Forty five days into our “stuck in Salalah” and counting…… Time for a few details about what is going on to get us out of here! There are twenty boats here ranging in size from 39’ to 62’ and all are going to be shipped in purpose built cradles on the deck of a designated vessel through GoA, the Red Sea and Suez to Turkey. This is all very difficult to arrange and very expensive but there are some extremely competent people among the yachts who are used to doing complicated and expensive things and so we have elected to leave the arrangements to them and make the most of being here, hence the trips to the gym at the Hilton Hotel and all the camel photos taken on daytrips when we are not at the hotel! There have been a few hiccups along the way however that have delayed our leaving including a shipping company going bankrupt and the cradles somehow “missing the boat” somewhere en route. At least the mooring here is free because having to pay £20 or £30 a night would add enormously to the costs though there are drawbacks such as having no electricity or water and having to get ashore via dinghy which also usually means a dodgy scramble over the rocks, very difficult especially in the dark. It is also a long dusty walk to the nearest hostelry, the Oasis Club and much too far to walk to the Hilton or supermarket meaning lifts from kind fellow yachtsmen who have enough spare cash for hire cars! There is also a fairly serious problem looming…our visas, which we have already extended for a month and which are now due to run out again. The Omani “powers that be” have steadfastly refused to re-renew them and so those of us who have not been able to leave the country for a short visit home will actually have to leave whether we like it or not in a few days! In other times, we could have just driven across the border into Yemen, had the passports stamped and then driven back. This would have been a little adventure and do-able within a day. Times have changed however and travelling into Yemen might mean not being able to get back because of the troubles there. So……the only viable option is to somehow get to Dubai which is 18 hours drive away (by coach, driving cars across Oman at night is very dangerous apparently……..camels!) or fly there which costs quite a bit of money and will mean having to stay overnight too. Bother! Dubai doesn’t appeal even for a day and I really resent having to pay to get there and back just to have another stamp in the passport. The alternative so they say is to be fined daily for overstaying in Oman which would be fine(!) if it was only a day or two but if things don’t go according to plan (and they quite often don’t!), we could end up paying a small fortune. Catch 22?
Still, we are being treated very well here at the Oasis and the Hilton and, subject to the women obeying a dress code (covering shoulders and knees in public), we don't get any problems out and about. In fact, it has been one or two of the men who have fallen foul of local dress codes where they have been ticked off for wearing "short shorts"! Men's knees are also too much of a temptation it would seem.
We have become minor celebrities in places, well, a couple of articles about us have appeared in the Oman Daily....read it online. There have also been a few pieces in the UK yachting mags but I'm sure there will be many more in the coming months as news takes at least 3 months to appear in these publications.
We have more day trips planned to visit such places as Job's Tomb and the frankincense museum and what I hope will be a highlight for me this weekend; a trip out into the desert proper, "The Empty Quarter" which includes a night in the desert sleeping under the stars and in the sand. We hope to meet Bedouin too and camel curry is on the menu for dinner after we have collected enough material to build a fire. They say to bring warm clothing for the night. OK!
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