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The Nomads are Now Signing Off
If you have been following us for a while, you might have known us as The Nomads. Well, from here on, we will undergo a metamorphosis and move from being The Nomads into being The Hermits. But first, let us answer some why’s.

Why Do We Call Ourselves The Nomads?

Sad to say, but is not by choice but by necessity. Our lives, for almost 14 years have been a life of constant migration. Currently, we are living in our eighth residence none of which are our own. Let me give you a glimpse of our lives in those houses.

House Number 1: Utoy is Coming

House Number 1 is behind this house. | From Google Street View

After our marriage, we rented this house so I can be near the campus where I teach. The apartment is one that is attached with the owners’ residence too. Nice landlords and also a nice place but we decided to move from this because of necessity. We found a house for rent that is just a few minutes walk away that we thought is a better fit for our situation. By the way, it is at this house (House Number 1) where Utoy was conceived.

House Number 2: The Nomads/Hermits are Complete

House Number 2 | From Google Street View

We chose this house because it is by the street and we decided to put up a small stall where Mommy can sell some street foods: fish ball, kikiam, squid balls. It also has a big backyard where we can plant some vegetable to augment our needs. Some points worth noting about this house:
- This is Utoy’s first home
- I really regret not taking a photo them, but at one time, there is five generations of Utoy’s lineage that lived together under one roof.
  1. Utoy
  2. Utoy’s Mother (my beloved wife)
  3. Utoy’s Grandmother (Inay Flor)
  4. Utoy’s Great Grandmother (Inaypo Loleng)
  5. Utoy’s Great Great Grandmother (Anda Magdalena)
- It is from this house where I decided that I will resign from my teaching job and try my luck abroad
So, with that we moved to…

House Number 3: Castle on the Hill

House Number 3 | From Google Street View

The best feature of this house is that it is located on a hill overlooking the sea where we can always look at our island of Tingloy, our hometown. The other feature is that it is smaller and also cheaper to rent than our previous houses.

My decision to try to go abroad, together with my indecisiveness came at the worst time possible. It was the global recession of 2008 and with no experience of working as an engineer, no company is willing to gamble on me. And so I passed an application letter to once again become a teacher, now in a public school.

When I received the call from my new school, it is again time to move the family to a new house.

House Number 4: Back to the Nursery

House Number 4 | From Google Street View

This house is near houses 1 and 2, and this place is near a nursery school which is why the place is referred to as nursery. A very safe place because we are right in front of the barangay hall and again, the rent is cheaper than most.

This place is also very near to my place of work so it is good for the family’s economy. There is one problem though, the house is built at a level lower than the roads, and during rainy days, which is very common the house gets flooded.

So, yeah, time to move on, again…

House Number 5: Rise and Fall

House Number 5 | From Google Street View

We thought we got lucky in this house. Our landlords, a kind-hearted couple, were very nice to us. After class, each afternoon, I was able to earn from my side gig of tutoring, PC repairing and also refereeing volleyball matches.

When we had saved some money we decided to convert the house’s veranda into a small internet cafe. Life is good for a while until I decided to level up and take the cafe to the city.

The money we had is not enough and I looked for a business partner. The partnership, and the business apparently went south and so, I had to move again…

House Number 6: Quarter Across the Globe

It is just me, at first. I applied for and got hired to work as a Technical Instructor here in the Middle East at the Sultanate of Oman. I really haven’t heard of the country until one of my friends told me since he is already working there. I left Utoy and Mommy for a while. Later, I took them with me on a family joining visa.

House Number 6, is the best one we ever had so far. We are on the second level of a four-unit apartment. The house got 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, wide living room and a big kitchen. It also has a majilis (a guest room) with its own bathroom. Our landlord, Mr. Mohammad, studied in the United Kingdom so we really enjoyed being with him since the culture and language barrier is not an issue.

There is another problem though, the house is located a little far from my area of work and so, us being The Nomads, with our itchy feet, moved again.

House Number 7: Getting Closer and Closer

As you might have noticed now, being close my place of work is our top priority. This new house is just about 5 minutes drive away from the campus where I work. As an added bonus, our neighbor is a friend’s family who is also working me in the same campus. We enjoyed our neighborhood and the parties with our friends. Our houses are joined and so we share a rooftop, which is good for sharing foods and shorts chats. However that rooftop also became the reason for us to move again.

House Number 8: As Close as It Can Possibly Be

My neighbor and friend’s family got transferred to the Staff Accommodation inside the campus. As a result, a new neighbor is about to transfer to their unit and of course, they will also have access to the rooftop of the house. The separation between the two units at the rooftop is a 3ft high wall, which means our new neighbor can easily cross to our side. The door of our unit that opens to the rooftop is made of plastic.

Not that we have a bad experience here earlier, but we don’t want to take our chances. I made a request to the school administration to transfer us to the Staff Accommodation too, which was granted.

To make the story short, we are currently living inside the campus where I work. Three minutes walk to my office and classroom.

The Nomad Life

We love our life here in Oman. The people are generally nice and friendly. Peace and order is way better, though it’s hard to admit, than in our own place. Almost every weekend, we are able to go around fishing, camping, and swimming with friends.

I got reunited with my first love, the ocean. I got to do what I really loved since I was a child, fishing. Utoy even got hooked into fishing too.

But as they say, there is still no place like home. Our longing for home feels even stronger now, since for three years straight courtesy of the virus, we haven’t set foot in our beloved country, the Philippines. Combine this with the constant anxiety from the feeling that we are about to be replaced with the local workforce, and yes, we have to accept it, we are feeling home sick.

House Number 9: Nine is Lucky

In preparation for our inevitable departure from Oman, we decided to build our own home in our beautiful island of Tingloy. My in-laws allowed us to build the house within their territory. Well, to say it even more concisely, my in-laws gave the permission for us to use the plot of land and then they built the house by themselves.

Together with some hired hands, my father- and brother-in-law built the house for us. Mommy Umang supervised and gave her orders and desires via Facebook Messenger and they worked hard to do as she pleases.

Fast forward to the present, the only missing piece of that house to turn it into a home is us, The Nomads/Hermits.

So Why Become The Hermits Now?

To set the record straight, we are not shedding our Nomadic side from our DNA. We love exploring the world and we don’t plan on settling yet. The thing is as we said earlier, this is a metamorphosis. We still want to travel and move from place to place. But this time, it will be more like as hermits. Not the human hermits but the hermit crabs.

We will keep our plans under wraps for now, although I think the hermit crabs can give you a clue. Our vision is to do the transition within a year or two.

We will keep you posted, but let us end this post for now.

Thank you for reading and please tell us about your thoughts in the comments.
June 24, 2022
Misfat Al Abriyeen, Bahla Fort and Al Hamra Village

Oman is full of ancient cultural and historical sites to see. For this weekend, we went on a trip to Nizwa to meet a friend and to explore some of the interesting sites around the city. We have been to Nizwa three years ago where we explored Nizwa Fort and Nizwa Souq. This time, we went to the outskirts of the city and we visited Bahla Fort, Al Hamra Village and Misfat Al Abriyeen.

Early Morning Trip to Nizwa

It’s a cool morning when we left our hometown of Ibra. We went northward via Route 23 where we bought our breakfast of sandwiches, kubos, and tea. We exited the highway and took Route 17 that took us to Izki via Route 17 and then we took Route 15 to meet our friend Grace who happened to be living near this beautiful and holy Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Nizwa.

Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Nizwa

After meeting with Grace, whom we met for the first time, we went on our way to our first destination: Bahla Fort.

Bahla Fort

To reach the fort, we went thru this elegant gate to the city of Bahla.

A few minutes more and we reached Bahla Fort. We headed to the entrance after parking the car to explore this historic fort. The fort is included in the UNESCO’s heritage list in 1987. It is believed to be built around the 12th and 15th century by the Banu Nabhan tribe.

After having our fill of taking in the relaxing and calming spirit of the Fort, we took our brunch in a restaurant nearby and then we searched the way to another famous tourist spot: Al Hamra Village.

You can view the video of our tour of Bahla Fort in YouTube on this link.

Al Hamra Village

From the restored fortress of Bahla, we went to the almost untouched Al Hamra village. The site is composed of abandoned old houses believed to be built about 500 years ago. There is no entrance gate so anyone can come and explore as desired. A word of caution: the buildings are so old and may possibly collapse so please explore carefully.

The buildings in Al Hamra, some of which were built up to four storeys are made of mudbricks, and dates trees and fronds. It is believed to have been built following the old style of houses from Yemen. The village is built by the Al Abri tribe.

At the foot of the old village, you can see the route of the falaj (irrigation channel) where crystal clears waters flow to give life to the plants and the farms nearby.

Another notable thing in the village is the alley ways which is made of smooth solid rock. Our theory is the whole village is built on a single slab of rock.

People can also check out Bait Al Safah which has exhibits that portray the old way of living in Oman.

You can view the video of our tour of Bahla Fort in YouTube on this link.

Misfta Al Abriyeen

Moving further north, we arrived at our final stop for the day: Misfat Al Abriyeen. Located 1000m above sea level, the village is another famous tourist attraction in Oman. The entrance to the village by itself is simply amazing. There is this breath taking rock formation.

And then there is this house that is literally built on a rock.

Roaming around the alleyways, you can find old buildings and you can also see a part of the falaj that is literally roaring with the abundance of water. This falaj is the reason why the place is so green and that the farms are thriving.

On one end of the village is a deep gorge where you can see a huge solid part of the bedrock that might have risen to the surface a long time ago.

There is also a museum, which is unfortunately closed during our time of visit. It could have been better for us to see the relics that they may have inside.

Before heading out of the village, you may check out the shop near the entrance where they sell various items from souvenir bags, hats, as well as honey and frankincense.

You can view the video of our tour of Bahla Fort in YouTube on this link.

All Things Come to an End. Even the Good Ones…

We ended our trip in Nizwa by taking Grace back to her home. We, The Nomads as we are, however did not go home but we went to Muscat for some other business. The trip and adventure to Nizwa and those three tourist spots are great. We definitely plan on coming back for more.

December 23, 2019
Qantab or Yiti Fishing Adventure

Once you get hooked into fishing each weekend is an urge to head to the beach and cast your lures into the wide ocean of uncertainties. And this weekend is just an example of this. We headed to this fishing area that people sometimes call Qantab and sometimes Yiti to get rid of the itch of fishing.

The Day Before – October 31

We, The Nomads, Sir Darwin and Mam Nancy started our long journey to Muscat and then to Qantab or Yiti right after I came out of work. It is almost eight in the evening when we arrived and the cool breeze of the ber months can be felt. There are other campers in the area. We camped in a place near the jetty so we won’t have to walk far to reach the fishing site.

All Saint’s Day – November 1

We started fishing at the break of dawn. The fish started biting around 5:30am and the game is good. By the end of this session, Utoy, Sir Darwin and I caught a lot of fishes enough for our lunch and for sharing with our friends back in Ibra.

Here is Sir Darwin’s trophy Queen Fish:

Sir Balai and Narz came from Ibra around 8:00am and joined the fun.

Here is our video of the whole adventure.

November 5, 2019
Shore Fishing in Oman: Qalhat and Sur

The Nomads went on a day trip of fishing with Narz and Sir Balai along the shores of Qalhat and Sur on the 18th of October. It was a fun day of fishing. At day’s end, we cooked some of our catch. Here’s our video for the day’s adventure.

We hope your enjoy this video.

October 29, 2019
Utoy’s Qalhat Beach Party and Fishing Fun
For the past 4 years, Utoy celebrated his birthdays at our homes in Ibra. “Homes”, because we have been moving from one house to another since we arrived here in Oman. For this year though, Utoy requested to have his birthday celebration on the beach. And so who are we to deny his request? Here is our story:

Preparations
- September 5 – videoke session at Tim and Paula’s. Tribe members are requested to reserve October 3-5 for Utoy’s birthday celebration.
- September 12 – we headed to a travel and adventure shop in Safalat to buy some camping gears: CR tent, cooking wind screen, LED lamp, kahwa maker. On the way home, we made plans to test these gears in the wild the next day.
- September 13 – slight problem when Mommy Nomad noticed that it is a Friday, Friday the 13th. After a minor level of debate, we decided to put this issue to a vote. Utoy and I voted “GO” and Mommy Nomad voted for “NO GO”. So, off to the shores of Oman we went. We headed right to Al Shaomookh Guest House, the place where we intend to hold Utoy’s birthday celebration. There is nobody in the office so we called the owner. He came by and because we were previous customers, we were able to reserve the place at a very reasonable price. After closing the reservation deal, we went to do some rock fishing and Utoy got his first hook up using a lure – a grouper. We take this as a sign of good things to come.
- October 1 – final planning for the trip held at The Runway. This is where we planned about the schedule of arrivals as well as the food that will be sponsored by each of our friends.
Day Zero

The Solanos and The Nomads decided to act as the advanced party for this trip. We left Ibra around 3:30 pm and headed south to Sur. The Solanos had to buy something from City Center Sur so it’s just us, The Nomads who went straight to Qalhat. But not to the Al Shaomookh Guest House. We camped on the beach right down in front of the guest house. Our reservation will start the next day.

We had grilled fish and chicken adobo for the night. The kids went playing in the sand under the light of the stars. Utoy trid to fish using fresh bait but there is no strike. The fishes might be asleep.

The Solanos pitched their tent where they slept and The Nomads slept with Alex.

Day One

I got up at about 5:00am and I roused Utoy too. We fixed our gear and I headed to the shore. Utoy got left near the camp site while he is still fixing his gear. With my red head lure on the line, I caught one trevally on my first cast. I called out to the birthday boy, but I guess he is still sleepy. I hooked another trevaly and then Utoy came. But I guess, by that time, the school of fish went away. A few more casts later, I caught one lizard fish. Sorry for Utoy, he caught nothing.

A few meters away from us, I saw one local hauling a big catch. His rod is bent and I saw him having a hard time reeling the fish in. He got one big spotted trevaly. I came to him and checked his fishing gear. I also asked for his Instagram account because I saw him posting his catch. He is using metal jigs. I went back to our spot and cast a few more but there was no bite anymore.

Then the local then came to me, his name is Issa. He gave me one fishing lure as a gift and he even gave me some tips on how to fish. I also met his brother, Ahmed, who also gave me a lure, snaps, and even his catch for the day: 3 queens fishes and one black spotted snapper. My friend, Wally, was proven right once again; the Omanis and really friendly Arabs.

We had our breakfast of hotdogs and eggs. After about half an hour of rest I went back fishing. This time, I used metal jigs. While going to my fishing spot I came across a tourist from Sweden who is also fishing. I caught one fish on my first cast. I saw the guy run and got his gears. He came back to me and he asked for advice on which among the gears can he use to catch fish too. There is nothing good in his gear so I just gave him one lure.

In about ten minutes for this session, I hooked four fishes. The sun is starting to impose his power on me so I decided to take a rest and just prepare and wait for our guest house to become available.

At about 11:00am, the owner informed me that the resort is ready so we packed our things and checked in to our comfortable guest house.

The other guest came just shortly after we checked in: Sir Darwin, Sir Erick, Sir Rudy, Mam Nancy and Mam Dolor.

Tim, Paula, Chennie, Art and Emil came later.

Narz, Sir Balai and Mam Elsie also came and the entourage is complete. We are ready to celebrate Utoy’s 11th birthday — the way he wants it.

After having our lunch, we went fishing again. We are now a full crew of fishermen. David got his first chance to join the fishing expedition.

We went to a new spot by this time and so it took us some time before we were able to find a good spot. At the end of the session, I hooked five groupers and freed a couple of small trevaly. Sir Erick got a big one. And Narz got one too.

Utoy and David have no luck, though. The others who will not be named didn’t have their luck either.

The dinner and birthday party is a feast.

Mam Nancy sponsored this cool sailfish cake.

The Nomads sponsored only the rice. Everything else is prepared with love by our guests.

Shisha, chitchat, story-telling, a homily delivered by Father Donie and a lot of funny, corny, and all kinds of stories shared before we called it a night… or morning since it is 3:00am.

Day Two

My alarm is set to go off at 5:00am but I woke up at 5:10am so I hurriedly went out to check if the guys have gone fishing. I saw the fishing rods still lying around which means we are not late for the party yet. Sir Balai and Narz are still in the kitchen, laying out the finishing touches for our favorite breakfast – cold cuts sandwiches. I woke Utoy up, gave him some sandwich and we headed to the shore to start our fishing session.

Today is Utoy’s real birthday, October 5 and as a birthday courtesy, I allowed him to be the first to pick the lure from our collection. He chose the pink metal jig that I used the day before.

The fishes started to strike early. All of us fishermen who are awake catched some. The ones who are sleeping will not be named. But best of all, the fishing gods gifted Utoy with his own catch: one trevaly and two black spotted snapper. Sir Balai, Narz and myself caught a combination of trevaly, queen fishes, and snappers. It was really a productive fishing session.

After catching his third fish, Utoy got his lure snagged on a rock. We are very lucky though that my new friend, Issa is just nearby. When he saw us in that situation, he came and offered to save Utoy’s lure by diving for it. He is a professional diver, I believe and so he managed to save the lure. Another gift for the birthday boy.

We went back to the guest house after the session and grabbed a bite of the sandwiches. And then we went fishing for one last time before we call it a day and retreat to the mountains.

While on the site, a sandstorm hit our area and the seas went rough. Sir Erick hooked one, Sir Balai also got one. But the birthday boy proved he is the man of the day. He got not one… not two… but three!!! Narz and I got nothing but dust.

The weather did not improve so we headed back to the resort early. Art prepared our early lunch before we broke camp. Just before 12:00nn, we left the city of Qalhat. The mission of giving Utoy the birthday celebration that he wished for, accomplished.

The day did not end there, though. That night, we cooked and feasted on some of the fish that we caught on our usual meeting place – The Runway. Fresh fish, starlight, cool weather, nice friends. What a way to celebrate the eleventh birthday of the youngest member of The Nomads.
October 8, 2019
New Year’s Day at Jebel Shams

The tribe where we belong, The Fishermen and The Mermaids, decided to start the New Year 2019 on a high note. So high that we went to the highest mountain of the Sultanate of Oman, Jebel Shams, to welcome the new year and to celebrate my birthday too. Here’s our story:
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January 3, 2019
Shinas Beach Camping – Day 2

This is the second day of our Shinas Beach adventure. I got up at 3:00 am to the sight of the beautiful moonlight. Behind our tents is a beautiful lagoon that is home to mud crabs. Blue crabs are coming to the lagoon with the tides too. I wore my headlight and headed to the lagoon. It’s time to play tag with those crabs.

Too Early Birds Don’t Get the Worm

Sir Darwin is also awake when I got out of our tent. He later followed me to the lagoon but we came too early. It is still low tide and the crabs are still in hiding. The only ones we saw are small fishes and hermit crabs.

After about an hour of searching and finding nothing, we headed back to camp. Sir Darwin stayed at the camp while I took out my fishing gear and went out to the beach.

Even the fishes are missing in action. I did not even get a nibble on my baits. The sun broke out of the east but the fishes decided to stay in bed. I went back to camp empty handed. No food to put on the plate but with a heart full of joy. The calmness and peacefulness of the place is just so relaxing. Disappointment is not a welcome idea.

Back to Camp, An Early Bird Caught the Crabs

Sir Darwin and I are just too early for those crabs. While I am out fishing on the beach, Narz went to the lagoon by himself. With the right timing and a good amount of patience, he is able to catch the crabs that we came here for.

He caught one that is so big, that it became the highlight of our adventure in Shinas Beach.

At about 6:00 am, everyone is awake. The fishermen prepared their gears. It’s time for another main event. We will go fishing on the jetty at Shinas Port.

On the Jetty

We took Narz’ car to the jetty. There are six of us: Sir Erick, Sir Darwin, Sir Balai, Narz, Utoy and me. We met a slight problem once we got to the jetty. The wall is not made of cement that we expected so there is no paved pathway to go to the end. It is made of jackstones which means we had to be very careful in going thru each boulder or else we could get injured.

To make the story short, we made it halfway to the jetty without any incident. We started casting our lines. We changed from fresh bait, to lure, to another lure, but to no avail. The fishes might still be sleeping or maybe we were all just running out of luck.

We Were Late to the Party

We thought that we had the jetty to ourselves but as we went on fishing, or rather casting, two guys emerged from the end of the jetty. They are Pinoys two who were also fishing the waters there. They told us that they came there at about 4:00 am. Just when we thought that we came there too early.

The guys told us that at first they thought we were locals because they saw us “crawling” thru the jackstones.We came to know that they are also working as teachers in a Technical Vocational school in Shinas.

The best thing in our encounter with these guys is they shared some pro fishing tips with us. They told us that we were using the wrong bait and also the wrong size of hooks. They also mentioned that we are casting at the wrong area as we are throwing our baits to places where there are no fish.

Here They Come…

After being schooled by our kabayans, we changed our rigs based on their advise. We changed hooks and we used the baits that they gave us. The fishes, however, still won’t bite. We are thinking of calling it a day and we decided to pack it up once our new friends are out of sight. We don’t want them to see us going home without a catch.

I saw them ride their bikes and pedal away which is our cue. As I was about to reel my line, I felt a bite. I pulled the line but it got stuck in the rocks. Thinking that I hooked a rock a planned on just cutting the line. But I noticed that something is pulling my line. I found out later that I hooked a grouper.

Spirits went high. The fishes suddenly started coming. Sir Balai caught two fishes. Narz caught another grouper. Sir Darwin got three of them. Sir Erick caught Utoy’s slipper that fell between the rocks.

At about 9:30am, we went back to camp with our haul of the day. Our breakfast is ready.

Best Lunch Ever

This is the only lunch that we will have here in Shinas Beach so that could be one reason why this is the best lunch ever. The other reason is that we are about to partake the fruits of our labor. Our chefs are so good that they were able to prepare 3 dishes out of our catch.

The Lowest of All Tides

The water receded in the afternoon and we saw just how low the tide can go. The distance that we took now to reach the waterline is almost doubled. As optimists that we are, we tried to cast our lines again but the fishes might have really agreed on a strike. Not even for a single bite.

Our group combed the sands for clams and there is also none of them. Poor us, we will only have crabs for dinner.

We just took our time appreciating and taking in the beauty of the place. Some other guys came to the beach. Some of them went fishing while others just went walking by the shore.

It is not just people who enjoy the shores of Shinas. We found lots of birds too. There are seagulls and herons. There are also flamingoes that hunt for small crabs and fishes on the beach and on the waters.

Back to the Lagoon

Our battle on the shore was lost, so we retreated back to the lagoon where we have recently found success. We came in two groups. Narz, Sir Balai and I in one group. Sir Darwin and Sir Erick followed. We caught a lot of crabs but none bigger than the Big One that Narz caught earlier.

After about an hour of chasing the crabs, we went back to camp excited for dinner.

The Crab Wrestling Incident

On our way back to camp, we are expecting to come to a table ready with a special dish of crabs. But there is one problem. The Big One is still alive and the ladies, all three of them cannot handle its power. They decided to wait for us boys so we can attack it will all our combined forces.

So we washed those crabs, heated the pan and then sauted some garlic. The first to go inside the pan is the Big One. The pan is hot and so the giant goes inside. It didn’t show any resistance at all so I said maybe that’s it. The Big One accepted his fate and we can just go on cooking it uncovered.

But I was wrong. Maybe at the moment it felt the heat, it started to claw its way out. I tried to pin it down with a laddle but it is just too strong. Sir Erick tried to cover the pan, but it was too late. In a split second, the Big One is out of the pan and trying to escape. It was chaos all around.

After an hour of search, I got a hold of him again. We washed it while I was holding it. We returned it to the pan. To make sure it won’t escape again, Narz pinned the cover with an axe. Sir Balai stood on guard while holding a hammer for added security.

It was a fun night. The Big One brought us laughter and filled our bellies.

Later in the night, it was talking and laughing and little gossips of course. We retired to our tents to rest and be prepared for the next day ahead.

November 27, 2018
Shinas Beach Camping – Day 1

November 18 is Oman’s National Day. November 20 is The Prophet’s birthday. The Sultanate of Oman declared November 20-22 a holiday and so it is high time for us to go on an adventure once again. We headed to Al Batinah Region’s Sohar Beach to go crabbing, fishing and camping. Here’s our story:
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November 25, 2018
A Visit to Al Fath Village in Al Mudhaybi
This trip is like no other trip that we have experienced here in Oman. The before, during and after is just full of different emotions that invoked a lot of different thoughts in me.

In the Beginning…

We were on a fishing and camping trip in Al Khaluf with our friends from Ibra on the tail end of the Middle Eastern summer. Summer here means temperatures peaking at 48 degrees Celsius and strong rip tides on the beach. It was about 9:00am and we have been fishing (I am with Balai and Narz) for about an hour with no desirable catch at all when we heard our companions calling us. I thought that they were calling for breakfast but when I saw my wife and everyone else waving their hands and running to us, I thought something might have happened.

I reeled my line quickly, picked up my stuff and went to the direction of our camp. The first one I met is Utoy who really can’t tell me what is actually happening. What he just knew is they need me. The second I met is Lance who told me to just drop my stuff and head to camp. So I did just that and I started running. It was when I met my and I asked her what is happening that she told me there were two Omanis in the water who need our help.

My instincts told me that I might have to go swimming so I removed my watch and started running toward the sandy beach area. By the beach there is the father who is looking out in the water and there are two young girls crying. On the sea among the waves is a woman who is treading water. She looked exhausted but when I approached her, I saw she was an adult and I thought about those stories of not touching the girls here. So I removed my shirt and let her hold on to that. As I was pulling her into shore, I heard her say: “My daughter. Please save my daughter.”

I was shocked by this because I thought the two that my wife was referring to is the husband and wife. Turns out there is another one on the water, but I can’t find where she is because the waves are so big. I told my wife to point me on the direction of the other one. My heart is beating so fast. The waves are big, the water is murky. If she happened to sink under the water, finding her will be very difficult.

But then I saw her among the rolling waves. More exhausted than her mother but she is still fighting. I pulled her down to the shallow waters and I asked her if she can walk, but she looks too tired to respond. I gestured if she would allow me to carry her and she nodded in agreement. As we were getting near the shore, it felt like she is getting heavier so I put her down and the others helped me take her to shore.

Having two persons in distress, Narz and I took them to a nearby clinic. Fortunately, it is open and a nurse attended to them while the doctor is coming. The father, who is still exhausted and tired, and the two children came later. We left our phone number to the mother so she can call us in case they need any other help and we went back to camp.

We spent one more night on the beach and went home. On the following day, I received a message from the mother telling us that her daughter, as well as her, are doing fine.

One month later, I received a call from the father of that family who expressed his gratitude for what our group has done for her wife and daughter. He invited us to come and visit their place in Al Mudhaybi. To make the story short, we agreed to meet each other on the 12th of October.

This is the Day…

The night before this day, I informed the Ablians that we will be going to Al Mudhaybi to meet the family. They said yes and I also informed Narz about the plan. He also agreed to come with us. So the plan is we will go in two cars. The only thing uncertain is the time of departure but the estimated time is before lunch.

It is about 10:00am and we cannot contact the Ablians. The only ones confirmed at the time is Narz, and of course us, The Nomads. We had an experience before that visitors of Omani family get separated by gender when meeting the host family. So, to have someone to go with my wife, we invited Mam Elsie and Sir Erick to come with us. Anyway, by 10:20, Lance contacted me and said that they will be able to make it in time.

The two cars left Ibra at about 11:00 by going on different routes. We are following the directions that the father sent to us thru WhatApp which is remarkably accurate. About 1km from the house, we received a call from the other group. We forgot to take something with us to share with the family. It was decided that we will just buy from any store that we may find along the way. Five more minutes of going around the village and we found the car used by the family when we met them in Al Khaluf. The other group also came after about a minute. There is one store nearby so we felt we are lucky we could buy some stuff before going to the house.

As we were about to cross the street, the father came out and greeted us. The store is actually their own. And so, we met them empty handed which is a bit of a shame. Possibly a bigger shame if he happened to see us buying our intended gifts from their own store.

The whole family greeted us, and as we anticipated, we were separated by gender. The girls from our group met with all the women in the family and us boys met the men in the majilis.

We talked with the father and his brothers. After a few minutes of talking and knowing each others, our hosts left us to pray. The girls’ group joined us in the majilis and later the mother and the daughter served us fruits. It is customary for the Omanis to serve fruits and tea to guests before the major meal.

We discovered that there are lots of professionals in the family. The mother is a teacher, the father and his brothers are engineers. One of the brothers is a soldier. The kids and the whole family speak good English because they are living in Muscat and the kids are studying in private schools where English is the main language of instruction.

Then this time came to talk about the incident by the beach. We came to know that the daughter had to stay in the hospital for a week because she cannot walk. The family is traumatized that they avoid talking about that incident. The daughter had to take an exam where she has to write the word “ocean” as the answer, and she did not write it.

Our group told them that they should come to the sea again as soon as possible. It is just a memory now. The lesson is important but the emotions must be forgotten. We even told them that we are willing to join them once they have the courage to face the ocean once again.

Lunch is served and we found out that their house helpers were mostly from the Philippines. The family left us to feast on the food and so we had our fill.

After the meal, we were served with tea and coffe again. The daughter came to the room and gave us tokens of appreciation. I got a nice wrist watch, The Ablians and Narz were given a wall clock each.

It was about 2:30pm and I don’t know if we have to go because they might want to rest so I courageously asked if we would be allowed to leave. They said it is still hot outside and by 4:00pm we will be going around the family farms.

We continued sharing our own stories and when it is time to go to the farms, we were given some dates to take home. The plan is we will head home right after our tour of the farms. We said goodbye to the other members of the family and we thanked the helpers.

They took us to two of their farms where we saw some dates and even some tropical plants as well. I got my first taste of fresh fig, plucked from the tree in the farm. We saw some farm animals that they are raising. We also saw their falaj system and they told us some interesting facts about it.
- The falaj is a very old system of irrigation for the fields in Oman
- Farm owners get a time share of the falaj. That is, you have an alloted time where you can tap the water from the system and that time can be any hour from the 24 hours of the day.
- The time and farm land can be sold or rented between farmers if they want to. So there are some farmers who may own the land but not the water. Others have water but without the land. Lucky are those who have both.
After the tour of the farms, we went back to the village and took a picture of this old gate along the way. They said that it used to be an entrance to a walled village about 400 years ago.

We said our goodbyes to the family as we came back to where our cars are. We thanked them for a very wonderful day and all the experiences, friendship, hospitality, food and gifts that we received from them.

The Aftermath…

I had these thoughts as we were driving back home
- The Incident. Our trip to Al Khaluf on that day is a last minute decision. The actual plan is to go to Al Ashkarah. There really is someone out there who is making a grander and better plan for all of us.
- The Rescue. This is a bit funny. I took my shirt off for the mother to hold on to as I was pulling her to shore. I guess I didn’t have much time to think about which is less ethically appropriate: holding a woman’s hand or removing my shirt in front of a woman.
- The Watch. I didn’t open the gift in front of them but I did so on our first stop which is about 500 meters from their home. It is a nice watch which will be of very high value to me. I just noticed that I have never bought a watch for myself. The one I currently have is a step tracker which is a gift from my sister-in-law. The best things in life are free…
- The Family. The house in Al Fath is the ancestral home. The clan, they say meet there at least once a month. In a stark contrast to this, I have not seen my mother for more than a year now. It is saddening how families can get divided in our search for money towards the good life. Yes, it is true that you cannot buy happiness with money. But money can be a tool to achieve happiness in life.
- The Watch, again. I don’t know if it is intentional that they gave us watches. But it reminds me how life is short and in that incident, life could have been snapped in just a split of a second. Life is short and our time on earth is limited. We must cherish every moment that we have.
- The Incident, again. I remembered my childhood days. I almost drowned three times when I was a child. I never stopped until I learned to swim.
- The Family, again. They told us that up to that day, they are still in trauma about the experience and I understand. But I hope that one day, they will overcome their fear and they see the ocean once again for its beauty.
There is a lot more thoughts that I had after this encounter with the family. To sum it all up, it is a day that is well spent. And a day that will be part of the history of The Nomads.
October 15, 2018
Our Six Money Jars Project

Yes, I know it’s confusing. The title says six but the picture shows seven. Well, keep reading and I’ll tell you why.
(more…)

February 19, 2018