Enter the goats.

After waking up next to a donkey and eating breakfast, we continued in the car towards Muscat. We reached the Oman Dive Center with plenty of time to lunch and play. While the others went off to snorkle, a little bout of anxiety kept me on the shore. I guess I haven’t grown out of my trepidation of getting my eyebrows wet just yet.

After the dive center we drove just a bit further down the coast to Yiti Beach. We set up our tents just as the sun was setting. You really can’t beat a campfire in the relaxing evening contest. When you add phosphorescence in the water, that’s pretty cool too.

The next morning we woke up to… can you guess? Goats! When Mike’s shoe went missing the goats were our first suspect! Fortunately, the shoe turned up and the goats’ reputations were spared!

Sarah and I each took a brief photo walk to appreciate the beautiful setting.

After plotting our course, we began the long drive back to Abu Dhabi.

xo, jill

We’re on friendly terms.

Leading up to National Day weekend way back in December, I was really excited to take a trip to Beirut. I knew exactly what we would do there (copy Sarah and Skylar’s trip), and I couldn’t wait to check it out. That’s when the worried emails from parents began to arrive. The political situation is always a bit tetchy in Lebanon, but at the end of 2010 animosities were heating up. Judging it best to heed our parents’ advice, Mike and I last minute paid the cancellation fee and shelved my hopes of visiting Beirut.

We needed a new adventure.

Luckily, it didn’t take much effort to whip up a camping trip on short notice. Off we went to Oman!

Here’s a group photo shortly before crossing the border and shortly after receiving two speeding tickets (but none for me! I earned mine a few days later…).

We couldn’t scrounge up any walkie talkies for the ride but when you’ve got roadtrip bingo, you’re set.

We crossed the border, which is pretty easy for residents, and headed into Oman. The funny thing about Oman (and the Middle East in general), is that you’re never quite sure you’ve got it right. Even when you’ve been there before. It took a bit of scouting to get back to the beautiful Wadi Damm I explored last year.

photo by Sarahphoto by Sarah

Finally, it was time to explore the wadi!

The swimming hole was a bit chilly in the mild December weather. Skylar and Mike went for a dip then scrambled out of the water as quick as possible. I wasn’t even going to try.

Exploration required a bit more scrambling this time around and led to a few slight injuries. Scratches, poked eyeballs, and a damaged foot later… we headed back out to set up our camp site.

photo by Sarah

Well, first we had to stop to take silly shadow shots…

photo by Allan

… and race a few boats.

We cooked over a warm camp fire and settled in to bed.

Then we woke up to this guy just feet from our tent. Good morning!

xo, jill

Damn!

This past weekend the same companions for my first Oman trip and I decided to cross the border for a second time. For this outing we had a specific purpose in mind: swimming!

Amazingly, we drove right to the trailhead for our destination, Wadi Damm. “Damm” translates to “hidden” in English and hidden is the perfect descriptor. Looking down into the wadi you have no idea what you’ll find after scrambling over boulders and hopping over cracks in the rock.

At one point in our hike it appears as if you can go no further. Which… you can’t… unless you use the dangling rope to hoist yourself up into a cave and out the other side. Epic!

After approximately an hour of trekking and searching for viable paths, we came to what our guide book described as “a little slice of heaven.” Cool water flows out of a wall of rock and down into a pool perfect for swimming.

We enjoyed the water, our lunch, and some napping on the rocks all to ourselves until a few young Omani men joined us. They impressed us with their jumping skills as they splashed and played in the water before literally scampering back out of the wadi. These boys did in minutes in bare feet and sandals what it took us an hour with proper foot gear!

That night we camped in an oasis under palm trees. We were having a relaxing chat under the stars until we heard some rustling in the palms above us. It’s just a little unsettling to watch rats running around directly above your head! The bats and the frogs I didn’t mind at all… but those skinny little tails dangling in the air… ugh.

The next morning we stopped at the beehive tombs in Al Ayn. These tombs, along with others in the area, were declared by UNESCO as “the most complete collection of settlements and necropolises of the 3rd millennium BC.” Impressive. Oh and have I mentioned they sit on a ridge pretty much in someone’s back yard? No big deal.

I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by what the little country of Oman has to offer. You have to look a bit harder to find it… but there’s a lot there.

xo, jill

In the larger guest room.

Here I’m posting a few more photos of Jabrin Castle (or Fortress… depending on the sign) located just outside of Bahla, Oman. In addition to the floor plan, I was also impressed by just how thick the walls were. They helped to keep the inhabitants safe as well as cool in the hot prolonged summer of the region.

pssst! This is the bathroom.

I just might make it back over to Oman this coming weekend. Sometimes I can’t quite believe this new life of mine.

xo, jill

PS. Don’t forget about the GIVEAWAY!

You’re not so sandy!

I think most people have no clue what the terrain is like in Oman. It seems like a lot of us assume that the Arabian Peninsula is all sand. Well, it’s not like that at all! It has been fun to check out all of the varied landscapes as I’ve traveled around the region. Here are some more photos of the camping portion of our recent trip to Oman.

xo, jill

Reigning it in.

Saturdays are usually spent running errands in the morning (as early as possible to avoid traffic), catching up on school work, and settling in to be ready for the week. However, when you wake up in Oman, things are different.

Elizabeth and I were roused early by the voices of small children and the drumming of goats’ hooves. Two small little girls were running through our campsite accompanied by their older brother. The goats were getting a fair amount of running in too. There was no sleeping in.

After a quick breakfast I explored the area a little bit more by climbing a ladder into a garden. It’s fascinating to see the irrigation system the local people have developed.

On our way back home we stopped at Jabrin Castle, just outside of Bahla. It took a few attempts to find it, but we kept at it. I’m glad we were so determined because the fortress was fabulous. I’ve visited a few forts in the UAE, but this one in Oman takes the cake… or date syrup sweet, if you will.

The fortress was wonderfully kept and a complete maze. I thought of Freya Stark’s travel in Yemen and how she had to be escorted through the homes she stayed in because they were designed with defenses in mind. Fascinating. This fortress had several guest rooms, an upstairs bathroom, a mosque, school, kitchen, library, jail… and more I’m sure. I absolutely loved it.

In the future the fortress will offer an audio tour. During out time there a sticky note was taped to the machine reading simply, “Not yet.”

After the fortress we continued all the way back to Al Ain. I headed back to Abu Dhabi on my own and prepared to prepare for the week.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit more of what life is like for me in Abu Dhabi.

xo, jill