Watching Dolphins, Fishermen and Sunset

I woke up feeling excited. I was taking my parents on a dolphin watching tour in Omani waters. How about that as a contrast to the desert that we woke up in yesterday? Yes, we made it to the ocean, more specifically, the Strait of Oman.

Back in the mountain village of Al Hamra, we were given the contact details of the guy running the boat tour and after some back and forth I managed to get us a spot. So here we were - jumping on a boat in the hope to spot some dolphins.

Well, it took all of maybe a 5 minute drive until we spotted them, jumping around, swimming with our boat and just having a great time. But I doubt as great of a time as all of us had on the boat. We were all very excited to see them and at times it felt our captain was the biggest cheerleader. The dolphins followed us for a while and seemed to have a fantastic time as they jumped out of the water, doing flips, etc. It was such a cool sight and as perfect as a morning on the water as it can get.

Now, I believe my parents had never seen dolphins before, so I was very happy for them. I have not seen them in a while and definitely not as joyous as on this tour, so I was beaming with excitement.

After some time, the dolphins had enough of us and we made our way along the shore towards turtle beach. On the way, we admired the sandy coastline and the contrasting clear and blue water. The cool thing: there were max 1-2 other boats where we went, so it felt as if we had the ocean, the dolphins and now the turtles all to ourselves.

Ah yeah, turtles. We definitely were in for a show as it was mating time for them and they were having their fun all around us. Sometimes a couple of males surrounding one female waiting their turn. And our captain was constantly shouting "Bunga Bunga", in an attempt to flirt with the Italian girls on the boat. Ah, it was so much fun.

Next one was a snorkeling stop, which was a bit disappointing, though, as the boat did not have enough snorkels for everyone. That said, mom and I grabbed some goggles and jumped into the water anyway. What I did not know is that dad is a bit afraid of open water - so he stayed back and observed the scenery (and us) while munching some watermelon in the process. Mom liked the snorkeling and I hope that at some point I will have the chance to snorkel properly with her again, because there is much more beautiful snorkeling out there in the world.

On our way back, dad got really excited then. We passed a couple of fishing boats and stopped really close to them to observe how they all worked together to haul in the fish that they caught in the net that was spanning between their boats. Also for me it was super interesting to watch, but for dad, it definitely was the highlight of this boat tour (who cares about dolphins?). Towards the end, the fishermen even threw some fish over into our boat, supposedly for our captain to use for lunch or dinner.

Back in our hotel, we quickly packed up and then drove to the sea-side town of Sur. After some lunch and some rest, we drove to the lighthouse and a guard tower to explore the area and to watch the sunset from there. It is a beautiful location - think ocean, fishing boats frequenting the waters amidst a backdrop of white buildings and countless minarets - and the warm light of the setting sun certainly added a magic touch.

There was only one slight problem. It wasn't just hot as in the days before, but also incredibly humid. I mean, we were by the sea. But it did become uncomfortable at times - especially for my mom who really cannot stand such climates. So, we decided to stick around the area and instead of climbing up the guard tower, to watch the picture-perfect sunset from the lighthouse, which also offered a majestic sight.

What cool a day was that, please? In all honesty, it was the best dolphin watching I have done in my life, the horny turtles were a fun sight to watch and the fishermen also gave us an interesting show. All of that and it wasn't even 11am. Rounding up the day with exploring Sur and watching the orange sun set behind the horizon. Ah, those are the days when I absolutely love travelling!Read more