Making Cultural Inroads…One Canada Pin At A Time

One of my favorite gestures of goodwill is to pass out Canada pins to young and old alike. Today was particularly fun when we went to the frankincense market. The salesgirl, dressed in her full length, full face covering burka, spoke very good English and was very pleasant in our negotiation of frankincense, innocence and myrrh. I asked if she had any children as I wanted to give her pins for them but she responded that she was single and had no children but she would really like a pin for herself. She was having difficulty trying to attach it. I offered to help pin into her burka but she brushed me off saying I was not allowed to help her signaling that I was a male, but she consented to Jennifer giving her a hand. I timidly asked her if she would allow me to take a picture with her and she graciously agreed. Word must have gotten out as other salesgirls wanted pins and they too were agreeable to having their pictures taken with this old sheep herder wearing my dishdashi and turban. Wearing the traditional dress I had a little fun trying to buy a camel which I could easily transport back home with me. I still don't know how our leader Gordon was able to do it, but we all got upgrades to villas in this fabulous resort in Salalah on the southeast coast of Oman. This was my first experience at getting my sunglasses cleaned by a beach attendant while sitting on a lounge under an umbrella. Perhaps I'll have a cold beer while he is at it, then I'll try out the largest infinity pool I've ever seen. This has got to be one of the best beaches we have ever been privileged to see. Wide, white sand beaches, stretching to the horizon in both directions with water temperatures into the high 20's along with sandy/no coral walking into the sea, all the way along where the sea meets the sand. And as an added bonus there were no crowds with screaming children and arrogant Americans. We both agree that the only other comparable beach we have been to was Goa in southern India, though Mike, one of our fellow travelers said he thought the beaches in Siri Lanka were even better. One day.....

Even though we would have liked to spend all of our three days at the resort, we did venture out for visits to archeological sites, a trip to the Sultan's Palace and some more dune bashing in 4x4s. The journey continues on to Dubai today, which should be a giant step into a completely different stratosphere. Allahu Akbar الله أكبر