Turtle action

Life is pretty hectic here, slight issue of various parts of the Gulf either descending into civil war or threatening to annihilate each other, and quiet little Oman stuck in the middle (literally ...). Certainly makes for interesting times ...

But while time off is at a premium, I did manage to take a whole 24 hours off the other day to go and visit the turtle sanctuary in Ras Al Jinz, a couple of hours drive from Muscat. Oman has five of the six species of turtles coming to lay their eggs on the beaches, and in high season (June to September) they even come and nest on the beaches of Muscat. This area though is a nature reserve so that they can get on with their business in peace and quiet.

This is the rather kookie visitors' centre - not quite finished yet, so lots of the interesting sounding exhibits have tantalising 'coming soon' signs on them, but the rooms are comfortable (even though they lack windows) and the food was good.

And this is the view - about a kilometre of nothing except this one lonely tree separating the humans from the beaches where the action is at ... People aren't allowed to just wander down, there are two guided walks, one at 8 in the evening and another at 4 in the morning for sunrise, and there are guides who shepherd people and make sure they're not disturbing the turtles - if they feel hassled, they stop laying and go back into the sea, which means they're full of unlayed eggs and die ... I was worried about how well the guides were able to keep people in check, especially having heard some horror stories, but in fact they were completely on top of it. No photography, no wandering off from the group, and only a few people at a time could get near a turtle.

The beach is pretty beautiful even without the turtles, beautiful soft sand and totally peaceful, but as you can see it wouldn't be a good place to go and relax, as it's absolutely covered in big holes - turtle nests all rammed up close to each other. They come and dig a huge hole at night, lay a few hundred eggs and then shuffle back into the sea before morning comes ...

And then a couple of months later, the little babies come out - we went to visit just at the end of the baby hatching season (although they do lay eggs and hatch all year round), and there were hundreds of the little critters underfoot. Actually quite nerve-racking, as you're trying to walk on the beach in the dark and avoid stepping on them, and they appear all around you. But how cute! Just a few centimetres across and full of beans as they boost down towards the sea and the future ... Sad to realise that of all the many thousands born (30,000 turtles nest in Oman every year), only 1 in a thousand is going to make it to adulthood - hope the little one I followed to the water is one of them! He looked pretty perky to me ...

Home sweet home ...

Well, it's been a long break from writing, and my only excuse is that I have been working like a female dog - so much going on, so little time! In fact, not really enough time to do even the basic domestic stuff, which is why I am only now unpacking the last of my boxes, a bare 5 months after first moving out here ...

I am officially having what we would call in the UK a duvet day, although duvets in this heat? So let's just call it a pyjama day, but other than that the main ingredients are still there - lots of tea, bit of faffing, some slightly more productive pottering, and a good dose of Radio 4 podcasts and trying to catch up on emails. The sun pouring in gives the game away a little, as does the hum of the AC, but you know what I mean.

At the risk of annoying the few of my friends who are still talking to me, I thought I'd also take a few moments to give you a quick glimpse of the flat where I am wallowing in the luxury of free time. I know I put up a couple of photos before, but now it's all furnished and feeling a bit more like home - ready for parties and guests!

OK, so here is the sitting room, now nearly finished and complete with the biggest TV I have ever seen - 50 inches of HD wonder! I got it cheap off someone who was leaving, and believe me, Star Trek has never been this good ..

There are three bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, all marble walls and floors - my bathroom even has a jacuzzi, as well as a walk-in shower room. Then there's another toilet off the sitting room / dining room area, and a fifth one in the small maid's quarters near the front door ... I have decided getting a live-in maid is just a silly idea, but do have someone coming round a couple of days a week to do the horrible jobs - ironing, washing all those marble floors, and cleaning all the windows (definitely needed after sandstorms life the one we had a couple of days ago)

And then there's the balcony ... overlooking town and the sea, with a nice corner at one end for the hammock, space in the middle which will soon be occupied by some garden furniture for outdoor dining. And then of course, the pool ...

So there you have it! Le Palais Revest is open for visitors, come join me for a gin and tonic and let's watch the sun set over the Arabian Gulf! Can't believe I'm getting paid to be here ...