Oman Botanic Gardens

Yesterday I went on a guided visit of the Oman Botanic Garden organized by the Women’s Guild of Oman.

The Oman Botanic Gardens are still under construction and they are not open to the public yet; so I felt privileged to be able to go on this visit.

This is a huge project started in 2006 and expected to run for another few years and which will see the creation of the three main habitats of Oman (Northern, Central and South); a first of this kind.

http://www.oman-botanic-garden.org/project.html

The project is humongous. The majority of the plants that will be represented in the gardens have never been grown before, so the horticulturalists and students on the project have to scour for them around the country, collect and bank their seeds, plant and grow them and record all the findings and information as they learn about new species and how they grow .

The first habitat that has been created on the site is the northern gravel one. This is the natural habitat typical of the area where the site is located, so logically the first and “easier” one. More than 2000 plants have been planted while a number of plants are still being researched and grown in the various nurseries.

The site stands over 420 ha of ground. As the "plant experts" collect the specimens and experiment in the nurseries, engineers and workers are building the receptive structures, a cultural village (meant to serve as a link between cultural traditions and the surrounding environment) and landscaping and preparing the grounds for more plants to come and for the hosting of what will probably be an impressive bio-dome that will reproduce the unique habitat of Dhofar in the South of Oman.

I was surprised to learn that this southern region of the country is also home to the majestic Baobabs (for some reason I thought they were found only in Africa; although now only a few remain there and they are critically endangered) and my first encounter with the Desert Rose was love at first sight: I love the fat and sinuous body of this plant. It looks like a sculpture.



I think that when it's finished The Oman Botanic Gardens will be an amazing place to visit. People will  be brought closer to nature and will have a chance to learn and get a deeper understanding of the beauty of nature and the need to preserve it.

It’s great to see that a wealthy country such as Oman is spending its resources in such worthwhile projects and for the benefit of its people.

Photos will follow as soon as I get some time to sort them out.

Holiday Season

Merry Christmas to you all, we hope you had a good one.

Remember that Christmas is not a holiday in this part of the world, however we have been lucky this year as the 40th National Day Celebrations have fallen around this time so S. has ended up with some extra days off announced just a few days before Xmas.

As a result a lot of people jet off to their home countries at the last minute braving the sky rocketing airline prices (and the unpredictable European weather) while we spent it with friends under the sun doing what normally one does over this holiday season: eating, drinking, eating, drinking, eating…and generally being merry.

For Christmas Eve we were at some friends’ house and we enjoyed a mix of international traditions from Italian starters to Argentinian BBQ to British extra alcoholic puddings not to be consumed before driving (and I mean in any country).

Amongst the most memorable moments was watching C. making a Brandy Sauce for a very delicious Christmas Pudding: on the claim that she could not taste the brandy and that “you cannot call this a Brandy Sauce”, she held the bottle up-side-down over the pan. Brilliant cook! Measures are for beginners: the lucky ones know that her puddings (and her cocktails) are legendary; and so was this one (and the Trifle too!!).

For Christmas Day we indulged in an extravagant buffet at the posh Al Bustan Palace Hotel, and then rolled for drinks to the beach bar. All in civilised style.

I admit that the concept of having a Christmas meal and pulling crackers while holiday makers paddle in the pool outside may seem a bit weird but then so is having a Christmas tree in the lounge when you roam around in t-shirt and flip-flops or turning on the Xmas Tree lights when you return from the beach with your hair full of sand (perform shrug here).

Now is the turn for New Year’s Eve (not before squeezing in a trip to the desert for what we expect to be a very unusual concert by a friend's band - the venue will be at least).

I don’t know what the fuss is about this NYE. It’s always the same dilemma: what to do to avoid that dreaded anti-climax feeling? With the extra days off we were really keen on jetting off somewhere nearby (we find that after 2 years living away from Europe “nearby” has acquired a completely new meaning). In a couple of days we travelled virtually to Lebanon, Istanbul, India and Sri Lanka and finally we got a quote for a 4-day safari in the Masai Maara in Kenya. We were really ready to book what would have probably been the most extravagant last-minute holiday that we could have not planned but we had to scrap everything when we realized that we needed a Yellow Fever jab which for me expired last year and that it was obvious I was not going to get over the National Holidays. Gutted! (by the way I am planning to get this done in the New Year and I am sure that the experience is going to be "interesting").

So here we are, left with celebrating NYE on a white beach along the coast somewhere, doing what we do best with our friends. As AZ always says: what a hard life!

Happy New Year to you all!

Season Greetings

Wahiba Callenge - crossing the desert Diva style

I have been too busy with studies and other stuff so no time to dedicate to the blog. Two university deadlines now at the beginning of December and exams in January I have no time to waste.
So I guess that a weekend of adventures in the desert, crossing the Wahiba Sands with the rest of the Divas team must have come pretty high in the hierarchy of my existing priorities.

I'll be brief. The video in the link gives a good summary of this past weekend. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWTJgPXnbN0

I have not been sucked into a black hole!

Just things have been a bit hectic. Here are some highlights for the last 2 months

•  I have learned that goats in Musandam commute by boat and use cars (their own way)
•    My mental in-sanity is reaching dangerous levels
•    I managed to lose my boarding pass at Dubai Airport between check-in and the departure gate.
•    Drove 450km and back to spend 3 days camping on a desolate beach backed by some idyllic white dune desert. Stopped twice at military check points I practiced my rudimental Arabic eagerly (to the bemusement of the local soldiers) only to find out that my vehicle registration had expired a week earlier.
•    I have finally stopped sustaining the local car rental company and am now the proud owner of a Jeep Cherokee Liberty.
•    Spent some lovely time in the company of Bro. & co. who just left after two weeks of holidays with us.
•    At the last dune-driving practice weekend I almost rolled the car over with all the family in it; the horrified look on their faces when they found themselves hanging sideways was priceless; my “oh-shit-how-do-I-get-out-of-this-now” expression must have been even better. Shame that in the midst of panic nobody thought of taking a photo.
•    I learned that going through an automatic car wash forgetting to secure the car roof top is NOT a good idea
•    I have also learned that the Cherokee must somehow be a little bit longer than the average Yaris after I unintentionally tested the front bumper against the wall of the house carving the plate into it
•    I have a month worth of studying to catch up with, balls and receptions to attend, camping weekends ahead, some work just to feel less guilty (who me?) and a lot of social distractions; it won't be long before it's time to go on a holiday again!

Seriously, I will try to find some time to update the blog.

Busy ahead

You know I was away (longest break away from this country since I moved here) hence the long period of silence.

Now we are back but I’m busy with a few things:

1. Preparing for the imminent expedition to Musandam: I have won a scholarship and I will be taking part in a Marine Expedition courtesy of Biosphere Expeditions and HSBC. Very, very exciting to get back in the field once again!
2. Preparing for this coming weekend of desert driving (lots of equipment to put together): I have signed up to take part in the Wahiba Challenge which will see me driving across the Wahiba desert in my 4x4 with a team of only women  so we have a number of weekends in preparation for the big challenge which is scheduled for the end of November.
3. Studying: university has started again in full swing. A bit overwhelming. With all these commitments, visitors and chores I feel already snowed under and it doesn’t appear as much fun as the rest! :-P I will have to find some time!!

I will have to organize a couple of talks about the experience when I come back from the expedition, I have been approached for some work during the Christmas period, the dive centre will want to see me at some point and we have more visitors in November.

So here we go, certainly I will not be short of stories to write about but not sure about the time.

I’ll do my best to keep you updated.

***

The event of the month

In a recent post I created a list of signs that give away the fact that you’ve been in the Middle East for too long.

You may remember a vague mention to getting excited at the opening of a new supermarket in town, so here we go a whole post dedicated to the occasion. A brand new Al Fair has come to this part of town and this is something definitely worth mentioning. 

 Al Fair is the Gulf version of a grocery store half way between Waitrose and something else: (inflated) Waitrose prices & something else quality; the best you can find in town in terms of variety and availability of pricey western expat favourites; last but not least it has a whole craftily semi-hidden, “behind a narrow alleyway”, strictly for infidels PORK SECTION. 

Yes, my eyes were watering at the juicy 20 EUR per gram pork on display, still pink and fresh as it had just been placed on the shelves. I am curious to see how long before it starts turning green because of the poor turnaround. 

Any how this is really the event of the month. Having a proper supermarket near home is a big thing. The brand spanking new shop opened this morning and it comes filled with an incredible amount of yellow & green balloons and a free yellow rose at check out.

Now we have food, pork and alcohol all round the corner and a number of establishments are opening in this side of town; who needs MQ any more?? 

Ale my dear, I know you like teasing us for living in the “piccolo deserto” but I think Muscat is slowly moving this way. ;-P

Another thing: my search has finally ended; I leave you with a photo of the car of my dreams.