Kosmos Travel Log

Indonesia to Egypt

• West Timor Island, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
  10° 9S by 123° 34E
  Dec 27 - 31, 2007 & Jan 2 - 9, 2008
  Traditional village tour
• Flores Island, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
  08° 50S by 121° 30.8E
  Jan 10 - 15, 2008
  Crater Lakes
• Rinca Island, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
  8°39.15S by 119° 42.9E
  Jan 16 -24, 2008
  Komodo Dragons & other native wildlife
• Labuan Bajo, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
  08° 29.5S by 119° 52.5E
  Jan 21 -24, 2008
  SCUBA Diving
• Bali, Indonesia
  08° 44.5S by 115° 12.7E
  Jan 25 - Feb 8, 2008
  UN conference, island tour, whitewater rafting, SCUBA Diving, Monkey Forest, traditional show
• Karimata, Indonesia
  01°40.7S by 108° 54.2E
  Feb 12 - 14, 2008
  Medical assistance to islander
• Sentosa Island, Singapore
  01°14N by 103° 50E
  Feb 12 - Mar 08, 2008
  Side trip to Hong Kong, Museums, Rides
• Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
  02° 31N by 101° 48E
  Mar 8- 18, 2008
  Side trip to Malacca
• Langkawi Island, Kedah, Malaysia
  06° 21N by 099° 40E
  Mar 20 - Mar 28, 2008
  Sky ride, Geoforest Park, waterfall hike, extravagent gift museum
• Ko Muk Island, Trang Province, Thailand
  07°23N by 099°17E
  Mar 28 - Apr 2, 2008
  Emerald Hawng
• Phi Phi Islands, Krabi Province, Thailand
  Don: 07°43N by 098°46E
  Li: 07°40N by 098°46E
  Apr 2 - 4, 2008
• Phuket Island, Phuket Province, Thailand
  Ao Chalong: 07° 49N by 098° 21E
  Nai Harn: 07° 46N by 098° 17E
  Apr 4 - 17, 2008
  Traditional dancing, Elephant ride, Hawng tour, Fantasea show
• Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India
  11° 40N by 092° 42E
  Apr 17 - 23 & 29, 2008
  Visit to Ross Island
• Havelock Island, Andaman Islands, India
  11° 59N by 092° 56E
  Apr 23 - 29, 2008
  SCUBA diving, Elephant training camp
• Male, Maldives
  04° 13.0N by 073° 32.0E
  May 02 - 18, 2008
  SCUBA diving
• Port Salalah, Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman
  16° 56.2N by 054° 0.2E
  May 21 - Jun 02, 2008
  SCUBA diving, Guided Tour Dhofar
• Port Ghalib, Marsa Alam, Egypt
  25°31N by 34°38E
  Jun 13 - 17 & Jun 23 - Jul 05, 2008
  SCUBA diving, Trip to Luxor to see Temples & Burial Tombs

The first priority of the day was to get checked out. Muhommed had to go out of town on an overnight trip, so we would be doing check out on our own. We went to the office. No immigration or customs officers were there. We waited, along with a group of other people. We talked to ex-pats who have been living there a while, as well as an Omani guy who is also an agent, waiting to do a check in on an American freighter ship.

After an hour, an officer arrived, the same one who had checked us in. The group mobbed him. Eric tried to get his attention, but he basically ignored us. He helped everyone around us, and then (more…)

Since we were going to be leaving tomorrow, today was chores and errands day. The first priority was to find a good internet connection. We drove into town at 0900, expecting all the internet cafes to be open since business hours are generally 0800 to 1300. We drove up and down pretty much every street in Salalah and every single internet café was closed. We couldn’t see any hours signs posted in English on any of them. But, all the other businesses were open.

After 45 minutes of driving around, we decided to get groceries, go back to the boat, and head to the Oasis at noon for lunch and internet. We were told they are a wi-fi hotspot, and we had our fingers crossed that was accurate information. We were relieved to find out that are a hot spot. The connection is better than the Hilton’s, and they didn’t charge us anything extra beyond the meal for our internet usage. However, the waiter seemed unhappy with us for being the first ones to arrive and the last ones to leave when they closed for their afternoon break.

Oman is another place that lacks microwave dinners, so Christi made several meals and froze them in small plastic containers for passage food. A fellow cruiser gave us a camel roast that she put in a marinade and froze, all ready to throw in the oven on passage. Camel is a red meat, (more…)

Continued from yesterday… The next stop was the highest mountain in the area, at 2,000 meters, and unfortunately, we didn’t catch its name. The peak holds a communication tower and the rest of the area is pristine. From the edge, it is a sheer drop down to the desert at sea level directly below, and the ocean in the distance. We were up so high that the clouds were floating by next to us and below us. This spot has got to be a hang glider’s dream.

From there we headed to Wadi Darbat. On the way, we saw a herd of camels grazing along the side of the road. We had passed several herds already, as well as herds of goats and cows, but these were the first guys we had seen that weren’t moving. They were eating lunch. We got out of the car and walked right up to them and took photos as they happily ripped off branches of desert bushes and chomped away. Saleem even encouraged us to pet one of the ladies on her belly. She made loud grunting sounds when we touched her, which alarmed us, but are apparently normal. The hair is course. Interestingly, the feet are soft on the bottom, more like paws than hooves. Peter got a great shot of her smiling for the camera.

We piled back into the car and quickly arrived at Wadi Dharbat, the water source that fed the ancient city of Khor Rori. We went to the edge of a small river with a pretty view. In the wet season there is a waterfall, but it is dry now. Hidden discreetly behind a cliff overhang was some Bedouin housing. This small group lives here in the dry season, moving to other places in the wet season. We got back in the car and went just a few kilometers back down the road to some springs that flow into the river, which are also quite beautiful. Here is a picture of Saleem and the springs.

We headed back down the mountain to the coast, to the ancient city of (more…)

Yesterday, we had arranged for a guided tour of the area. Peter, from a neighboring boat in the anchorage, joined us. Our tour guide, Saleem, picked us up at 0830. The first stop was a small building in the heart of town, near to the souq we had gone to a few days before. The signs were all in Arabic, so we couldn’t read the full story of the significance of the place, but our guide said it is a holy site where a miracle occurred involving a prophet of God and a camel. We were a little surprised to walk in and find that the building encircled a slab of dirt. The dirt supposedly still carries the marks made during the miracle, and it takes a little concentration to see the marks in the soil. Once upon a time people were allowed to walk on the soil and go into a cave that you can’t see in the photo, but now it is closed off to the public.

Stop two was the gun market. It turned out to be about 30 men sitting along the side of a bank building on a corner across the street from the souq. Most of the men are villagers. Some of the villagers wore turbans that had some material hanging down in back to cover their necks, and a couple of the older village men had on a long skirt and no shirt or head cover. Everyone there was holding a small rifle. There were a few vendors selling rifles, but there were also vendors selling camel skins, hand made knives in beautiful sheaths (pictured below), jewelry, leather goods, and other assorted handicrafts. There was even a guy there selling fruit. One guy came up to us and showed off how well crafted his knives are, encouraging us to touch the blade and point. The guide told us that most days there was a bigger selection of guns. Non-automatic guns are perfectly legal in Oman and do not require any kind of registration. However, it is illegal to shoot a gun in the city, only outside of town. The guide explained to us that guns are an important prop in the cultural dances.

Stop three was the castle/fort in the village of Taquah, (more…)