We made it into the port! We were surprised to hear from our agent on Saturday, as it was the weekend. We were able to go to berth 26 in the port in mid-afternoon. We stayed on the boat the rest of the day as customs and the police didn’t board Seahike to obtain our documents until the evening. They were very nice.
We learned that we would not be able to go ashore but that the grocery vendor would pick us up from the boat and drive us to the store to buy groceries (and deliver to us those they don’t have in the port store). We were also able to fill our water tanks from a hydrant right by our boat. We also used the water to give Seahike’s exterior a needed bath.

In addition, another person took our jerry cans (the diesel from which we had emptied into our fuel tanks) and filled them for us.
You will be relieved to hear that I finally washed my hair and showered again. As did Michael and Jason.

So, we are sitting pretty. Well, we still need to find out if there is a laundromat. If not, we will hand wash some items.
We are currently waiting for Jason’s visa to be issued. Michael and I think we will be leaving for Djibouti on Thursday.

A few port stories:

1. We were all craving ice cream. We were delighted to purchase ice cream here. We might subsist on ice cream today. 😉
2. The berth is actually a spot by a wall. This is not surprising since this is 100 percent a commercial port. Berth 26 is the sole berth they offer to sailboats (typically sailboats in trouble).
3. All of the fees charged are based on the rates commercial ships are charged. For example, the cost to anchor is $130/day. Yep. You read that right. We were at anchor Monday-Saturday. We are paying a small fortune here. It is what it is. The berth is free. Ha! The price of groceries and diesel is quite reasonable.
4. Everyone we have dealt with at the port is *very* friendly.
5. Two boats down from ours turned out to be a boat from Somalia that was delivering goats to Oman. We are not exaggerating when we estimate that they unloaded 1000 goats. We wondered what the interior of that boat looked and smelled like – but we didn’t wonder enough to ask for a tour.
6. Men are supposed to wear a minimum of short sleeves and shorts. Women are supposed to wear baggy clothing, a minimum of short sleeves and pants or skirts that fall below the knee. While on the boat I continue to wear my shorts.  Having said all of this, we were talking to two (somewhat high up) port employees yesterday, and one of them said that Westerners dress in shorts. So I guess there is the rule and the practice.
7. There is some type of gull here that has the most adorable song. I hope to catch it on video so we can share it with you.
8. Finally, if you ever find yourself on a boat in Oman, be sure to check out with the harbormaster, customs, and the police. Just sayin’.