I fear I've returned to my old posting habits...... a month without posting this time!! Oh well, plenty to tell you all about :). Let's start from where I left off last time.
Matthew, Dad and I headed to Dubai for the Rugby Sevens a few days after my last post. It turned into a bit of a road trip with a 6 hour drive and a 45 minute wait at the border to get through (honestly, it was easier getting into Palestine than Dubai!!!). Plenty of interesting company though, including two camels in the back of a pick-up on the Omani side of the border!
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| Not your normal load at customs...... |
The stadium
Beer to your seats!!
England beat Wales on day 2!!!
Matthew, Dad and me on day two. Flying the colours for England!!
A few days after coming home from Dubai our old neighbours and very good friends, Andy, Christian and "little" Theo, came out for a ten day visit. After bunking with them for most of October it felt good to repay some of the hospitality! After a few days relaxing we drove out to a beach an hour and half from home for a BBQ on the beach. The location was perfect and the water was the ideal temperature. It was also the first major outing for our new(ish) Jeep Wrangler. Needless to say, we had a blast driving that around. We spent most of the afternoon entertaining ourselves, and the locals, building a rather impressive sand castle with Theo. After an amazing BBQ of steaks, sausages and homemade burgers we toasted marshmallows before heading home.
The beach
Our finished sand castle, quite an engineering feat!
The locals loved the new edition to the beach!
Me and the Jeep :)
Dad mans the BBQ
The perfect end to the day :)
A few days after, and keen to make the most of mine and Matthew's PADI qualification, the four of us (Me, Matthew, Dad and Andy) headed out for a day's diving along two of the many reefs along the coastline. It was also the first outing for Dad's new GoPro camera, and it didn't disappoint!
Matthew, Me and Andy on the ride out to dive site 1
Our first dive took us along a reef clinging to an underwater cliff. The fish and corals were amazing and there was plenty to see. Including the somewhat freaky but kind of cool Moray eel. We saw an especially big one!!
Matthew and Andy lead the way along the reef
From left to right: Matthew, Me and Andy
The large Moray eel!
After a 45 minute interval we headed back down the coast to a bay for dive two. Visibility was much better on this dive and the wildlife didn't disappoint.
Me and Andy during our break
Me and a Puffer-Fish
Matthew needs to relax a little more......
From left to right: Matthew, Me and Dad
A baby Moray eel checks out the camera
After a few days at home we headed to a beach resort down the coast for a chilled out afternoon on the beach. The beach was heaving with crabs and starfish which kept Theo occupied for hours!
having fun in the waves with Theo :)
Matthew and Dad check out a baby starfish with Theo
Smile :)
Soon though it was almost time for Andy, Christian and Theo to head home. But there was just enough time for a final adventure in the mountains. After hooking up with a group from our compound we headed out west in convoy for a day of canyoning at Snake Gorge. After a bumpy drive to the start point we all headed into the canyon. After four hours of jumping into pools, crawling over rocks and swimming through caves we all emerged slightly battered and a little bit cold but with huge smiles!
View of the canyon en route to the start point
Me after the first jump
The group about mid-way down the canyon
near the end of the canyon, Andy leads the way
Andy, Christian and Theo headed home the day after canyoning, leaving the house strangely empty. Fortunately I was wasn't bored for long as that day I had the chance to head out on a friend's boat for a bit of snorkelling. We got more than we bargained for though, on the way out of the marina we ran into a huge pod of Dolphins! Watching them in the wild was a truly amazing sight and I got some great photos.
Some of the dolphins swimming close to the boat!
Half an hour down the coast we anchored up in a sheltered bay to start snorkelling. During a break on the boat we saw the resident turtle come up to for air, so it was back in the water for a closer look. This was truly amazing, swimming this close to a wild turtle was something I never thought I'd do. I was just glad my camera is water proof!!
The bay
The turtle, he's keeping an eye on a fish in the bottom left of the photo
A close up as he comes up for air
After snorkelling the last few days have been very quiet. The house is feeling more empty than its ever been on account of Matthew not being here. He's managed to get a four month internship at the local diving centre so he now lives in the staff accommodation down the coast. We won't be seeing much of him over the next four months as he only gets one day off a week. Not that it matters much for me as in just over 3 weeks I'm off to Nepal!! My final joining instructions have arrived and I need to start planning some lessons. In the meantime we've got a Christmas BBQ and a new year's beach campout to look forward to so plenty to keep us occupied over the next month.
That's it for this entry guys, thanks for reading and see you again real soon :).
