Firstly, and most importantly, a big thank you to Angelica who took the time to comment:
“I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also
with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid topic or did you modify it
your self? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see
a nice weblog like this one these days..”
So kind. May your own god bless you.
That said and done, onward dear friends…
We have little to report and even less by way of content but here goes. The rain finally subsided, giving way to glorious sunshine but oppressive humidity. Nothing less than we expect as the summer months near and temperatures climb to 45 Celsius and more. Domestic commitments have taken precedence over everything else and outings have been reduced to taking tea (beans on toast at our favourite tea shop by the sea) just down the road. A year ago this would have been considered an experience to write home about but now it has become routine, something we do without too much thought or consideration. Every so often however, we reflect on how fortunate we are to be able to pop down to the sea, a matter of minutes away, stroll along the sands and have chunky chips and chicken strips or a vegetarian wrap to tide us over until supper. Our everyday routines are still special enough for us to continue believing that we are on holiday – FOREVER!!!
Playing on the sand as the sun sets before heading home, an arty picture to capture one of our ‘everyday’ routines –
After tea by the sea
Yes, it’s meant to be out of focus – that’s the arty bit of it you see?! You are welcome to check out my other photographs at
The summer holidays are approaching and there is so much to sort out, things happening that are beyond our control and other things that we have committed to. Before the onslaught of a manic four weeks ahead, we took to the battle-bus and headed for a Wadi that we had read about in a magazine. We input the Geo-coordinates and headed for the Wadi – totally in the wrong direction! Blindly following the sat. nav. we came upon a security checkpoint manned by men in uniforms with firearms and official looking beards. We considered our options and took the bold (foolish?) step of waiting in line, doing as others did and just seeing what happened next. The required I.D.papers were flashed and our vehicle inspected for four-wheel drive capability – all was in order and we were waved on to who knew where.
In fact, where we were soon became evident by way of a sign announcing that we were climbing Jebel Akhdar at 2,800 metres above sea-level. Had this been our first foray into the wilderness then we might have been impressed but we are now seasoned adventurers, travellers of the interior and pioneers of fool-hardy off-roading et al. Jebel Akhdar, or ‘The Green Mountain’ is a big, big tourist attraction and as such provision has been made to accommodate all them foreigners. The road is perfectly laid to asphalt with concrete barriers and run-off lanes for the inexperienced driver, there are lots of perfectly positioned lay-bys and viewing stops with a large coach park atop the green beauty. It was all very clinical and not what we were used to – driving by the seat of our pants and navigating on no more than a wing and a prayer. The summit was reached without any need for our 4×4 capability and we came across a children’s play park, numerous picnic sites and concrete shelters to protect resting travellers from the sun. Litter was, as always, clearly evident and it was a disappointing end to our particular magical, mystery tour. The only interesting factor seemed to be that a whole town had sprung up on the top of the mountain which must surely accommodate several thousand inhabitants. Not so surprising when it is an obvious choice for those that can afford to build second homes where the air is drier and the temperatures considerably cooler during the summer months. As a first home it would be an ideal choice when considering one’s roots but it seemed that many of the colourful palaces were, as yet, unoccupied.
Being used to the great outdoors, remote villages, wadis and deserts, we found the mountain a little disappointing. Of course, it was not where we were originally heading and as such we may have taken the tarmac route when there are other, scenic, off-road routes available. We decided to revisit another time to better gauge this leviathan of rock. On this occasion however, there was little to excite or even photograph but to add verisimilitude to our story, here is Jebel Akhdar half way up (or down according to your own perspective).
Jebel Akhdar
It may be that we have become adrenalin junkies and need something more exciting to quench our thirsts for adventure?
That then is pretty much it and as we write we are preparing to go shopping. Yes, even in paradise we have to get to the supermarket and get the necessities of life.
For the next four weeks things will be slow but by jimminy, if anything interesting happens you will surely read about it here first. Until then…
Insh’Allah
The Flock on the Rock 