunset of course.

Day to Day Details… by Tina

2007-09-24T20:34:00.000+04:00

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.”

– Mike Murdock

In an effort to be informative albeit maybe not quite as interesting or eloquent as our previous Blog entries, I’ve decided to give a bit of a run down on a few of the things we encounter in daily life in Muscat.

1) The School:
The campus of the school where we work is actually quite impressive. It contains probably the most greenery in one place that we’ve seen here. Although the searing heat has limited my touring of the 1 KM squared campus, from what I’ve seen it is very nice. The fields have grass that feels like turf and the cost to maintain the grounds is astronomical. This is because although labour is extremely cheap in Oman, the grounds must be watered with ‘drinking water’ quality H20 because the fields will be being used by children.

The main entrance is through the doors in the round part of the building (commonly known as the Rotunda). My office is found on the second floor and looks out into the rotunda space and is quite substantial in size as two people used to be in it. Joel’s office, on the other hand, was one of the last office’s to be assigned. My belief is mainly because they were unsure whether to condemn the area due to air-con leakages/ mouldy concrete or because it is actually just the back area of the PE storage room and they weren’t sure where else to stick the new PE guy. Either way he is yet to be hooked with a telephone, no one can find him because you actually have to leave the building to enter his office and he often finds some of the Indian workers from the cleaning staff (fondly referred to by Joel as his new friends) taking ‘siestas’ in his office on their breaks.

2) Grocery Shopping;

One of the first warnings we received regarding this essential part of life was to avoid going between 7PM – 10 PM. Advise we both just assumed was ridiculous because we figured we could overcome any obstacle Oman could throw us. In Oman, it seems that family shopping time is 7-10 PM after they have been to Mosque for prayers following sunset. The result is a ‘high collision zone’ in the parking lot, long lines at the ‘vegetable weigh stations’ and cashiers and basically utter chaos involving too many shopping carts in one place at one time. People are all very friendly though, and to make it though all you need is to breathe deeply and not be in a rush. Needless to say we have adjusted our shopping times and have started following advice we receive.

We shop at two main Grocery chains here. The first is called ‘Lulu’s Hypermarket’ which turns into a giant Las Vegas- style lighted building come sunset. Our ‘on the way’ home grocery store is called Safeer Hypermarket, although not quite as clean or containing as good of a selection, it is well …on the way home. We haven’t had trouble finding any of the things we love from home; they have almost all we need from Doritos to Tostitos Salsa. The only thing sadly missing is really nice fruit and veggies… but go figure we are in the desert. (Oh yeah no perogies either)

3) The Gym:
Most people here become members of a 5-star hotel such as The Intercontinental, The Hyatt or the Radisson for their Gym needs. However, at ~1000$ per person per year, I guess it can be said that we cheaped out and joined a local health club called the Future Gym that is below where some of our co-workers live. It has a Mixed Gym area and a Women’s area. We both find it quite interesting to be in our respective gyms and see the local Omani’s come into the change rooms in their full traditional wear and come out in lycra and tank tops to get their sweat on, especially the women!

4) The Shwarmas!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with these wonderful culinary creations, we suggest you get down to the Middle Eastern/ Lebanese area in your parts and pick yourself up some of these delectable treats. Shwarmas consists of a pita slathered with garlic mayo-y stuff and filled with shavings of meat (either chicken or lamb) that have been roasting on a rotating spit for who knows how long, the occasional French Fry and just enough lettuce to make us believe this is actually better for us than a Big Mac.

There are many of these cafes that serve Swarmas in our neighbourhood but after a good two weeks of careful exploration we have decided on a neighbourhood favourite. It is the Istanbul Reef Cafe where one large (we can only assume) Turkish man sits at a desk outside (a la Godfather style) and barks orders at the men that run from cars and tables taking orders from customers and the large sweaty man that stands beside the roasting meat and creates the swarmas single handedly. They are fast and cheap ~ 70 cents (how can we afford not to.) And since this place is also on our way home, we have often looked at each other on the drive from school and said one word… ‘shwarma’s… and dinner that night is served.

5) Hummus- Sweet - Houmous (However you want to spell it)
From those of you who know me… you may know of my secret love for hummus. It is not beyond me to admit that I have been known on occasion to make a quick stopover from work or school and purchase a vat of hummus and some pita bread and chow the entire vat in one sitting. The only reason this didn’t occur on a daily basis was because of in my opinion the astronomical cost of deli made hummus!!
Well, being one of the best Middle Eastern creations since well oil (?), this stuff comes cheap here! In fact Joel and I purchase the stuff in cans! It has become a great after school treat that I can finally enjoy at 25 cents a can!

It takes all kinds

2007-09-18T21:58:00.000+04:00

“In the sky, there is no distinction of east or west; people create distinction out of their own minds and then believe them to be true”
-Siddharta Gautama (founder of Buddhism, 563-483BC)

This week we attempted to finally get our tent set up and drive up to the mountains. A really cool older couple upstairs invited us along on a “star-gazing” trip with a group of their friends. Now, Tina and I try not to judge as best as possible but “star gazing” has never been on our “wild weekend” agenda. For the purpose of blog research we heartily agreed. The couple that invited us warned us with a few stories so we were pumped for the ridiculousness of it all.

In a place like Oman you have three distinct sets of people. The local Omani, the Indian and Pakistani workers and the European/Western expats that work in the Oil/Telecom/Education industries. The star-gazing group was made up of middle aged families and elderly gentlemen from the Oil industry. Armed with “The sword of Jedi” (a laser beam pointer that can bloody well touch the stars) and “The 20 inch Obsession” (these are their names not mine.) we headed out. We went up the highest mountain range in Oman and settled at a barren plain along the edge of the ridge.

The location was superb, the stars actually were amazing and the solitude of it all was remarkable. Just when Tina and I thought we were far outclassed by the Astrological wit of our company the main speaker started to wig out over the bugs and began waving the Jedi Sword around, slapping himself, spraying wildly and crashing into things, while another man was patiently explaining that “yes the horizon did change in the southern hemisphere” over and over again to a gentleman that seemed more concerned with the star that the wise men followed to find Jesus. What’s that saying about being "safe as long as you’re faster than the slowest in the herd"? Thanks to this guy we were safe.

We left the next morning and decided to go up and over the range and through the villages below. A steep, windy, dirt path lead us through the various angles of the mountains and through tiny Oasis villages as we splashed through the streams and marvelled at the will of the inhabitants. The total seclusion of these small villages is truly remarkable. They formed generations ago at the site of a water source from the mountains above. At the edges of these steep slot canyons the villagers persevere and continue the only life they’ve ever known. So we held out Coca Cola, showed them images from the Tabloid magazines, downloaded some reality TV shows to show them what they are missing in the West. I don’t think we won over any converts.

I’m sure our invitation to the next star gazing trip has already been lost in the mail so we are really excited about getting out a lot in the next few weeks to camp in the desert and explore more of the uninhabited coastline. The country truly is beautiful (my visitors pitch again) so if you are thinking of coming you really couldn’t be disappointed.

We will write more often as we have just gotten the internet hooked up at home. Our Skype is ready to go!

Talk to you soon. Hope all is well where you are.

"If god wills it"

2007-08-30T22:45:00.000+04:00

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights. It is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the idea of living.

-Miriam Beard

With an infinite number of excuses for not putting another blog entry up we will simply say “Inshallah”. That meaning will become clearer, later.

In the time since our first entry we have been trying to get firmly set up here. Of all the day to day elements that make up living in a new place we had to buy a vehicle. We finally decided on a KIA Sportage (aka the cheapest 4WD in this market) and have taken it off-roading already – the front of our house is a bumpy desert so we’re counting that as “off roading” for now. I have a strong suspicion that this truck is going to find its way up a Sand dune in the very near future.

Through the effort to buy this vehicle we came to learn a word synonymous with the Middle East, “Inshallah” it means literally “god willing”. But in business it means, “Someday but not today”. Nice. For instance the bank had our wire come in and called me each day telling me to come in to pick it up but to no avail. Each day I spent an hour in the office waiting until I heard these responses on separate days: “I thought you were someone else (he honestly said this.), “the main computers are down in the main office (bull....)”, “there has been a power outage in Ruwi "– the East Indian part of town (now, I have no idea how this effects a money wire from Canada but apparently it does), and finally, “we don’t have enough money right now” (sweet). Eventually the excuses ran out and the money was ours…..Inshallah.

Of course we started our time spent funding our adventures here by dealing with students to the steady ringing of bells. Our “international school” has over 33 countries represented in the middle school – most prominent are North American, Omanis, Nigerians, Koreans, Lebanese, other Gulf countries, and the Danes. The classes are small, the kids are very pleasant and the staff is extremely positive and active. Tina is doing very well in her new position and has started dispensing black market drugs to students and teachers as a “side income”. (Just kidding). In addition, she has mastered the art of photocopying, can file with the best of them and has officially destroyed her first color printer. A natural.

After an evening at the US Ambassadors house drinking on the US tax payer we took off with an Aussie couple and headed 2 hours into the interior. Through the rocky hills we came to a flat palm oasis where the former capital of Nizwa sits. We toured the fort and old market place where Bedouin caravans would bring their goods to trade after their venture through the Arabian sands. The next morning the Bedouin ladies hit the goat market and haggle rather viciously over the use of some of Nizwa's finest on four legs. As our goat quota is full we didn’t stick around to haggle.

Getting out to the East Coast has given us a chance to get out of the city-life, see our first camels, hang out with the goats and soak in the crystal clear water and empty beaches. In an effort to do some recognisance work for all visitors planning on coming (this is my recruiting pitch) we have found 2 beautiful locations less than an hour from our place where you can spend the day in warm surf and empty beaches.

As a final piece to our blog I must describe a truly bizarre part of life as an expat in Oman. This is a staunchly Islamic nation and drinking is illegal….sort of. As an expat you are allowed to purchase a “liquor licence” that allows you to spend 10% of your monthly wage per month on alcohol. So we went down to an unmarked building in the Indian part of town and got these passport books as ID’s that they fill in each time we get alcohol. There are three main shops that people know of – they have no windows and have names like “African Eastern” “Hamid Import and Trading Co.”, and make no claims of alcohol. Inside is reasonably priced fun. It is illegal for anyone from a nation where alcohol is prohibited. Another reason I love the Great White North.

Thanks for taking the time to read or comment, we love sitting around our dial-up computer and reading messages from home. We will write sooner this time and will get more pictures up…….Inshallah.

Arriving in Arabia

2007-08-13T08:24:00.000+04:00

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

Our first installment in the Middle East.....

After a 27 – hour, multiple flight day, spent sitting in border line-ups, running through airports (we’re getting old and slow), nearly missing two flights, spending a night attempting to figure out how to best strangle the worst plane snorer of all time, we finally arrived in Muscat at nearly 11pm local time. On the final flight we realized that we had missed out on the latest fashion trend (high school flashback)– I wasn’t wearing a long white robe with a hat and Tina was not wearing her best black robe and head covering. Who knew?

At the gate two young gents in local white robes (‘disdasha’) greeted us and treated us to Arabian coffee as they took care of customs. Our Director, principal and staff member greeted us and took us to our new home – Muscat, Oman.

Oman is a country of just under 3 million people with 500,000 of that being expats from the Indian sub-continent. Up until 1970 there was 2 primary schools, 1 hospital, 7 km of road (only to be used by the Sultan), extreme poverty, and a divided people. Now there are thousands of schools, many hospitals, paved roads all around the capital city, women in all levels of government, fishing as their largest industry (not oil) and signs of modern industry everywhere. In all this growth they have been careful to keep their heritage. It appears that 90% of the people still wear the traditional clothing, attend the mosque, and adhere to traditional practises – all while driving cars and text messaging on cell phones.Very cool.

We awoke in our new ground-level home and couldn’t be happier. It’s an Arabian designed home with huge (12 ft) ceilings, and multiple rooms all spinning off of a giant middle room (perhaps a Camel stable?). I quite enjoy playing “Marco Polo” around the house, although Tina’s rolling eyes would indicate that I may be the only one.

We are mere blocks off the beach so we took an early morning stroll to the water. While waving to the Pakistani workers we walked through the palm trees, stepping on dates and drinking in the thick, humid air that was already pushing 40 degrees at 8 AM. We dipped our feet in the worlds most sought after water straining to see Iran in the distance and watching the fishermen ply their trade beside us. The country has been immensely impressive from a cultural perspective and we are looking forward to starting work and taking trips to the interior regions in the coming months.

As our house gets hooked up we will try to send updates as much as possible.