Oman - An Innocent Abroad

Oman – Wadi Shab and the Turtles – August 2019

By Conrad Ottenfeld | September 28, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

August 22-24, 2019

“The world is full of obvious things which nobody ever observes.”

Sherlock Holmes

Oman amazes. I’ll just start with that. Before I came to the Middle East, I could have told you everything I knew about Oman in less than a minute, and half of that would have been wrong. This was my third trip to Oman. Each have been distinctive and unique. Before I describe this trip, here are a few introductory facts about Oman:

The country is officially known as the Sultanate of Oman. The government is an absolute monarchy – Sultan Qaboos rules by decree and has absolute power, but his policies have generally been considered popular as he has used the country’s oil income to improve infrastructure. Islam is the state religion.
Oman is located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The population is about 4.5 million. Muscat is the capital and largest city with a metro population of about 1.5 million.
Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world. It has been ruled by the Al-Said family since 1744.
Tourism is an important industry. Oman is open, friendly, and safe, and has largely avoided issues with extremists that have plagued some Arab countries.
The currency is the rial, ranked in the top ten strongest currencies by several ranking agencies. 1 rial = $2.60.
Most of the country receives about 100 mm of rain a year, but the Al Hajar mountains (elevations over 10,000 feet) in the center of the country get about 3 times that much.
Oman is a hot spot for whale watching the critically endangered Arabian Humpback Whale, the only non-migratory species in the world.
Mountain Dew is the largest selling drink in Oman.
Oman is one of the few countries in the world where frankincense trees grow naturally.

This was another trip with Trekkup Dubai (https://www.meetup.com/trekkup/). This outfit, and others like them, are a great way to see some really interesting places for a good price. Without exception, I have met a great group of people. This trip had 17 trekkers – four each from the UK and Australia, three from the US, two each from Russia and Egypt, and one each from Venezuela and Tunisia. How cool is that! We caught a ride from Abu Dhabi to Dubai airport with a couple and their daughter from Australia. We met the rest of the group at one of the usual coffee shop locations in Dubai Airport, and after a brief 40-minute flight we were on the ground at a new, clean airport in Muscat. I am still using my 12-month Oman visa from last fall; Lynn purchased a 12-month visa for $161. Obtaining visas online for different countries we travel to is easy, but prices vary quite a bit. This is most expensive to date, but it is good for 12 months and multiple entries. Typical visas have been $20 to $75, good for 30 to 90 days. We usually receive them within 2 days and sometimes as quickly as just a few hours.

One of the advantages of booking trips with the Meetup groups (Trekkup Dubai is just one of many) is that you just pay, submit your documents, then show up and let the adventure begin. Comfortable SUVs were waiting to whisk us through Muscat to our Holiday Inn, passing McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises along the way. I have noticed in our travels that the America service industry and restaurant franchises seem to be well represented. I also pondered that I was taught growing up that the ‘q’ was always followed by ‘u’, but that doesn’t apply to the English translation of Arabic words.

Our Holiday Inn was very nice. After having breakfast with an Egyptian transaction lawyer as we often do (not really), we headed off to our first adventure, a hike up Wadi Shab. We left Muscat, driving southeast through a clean, green (thanks to substantial irrigation), modern city out into the rugged coastline of Oman. I saw the occasional stray goat foraging under the blazing sun in the barren landscape – how do they survive? I don’t know, but they are a common feature in landscapes where less robust creatures wouldn’t make it. A thick coat of fur under a blazing sun, and they just walk around chewing on anything they can. I couldn’t tell if they belong to someone.

After about a two-hour drive, we arrived at Wadi Shab. A wadi is dry riverbed or channel that generally only contains water during periods of rainfall and subsequent runoff, but this wadi contained a nice stream of clear jade-colored water thanks to some natural springs. After a short ferry ride across the river, we headed up the wadi for about 45 minutes following the palm tree lined stream and occasionally crisscrossing it before reaching the first of a series of pools. We were hot by the time we reached them, and Lynn grabbed the first opportunity to fully submerge and refresh. We left our bags and headed into the pools, some shallow, some deep, and all beautiful against the rocky cliffs and blue-sky background. We meandered upstream, taking our time playing in the water and enjoying the day. Local youngsters managed to find their way up to openings in the canyon walls where they smiled and laughed at us. This is just the latest example of friendly foreigners for us.

local youngsters on the cliffs of Wadi Shab

After another hour or so, we reached the end of the pools, where we are now treading water as the pool is over our heads. A small slit in the back of the pool, barely enough for you to keep your head out of water, leads back to a partial cave (one corner opens and leads to daylight) where about a 10-foot waterfall is enticing people to jump. This was not at all what I expected from Oman.

We took our time returning downstream and stopped for a mango ice cream before loading up for our next stop, the small port city of Sur about another 45 minutes down the coast. This town of about 120,000 is an important port, and has a factory that still builds dhow ships, the traditional wooden fishing vessel of the Middle East. We checked into the simple but adequate Al-Ayjah Plaza hotel with a nice view of the bay for a short rest before heading out on for an afternoon boat ride. As we approached the shore, I noticed a small fishing boat, maybe 6 meters long, with their afternoon haul. A net full of fish were piled up on the boat, and a group of men were removing the fish from the net one by one by hand. Fishing by manual means appears to still be the primary way of fishing in this town as we were to see many times.

Fishermen unloading their afternoon catch in Sur, Oman

We loaded on the boat and headed out into the harbor. Sur is on the Gulf of Oman. The influence of the Indian Ocean makes the water here much cooler – a refreshing 81° compared to well over 90° in the Gulf of Arabia (known to many in the west as the Persian Gulf, something else I learned when I came here), and riding on the water was comfortable. We cruised around for a while, seeing dozens of turtles swimming about and a similar number of dhow vessels in the harbor and out at sea fishing. We had a late lunch on the water before returning to the hotel.

After another rest, we headed out for our late-night turtle excursion. Forty-two kilometers east of Sur on the far eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula is the tiny town of Ras Al-Jinz, an ancient city where copper smelting and melting working remains from as early as 2200 BC have been found. It is now known as the home of the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve, an important nesting site for green sea turtles. A hotel is located here, as well as a small museum, gift shop, and welcome center for tourists looking to see the turtles. Five of the seven sea turtles nest on Oman beaches – Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, and Loggerhead.

Our group was assigned a number and we waited patiently for our time on the beach. The Omani do a good job controlling beach traffic to help keep overzealous observers from upsetting the process. When our time came, an Omani with a small light led us to the beach. As we approached the beach, we were all instructed to leave our lights off except when he allowed otherwise. As we neared, the dunes took on the appearance of a bombed-out beach front, with sand pits and craters in abundance. The green turtle averages around 130 kg (~290 pounds) and about a meter long (the largest on record tipped the scales at a whopping 395 kg (875 pounds)). They don’t begin egg laying until they are well over 30 years old. This is a much older age than other sea turtles owing to the diet of sea grasses and seaweed for green turtles compared to the more carnivorous diet of the other turtles.

We watched the mothers craft, with great labor, a pit with a perimeter somewhat larger than their bodies, about a half meter deep, and a second smaller egg chamber another half meter deeper where she deposits the eggs. The female lays about 110 eggs in each clutch. This process takes about 45 minutes. The nest is then methodically covered by flipping sand with her front flippers. Then, in a move intended to foil predators, she continues to push forward, sweeping the sand behind her for another several meters, giving the appearance that the nest is in a different location. Her task finished, she turns and works her way back to the surf. The whole process can take two hours or longer.

Green turtle laying her eggs at Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve

Green turtles may lay eggs several times in a season, then not return for two or three years. The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the sand. Eggs incubated in sand below 28°C will be male, above 31°C will be female. In between will be mixed. All eggs are laid above the high tide line – how far above the line is one factor that will affect this temperature, along with seasonal variations. Global warming will also affect this distribution in another example of how far reaching the effects will be. Mortality is quite high – as little as 0.2% will survive all the hazards that come their way to reach adulthood.

Tired lady just about finished with her task.

We observed about eight turtles at various stages of nesting, along with a couple of stray hatchlings that our guide got back on course. One female inadvertently destroyed another nest while preparing her own, a consequence of the high number of nests on this beach. It was almost 11 PM by the time the show was over. We returned to our hotel at Sur for a late dinner.

Net fishing by hand off the coast of Ras Al Hadd

We got an early start the next morning for more turtle observations at the small village of Ras Al Hadd, splitting the group into two boats to head out into the Gulf of Oman. We spotted several turtles, but they were more spread out than I hoped. The water clarity was decent but didn’t really support good underwater pictures. No matter, the water was a very refreshing alternative to the very warm water at our local beach in Ruwais, and we enjoyed playing around in the water with our snorkel gear. Lynn was quite excited to get a close look at a turtle.

Shore net casters deliver their catch to the back of a waiting pickup truck.

I enjoyed watching the locals catching fish with hand thrown nets, both from boats and the shore. Guys from the shore pulled their trucks in close and lined the bed with a tarp. They then waded out into the water and cast their nets. They pulled in what looked to be a couple of bushels of fish which they hoisted over their shoulders and carried up to the bed of their truck. The boats had a couple of guys standing at the bow physically looking for fish by a change in the color of the water, the sea color taking on a darker hue where fish were present. I think this was due to the school of fish blocking the lighter colored sand below. Our guide took a few minutes to motor us around a couple of such spots, and over these darker areas you could look down and see the silver flashes of thousands of darting fish just a couple of meters down.

Eye to eye with a green turtle underwater.

We moved down the coast to another location and chanced upon a couple of turtles having a private moment. I marveled at the coordination and enthusiasm the pair needed to complete the process with their bulky bodies in an ocean current. The male turtles have small claws on their front flippers to aid in grasping the female, but this was definitely a team effort.

After a short swim and snorkel in a bay with lots of fish, we moved to an inland bay for our last stop. I had seen enough turtles to be pleased and consider the trip a success, but the best was yet to come. We entered the shallow bay, ranging from as little as a meter to a few meters deep. Looking down through the clear jade green water were hundreds of the dark gray masses darting about. The slow labored movements of these gentle giants on the beach were replaced by strong graceful swimming, an occasional stop for a curious look, and sudden sprints at an alarming speed. Their movements reminded me of swallows in the sky darting about for insects. I moved through the water trying to get closer and was finally rewarded with a face to face encounter from just a few feet away. We made eye contact for a few seconds. This was the highlight of the trip for me and a special moment I will remember.

We returned to the hotel for a quick cleanup and lunch before we had to hit the road to the airport, but there was one more highlight for the trip. The Hawiyat Najm park (“Star Hole” according to one of our Arab speaking friends on the trip). This is a deep limestone sinkhole just a few hundred meters from the sea set in a small park with picnic tables. The sinkhole is filled with a deep pool of water from a mix of fresh and seawater that give the water a beautiful aquamarine hue. We would like to have gone for a swim, but our timetable would not support it. We moved on to the airport for our return flight home.

This was a short but eventful trip, and another wonderful Omani experience. Total expenses for the trip were $1414 for the two of us including the Trekkup trip costs, snorkel gear, a 12-month Omani visa, and carpool contribution.

Kumzar, Oman April 2019

By Conrad Ottenfeld | April 30, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

April 5-7, 2019

Looking out onto the Strait of Hormuz from the beach at Kumzar.

I live in the small company town of Al Ruwais in Abu Dhabi, the largest of seven Emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. The terrain is flat, characterized in the far west by sebkha, a flat saline plain that often has a blistered surface like giant flaking paint chips. Heading east travelling along some 400 miles of coastline, the terrain begins to shift as you drive through the Emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaymah, becoming increasingly more mountainous and rugged. Ras Al Khaymah contains the highest peak in the UAE, Jebel Jais at 1892 meters (6207 feet). But that isn’t my destination for this trip. I am heading past Ras Al Khaymah to the Musandam province of Oman. This small isolated enclave juts out from the Arabian Peninsula into the Strait of Hormuz, separated from the rest of the country of Oman by more than space. Khasab is as far as I can go I by road. The last leg of the trip to my destination of Kumzar will be a three-hour boat ride on a dhow, the traditional sailing vessel in the waters of the Middle East.

Kumzar is a small town of a little over 1000 people, originally settled by Portuguese sailors about 500 years ago. It is isolated by mountains on three sides and is only accessible by boat. The city is in the unique position of being completely isolated by rugged mountains, yet exposed to one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. This curious mix resulted in the village developing a separate language, Kumzari, a unique blend of Farsi, Arabic, Portuguese, English, in addition to unique local words. The town is not a tourist destination. In fact, one source I read said the town banned tourists in 2010 due to their intrusive behavior, but apparently this ban doesn’t apply if members of your crew have family in town. Such remote isolation makes a destination like this a high prize for those who savor the road less travelled.

I am having a great time visiting destinations off the beaten path through a pair of Meetups I belong to in the UAE. This trip was set up by UAE Trekkers (https://www.uae-trekkers.com). Travelers from the UK, Pakistan, India, and the US arrived for our dhow ride in Khasab by different means. I caught a ride from Abu Dhabi with two ladies in a rental car driven by a splendid Syrian named Menem. I don’t normally chat much about personal details with drivers, but over the next few hours I learned a few things about Menem. He is of the Druze religion, originally born out of Islam but they are not considered Muslim and the Koran is not their Holy Book. There aren’t a lot of Druze. Syria has the largest concentration at about 600,000. The Druze are somewhat Unitarian in drawing elements from many different religions and believing all faiths are valid and lead to the same divine source. I don’t ever recall meeting one before, but Menem was a fine man. I apologized for asking him these details, but he said it was okay, he could tell I was of a ‘free mind’. He is from the town of Al Suwayda in Syria, near, as he described it, to Jordan and Palestine. He is only one of several people I have spoken to here that refer to Palestine as a physical place in casual conversation, not making any kind of political statement. I always find that interesting. He felt much war was the result of too much religion.

Passing through customs at the Oman border was an easy affair. I paid 35 AED (about $10) to leave the UAE. My 12-month visa from a few months before saved me the 50 AED it would normally cost to enter Oman, and we were on our way. About an hour later we arrived at the port city of Khasab, where we met the rest of our party and ferried out to our dhow to spend the night. This was a large dhow, maybe 50 feet long, with carpet and cushions laid out majlis style. I slept under the stars on the mats. The temperature was perfect – I slept without so much as a sheet – and enjoyed a pleasant breeze with no bother from bugs.

I awoke the next morning to the sight of a small harbor surrounded by mountains. We set sail, eating a breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and pastries as we worked our way up the Oman coast. We were soon entertained by dolphins and stopped to take the first of many breaks to kayak, snorkel, and swim. Small fishing villages dotted the coastline, completely isolated, but with power lines snaked down the hills to them at what must have been considerable effort. We pressed on just a bit further to our next stop at Telegraph Island, a small island with remnants of an old British telegraph station from the mid-19^th century. The water was clear with a refreshing bite to it when you first dove in, and the clear shallows made for some fine snorkeling. Large jellyfish were common, but they were just pretty rather than the variety that sting. One of the crew dove down and in short order came up with two large cuttlefish he caught by hand. These were added to our freshly made fish stew a couple of hours later, the first of several catches that were added to our menu on the trip.

We continued to Kumzar, enjoying a splendid lunch as we travelled. The surprising Menem produced the most beautiful fruit salad I have ever seen, with cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, and grapes crafted into an artful floral display. Soon after we dropped anchor in a secluded cove about 30 minutes from Kumzar. We would spend the night later, but there a couple of other agenda items first. Most of us boarded the smaller shuttle boat and headed to the town for a short afternoon rock scramble in the mountains behind the town. One of the crew, Walid, had a sister living there, and we visited her house. These are the moments you will not get with a tour group and are priceless to me to experience how other people really live. The houses don’t look like much from the outside, but inside were clean, simple, and comfortable. We headed on to the back of the small town where hike would begin, passing dozens of goats along the way (Menem – ‘They eat everything’). This wasn’t really a hike, more of an exploration of about 4 km through the rocky canyons surrounding the town. Some of the local kids scampered around us, laughing at us picking our way through the boulders as they hopped from rock to rock wearing their kanduras and sandals. We headed back into town as days end approached, stopping by Walid’s sister’s house again for some refreshments of juice, tea, watermelon, dates, and pita bread. Curious local youngsters dressed in colorful local attire smiled and waved at us as we walked down the street.

We arrived back at the dhow about sunset. During our absence, some of the travelers had caught more fish, and the crew member who had success catching cuttlefish earlier had success again, this time with scallops the size of small dinner plates. The fish became part of our barbeque on the beach, along with skewers of chicken and lamb, rice, baked potatoes, and fruit, washed down with red wine from a paper cup. Life is good. As we took the shuttle boat back to the dhow, we experienced the thrill of an amazing bioluminescence display. The water flew through the air like spark showers as we splashed the surface, and my fist looked like the beam of a flashlight as I held my hand underwater. I had heard of this phenomenon but did not expect it, and certainly not the level of brilliance we were treated to. The stars were bright as we found our way to our cushions. What a great way to end a special day.

Overlooking Kumzar to the Strait of Hormuz beyond.

We were up before the sun the next morning to beat the heat for a morning hike to a pinnacle overlooking the town. Eggs were made any way you like as long as you like fried hard, which was just splendid on a piece of bread. Some fruit and yogurt and we were ready to go. We took the shuttle to town and headed up the rocky slope behind town. Walid led the way in his kandura and sandals while the rest of us plugged along. In about an hour, we were treated to a glorious vista overlooking the town, nestled into a barren rocky shoreline with the Strait of Hormuz in the distance.

I confirmed they didn’t sting when I ran into one with my head.

We returned to our shuttle craft and said our farewell to Kumzar. We met up with the dhow en route and had enough time for a splendid swim stop that gave me a chance to savor the experience one last time before heading back to Khasab. Our crew, all local Omani (except Menem), were wonderful hosts and showed us a delightful time with an authentic Omani experience. Cost for this trip was 1400 AED ($381). This includes the dhow cruise accommodations for two nights on the dhow, meals, snorkel gear, kayaks, and sleeping bags/blankets. It does not include transportation to Khasab or the visa for entering Oman which can be easily obtained online or on arrival.