The picture was of the ferry on the way back and we came back a day early to avoid the rush and to have Thanksgiving back in Muscat. The ferry ride took about 90 minutes and was pretty smooth. There were two life rafts at the back, but no signs of life jackets. Luckily we didn't need them!
Once on the the island, we drove down the western coast and searched for our camping spot. This is tricky in Oman because the ground is basically rock and even on the coast, sandy spots are hard to come by. We found a great spot and spent two nights there, taking daytrips and leaving our campsite set up. The only intruders we had were a few sand crabs who pooped in the tent Zach and I were using. We spent most of the two and a half days we were there just hanging out on the deserted beaches and playing in the ocean. One day, we were visited by some Omani girls, well, not really Zach and I, but Sara and Janelle spoke to them. They even invited us to their house for dinner, but then they never called the next day. Zach and Janelle brought their kite boards and kite surfed a little, but the wind wasn't really strong enough to do it. We made our own meals over campstoves and played cards at night.
On our last day, we packed up our stuff, hit the beach one last time and headed into town. The island is really pretty small. You can drive around the whole thing in a couple of hours. While in town, we ran into some camels, well not literally, but on the way home we kinda did. Janelle and I tried to see how close we could get to them and she won. It's crazy to see them just sitting around town or walking through the streets.
On our way back that day, we saw the fisherman repairing the Dhows, which are the ships they fish from and they were all on the beach being painted, stocked and cleaned. It's cool to see that they still use these traditional vessels. A few of the crew came and talked to Zach and I and they were from all over the Indian subcontinent. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Burma were just a few of the countries they had left to earn a living.
The return ferry ride was much less hectic until we tried to dock. It was later in the day and the tide was lower, so we ran into a sand bar. Luckily, the ferry was not full and we all moved our cars to the front and the ferry was able to get loose. The drive back was about 4 hours and we only had about an hour of light, so we took off as soon as we hit land. It is highly advisable that you do not drive at night in the interior of Oman at night, due to the lack of light and the size of obstacles you may run into. We had a close encounter with one of those obstacles, a camel, but luckily we avoided them. If you kill a camel on the roads you have to pay the owner for it and camels aren't exactly cheap! We made it back safely and had a fine Thanksgiving meal thanks to Courtney. It was a fun excursion and one more reason why living here is unlike anywhere in the states.