From Athaiba to Sur

Excerpt from the journal of a weekend warrior

YERU EBUEN -

They would eventually call themselves the ‘Hangouters’ — a group of expatriates who came from different industry joined together by their passion for the great outdoors, camping, fishing and food. Their group’s name is as literal as it can get. Everyone forgot when they started. They didn’t have many requirements for membership, only that you know how to get along well with other members of the group. And no, you can’t be picky or choosy.

Their mission is simple — embrace Oman as a second home and make it so by getting to know it inside out. They currently have seven permanent members, couples mostly except for Lucy — a flight attendant who, although have seen different parts of the world, still thinks that Oman has so much to offer.

It’s not an organised group. They thrive in being spontaneous. One day, you’ll find them seated in a coffee shop and the next, driving in convoy towards the interior. Mostly, the trips happen on weekends but every once in a while, they find time to get together after work on a weekday.

The great outdoors is not everyone’s cup of tea. This much is true. But those who haven’t tried waking up in the morning with the ocean or the mountains as the view, the night before you slept soundly on a tent not minding that there’s no comfortable mattress on your back to lie on, are missing a lot.

It’s on one of those weekend trips that this author was invited to join the Hangouters. Tagging along with my wife, I’ve proven for myself how spontaneous the trips can get. During day time, especially in summer, the long stretch of beach of Athaiba can be as desolate as its evening. But what ‘seems to be’ is not really always the case.

Athaiba, to many, is a familiar spot. The park by the beach and the pop up grill stores selling grilled beef, chicken or even squid are some of its popular features.

Beyond the park, about 10 minutes’ drive farther north, is where I found myself with the Hangouters. We were there at 12 midnight on a Friday evening.

We set up camp. The guys — Benz, Ian and Omar proved to be efficient campers. The tents were up in under 10 minutes. Dinner was prepared and served by the ladies — Lucy, Rey, Mutya and Raquel. They have established a system, one that is easy to adopt and follow.

The first couple of hours were spent on chats where topics flow like water from the tap. There were a lot of pleasant giggles. There is no programme. It was a time to de-stress and share and it was a safe space to be you. The next few hours were spent on games — lots of them using phone apps. Sometime between 3 to 4 in the morning, everyone decided that it was fishing time.

There’s a reason why you should not be in the water during winter. But in November and in this part of the world, the sea water is tolerable but maddeningly torturous when you get out of it. Fishing for these guys take two forms — using fishing poles and the other, dipping in the water with underwater flashlights and gloves — catching fish with bare hands which to me was an impossible task.

The highlight of the evening was running after a humungous cuttlefish which eventually outsmarted us by swimming into the rocky part of the sea and where the swell of the wave is unfortunately strong.

As mentioned, if you’re not familiar with the area, Athaiba may seem to be “not a very good place to hang out” in the evening. It is surprising to discover that it enjoys visitors at all times of the day even in the wee hours of the morning.

On the first burst of sunlight, the beach area is already teeming with men trying to catch fish using home-made fishing poles. The catch was quite numerous but our group decided, on a spur of a moment decision, to head out to Sur.

We drove for almost two hours to get to our destination. We passed through the all-too-popular sinkhole and the scenic view of Wadi Tiwi.

It was hard to put a name to the place we were on. The Hangouters weren’t too concerned about names, too.

Being a holiday, it wasn’t surprising to see many campers like us. They’d been there since the day before and they were just ready to pack their things. We settled on an area where the cliffs were about 12 feet high. The waves were humungous. Walking farther north, we discovered a small cove where the beach was pebbly. The stones were most interesting as many of them were as round and as white as chicken eggs.

The guys were complete with provisions for a two-night camping trip. And as expertly as they set up camp in Athaiba, they were twice as fast in Sur.

From where we were, we could see the empty highway. In the vastness of that space, as far as our eyes could see, at seven in the evening, there was no one else. The others have gone home while our day just started.

As night settles, I’ve come to discover each of the Hangouters’ story. They were interesting people and their passions, I would eventually discover, were not different from mine.

We talk all night through. In that infinite darkness with only our bonfire the most radiant of light, the sky was a beauty to behold. We laid on the ground with the sky as our roof.

And in the briefest of moments, my mind was tickled with the thought, one that I’d eventually tell the group that the Hangouters have just grown two more bigger.