April 16
Tax Day!! I wish I had my taxes done but that will have to wait until we get home. We arrived in Salalah, Oman at 8:00 a.m. The port looks different from 4 years ago, it is built up with many tankers here loading and unloading who knows what. Also lots more security present.
It started out comfortable this morning but by 10:00 it was HOT. We decided not to go to town as the taxis were charging $50.00 one way, and $200.00 to drive around the city. Lucky for us we have been here before, so we have seen most of it. There is Job’s tomb, however no one is sure if it is the real one or not!
Ship Greeters not!
No blondes here; these are the ship’s dancers.
Many people took the shuttle bus to the gate then returned refusing to pay the high prices. Betty and I got off the ship to check out the vendor on the dock, but everything was over priced. Things that we bought 4 years ago were 4 times higher, our dollar is only worth 38 cents so we didn’t buy anything. It is a shame that the ship did not provide a shuttle to town, but the taxi drivers protested and then they overcharged. We all agreed that cruise ships should refuse to return to ports that do not allow shuttles then rip you off.
Both us were having a hard time breathing as the air was very heavy and sand filled. We returned to the ship and Betty did the laundry and all the ironing. (The highlight of my day.) We went to Morning Trivia and we won, mainly because only 8 people showed up so there was no competition. After leaving here tonight we have 4 sea days, that could drive us crazy. But hopefully Betty’s cold/allergy will be gone, because our next port is Jordon.
Almost everyone was back on the ship by 3:00 p.m. They were all complaining about the cost of a taxi, but if you haven’t been here you are stuck. We sailed away at 4:45 and went back out the way we came, sailing a south-south-westerly heading through the Arabian Sea. We will sail through the Gulf of Aden with Somalia on one side and Yemen on the other. Not the best place to sail between, sure hope they put the dummy with the gun back on the top deck!
For the second time during dinner, a group of approximately 25 or more dolphins put on a show, they were jumping out of the water as high as 10 feet. Of course we did not have our camera. We went to the show, it was Count Domas from Transylvania. He played the piano and told inane jokes so we left after 10 minutes. I swear we have seen him before which should have tipped us off.
Special Note: My computer is acting up again and I had a hard time getting it to turn on. So if you stop getting the blog, it is because it died for good, not because the pirates have it. I hope.
