What would you wear if you knew you were going to be stranded on a desert island?: Me, of course, had to have pearls and paisley+abaya. Two OPNO girls and a half (my daughter) took a boat trip out to the Daymaniyat Islands over the weekend. Of course, we were only stranded for about 3 hours, as our boat dropped us on the white sand beach and in the crystal clear waters around 4:30 pm, and picked us up before sunset. Except for that one time the boat ran out of gas... in the middle of the ocean. Yeah, anyways, the plan was to picnic, and the day (early evening) was excruciatingly beautiful.
Sadly an iphone (not mine of course!;D) was lost to the sea, but the clear water (see below) almost repaired that sense of tragedy. Phones can be replaced, memories, never.
Our favourite Island has breathtakingly beautiful white sand, obviously from the coral reefs that line the shores. There were plenty of swimmers, snorkelers, divers, and campers on one side of the island, and at night one can watch turtles here.
If you are interested in going, boats can be caught for 15-20 OMR (drop off and pick up, either same day or next) from both Barka/Sawadi and Seeb Souq (the dock behind the fish souq along the Seeb Corniche road, behind that building that says "ice" on it).
My abaya is my own design, and I got it tailored in Souq Al Khoud near Al Nafeesa jewelers (behind and at the side). It is a simple wide sleeve closed front abaya in al nada fabric with white paisleys embroidered all over it, and pearls beaded on top. Shoes were from Nine West. The other OPNO girl pictured, her abaya is from "Black" in Al Khoud, because I think she buys every abaya she owns from there unless one of our friends designs one for her.
I just love speeding along at sea, but our shaylas (headscarves) really hated it, and mine nigh flew off, so I will probably pack a pashmina or men's musayr to tie around my head, Joradnian-bedu style via boat trip until we get there. I will go camping next time, I promise, and take better photos.
Above, one of the sea caves.
It was a lovely day, and then, on the way back, just short of Muscat and Seeb conriche, we ran out of gas, which was, thankfully, not even something we were aware of. We pulled in to the dock nonetheless, just at Magraib (sunset prayer) and then I spent the next day just relaxing since this day took a lot out of me while holding a two year old in a little motor-powered speed boat. I recommend scheduling a proper tour boat or Dhow cruise if taking little ones, if you want to relax more at sea than I was able to. Bandar Al Jissah in Shangrila (too lazy to spell that properly, sorry) offers one, and I am sure other places do as well. {THE END}
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