Tuesday was the national holiday, Sports Day. It is field day in elementary school, but
better. Instead of playing the game
where you eat saltine crackers and then try to whistle, you get paid to perform
sports outside in the lovely sunshine. We
are basically professional athletes; getting paid for our amazing athletic
coordination. Add that to the
resume.
Since most of the Sports Day activities involve ten thousand
screaming children, we opted to stay in our comfort zone and try to keep up
with Uncle Keith.
After satisfying our athletic requirement, we hopped on a
plane and headed to Salalah, Oman to really stretch our holiday hours.
Salalah is on the coast where the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea meet. It was a major trading post for
Frankincense. Without a current demand
for Frankincense, Salalah has adapted into a tourist destination. It rains everyday during the summer, so
visitors come from the Middle East region to cool off during the heat. During the winter, visitors come from Europe
to lay on the beach in the sunshine.
Most of the other hotel guests we met were from Germany and Sweden.
We did our fair share of pool side lounging and beach
strolling, but we also enjoyed a day tour of the region including:
Coconuts, bananas, and papaya which grow in the tropical
climate
Beautiful sea lines
Wadi Darbat complete with wildlife (Wadi is the area around
the rivers flowing from the mountains to the ocean.)
Old judicial buildings to keep peace between tribes
Archaeological sites of the old Frankincense ports
Who has seen the movie Captain Phillips? Below I’m posing in front of the port where the
container ship departed before being raided by pirates.
Toned down Arabic drink name alert. Anybody know the more daring name of this
beverage?
Happy birthday Jonna! We are sad not to be celebrating together, but we hope your birthday is as wonderful as you. Lots of love from us.
