-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.
