Dhow Building, Sur and the Sama Desert Camp

Tectonic forces on the rocks in the area.

The large dhow that the community purchased.

The small Maritme Museum on site.

Dhow construction continues to this day, mostly for tourism.

The ribs of the hull.

This map clearly shows the small mountainous part of Oman to the north

the beautiful harbour of Sur

Typical dry wasteland

On the highway.

Our Bedouin driver Mohamed.

The ship of the desert.

My little home

Dune bashing.

Our group posing with Masoud and George 6th from left.

Making coffee

Traditional Welcome: coffee and dates.

The dunes were beautiful.

Our guides always prayed towards Mecca.

Sunsetting though the constant dust in the atmosphere.

Sunday, February 22nd.

We had a late morning start today, and boarded the bus at 10. Our first stop was at a dhow building shipyard. At one time this was a thriving industry here until the British brought steam engined boats that put the need for dhow sailing ships into steep decline. We saw the last dhow that was built here It was used for a long time in shipping in Oman, Yemen and finally wound up in a museum in the UAE. The local people of this town wanted to pay homage to their history and they pooled their money, tracked it down and purchased it from the museum and brought it here to take pride of place in their local museum. There is one surviving ship building yard and they only build to order. There is one large dhow that has the ribs and hull completed but not the superstructure as apparently the owner has run out of the money. I have been looking for leather bracelets all through the Arabian Peninsula, without luck (someone said it is because they have no hides here) but here a found some and bought a couple. It tells you how much money these countries have when they can build sidewalks from polished marble.

Then we drove to a very beautiful viewpoint by the sea. I found it absolutely stunning. We hiked up a hill to get a better vantage point to take more photos. It was sunny and hot with a lovely blue cloudless sky. Then we left  and drove to a local supermarket to pick up some snacks for lunch. George bought everyone a small dixie cup of ice cream as a treat for us missing dessert last night. We left town and drove for 90 minutes into the desert where the landscape went from mountainous, to flat and got drier and drier. There was a large dam built to catch rain running off the mountains, but it was completely dry. We saw a few camels, some scattered dwellings but not much else.

When we arrived at our meeting spot we transfered from the coach to six Toyota 4x4’s and drove another 45 minutes further into the desert to the big reddish sand dunes. They took us to the Sama Desert Camp. We all have little mudbrick homes in a compound of about thirty of them. It was really hot when we got here and I just hung out in my room and actually had a short nap.  I went to reception where I met Massoud. I asked him whether he felt tht the younger generation was becoming less religious or devote as his generation. He agreed and we had a great conversation about the internet, and social media platforms that are showing the younger people the ways of the rest of the world and globalizing clothing, dreams and wants. He is such a mellow, well spoken and thoughtful man that I was comfortable asking him these questions. At 5 we reconvened at reception for our dune bashing trip. We loaded up in our six 4x4’s again and headed out. I was in the front with Jane and Cam in the back. Our driver was fun and gave us a good ride up and over many dunes until we stopped at the highest lookout. The drivers started a fire and prepared the classic Arab welcome by heating up some coffee and giving us some dates. We hung around watching the setting sun and taking photos of the shifting colours of the sand. It was a great experience and the views were amazing. We are in the middle of the largest area of unbroken sand dunes in the world. When it started to get dark we headed back for a buffet, bbq dinner. There was soup, salads, cooked veggies, skewers of camel and chicken and pieces of potato. It was a great dinner, spoiled for some by Canada losing to the US in Olympic hockey. Then once again, everyone disappeared. I sat and listened to the two musicians for a while before going for a short wander up the large dune behind the camp, but that proved too difficult as the sand was deep, the hill steep and my boots filled with sand. So, I decided to walk out of the front of the camp and walk across the wide stretch of sand that serves as a road. About 100 feet out I came across a metal box about the size of a coffin. I have no idea what it was but it made for a great place to lay down and look up at the stars. I lay there for about a half hour and I could see hundreds but still the dust in the sky and the distance camp lights polluted the night sky. I reminded myself of where I was and how incredibly lucky I was to be here. Then I walked back to my little cabin and lay on a bench on my front porch reading a bit, doing a Sudoku and typing this up before bed. Just when it seemed like more of the same, mosques and museums, we had a very different, incredibly, wonderful day.