So we are back in Beirut after about 9 days in the Sultanate of Oman. We actually got back on Sunday afternoon, but somehow I have felt too drained to post about it. I’m going to have to do it in parts or I fear it will never happen.

The first photos that we have are actually from about halfway through the trip. This is because my camera broke. It just stopped turning on. The moment I realized this was about 5:30 AM one morning, as Ethan and I watched a huge sea turtle who had just finished covering her eggs. She slowly and with pauses returned to the sea, a truly stirring sight. I struggled to focus on watching her and not fiddle with my camera. Even after she was gone, I really wanted that camera– the sun was rising, the beach was littered with scurrying crabs, everything was washed in a gorgeous light.

Prior to this loss of camera on about Day 5 of the trip, we had already had some pretty great adventures. Most notably, we went snorkeling in the Indian Ocean. It was the first time that I had ever tried it, aside from just goofing around on a few beaches in Puerto Rico where I saw a few rather ordinary fish. We went on a boat full of divers and snorkelers to a spot known as Mermaid Cove. It was amazing .. we saw hundreds and hundreds of fish of every color and shape you can imagine. We saw 2 moray eels, which are sort of creepy. On a second snorkeling trip later in the week, we saw scorpion fish, lion fish, and even a huge ray swimming below us.

Anyhow, on to the first batch of pictures, taken with our brand new camera, purchased in the fairly provincial town of Sur. We wanted to see some desert dunes, but it’s already quite hot in Oman. We decided to get up at 5 AM and just take a walk in the desert for a few hours before the heat became unbearable. This part of the desert is known as Wahiba Sands.