And so our story began.....
Six expat American ladies,
and one dear friend visiting from the UK,
were to set out on a road trip
to Musandam, Oman
at 9:30AM sharp yesterday morning.
Kathleen arranged two drivers,
and assured us,
"They are always on time, if not early."
Would you believe
they arrived 30-some minutes late.
We threw our gear (and ourselves) into the cars
and off we flew!
And do I mean we FLEW!
OMG!OMG!OMG!
We had to give the drivers credit --
they were going to make up the time lost, by golly!
Especially after we told them our boat was to leave at 11:45!
We made it to Oman (in record time),
crossed over the border,
and promptly our cell phones
chirped with messages,
welcoming us into the Sultanate of Oman!!
Two seconds later, our drivers made u-turns
and crossed back over the border.
Our cell phones immediately welcomed us back
into the UAE.
We asked our driver if there was a problem but,
because of the
HUGE language barrier,
we couldn't understand what was said!
Finally we figured it out -- a new border crossing
had opened on the Dibba Corniche
and that was the one we needed to go through!
No problem!
We could still make our departure time if we hurried!
Once again, seven cell phones chirped with
welcome messages!
Another discussion arose between the
border patrol and our drivers.
Another U-turn.
Cell phones buzzed
with new welcoming texts.
This time we discovered that our driver
had not brought his passport.
(Say WHAAAAT?)
He thought his identification tags were enough
to get him into Oman.
We all had to go to the Police Station,
where he filled out paperwork and, about 30 minutes later,
we crossed over, yet again.
Another text welcomed us back
to Oman!
I had been in contact several times
with Christy,
at Sheesa Beach,
who assured me repeatedly that all was good
and that we would be
okay for our departure time.
(Mind you, we were already dreadfully late for it!)
Unfortunately, we made a "Loop of Shame" (or two),
and when I called her again,
she informed me that the Dhow had left (WHAT?)
but that someone would take us by
speed boat to meet it!
We nearly kissed the ground when we arrived
at long last to Sheesa Beach,
and soon we were aboard the speed boat,
on the way to the Dhow!
WOOHOO!!
Can you tell we were
MIGHTY HAPPY CAMPERS,
and that Sherry's eyes were beginning to glaze over,
due to the motion sickness pills
she had recently gulped?
Marie said it felt like we were in a James Bond movie!!
And it really did!
It wasn't long,
after we boarded the big boat,
that we jumped into the water to swim and snorkel!
(The water was the oh-so-perfect temperature!)
Sherry (bless her heart),
fell fast asleep
on her lounger, in the sunshine, on the upper deck.
Those darn motion sickness pills!
Our old wooden Dhow,
gently rocking in the aqua waters of the Indian Ocean
with the Al Hajar mountains looming in the background,
was certainly a sight to behold!
The snorkeling was only so-so yesterday,
but I did see a mini Puffer Fish,
and some brightly colored fish swarming (and eating)
a dead sea urchin!
Before long, we were back on board....
for a buffet lunch....
and some long awaited (and smuggled in)
WINE!
Our faces lit up with joy!
(Hey, don't judge! We earned every drop!)
Our buddy, Mohammed, demonstrated how to
cut open an oyster!
And look, there was a pearl inside!
It was a pearl that Terry coveted!
The long afternoon on the water was
absolutely beautiful
and thoroughly enjoyed by all of us.
Sherry was in a daze, but I think she loved it as well!
(Darn those pills!)
Mohammed danced about and made sure
everyone was having a good time.
He was quite mesmerized by the American women aboard.
(Especially Caroline!)
While everyone else enjoyed hand fishing,
Mohammed asked Caroline
if she wanted to see a really good snorkeling spot.
She agreed to go if I could go as well.
(I'll go with anyone if a good snorkeling spot is promised!)
So off we went, without a camera,
to an amazing place where
the water was clear
and the
snorkeling was perfection!
The sun began to set and,
my oh my,
it was breathtakingly beautiful!
Caroline and I arrived back to the dhow,
captivated by what we had seen,
only to find out our friends were worried sick about us,
off all alone with our little buddy!
(Sorry, ladies!)
It truly was an amazing day cruising through
the Indian Ocean!
Back on shore,
our drivers were patiently waiting for us.
We applauded that fact and decided it would be an
uneventful ride back to Dubai.
We all felt confident at the border crossing
and cheered when our cell phones
greeted us back to the UAE!
We were in total disbelief, moments later,
when we found out
that the border patrol had discovered
that one of our cars had no current proof of insurance.
(Don't panic -- just a missing piece of paper!)
So back into Oman we drove.
This time there were no cheers for yet another text!
A second trip of the day was made to the
Police Station in Dibba,
where our driver had to pay
a 500AED fine.
And then, one last
"Welcome to the UAE" text,
and finally we were
REALLY AND TRULY ON OUR WAY HOME!
And that, dear friends,
is the saga of our
LADIES MUSANDAM CRUISE!
PS
This morning when I woke up
I couldn't remember where I was....
OMAN? DUBAI? OMAN?
(OH.DEAR.LORD.)
