We should go to Oman more often, we concluded after our trip last weekend. It has everything. Huge rock formations....
Dinky towns that boast multiple castles.
Carpeted boats....
....fit for a young sultan....
...or even his lady.
These gentlemen are probably closer to being sultans than we are. When asked how many children he had, the man on the right first said he didn't know. Unsettled, the Dutch man who had asked inquired again, and got a vague mumble: "dozens." Nick had a brief conversation in Arabic with them, which involved much laughter.
We were on the Musandem peninsula, at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Though it is surrounded completely by the Emirates, it is part of Oman, a vestige of the tribal affiliations. And, unlike the northern emirate of the UAE, Ras al Khaimah, it is wonderfully empty.
Look carefully, and you'll see a tiny fishing town. No signs. No fancy hotels. Want to get there? You'll have to take your own boat, and you'd best speak Arabic.
There are other, more accessible towns, but they are almost as small and quiet as this one. And that means that their beaches are even quieter, though some are surrounded by little fishing boats. You can camp on many of them, including Bukha beach, with no questions asked. We will be back soon, sand tent in hand.
And when we do go back, we will take our new kayak, and will likely skip the carpeted boat. But the boat trip was marvelous. Here are butterfly fish (or so we're told), swarming to eat little pieces of apple.
And here are the peninsula's famous dolphins, playing nearby.
Perhaps they were more exciting in person.
The boat took us to Telegraph Island, which the British used to string wires to India in the 19th century.
We had a lovely hour of swimming in the coral reefs surrounding the island. We saw starfish, sea slugs, all sorts of medium sized fish, and a few different kinds of coral. And then it was back to Khasab, where there is a wonderful beach, just outside of town.
...with little huts to shelter in...
...lined by jagged rocks.
And populated by small children, a few people intently doing calisthenics, and some goats.
We ate dinner in the most beautiful parking lot on earth, surrounded by craggy cliffs, a crescent moon overhead, and calls to prayer ruffling the crowd mid-way through our meal.
We were happily reminded of Washington's core strengths on the trip up.
No other apple comes close....but Oman's beaches will give Seattle's a run for their money.
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