- 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.
