A parental visit part two

The visitors’ season has started in Oman for ‘expats’ like us. You can tell by the number of expat grandparents you encounter in the supermarket or at the PDO Club. Now that the European winter has set in while the Omani weather is now tipped to the more pleasant side of the scale, relatives and friends flock to this part of the world to visit, explore the country and celebrate the holidays together. Marike’s parents kicked off our visitors’ season, which will hopefully continue until February or March with a number of planned visits already lined up! And visiting, exploring and celebrating is exactly what we did together these last two weeks.

Visit: we only spent about 10 days in our new home before Marike’s parents arrived, and we were still dealing with unpacking the remaining boxes and hanging our pictures and paintings on the wall. So it was nice to spend time together in our new house and garden, and the feeling of ‘home’ grew day by day. We set up our Christmas tree – the first artificial tree we have ever had! – and spent much time playing with Matilda of course.

Explore: In Muscat we visited some highlights including the Fish Souq and the Grand Mosque. The Grand Mosque, which is absolutely splendid and impressive, is open to non-Muslims although visitors are required to dress according to Islamic customs. And so we did, here is a picture:

Also, we went on a three day round trip in Oman, covering basically all that the country has to offer: wadis (canyons), ocean, desert and mountains (do we sound like a tourist guide now?). According to the books, if there is one wadi that one should visit in Oman, it is Wadi Shab. Our visit to this wadi took place some days after heavy rains, so the water level was much higher than average. It made the wadi more beautiful but also largely inaccessible. We took a small boat to cross the river and hiked up a short distance into the wadi:

We then continued to the Wahiba sands, which met much of our imagination of what a typical sand desert should look like. We rode a camel, visited a Bedouin family, did some ‘dune bashing’ (crossing the sand dunes by car which is fun (Gideon, dad) and scary (Marike, mom) at the same time. We went down slopes of over 45 degrees!), and spent the night in a ‘desert camp’ with charming palm leave huts, open air bathrooms and a very tasty supper.

We rounded off our tour in Nizwa, and also visited the mountain village of Misfat, which dates back to medieval times. Marike has named this village her favourite place in Oman so far, because of its oasis-like character and the stunning views.

And finally, celebrate: it was a joy to spend the Christmas days together! Although it is difficult to get ‘That Christmas Feeling’ in a muslim country, where the 25th of December is a day like any other, we managed to create our own little Christmas bubble, aided by Christmas CDs, Christmas decorations, home-baked Christmas cookies and the like.

Thanks Hans and Rietje for your visit and we look forward to the rest of the season of visiting, exploring and celebrating! Happy new year everyone!

The month of October: gradual changes

We realise our previous blog entry dates back to almost a month ago, and we feel it is time to give some updates on how we have been the last couple of weeks, in particular the gradual changes that have started to occur.

First of all, we have witnessed a wonderful change of temperature and climate. Less humidity, lower temperatures and a nice easy breeze have started to replace the harsh summer heat. As of now (early November), day temperatures reach 31-34 degrees Celsius, and in the evening and early morning it’s about 28°C. After work, we often go to the swimming pool or the beach for a quick swim. It is wonderful to come home from a hectic work day and step into an entirely different world of leisure in just five minutes. After our last trip to the mountains (see previous blog entry) we have not been away to explore other parts of the country. Instead we enjoy our weekends spending time at the Club or on the Camp, for example going for long walks. On these occasions, it is very likely you will bump into someone you know, such as our new friends Stijn and Corine:

A second gradual change is particularly observed by Marike, and concerns Gideon turning into a cool beach dude! Every time when there’s a strong wind, Gideon drops his work or whatever keeps him busy (telling his colleagues “hey, there’s wind, have a good weekend!”), jumps into his car and drives off to the beach in Azaiba to go kitesurfing. This should not be exaggerated, as there usually is no wind in Muscat and kitesurfing is still only possible on a rare occasion (perhaps the winter months are more promising). Nevertheless, this is making Gideon very very happy. And driving to the beach in the old banger Jeep Cherokee of 13 years old that he recently bought is only adding to the fun! Pictures will follow!

A rather sudden and not-so-gradual change is the fact that we have found a home! After three months in transit accommodation, we got the news that we can move by mid-November. Our belongings (waiting patiently in storage) will be delivered and we will have more space to move around! We are very happy with the house as it is spacious and it has a garden and two terraces. The house is off-camp but in an adjacent neighbourhood, located less than a kilometre away from our current home. Here are some first impressions:

And finally, gradual changes are of course happening all the time to little Matilda. As she is turning six months (!) next week, she is no longer the tiny baby girl…she is happily tucking into solid food. Sweet potato is her favourite. Being a ‘mature’ baby now, she thinks it’s only cool to lie on her belly, not on her back. Also, she is regularly doing leg exercises by trying to stand. And with a little help from her nanny Nida, she is enjoying all of this very much!

A parental visit

In the first week of October, Gideon’s parents came over for a first visit. Despite the still ongoing summer heat and the fact that we could not really provide them with a decent bed (we are still in transit accommodation), there was nothing that could stop them from getting a much needed shot of ‘Vitamin M’, as Grandpa put it. And with Matilda around, it indeed didn’t matter too much that some of the attractions and areas of Muscat were closed for a couple of days because the President of Kazachstan was visiting the country. We had a good time in the swimming pool of the hotel in which Oscar and Liesbeth stayed, at the Club on the beach, and at home.

 

At the same time, our car was finally delivered and it came at the right moment for a visit to the mountains. Seeing that the car could easily transport four adults, a baby and the necessary luggage related to such a party, it can be concluded that our new vehicle is pretty BIG. It is a real joy to drive, too.

We spent two days at Jebel Akhdar (the Green Mountain). It is a large plateau at 2000m above sea level. Because of the cooler temperatures (it was 24 degrees instead of 38 in Muscat) and more annual rainfall, the area has some green vegetation, and fruit is grown throughout the year. Our visit was in the season of the pomegranates, and during our hikes we encountered many beautiful small-scale, terraced orchards with trees full of pomegranates.

 

We made a short hike through these terraced areas, hopping from village to village. The terraces are irrigated through the traditional falaj system, a system of water channels and mini aqueducts that are connected to natural springs.

 The views were magnificent!

We also paid a visit to Nizwa, the largest town in the ‘interior’ of Oman. It is home to Nizwa Fort, dating from the 17th century. It has a large tower which in former days was used to catch an eye on ‘the enemy’ (that could be any neighbouring clan or other invaders). Hot date syrup (!), canons and traps in the staircase were used to keep unwanted visitors out. To us, the fort tower just provided beautiful views of the oases surrounding the city, and the fort was an interesting labyrinth to discover.

Thanks Oscar and Liesbeth, for spending such a nice week together!

In the Mountains

The Sultan decided that the whole country has a week of holidays for the end of the holy month of Ramadan. An excellent occasion to explore the country and exchange the heat of Muscat for some cool mountain air! We rented a big 4X4 (our own car first needs to be paid before we can drive it...), and set off for Jabel Shams (mountain of the sun). All this with our friendly and loyal guides to Oman, Maartje and Ronald (a.k.a. The Ronnies).

On the way, we stopped to see the old village of Al Hamra. The mud brick houses were mostly in ruins, but some seemed to be inhabited. Hopefully, one day the village gets restored.

There is something about doors...

...and hats!

Some dramatic scenery on the climb up to Jabel Shams

Gideon sets up a tent, which is large enough to house a soccer team, while Matilda waits patiently.

 Matilda in her tent

The next day, we hiked up towards a ridge from where you can overlook Wadi an Nakhur or the 'Grand Canyon' of Oman. Thanks to Maartje and Ronald for looking after Matilda!

The canyon is 1000m deep, and the views are just astonishing. Hopefully, these pictures will inspire future visitors.....

On the way back, we saw a goat climbing a tree...Bizarre!

Father and daughter taking a nap.

After another nice evening with campfire under a starlit sky, we returned home the next day. We hope to make many more trips like this. Thanks to The Ronnies for the great company!

Matilda: Liquids and Solids

The swimming pool at PDO club was closed for Ramadan, fortunately, there is a second PDO pool close to the office. Gideon tries to go three times a week for a lunchtime swim with colleagues. It is wonderful to have these facilities so close to work and so easily accessible.

Matilda also likes the pool, in the weekends when it’s nice and quiet. A whole baby pool to herself!

Some things one is not supposed to do in a pool!

Which brings us to the second part of the title of this entry: Matilda and the Solids!
Today, we tried to feed Matilda some rice porridge and it did go down really well.

Of course she wanted to take the spoon, and quickly managed to ‘eat’ by herself!

Settling in

As the days go by quickly, we are slowly settling in. In these first three weeks we have learned how to get to work, where to do our groceries, and what to do to stay active despite the heat.

Commuting to work is worth an observation because it is exceedingly different from our habitual bike and train rides in the Netherlands. Gideon needs a five-minute drive along the coast to get to work, as the Camp where we live is adjacent to the offices and refinery area of PDO. Each morning he enjoys spectacular views of the ocean, the cliffs and the beach – what a way to start your day at the office! Marike needs 20 minutes by car to get to the university campus. Omani traffic is quite chaotic – you need five additional sets of eyes to watch in front, in the back and on the sides - as cars seem to pop up everywhere!

Grocery shopping is also an interesting observation, especially to study the origin of the products. As Oman’s climate is not very suitable for agriculture and other food production, most of what you find in the supermarket is imported from abroad. We will soon dedicate a special blog posting on our globalised kitchen cupboards!

We are very happy with our temporary accommodation. Our apartment is located opposite the golf course. In many countries this is considered a prime location, but here the ‘greens’ are ‘browns’, so you could easily confuse the golf course with wasteland. Here is a picture:

Looking to the left, we can see the PDO school (primary school) with behind it the recreational club:

And here is a picture of our apartment, on the first floor (with the balcony).

Due to a combination of heat and Ramadan, the options to explore our new home town are limited. Shops and restaurants are closed during the day. Drinking and eating in public is considered an offense, even a sip of water in the car is a no-go. Exploring the surroundings of Muscat is therefore not really much fun at the moment. The beach? Too hot. Instead, we enjoy going to the gym (Marike) and to the swimming pool during lunch break (Gideon) to stay active. The average daily temperature is around 35 degrees Celsius, but it’s mainly the high humidity which makes being outside pretty uncomfortable.

As for Matilda, she is doing great. We found a patient and responsible nanny for her, who even managed to finally get Matilda used to bottle feeding! After several weeks of refusing drinking from the bottle, this came right on time, as mommy has gone back to work! It seems that Nida, our nanny, and Matilda get along well, and Matilda is happy as always.