Category Archives: Oman

More About Part 2 of The Unexpected Circumnavigation

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Part 2 of The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People covering Australia to Oman is now on sale! Read the first few pages on Lulu’s “preview” feature and read an excerpt from Chapter 1 here (starts on page 18)!

Jeff Merrill wrote an extensive book review for the Nordhavn.com site.

Many people have asked us why they should buy our book if they can read our blog for free. Just like Part 1, the book is very different from the blog. Here are a few of the differences between the two:

  • Prologue: Picks up where the Prologue of Part 1 left off. It focuses primarily on the research we did as we planned for our journey and addresses the majority of the questions we were most frequently asked.
  • Several new stories from the journey – And there are some really good ones!
  • Many details have been added that were best left undisclosed while we were still on the journey (sometimes we didn’t want our parents worrying about us; sometimes we didn’t want to incriminate ourselves!)
  • In Retrospect sections with great insights — so you can see the situation through the eyes of a newbie as we learn, while simultaneously seeing the same situation through the eyes of experience.
  • Streamlined stories – some complained our posts were too long and detailed, the book is a condensed version they will enjoy more.
  • Formatting is first person, through Christi’s eyes – Some complained they didn’t like the third person format, so they will enjoy the book more.
  • Actual dates on each post. On the blog, the dates are not real time, which is a significant piece of information for anyone hoping to follow in our footsteps.
  • All profits will go to our cruising fund. The more books we sell, the sooner you can start reading about our next journey! So, buy one and get all your friends to buy one, too!

People have also asked us why we broke the series up into four books instead of only three. We had very different experiences in each of the four world regions, so it was best for each region to have its own volume.

  • In the South Pacific, Part 1, we spent most of our time in sparsely populated areas communing with nature. And we did a lot of rough sea time, learning about boating the hard way.
  •  In Asia, Part 2, we were mostly in densely populated areas building cultural bridges. Our sea experiences were also different from the Pacific, with both our best and worst passages occurring in this region.

Travel Summary January 2008 to June 2008

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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

Leaving Oman

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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 Continue reading →

Getting Ready for Sea and Omani Courtship Customs

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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, Continue reading →

Guided Tour of the Dhofar Region – Part 2

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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.

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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.

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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.

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We headed back down the mountain to the coast, to the ancient city of Continue reading →