Al Sawadi Beach Resort Barka

... as I plowed into the jetty and his cap sank without a trace.


So as you can see, I love boats. But they don’t necessarily agree with me.


Obviously history was never going to quash my love of boats, so here we in a boaters paradise and it’s time for a first foray into ownership. The first opportunity arose a couple of weeks ago over a beer. One of the loan service RAF blokes is leaving soon and was trying to sell his 16’ ...

... hot and dusty (floppy hat and factor 50). If you can’t see the garden it’s condensation on the outside of the windows and it’s going to be a drippy day (double deodorant and baggy shorts).


Apparently this to and fro lasts about a month before the sea breeze wins and holds sway for July and August. Come September, it starts all over.


One unusual aspect of the hot weather is the tap reversal, and it takes some getting used to. The ‘cold’ ...

Hi all. Back in Muscat after 3 days in the Damaniyat Islands Nature Preserve. The islands were about a 2 hour boat trip offshore from the capital (15-20 km offshore from the mainland). We were going out to get a first hand perspective on some of the reserve's management issues and challenges and to participate with biologists from the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) on some of their scheduled coral reef and turtle monitoring/research ...

... laundry. I'm still tidying up. Wow. We've been watching the news on the snow at home. I'm so glad I'm not doing the school/nurs**y run. I crashed on the ice before on Lewes Road in Isfield. I couldn't bear to head out as it is now, I'd be scared stiff. Drive safely ev**yone! The shops h**e shut about 1/2pm and reopen about 4pm. So Colin had a few **rands to do so headed out. He went to buy a washing machine, sort out the phone at Omantel and pay ...

Oh, my god - we really did make it our here in the nick of time what with the British weather...we wouldn't have made it for days if we had planned to leave any later!   I called school this morning - we decided that F would start on Saturday for the new week rather than one day and then the weekend (remember that the weekend here is Thursday and Friday!). I'm jotted my notes down for today on the front step...I'm not quite at the stage of wondering what ...

Colin was due to restart his course tomorrow but he was asked to go today. I met next door - they have been here a couple of months I think. She said it was a process of slowly settling and found it quite tough at times. Her youngest daughter is beside herself with being here so that's contributed to the slow settling. I think it is best to do these things the younger the children are - this opportunity definitely ...

Well, I've been here just over two weeks and I can honestly say it has been................interesting. I love waking up and opening the curtains to a clear sky every morning. I enjoy never having to wear a jumper. I can go for a swim every morning, walk on the beach every afternoon and eat outside every evening. The friendliness and good humor of the Omanis is infectious. It has to be. Their love of beurocracy can be ...

"At 36.4 km turn tight onto some rough tracks; you'll see Sur ar Rumays fort in front of you... What makes this a special fort is that it is virtually unvisited, unwritten about, unrestored -- pretty much unloved in fact, except by the odd grazing goat." - Off-Road in the Sultanate of Oman, Jenny Walker and Sam Owen I got out of my 4x4 at the fort, ready to snap a couple of pictures, and before I had closed the door, a local Omani gentleman had already walked up to me and started a ...

... if the only Americans in Muscat started acting like jerks. Some of the stands looked rather professional with each different type of seafood in its own ice-filled container. Others were just guys sitting there with large piles of fish next to them. It all smelled horrendous. By the time we left I was dying to try some crabs. I grew up and Maryland and that's what we do, we eat crabs. I really really wanted some crabs! After ...

... has a wonderful walkway with some statues. Families were all over the place strolling around and enjoying the cooler air. It was cooler that it was during the afternoon, but it was still hot and thick. It felt like we were swimming through the air. In Jordan everyone starred at us. Here, it was if we were not there at all. I'd grown used to the stares and being ignored was ...