Six hours journey by road and sea and road ...
At last, here we are @Masirah Island - the biggest island in Oman :)
Love @firstsight - the sign post of Masirah Island, Sultanate of Oman
We were contemplating - to go or not to go? So, we told each other > if we could get a tent, then we will go camping with the other six families - the FJs, D'MAs, D'MHs, D'AlFie, D'SU3s and D'FaWaz. If not, then it be hard luck and we'll stay home comfortably throughout a week long Eid Adha holidays.
Indeed, luck was with us ...
When we went to Carrefour @QCC, we met ThaiTee and her husband. We told them that we're contemplating a trip to Masirah Island. And their reply were, "Please go, we just came back from there!" They also showed us good tents and several camping necessities to be tagged along for a two night camping trip.
The other campers were in their 4x4 wheelers, but we went in our BeeMer :) Alhamdulilah, the roads in Oman were great, so we did not encounter any problem throughout our journey from Muscat to Masirah. We started our trip at 6.45am via Izki and reached Sinaw just before noon for a short break. From Izki to Sinaw was a lovely ride with some greens and mountainous view but from Sinaw to Wilayat Mahoot, it was sheer 200km barren desert with once in a while spotted camels on both sides of the roads. Here, all drivers were in their alert mode! There was no R&R, so we were cautioned to beware of our heavy gall bladders. But, the journey so far so good :D
We arrived Shanaa Jetty and soon took a ferry ride for more than one and half hours journey before reaching the Island. Yeah! Finally we're here :)
In our faithful BeeMer @Shanna Jetty
Crossings to Masirah Island in a ferry @own risk - no life jackets nor life boats! But, we surely made it ... Unforgettable experience and memorable adventure :D
Yours truly with Sista Leha in a ferry ride!
A pose in a fishing village after two hours 'rounding' the Island for some sea foodies ... But, we found none :( except nice and friendly fishermen :)
Once we reached the Island, all the so called campers were famished and craved for late lunch + dinner. We also had to put up the tents before night falls just before 6pm. And the yearnings to see the sun set also engulfing us! So, what did we do first? We took our late lunch + dinner @ Serabis Hotel comprising of briyani with chicken and fish plus the salata.Wow! Yummy and truly filled our Tummy.
We soon took a twenty minutes ride to the KiteBoarding Camp Site and pitched our tents. We formed a circle for bon fire and pitched an open tent for prayers and meals. Indeed, it was a lovely sight to see the camps under the thousands stars and one bright moon!
The Campers @KiteBoarding Camp Site, Masirah Island - serene and faraway from city-life Muscat!
As night falls, some of the campers had a swim in the open sea but others preferred to wait for the next morning to be on the white sandy beaches and to be ready for some 'crabbing' activities. We had light supper and shortly dozed off under the thousand stars gazing down to us! It was truly a magnificent sight and experience which perhaps only come once in our life time.
The next day after a simple but awesome breakfast of fried rice with black coffee, most campers and their families headed to the beaches and open sea - some went for swimming, others preferred snorkeling and a few looked forward to fishing and crabbing the 'ghost' crabs! When they came back to the tents, all were sun burned, tanned but truly satisfied with their activities.
After dinner at a Turkish Restaurant for some rice with fish, breads, pizzas and sweet labneh, they once again headed to the sea for some fishing activities. This time they caught several 'ghostly' crabs which were returned to the sea and Mr Right caught eleven stingrays and a mother squid which all of them were grilled for supper. It was a superb catch and fun plus filled the tummies of the hungry children after their many hours in the salt water followed by beautiful sun bathing.
Again when night falls, all campers 'crawled' into their tents and dozed off easily till dawn where they performed their morning prayer together. When the sun rises, they were ready to dismantle their tents and to head the road again for another six hours drive back to city life.
With a help of a young camper, Mr Right dismantled the tent. TQ young guy!
Now, it's time to bid "Bye Bye Masirah Island" You're beautiful! We shall miss your white beach and the 'deserter' look but surely we'll remember your barren deserts with thorny plants, the abandon fishing village with water wells, rows and rows of dhows and the 'ghostly' crabs crawling to the sea when low tides.
A group photo snapped by MalaHasni on the island as a remembrance of the pristine white beaches and the bluish green sea water. An awesome picture taken in mid noon under a hot scorching sun!
On the way home, after leaving the Ras Hilf Jetty, we stopped for while in Bar Al Hickman to view and experience the Sabkha - miles and miles of salt plain. Mr Right took the opportunity to snap a picture of me standing on the 'snowy' look salt plain which was an incredible and superb sight to onlookers.
The snow-like view of salt plain.
We continued our journey towards Sinaw. It was a long 206 km drive with illusional mirage. Mr Right looked tired with "monotonous driving through a featureless flat desert along a straight road" but I was captivated by a rare sight of two camels in a pick up truck. They looked lovable :) I wanted to take their picture with my iPhone but unfortunately the battery was out. I quickly grabbed my Blackberry and tried my best to capture the moment. The result was this:
Blurry sight of <3able Camels on a truck ride.
From Sinaw, we drove to Izki which was scenic with breathtaking views, lots of greens and rugged mountains on both sides of the road. We were enjoying our morning drive throughout the 80km ride which were feast to our eyes! From Izki, we continued our journey to Muscat but stopped for our lunch @Fanja. We hoped for some Omani cuisines but had to make do with a plate full of prata or Indian breads and chicken curry. Not bad at all for our tummies were full with the fulfilling foodies. Alhamdulilah.
Finally, in late noon after driving more than six hours with three stops, we arrived our home sweet home in Qurum29 safe and sound! We Thanked Allah SWT for providing us with good health and ability to camp and enjoy the lovely Masirah Island. Most importantly, we were able to explore some parts of beautiful Omani deserts, watching the sun sets @Masirah, chasing hermit and 'ghostly' crabs and experience the popular traditional salt plains during our stay in this part of the heaven on earth!
Scenic View: Sun sets before night falls on our first day @Masirah Island. Beautiful & Magnificent Sights!
Gifts from Mr Right as memento from Masirah Island as keep sake :) Big TQ!
No comments:
Post a Comment