Seaside in Sur

I take advantage of the peace and quiet at the lodge to have a lazy morning to catch up on photo editing and writing the blog.

Heading to Sur, we see what appears to be a lake and then realize it’s a mirage.  There’s a salt flat with the Arabian Sea off in the distance.  Continuing on, we see camels on the side of road so I pull over to take a photo.  A pick-up truck driving the opposite way honks, does a u-turn and pulls up behind us.  Thinking I’m in trouble for stopping on the side of the road, I exit the vehicle and say, “As salam alaykum” to the elderly gentleman that approaches us.  He returns the greeting and waves us over to where one of the camels is laying.  Are these his camels??  I ask him and he shakes his head as he approaches it cautiously.  He points at my camera and mimics taking a photo.  

“I take photo of you?” I say.

He waves us over again and points to the camel.  I think he wants us to get on it.  I laughingly say, “La, shukran (no thank you)”, but Becca is game for carefully propping herself up against it while the gentleman stands beside her and poses for a picture. 

We thank him profusely and he gets in his vehicle, makes another u-turn and heads back the way he came.  I look at Becca and say, 

“Did he seriously turn around and stop just so we could get a photo with the camel?”

“It appears so.”

The friendliness and kindness of the Omani people continue to astound me.

We arrive at the seaside area of Sur, driving through narrow, winding dirt and paved roads.  I stop at a watchtower perched atop a craggy hill overlooking the sea.  The beach is littered with small fishing boats.  A man and his son are sitting in a boat bobbing just off shore mending their fishing nets and I call a greeting to them.  We exchange pleasantries and I ask if it’s ok to take a photo of them, to which they nod their heads.  I move on down the beach and see a lighthouse in the distance and a group of young men fishing off the bow of their small fishing boat in the bay.

We cross over a large bridge and I double back to take photos of the large dhows moored in the inlet and a group of fisherman who wave at me as they propel their boat underneath the bridge.

The heat is intense, along with the humidity, so we head to the Maritime Museum for some relief.  I’m not one for museums but this one is quite interesting with lots of information on the culture in Sur and the history of ship building and trade routes.

Heading back towards the corniche, I stop to chat with a group of fisherman who are pulling small fish from their nets.  They encourage me to take photos and one of the men says,

“You take photo of me” and strikes a pose.  His friends shake their head and laugh.

I show him the photo and he seems suitably impressed with his appearance.  I continue on and chat with two gentleman who’ve just purchased a large bag of fish.  They offer to purchase some for me but I tell them thank you but I have no where to cook them.  Two young boys are beating the heat by jumping off the bow of a boat into the shallow water.  Everyone calls a greeting, asks where I’m from and how I’m enjoying Oman.

We continue on to the lighthouse and I meet a gentleman that has a shop on the waterfront that’s full of old, wooden doors and miniature ships.  His two friends sitting out front invite me for mini donut holes glazed with date syrup and coffee.  We chat about where I’m visiting next on the trip and they offer some advice of where to visit and things to do.  They ask where I’m from and if I’m enjoying their country.  They say if the weather isn’t hot, you’re not experiencing Oman.  I must really be getting the full experience then!  I bid them farewell as it’s time to head back to the lodge for dinner before going to the turtle reserve this evening.

Upon arriving at the turtle reserve, we’re advised that there are a few on the beach laying their eggs so they pack us into an old bus for the 5 minute transport to the seaside.  Although it’s 9pm, the moon lights up the beach enough for us to walk without a torch.  Only red or green light is allowed in order so as not to disturb the turtles.  

We quietly approach one of the turtles who’s dug a deep hole in the sand with her flippers in order to lay her 100 plus eggs.  Although this sounds like a lot of baby turtles, only 2 in 1000 survive.  The eggs can be eaten by other animals, the babies attacked when they make their dash to the sea or they don’t live to adulthood.  An adult can live approximately 65 years. 

People are crowding around the nests to view the females at work either digging holes or laying eggs, and I can’t help think that this has to be detrimental to the turtles in some way despite that this is a reserve and I’m hopeful the people that work here know what they’re doing.  I feel badly that the animals aren’t just left alone to do their business.  I snap a couple photos from some distance away and then move back.  I’m feeling cross with this whole endeavour and want to leave but we’re at the whim of the guide so I wait in 90% humidity (at least that’s what it feels like) as sweat pours from every orifice.

Quick shower and a rinse of my sweaty clothes before heading to bed.