Blue Dot Bandits

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Meherazad on top of Seclusion Hill. Thought we got a photo, but instead got a short video.

A little bit on the history of Meher Baba here:

https://www.ambppct.org/seclusionHill.php

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Hiking in Munnar, a mountain town that makes some of India’s best tea and receives rain nearly everyday. 

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Kochi is a very charming coastal city in the Kerala state of India. We chilled here for about 10 days eating amazing fish, checking the local art scene, and preparing bomb southern Indian cuisine at an in home cooking class. We went twice to refine our cooking skills. 

Home-stays were the best way to hang in Kochi. Our host, Johnston, was super chill and had a bad ass 70s mustache to boot. We lit fireworks and sparklers with his rambunctious kids on Deepavali, a festival that commemorates Lord Rama and his wife, Sita's return to Ayodhya after their 14-year exile.

Oh, we also had beers after not drinking for like 3 weeks... that’s gotta be some kind of record (for us)!

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Desert Camping at a Bedouin village

Sunsets, Camel rides, painting, photo shoot in the dunes and whole lot of sand in my pants

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In Oman camping sites are everywhere and nowhere. You are allowed to pitch a tent wherever you want, as long as nobody wags a finger.

So, Jenna and I filled our puny rental car with tons of camping gear rented from Muscat and ventured to two different beaches for two nights under the stars. The first night, we found a spot where we were literally the only ones camping for miles. Luckily the camp sights were clearly marked (garbage from the last visitors), so we set up shop at dusk and enjoyed avocado toast for dinner and Omani dates for dessert.

Night two was a bit more challenging. We spent all day driving around Oman and left little time to find our last camp site. As the sun began to set, we were concerned we would never would find a place. So we gathered our last bit of travel courage and followed signs for Sur, a small beach town recommended by our camping rental outfitter. We drove for about an hour following winding roads carved out of towering mountainsides. Around every bend was another construction site closing down for the day. Countless excavators were balancing on ridge sides and huge trucks were hauling construction materials as we drove the dusty corridors. We trudged on and then finally, like out of dream, we arrived in darkness at the vast beaches of Sur. We plopped our tent down on the beach, had a another Omani date snack, and went for a blissful moonlight walk.

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Oman’s geology was impressive. 

The Al Hajar Mountains are estimated to be about 800 million years old and were mostly formed underwater. The mountains, some with peaks over 10,000 feet, were created as the Arabian plate was driven beneath Eurasia. The land obducted surfacing the submarine rock, mostly consists of limestone. What’s most interesting about this area is the abundance of exposed rocks containing marine fossils that are everywhere. 

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Our tour with Mustafa our Airbnb host/guide was amazing. We experienced real Oman. He took us to an old Wadi village, museum, and into the Al Hajar mountain range. We also shared with Mustafa about our personal life and he reciprocated. Topics included: work, books, music, relationships, and religion/god. Most interesting was that Mustafa desired a woman who would critically think for herself.

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Every detail of the goat must be examined before purchasing. Legs, hips, genitals, and even the gums are prodded and poked until the buyer is content.

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A couple of kids are offered by this man for a price that seems a bit too high. 

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Both men and women can freely purchase goats at the market, but it’s very clear who is the best dressed.

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The first of three videos of the traditional Friday Goat Market in Nizwa, Oman. These agrarian men are walking their goats around a circular pavilion looking for the best price. Starting at $300 for a conventional goat and soaring to over $1000 for an Omani pure bred, sales tactics are intense.

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My third water color painting is definitely my favorite thus far. In Oman, the fine Wahiba Sands glow molten gold during peak sun. As day breaks and the gulf cools, a dry wind sends a layer of scorched dust slithering over the day's tracks reclaiming the desert's solemnity.

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Morning float through geologic spectacle Cappadocia!

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We settled easily into Kas, Turkey’s end of tourist season bohemian lifestyle. We ventured by scoot to roadside beach coves and savored crispy Mediterranean calamari.

We ate wood oven pizza, lamb shoulder, fresh grouper (akya) and found cool shops full of local artisan treasures.

And as always, Jenna embraced the city pets like they were her own.

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Olympos is an old Lycian city now born again beach village. After spending a day warming up on the pebbly Mediterranean coast, we hiked southern Turkey’s famous Lycian trail alongside our doggy trail guide, Jenna named Cara. There were typical dazzling views at the top and nearby there was a charming goat farmer who served tea to passerby hikers and backpackers. On the way down we passed acres of pomegranate trees with softball sized red fruit pulling the branches to the ground.

The following evening we watched the eerie ever-burning flames of Chimera. Twelve orange fluttering flames have been burning methane upon this hillside for thousands of years with no known source. People huddled around these fire pockets roasting skewers of meat, all while a resident black cat roamed the fire pits looking for samples (of course, it’s Turkey home of the cat!). She immediately befriended us.

Our quaint bungalow guesthouse known in Turkey as a panyison or pension was very chill. They served traditional foods for breakfast and dinner and had highly entertaining cats wrestling and sleeping on top of one another.

On our last day we walked the Lycian ruins. Lycia is a geopolitical region in Anatolia that dates back to ancient Egypt. This advanced society in the Bronze Age was heavily influenced by Persia, Athenia, and the Romans. The ruins were well maintained and with only few tourists we captured great unobstructed shots.

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Sleeping dogs in Istanbul

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The sunset looking out over the Golden Horn while perched atop an #Istanbulrooftop is the best way to start a weekend.