When the going gets hot, the hot go swimming ...

Did I mention already that it's hot here? To be honest, it's hard to think about much else for most of the day, we were officially the hottest city on the planet last weekend with a stonking 51 degrees!! [although according to the government here it was only 49, as when it hits 50 degrees everyone gets a day off work!]

Anyway, about the only daytime outdoor activity any sane person would consider doing at the moment involves water in some way, and a bunch of us opted for snorkelling and diving on Thursday. The Dive Centre is down the coast from Old Muscat, and is a nice to hang out even if you're not into the active stuff - you pay a couple of Rials and get to use the beach facilities, swim in the pool, eat in the restaurant, or just kick back in the bar with a cold beer and a shisha ... and there are some cute beach huts to stay in too if you can't bear to drag yourself away from the lapping waves (very tempting) ...

But we opted for the active start to the day, getting there at 8am to jump on a boat and head out for the high seas. We sailed past loads of gorgeous little bays with sandy beaches, 6 star hotels or just rocks falling into the sea, with motorboats and a few of these lovely traditional-style boats (called dhows) tucked away for a bit of peace and quiet ...

When we got to each of our two sites, me and my two mates let all those eager beaver divers on our boat jump off and sink down, then it was our turn to get kitted up (much quicker for us without all the tanks and gubbins!) to have a little peak at the world beneath the waves.

Now, I've seen quite a few corners of the underwater world, and while this wasn't the most stunning by a long way (Komodo and Alor still have it), this was still a pretty wonderful day thanks to a baby manta ray, a giant puffer fish and some rather spectacular corals even in the shallowest waters ... and getting some relief from the scorching sun!

Having said that, despite drinking for England whenever I was out of the water, my head was thumping a bit by the evening and I slept a cracking 13 and a half hours that night, so perhaps I need to rethink the days out under the sun ... or find a hat I can swim in!

Whatever the solution, I will have to find a way to get back into the water as much as possible - I hear turtles and tiger sharks are out there waiting to say hello, as well as a million other creatures of all shapes and sizes ...