Sharks, Scorpions and Turtles

"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....

“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

"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.