Halfway

Today marks the halfway day of our trip; hard to believe. They have also told us the next week or so is iffy for satellite (and thus TV or internet) coverage. Based on what we have now, that means we won’t be hearing any news, or sending and receiving emails much except on port days, of which we only have two until we reach the Mediterranean in a week. I will try and get this posted today (Sat. 23), but we shall see if I am in time to catch the satellite cover.

We left the port of Dubai at a late hour, 11:00 pm, where we picked up 370-ish new passengers and disembarked some 325 prior passengers, including two valuable members of our trivia team. (This morning’s score was a measly 15/20, but we still don’t much care because the fabulous prizes are still Princess logo water bottles. There are the aluminum reusable ones; but we already have enough of these. We hope they run out and have to revert to the magnet clips or flashlights one day).

The new passengers got to do both a muster drill and the anti-piracy drill, and the through passengers like us were able to skip both, as the seafaring rules and regulations only require we drill once every 30 days. Speaking of anti-piracy, we feel very safe. After the spate of incidents a few years back, an international convention was created to combat the pirates, and because multiple governments belong, and share the patrol duties of these waters, there is a much better tracking and monitoring system which allows group communication of what boat is where and which might need watching. We are still rigged for defensive measures, and there is a a watch outside our window from an hour before sunset to an hour past sunrise, all through the night. We’ve seen them checking out the traffic with their night vision binoculars and recording observations by radio and logbook. Similar watch stations are set up around the ship, as well as 24/7 from the bridge. Tom just wants to see a US aircraft carrier come by. Which might be possible out here.

Right now ( Friday )we are still in the Gulf of Oman, having passed back through the straights of Hormuz last night. The capital of Oman, Muscat, is almost off our starboard side at the moment (which is 1:43 Dubai time). We will make a right turn around the corner into the Arabian Sea. It will take us another 40 hours or so to get to Salalah, on the southern coast of Oman, some 600 miles southwest of Muscat, but our total distance by sea will be 969 nautical miles between Dubai and Salalah.

Oman, which we knew nothing about before this trip, has some interesting history. The southern region, known as Dhofar, is the location of Job’s tomb. Yes, that Job, the biblical dude from the Old Testament with the worst luck ever. Except here they pronounce it “Yohb”. The Dhofar is also known for the best frankincense trees, and has a UNESCO world heritage site at Wadi Dawkah near our port with thousands of admittedly scraggly-looking frankincense trees. But remember, back in the day good frankincense was worth more than gold.

There is another UNESCO heritage site nearby, where they have preserved ancient archeological findings, and the Queen of Sheba’s palace is also recorded as having been in this area.

The current Sultan of Oman, Qaboos, has been in power since 1970, and is now 79 years old. He was educated at Sandhurst in England and has both modernized the country during his reign as well as having preserved traditional values and culture. Consequently, foreign oil companies are not as prevalent in Oman and the country (and jobs) remains nearly 80% Omani; unlike Dubai which is 80% expats and only 20% local.