Welcome to my blog for the National Geographic Sands of Time Expedition. We depart on November 2nd so I thought I'd kick things off and let you know what Carol and I will be up to during the next couple of weeks, or so. This trip is a bit different from the others we have taken. It’s shorter, for a start - just 8 days not counting travel. It’s also billed as a photography trip although I’m still not sure what that means since there hasn’t been much information on that part. A big draw for us is to travel with Chris Rainier, the expedition leader. With Chris’s help, we’ll be capturing images of the local culture, the people, the scenery and hopefully telling stories about this unique region of the World. While we have been to Muscat before, this will be the first time we get to explore the Arab World in detail. I encourage you to read Chris's brief bio on this site’s home page and also to check out Chris’s web site - http://www.chrisrainier.com. I think you’ll get a sense of why we are so excited to be traveling with him (again).
Right now, evening of Novemer 1, Carol is packing and I’m stressing over the flight and hotel arrangements. Also, as usual, I’m taking way too much camera gear and know I’ll regret it as I lug my camera bag through the airport. Nevertheless, plenty of positive anticipation and eager to get going.
I’ll try to keep this as interesting as possible. Please look at the home page for an overview. Look at the itinerary to get a sense of where we’re going. I’ll try to keep the blog up to date and post as many pictures in the photo album as possible.