Musandam had been one of those places we had heard about ever since we got to Dubai. It was, literally, "on the list" from nearly day one. And yet it took us a good two and a half years to finally make it there. Mommy, unfortunately, was unable to join us as she rushed off to Colombia to be with her family at a difficult time. That left our Abu Dhabi - Dubai family (yup.... Ralph, Anne and Maria have been officially been adopted!) to head out to the east coast of the peninsula to discover the wonders of the "Norway of the Middle East".
It's quite spectacular, really. The three hour drive begins in the outskirts of Dubai with a rather light colored (and largely developed) sandy landscape. As one drives east the sand color starts to turn a more robust rust color and, with a smattering of roaming camels, becomes more impressive. As the border approaches so do the mountain ranges that separate Oman from the UAE. As one leaves the UAE at the border it is amazing what a sudden change takes place. The big roads of the UAE are replaced by seaside winding roads along small villages with a backdrop of amazing rocky mountains. One side beautiful blue. The other side a sudden drop of beige (with a goat here and there for good measure). Amazing!
We spent three days in Musandam and have promised to return (with mommy this time!). The waters were a beautiful blue-turned-green inside the fjord areas. The dolphins seem to be waiting for the visitors to arrive and the families (the baby dolphins are cute as can be!) are happy to pop up and visit with the boats. On our return we were fortunate to be the only boat (it was a slow day, we were told) and the captain (a very friendly Bangladeshi named Muhammad) decided to "go fast" allowing the dolphins to use the displacement of the boat to do their own surfing... all a mere meter or two from the dhow we were on! The girls (and all of us) were thrilled!
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