One of the best things about being in Oman so far has been the number of public holidays. At the end of Ramadan there is a big celebration called Eid Al Fitr. Because Oman determines the sighting of the moon using a committee rather than scientific data and observations, the date for the holidays was not determined until the very last day. If the moon was sighted on the Wednesday then including the weekend we would have had 4 days off, but if the moon was sighted on the Thursday we would get 6 days. It seems that despite the rest of the Gulf region sighting the moon on Wednesday, it wasn't seen in Oman until Thursday. No complaints here though!
Amongst our friends here there is a lot of talk about kitesurfing and how Oman has some of the best conditions in the world. So we thought that we better give this a go and with our good friends Gil and Amy we made the most of a couple of these long weekends and headed to Masirah.
Amongst our friends here there is a lot of talk about kitesurfing and how Oman has some of the best conditions in the world. So we thought that we better give this a go and with our good friends Gil and Amy we made the most of a couple of these long weekends and headed to Masirah.
It is a 4 hour drive through the mountains and across the desert to Shanna where you catch a ferry across to the island. Well when I say ferry I mean a decommissioned greek car bathtub that has seen better days and is staffed by a large bunch of guys who all have a different view of how to best board their passengers. Certainly an experience but once you arrive at the Kitesurfing beach you realise it is well worth it.
Obviously strong winds are a critical element for kite surfing but not the best thing when it comes to camping out. An overnight sand storm equals a quick 'de-camp' to a nearby hotel.
The next day the wind had dropped enough for us to get out onto the water and we managed to finish our course. After a short exam we were presented with our certificates and officially allowed to give it a go on our own.
Jenny's amazing kitesurfing abilities really began to draw a crowd!
The short video below is some footage of the 2 trips that I put together with our new Go-Pro. Absolutely loving this camera, especially for outdoor and water sports. Any readers of this blog are likely to see a lot more of this in the upcoming posts. Enjoy!
Love the go pro video!!! Makes me want to learn to kite surf!! Looks like you're having a great time!
ReplyDeleteCheers Katie. I am becoming a bit obsessed with GoPro. How sad! You should learn to kite surf - come and visit us and we can go together!
DeleteLove that Ralph made it on the journey with you guys. Hope he is back to good health again :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather. Ralph absolutely loved it and basically swam non stop for about 4 days. And congratulations to you guys! I haven't been on any blogs for a while so it was only when I caught up a few days ago that I learnt of your fantastic news. Hope you are keeping well now. You must be excited!
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