OMAN I (MUSCAT)

The first time we landed in Oman, (March 5th) I signed up to go snorkeling, although I had never tried to do such a thing before! However, when the time came, I got into the water, O.K., but I never put the fins on, nor did I take the snorkel, so I landed in water with a fairly strong current, and all of a sudden was in a panic that I would NEVER get back to the ship, which kept twisting away from me! There were loads of dolphins all around, but they were too quick for me to get a decent picture. However, in my mind’s eye, I will never forget the dolphin that literally jumped up in the air as though it was leaping from a high diving board, did a full twist in the air, and then nosedived into the water. It was a spectacular sight.
The photo of the wooden boat is a typical one for the region, used for fishing, transportation, and living (I think it is called a Dhabi,or Dhaki, but the truth is, I have forgotten what it’s called). Also, I think we were told that this particular one belongs to the (Sultan, King, Sheik, or whatever they call the wealthy head of state in Oman). It should not be a surprise to anyone that with so many stops in the Persian Gulf in so short a time, that all the impressions begin to meld, especially since I took no notes, and let so much time pass before I finally found time to write. After all, we were in Oman, Iran, Kuwait, U.A.E., Bahrain, etc. The one major impression I have from all of these is that Oman and Kuwait were clean and richly modern, and Iran was poor and dirty, while Dubai is suffering financially, and Abu Dhabi is wealthy, and has already bailed them out for the first time. It might become necessary again.
In Dubai, I went with some ladies on a private tour to the Gold Souk, and afterwards, we had a nice lunch just over the waterway. It was fun to shop, and bargain, and interesting to find out when the limits were reached. We also roamed around in the spice market, but as you can imagine, I got quite tired with all the walking, and was glad to return to the ship by taxi.
Very often, the land tours start early in the morning, and I am careful never to take one that goes for more that 4 or 5 hours, because I get too exhausted. However, if I am back on the ship by 13:00h, I still have time to eat and play bridge in the afternoon. Sometimes, I go swimming instead, or even at 17:00h, after bridge.