Jebel Al Akhdar: Hiking the Green Mountain

The events described in this post took place on or about April 29, 2010 in Jebel AL Akhdar, Oman. For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'

This weekend I did something truly special! I had an opportunity to go hiking in one of the most spectacularly scenic spots in all the Gulf. It's call Al Jebel Al Akhdar, which literaly means 'the green mountain'. Coincidentally, it lies about 30 minutes away from where I live in Nizwa. It was one of the things that I was upset that I didn't do while I was here last year! One of my fellow teachers is an avid hiker, and goes on regular walks through the various trails all over this country. Sometimes, he organizes group 'walks' and invites others along. This was such a weekend.

Map of Jebel Akhdar ('A' shows the location of Jebel Akhdar)

View Larger Map

Well, we had a wonderful hike through Jebel Akdhar, and to describe it in words would just take away from the actual experience.  So I humbly offer these pictures and videos and hope you enjoy the view as much as I did!

-H

Jebel Akhdar Mid-way point in the hike


End of the Hike:

Going Under and Staying Under: Part Two

The events described in this post took place on or about April 21-23, 2010 in Muscat, Oman. For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'






As I have posted before, I had enrolled in a 'Open Water Diving' course at the Oman Dive Center in Muscat.  Also, I had already completed half of the course two weeks ago.  I was originally supposed to complete the other half of the course last week, but could not do so due to severe dehydration (I was hung over as hell from the Tom Jones concert!).  So this past weekend I decided to 'get 'er done' and finish it off.

I was in Muscat visiting one of my favorite people in the world (who was in town or the SQU ESL conference), so that made the whole ordeal a lot easier.  I stayed at this really funky hotel by the beach (The Qurum Beach Hotel).  It was totally something right out of an Arabian 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).  From the font on the sign to the furnishings and decor, everything screamed 'Disco at the Casbah'.  It was actually pretty trippy. The lobby itself smelled like it was left over from the Seventies too (like someone's grandmother's house!  I spent most of Wens. and Thurs. hanging out and 'plotting' (something that I miss dearly).  We also had some great food in Muscat.  Being that I often go into to Muscat by myself, I don't really have the chance to 'dine' out (beside the occasional fast-food romp in one of the mall's).  We had a truly awesome dinner at Khargeen's (an Arabic fusion restaurant that gives you the option of sitting outside on a large carpet with pillows).  We even smoke a sheesha (Arabic style tobacco pipe) after dinner.  We also visited an amazing Thai restaurant as well.  We had been there last year, and I was very hapy to return.  If you like Thai and are in the Muscat area, I highly recommend 'Narjeel'.  They are the real deal.  I mean, they have five different types of Tum-Yam soup (not to mention a truly fantastic papaya sald).  The anachronistic accommodations notwithstanding, it was a great weekend!

On Friday, I did the last two  dives and finished my 'practical' part of the course.  Now I am officially an SSI open-water diver.  I can't wait to set up some really cool dives in the area.  It may even be the 'theme' of the Summer.  But anyway, after we came back to shore, I sat for a fifty-question test, got my 'ID' cards, and hurried on back to Nizwa.

Well, that was my weekend...

-H

Sir Tom Jones: Live in Concert

Sometimes life throws you a curveball!  You wake up and start your day just like you would any other.  You are sure and confident in what lies ahead of you.  You go through your normal tedium, blissfully unaware of what the universe has in store for you.  Then without warning, or even a memo in your inbox, life hits you with its little surprise.  Yesterday was that kind of day.

I started it off as a normal workday. Everything in front of me was transparent, or so I thought.  I would go to work, finish early and return home.  The weekend was layed out for me.  It was actually kind of jam-packed. Almost every moment accounted for.  On Thurs. and Fri., I would finish my diving certification and put in another two dives.  I would stay at a rest house that was very affordable, convenient and came highly recommended.  As an after thought, I had agree to accompany some friends of mine on Wednesday to go see the old crooner Tom Jones at the Intercontinental Hotel in Muscat.

This last item was really not particularly looked forward to.  I mean, hey it was something to do.  It would probably be lame right? I had imagined Tom (who is like 70) to come on stage with a nurse and a respirator.  I saw myself leaving early, and getting a good night's rest for an early start the next morn.  I had also rehearsed what I would say to mt friends as I excused myself from the venue.  That was the weekend I saw for myself.  I saw it as clearly as I could see my next meal.

Like I said, sometimes life throws you a curve-ball, and 'beans' you with it.

Tom Jones and his band took the stage with the vim and vigor of a young rock ensemble.  They were tight, energetic, and convincing.  He played most of the old stuff that everyone comes to expect from him.  He played 'It's not unusual', 'Sex-Bomb', 'What's new Pussycat' and many other of his time-honored classics.  He also played a few other songs, covers actually that I did not expect.  He did an awesome version of 'Momma told me not come' that found me 'boogieing' like a mad man, dancing with my bottle of wine (which was my drink that evening).  It was a great show!!! I was totally unprepared for what was in store for me last night! Usually you get totally let-down when a rock-show isn't what you expected.  It's always that the band wasn't as good as you were told they were.  It is a rare surprise indeed when this happens in the opposite direction!!!  Now I fully understand why he was knighted, and why he is touring at age 70.  He is still going strong while other rockers 20 years his junior have already been put out to pasture.  The show stopper for me was when he and his band launched into Prince's 'SMF' (sexy mother fucker) and proceeded to tear it apart, that I realized this was probably one of the best shows I had seen in quite some time!!

Way to go Sir Jones!!!

Going Under and Staying Under: Part One

As I mentioned in last week's post, I have signed up for my open-water diving certification class. So, today was day one of the four-day certification.  It was pretty cool.  I had a really chill instructor named Yaqoob (the Arabic version of Jacob).  It was myself and another guy (British).  We started out with a swimming test, followed by a water-treading test, followed by 2 1/2 hours in the classroom watching videos (did you know that Jacques Cousteau invented SCUBA gear?).  After that was all done, we got the SCUBA gear and headed into the pool.  It was a big leap into the water. I must say that it took some getting used to.  We did all the exercises (mask clearing, sharing air with a buddy, finding your respirator etc,)  The big challenge was finding what is called 'neutral buoyancy',  This is when you don't sink or float up, you just kind of 'hover' in the water.  I don't feel bad about it though, from what I understand it;s a hard time for everyone.  Well after the initial ordeal at the bottom of the 'end', and swimming around in circles like a goldfish, we got out and ended the day.

After the initial introduction to being completely submersed, I retreated to the outside restaurant.  Just being in the water for about an hour, worked up a very intense hunger.  Maybe it has something to do with effect of the air-mix in the tank... or maybe I was just hungry.  Well, whatever the reason, I poroused the menu for something to devour. The selection was everything you'd expect from a resort on the sea... and some things you wouldn't.  Camel meat for one!  Well, I was intrigued.  I had never had camel before, what on Earth would that taste like?  After pondering the idea for a while, I decided to jump in with both feet!  I ordered the camel burger!  With some trepidation I tried it when it arrived.  It was not at all what I expected. It was actually much like very lean beef, but with a 'after-taste' of 'game' that was ever-so-slight  It was actually quite tasty!  So after my burger, I gathered my things and ventured forth back into Muscat proper.  I quickly found a spot at one of my favorite coffee shops and enjoyed a nice proper Americano and unwound!

The next day started quite early.  WIth all of our 'classroom' and 'pool-time' already out of the way, it was now time to get on the boat for some actual ocean 'practical application' of the skills we worked on in the pool.  Directly under the boat was a large sea turtle, within a few minutes we had seen a few honeycomb moray eels, some huge cuttle fish (actually saw one change color, that was cool and  kinda weird), and the entire cast of Finding Nemo. Later on on that dive I was able to see a lionfish, one of the varieties of fish, which I never saw last year snorkeling (beautiful and very poisonous).  I am still quite stoked about that.  I also had the opportunity to sea a stonefish. Stonefish are very good at camouflage and also extremely venomous.  Luckily for me they are not aggressive!  When you dive you see so much more.  Being that much closer allows you to really get a good look at your environment.  I was amazed by how much more life you see when you can get closer than just floating at the surface.  So, all-in-all I did my first two dives, and I am half-way to my open-water diving certification.  Next weekend I complete it!  I am sooooo looking forward to that! I m absolutely stoked. My advice to anyone who had ever thought that learning to dive might be a good idea, DO IT!  It is an experience like no-other! It comes highly recommended!  Well, until next time!

Back In The Water

Well, it's been quite a long time since my last post. I know, I know, I keep on lapsing. But, contrary to popular belief, there is more to life than blogging about. At first you have to go out and do stuff. So do stuff I did. I must admit the last 6-7 weeks have mainly been dedicated to getting used to jumping through the hoops of this job. It's not that this one is very different from the other post I've had here, it's just that every 'place of work' is different, and has different expectations. So, I've been trying to get this particular 'dog and pony' show down pat.

Things of note:

Delivered a 'Professional Development' session to my colleauges in my dept. and others as well. I had been there for basically a month. People were like 'What's THAT guy doing up there'? Then I started talking... and they figured it out. So, that was fun.

I've been developing a very unhealthy relationship with Facebook (as most of us right?) In particular with one of those FB games. You know the one you keep seeing on your 'feeds'. I know it's embarrassing but hey, you gotta do something at work.

Lastly, and most recently, I have gotten 'back in the water'. Although I am now very far from the place where I usually went snorkeling (Al Sawadi Beach Resort), I am rather close to another 'Diving Resort'. Two weeks ago I went out and re-bought some snorkel gear. This week I took the drive down to Muscat (about an hour and a half). I went to a place I had only heard of, the Oman Dive Center (ODC). I had originally gone to sign up for a diving course (which I did). While I was getting the details, the man helping me answered a phone call. During this call, he booked two people for the 'afternoon boat' to go out snorkeling. As soon as he got off the phone, I pestered him to 'sign me up for that as well. It was a great time. The sea wasn't awesome, and visibility was a bit limited but I got a chance to try out my new gear. I also saw three sea turtles, a honey-comb moray eel, and the 'mother of all cuttlefish' ( I swear it was at least 18' in diameter). It was completely still a few inches from the floor, just hovering there like some sort of weird cephlepod space-ship. It definitely was cool.

Sorry I don't have any cool pictures... I have definitely been a slacker in that department. But, hopefully soon I will post some new pics. I am sure I'll be writing again shortly, especially after my 'diving instruction'. I'm pretty psyched... well until then...