Sunday 13 July 2008

Sailing, snorkling & Pimms

Last Friday, friends & I went sailing on the yacht Jinan Al Bahr, which sails out of Muscat. We left the marina at 1pm and sailed an hour down the coast to Bandar Al Khran. On weighing anchor, we donned snorkels & fins and went across the bay to the nearby rocks and cave. Poor Valia was scared when she saw a snake skimming across the water and rapidly headed back to the yacht. John & I investigated around the cave and rocks seeing many different varieties of fish, although the water was a bit murky. (Like the sky, which is still full of dust, despite the weather report saying it is cloud).

When we got out it was "Pimms o'clock" so we shared out the thermos of Pimms and tucked into our picnic lunch - no cucumber sandwiches, but we did have some strawberries. Continuing with this difficult afternoon, lunch was followed by lounging and chatting. Later it was time for another swim, although for me this was more of a bob as I was using a noodle to float in the sea whilst chatting to other passengers.


On the yacht were members of the Intercon band and the Hyatt band, and they all seemed a nice crowd so we plan to go and see them play this Wednesday. We returned to the marina about 6pm so exhausted by the days activities that we had to have a restorative drink in the bar before we left. It's a hard life here!