Soon, the 19th arrived and Lois took the day off work, loaded the car,^43
and we made our way south along the coast. The landscape was
typically desert-like and dotted by unexpected little gems. Our first
stop was the Bimmah Sinkhole, also known as Hawiyat Najm or The
Falling Star. According to legend, the crater was a result of a meteor.
The experts, however, have a less romantic story, claiming natural
causes of dissolving limestone formed the hole.
Our next stop was in Sur with its famous dhow building yard. The
area was old and traditional where no one referred to a sketch or
blueprint. But, surprisingly, in this modern age of technology, dhows
were still handmade, a process that appeared slow and labour-
intensive.
Our day’s destination was the turtle reserve at Ras al-Jinz. The night
was spent at a conveniently located hotel, a short walk from the
famous turtle breeding ground. I don’t know what I expected. Still, it
wasn’t seeing giant, pre-historic-looking turtles slowly making their
way out of the water. Mesmerised, we watched them dig metre-deep
holes with their short fins. Then, very slowly, they placed themselves
over the hole and laid roughly 100 perfectly round golf-ball-sized
eggs. Once done, they meticulously closed everything up, but this
wasn’t the end of their duties. They then dug a fake hole next to the
real one to mislead predators. Only once all was done did they drag
their weary bodies back to the ocean — poor things.