This whole COVID thing has really made is home-based and limited in terms of travel options. But as the world has gone ahead and started vaccinating itself one thing we've slowly seen is the gradual 'opening' or borders and travel opportunities. It didn't take long for us to see our opportunities grow exponentially as soon as the UAE and Oman opened their borders for tourism. We called our good friends John, Melissa and Izzy and packed our car and off to Oman we went.
It was a loooong weekend in Oman but we had one extra day off for Thanksgiving, meaning we had a free travel day to get places before the crowds appeared. We made our way to Muscat with the new immigration procedures (which now included PCR testing and online documentation and medical certificate printing at the border) and, with not too much of a delay (we were the only ones at the border crossing who needed a visa-on-arrival) reached our friends. It would have been a holiday enough to be there, with them, sharing stories and just being together. It's quite amazing how some friends just make you feel like you belong as soon as you walk through the door. It was like that.
The next day took us to a place called Finn's Beach, about two hours from Muscat, through beautiful mountains and across the coast for a bit. As we got near our final destination John noticed something... a local swimming spot, known as the Sink Hole, had an empty parking lot. So with a quick turn of the steering wheel and a short side trip we pulled into a spot which would normally be a weekend getaway for the locals. One this day it was just us. Perfect! We made our way down the stone steps and jumped into the chilly water, looking to the sky and loving the clarity of the water we were bobbing in. The girls decided that it was so "awesome" that we came back the next day too, though it was quite a bit more full on day 2.
Once we got our fill of the Sinkhole and the subsequent lunch (under a pergola in the local park surrounding the sinkhole) we made our way to Finn's Beach. Finding a spot, we did the customary clean up of the campground (why are campgrounds to packed with trash?) just above a small beach, and settled in. The night was wonderful, filled with time outside (amazing!) and enjoying the water (the little beach was all ours). Some of the time included meeting people from the school where Melissa works and Izzy attends. International teachers and their families do make for really great, friendly, welcoming conversationalists. :-)
The girls loved it. Daddy got a little crab friend (who we met on 'our' little beach) who kept creeping up the sand and nestling into the side of his sandal. If he moved (cautiously) it would just move again and nestle into the same spot. Cute!
But time moved on, and the crab eventually made its way to a large bolder that adorned our little cove. And we packed up, and moved on, and hold on to the memories. Amazing ones.
