fresh mountain air

We had a recent escape to the mountains, Jebel al Akhdar, it was lovely to leave behind hot, humid temps that October is still bringing us and get some refreshing almost cool breezes. I was REALLY hoping for my first camel sighting, during this trip but only ran into a few donkeys instead. :) better luck next time (aye)

We all enjoyed some new terrain to trek about in. As well as some SHADE!!!! This mountainous area has a lot of trees, pomegranate being one if it's most precious commodities.

We hiked out to an old abandoned village. WOW!

then we followed this rock........

to another abandoned village!

happy dance!

Nathalie - this reminded me of you.... if it was not locked shut, I would have swipped it for you (shhhh) and old european lock - locking absolutely nothing, as the old wood has rotted away.

check out these mountain goats....

I zoomed into these mountains....(below) the goats were being herded by local towns people. I'm not allowed to take their pictures.

the towns people live in a near by modern town now... but they come to this village and herd their cattle and plant crops. Below is some terraced agriculture. Mostly, pomegranate trees, but other fruits as well.

I love the splash of colour, surely - an artsy mama lived here.

after trying to check out one of the insides of the houses.... two of the kids were stung by wasps and DH was attacked by a mob of them (he got stung 5 times - opps). So, we pretty much called it a successful trip and headed back down the hill.....

the clouds were making majestic scenes.

It was a beautiful day spent away from the city, without hustle and bustle of traffic or hot, humid weather. A day well spent breathing fresh mountain air. I do suppose we will be frequenting these mountains.

xo,

amt

Change on the Horizon

Big change is coming to our little nest...... We are uprooting and heading to "the desert", very soon. I am scared, excited, anxious, happy, sad, nervous (did I say that already?) ..... I have had very little activity on my Nest Happenings blog because our life has been moving at light speed. sorry :( I will have probably a few more posts here at Nest Happs and start a new blog soon. Time is going fast (maybe a little too fast) Not enough hours in the day, so to speak.

Our new adventure will begin in August, in a city called Muscat. The country is Oman. It's in the Middle East. Yes - I know....... but it's not as scary as you might thing. It has been spared from all of the terrorist activity you hear about in the Middle East, so I am pretty confident to say it will be an even safer place to live than Bako! The crime rate is very low. Thanks to their Sultan (king), he has provided a lot of stability for his country and very highly respected by his country. And for the desert.... it's pretty - there are lots of mountains in Muscat. It is pretty brown but it will be offset by blue water..... it's located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman that opens to the Indian Ocean. It will be hot, hot, hot for sure but I am thinking it will be a good trade off for the cultural experience we will be gaining. When I tell folks we are moving most people assume I will have to wear the veil that most muslims do. But fortunately, I won't. This country is accepting to Westerners. In Muscat, the population of ex-pats, it actually higher than the population of Omanis.

I will try to post more details about Muscat, soon. Right now, I am off to cultural training!

Ma' Alsalam,

(peace out)

amt