• Our last night in Oman

    February 13, 2023 in Oman

    Tonight is our last night in Oman.
    We have been here for 6 weeks now and it feels like years. Lonely deserts, incredible beaches, rugged mountains, and off-road tracks like you haver never seen. And on top of it all, the Omani people, so elegant, so friendly and so helpful. Wow what a six weeks which we now carry deep in our hearts.
    We will definitely come back!

    We will now travel through the Arab Emirates to Musandam, a tiny enclave belonging to Oman , creating the gulf of Hormuz only kilometers from Iran.
    It basically only consists of high mountains and fjords going vertically into the sea.

    Here we will go on-board a modern Dhow for three nights to travel through the fjords and go snorkeling.
    A bit of luxury to close off this part of our trip.
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  • Jebel Shams, towering over Wadi Nakhar

    February 12, 2023 in Oman

    Yesterday afternoon we drove up to the Jebel Shams, towering over 2000meters over the Wadi Nakhar where we were previously going from warm nights to ice cold nights but incredible sunset and sunrise.
    The next day we did the balcony walk, a 3 km contour walk deep in the slopes of the canyon with subsequent "via ferata" to climb out again stretching our nerves a bit!
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  • Wadi Nakhar

    February 11, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today we drove into the Wadi Nakhar, (turquoise line) also known as the Grand canyon of Oman. The cliffs on the sides reach up to a mountain plateau at 2200 meters.
    Part of the track led along the river bed partially carrying water and I experienced my first driving through deeper water.
    In the night you could only hear the gentle trickling of the water, above us a crystal clear sky, like in the desert with millions of stars.
    The clear skies are due to an atmospheric moisture level close to zero percent which has our skin chafing and lips cracking.
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  • 06:30, at the animal market, Nizwa

    February 9, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    From 2000m altitude back down to 400m to experience the Friday morning Nizwa animal market!
    The latter started at 05:00 when the first pick-ups brought their sheep, goats and camels to the market and prepared for the auction which started at 06:30 as the sun rose. While waiting, everyone is greeting friends, chatting, or doing business on the side.
    Buyers (and tourists) assemble in two rings within each other, and the sellers march around the space between, either carrying or dragging their animals and screaming at the top of their voices.
    When a buyer is interested he throws a stone in front of the seller who then comes over and they negotiate a price (or not).
    The whole thing is total chaos, but two hours later, all the animals have changed hands and everything becomes quite again.
    Also fascinating is the weapons souk, where old gentlemen sell their guns, daggers, and other murder instruments. Absolutely fascinating and a social study in itself.
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  • Jebel Akhdar - walking the Falaj's

    February 9, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Jebel Akdhar still has villages operating their Falaj's water irrigation systems to water the most incredible terraces that are literally " glued" to the mountain.

    Today we did the "balcony walk", and oh my god, what a balcony it was!
    Walking along the falaj with drops of 100meters.
    Some of the time we were crawling on all fours!
    Don't ask me how these channels were built and dont ask me how they manage to stick to those rock faces!
    Oman has been using the falaj irrigation system for thousands of years!
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  • Jebel Akdhar -a day with luxury

    February 8, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Today we decided to spoil ourselves with a lunch in the most elegant hotel on the mountain, and what a lunch it was! With a glass of wine and then relaxing at the pool. A holiday from the holiday!

  • Jebal Akhdar - "lost villages Hike"

    February 7, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Today we hiked the "lost villages" hike, 600 meters down into an incredible gorge along steep slopes with incredible views. Along the way, tiny villages glued to the slopes in the most impossible locations. As Oman developed, these villages were abandoned for the comfort of brick homes. What has not been abandoned are the date palm groves on tiny terraces with the falaj irrigation system. In several discussions with Omanis, we have understood that they view this as part of their culture. Usually some family members will join together and finance a labourer from Bangladesh or the likes to keep things going while the family uses the location for family meetings.
    This was the case in the tiny palm grove we crossed on this hike, where we met "sultan" and "Hamid" and shared a snack together in this beautiful oasis of palms, bananas and Papayas.
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  • Bahla Fort, Jabrin palace

    February 6, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Built in the same fashion with mud bricks mixed with straw is Bahla Fort, a huge multi story building dating back to before Islam (600AD) and a unesco heritage site. Absolutely fascinating climbing around the fortress.
    Craziest of all, a huge cellar where dates are stored in palm leaf bags. The date syrup flows out and is used in the kitchen in good times, in times of War it is heated to the boil and poured through special "murder" slits onto the enemy.
    Later we visited Jabrin Palace, the home of the Sultan at the time, also made with mud, but very comfortable whit exception of the jail, holding ten prisoners while space is only for one!
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  • and down again to Al Hamra and Misfah

    February 5, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Today we descended from 2000m to 450m to visit Alhamra an one of the few villages with intact houses built of bricks made from mud and straw. As mentioned in a previous Blog, in the last 20 years Sultan Quaboos has used the income from oil to catapult Oman from the middle ages to modern times, among other building houses for omanis which has led to Omanis abandoning their villages and houses. Alhamra is such a ghost village with the beautifully made, wonderfully cool mud houses slowly collapsing.Read more

  • Up Up Up, to the edge of the world

    February 4, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Today we drove from Bilad Sayt at 900 meters up to the escarpment to 2100 meters on an incredible track, ariving on top of the world.
    Here we started a 3 hour hike along an escarpment that drops off a breathtaking 1000m.
    (See video)
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  • Salmah and on to Bylad Sayt

    February 3, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After kahlid, we headed on to Salmah, hidden in a valley at 1000m along a dead-end track.
    The road was the steepest we have ever experienced with us engaging the differential locks again and again as we came down the hill, wondering whether it was worth the risk to carry on. Suddenly, a man came out of his house, beckoning to us to come in. Margot and I exchanged looks, and I reversed up the hill into his entrance to be welcomed by his wife and their granddaughter for tea, Dates, and some of their modest meal.
    They only spoke Arabic, but the grand daughter understood basic English; so we worked our way through.
    The two had lived here all their lives, the grand daughter was visiting for the weekend.
    Suddenly, an app on the mobile phone at the wall popped up and started to play the Muezzin calling to prayer. While the women stayed with us, the man disappeared to pray.
    Before we left they insisted on us taking some of the few oranges on their orange tree.
    We continued on to Bilad Sayt, also a dead-end track amidst mountains arriving there just before the sun set to walk around this beautiful age old village consisting of several "falaj" bringing water from springs in the mountains to hundreds of terraces. A miracle amidst this incredibly dry landscape.
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  • This is "Kahlid"

    February 3, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    This is Kahlid!
    Kahlid is secretary at a school, but in his heart, he is a teacher and researcher.
    His family has lived at this location high up on the slopes for hundreds of years. When we asked how old his father became, he said nobody knows. People were born in the mountains and died in the mountains without anyone knowing they had been there!
    Kahlid was born in this building up here, as were his 2 brothers. Over the centuries, his family built terraces with rocks to plant vegetables and date palms. Water came from two springs in the rock face and was channelled via "falaj" channels down and across the slopes to the individual terraces.
    Then, the springs started to dry up until the family was forced to move into a city.
    But this location is family heritage and holy, so the three brothers hired a man from tibet to look after the terraces, sheep, and chickens. The family comes here on weekends to help him out and bring supplies.
    When Kahlid noticed that we were interested, he offered to take us around the property.
    We'll this tour took us 100m up the rockfall where, he explained, his mother as a girl had climbed up every morning to collect food for the animals. One day she slipped and fell. For two months she lay in a coma with her grandfather giving her water drop by drop and praying to Allah that she survive. She lived to have three sons!
    Then he led us into a hand hewed tunnel leading into the second spring source, which had now slowed from a rush to a trickle, no longer able to support a family plus animals.

    Most amazing, however, was his knowledge of plants, from plants that heal broken bones to, leaves (Yaas) which women grind to powder and rub into their hair to make them thick and soft!
    Herbs is his passion and he is busy putting together a library of information with QR-codes on the plants so that future generations can read what this plant is about.
    What a beautiful encounter!
    Thank you Kahlid.
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  • Climbing up to Salmah

    February 3, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Salmah is a tiny village at 1000m on a dead-end road in the middle of 2000m High mountains. We were told it is a difficult track, so we decided to try. Again, and again, we are amazed at what slopes "Sprinti" is able to climb. When the wheels start spinning, you stop, put the differential lock in, and then he slowly churns out of the situation.
    Amazing!
    Just before Salmah, Margot stopped to see which direction we should drive when a voice wafted down from the mountain next to us, "come up!"
    We actually had to search the slopes to see the house perched high above.
    Why not?
    So we turned right and climbed up to the home of Kahlid, 300meters higher for a meeting we wouldn't forget.
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  • Mountains at last!

    February 2, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Our real soul lives in the mountains and deserts. This is where we breathe out and feel connected with the universe. And if it happens offroad, this is pure adrenalin on top!
    Today, we headed off back into the mountains of northern Oman with aiming at Salmah, Bilad Sayt and a 2000 meter high Plateau as our direction.
    It was exhilarating and flabberghasting from the first minute. Gravel Roads climbing higher and higher over incredibly narrow rocky tracks with steep slopes dropping off; and then suddenly, you have a truck coming down the hill the other way!
    This is the moment of truth when you reverse 100 meters to find a space to let him pass, and then you suddenly feel the ground breaking away under the front left tire.
    Oh my, oh my!
    What a feeling of relief when we drove on!
    But back a few steps.
    We drove to Wadi Bani Awf for 15 kms along the Wadi floor to the snake canyon, which becomes narrower and narrower, cutting deep into the mountains. When it became too narrow, we headed off to the right up a track that has been the steepest yet. "Sprinti" was no longer driving but climbing!
    Night set in along the way, and so we found a small plateau to spend the night in total silence broken by the occasional villager 4x4 climbing past. These crazy people were actually driving this by night! But then I suppose they drive this route several times per week; because there are actually villages in these mountains!
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  • Ras as Sawadi beach

    February 2, 2023 in Oman

    So far we have not been able to dive in Oman (there are simply too many other things!), so we decided to try snorkelling at Sawadi beach, which has rocky islands near the shore.
    We had done it again! The next day was again Friday, and the Omanis were setting up their camps on the beach half the night!
    A fisherman took us out in his boat, but unfortunately, the storms of the previous day's had churned up the water, reducing visibility.
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  • Muscat

    January 28, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Muscat is the capital city and was made to what it is today by the late Sultan Qaboos.
    Qaboos not only loved the culture of Bavaria, causing him to build a house in Garmish Partenkirchen south of Munich, building an opera with excellent accoustics, giving the Mosques towers like the church towers in Bavaria and building himself a Disney style kitch castle, but also launched an incredible development program for the whole country, uniting warring parties, building roads and telecommunication and amazingly organised that everyone has water via a huge network of blue trucks transporting water to the smallest village in the country, no matter how difficult to get there.

    Before we left on our trip, we decided that we would celebrate "half time" of our trip by visiting the opera in Muscat, so we packed the proper clothing, and transported it 20.000kms.
    Alas, there was no opera program!

    But we did enjoy a lunch at the "Crowne Plaza" WITH ALCHOHOL!
    Not having drunk for months, the effect was immediate! So we lay down at the pool for a sleep.
    Now, that's luxury!
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  • Approaching Muscat, Sifha beach

    January 28, 2023 in Oman

    Never go to the beach on a Friday! Because that's the day all Omanis have a free day, and go camping at the beach! Preferably with a Nomad tent and Jeeps to race along the beach.
    We approached Muscat on a Friday, and so it was, the whole city was out there! We fled down the coast until the numbers became less and ended up at Sifha beach just before dark.
    The next morning, two jeeps racing with screaming motors shattered the stillness. It was with the greatest pleasure that I later saw them standing with their hoods open, looking at their engines that no longer worked!
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  • An off into the mountains again

    January 26, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Once Off-road, always off-road!
    I was hooked and insisted that we do another off-road track through the mountains, so, we chose a route and off we went, up at an angle of 45 degrees with hairpin bends like I have never seen before, on a sandy rocky surface with slipping wheels, up to 2000 meters.
    Margot was screaming and my stomach was a lump!!!
    And what a beautiful trip it was!
    The frustration is that it is impossible to show this tension and excitement, neither on photo nor film.
    At 1300m we visited the Majlis al Jin cave. (meeting place of the spirits).
    This cave consists of one huge dome, 120m high and 350m wide and has 3 entrances at the surface.
    People have abseiled into it and some crazy "base divers" jumped into it resulting in the cave being closed to all trafic. So all you see in the photos is a huge black hole in the surface.
    I tried lying down on my stomach and crawling closer to the edge. A screaming Margot and the blackness of that hole persuaded me to stop that endeavor !
    Once again we spent the night perched on a cliff 300m above a wadi, with a fire and in total silence with only the stars above.
    Life is so unbelievably beautiful!
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  • Wadi Al Shab

    January 24, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We had an incredible day today:
    We hiked up into a wadi/ canyon called Wadi al Shab, along the canyon floor at first and then higher and higher up the slopes along a goat track until we were about 100m above the valley floor with another 700 meters of rock walls above us. Absolutely breathtaking!

    About 3 kms in, we descended to the wadi floor strewn with huge 5m high boulders and worked our way down in direction of the sea to then discover a small tunnel with a water shoot leading down into a huge cave filled with water. (Kindly, someone had connected a rope to decend the slippery shoot safely). At the end of the rope you plomped into this huge pool in the middle of a huge cave dome.
    By chance we had forgotten our camera and so had nothing critical with us, so we just climbed in with clothes and all.
    We then swam out of the cave through a washed out crack where only your head had space above water. After about 15 meters you were out in the open again and in deep rock pools lined by endless high cliffs on all sides.
    After swimming about 100 meters we found solid rock under foot and returned to walking the 2 km out of the Wadi.
    Unfortunately no Fotos are available but I managed to find something in the Web.

    This was the most exciting and incredible day I have had in ages (and to be honest, we havn't really been spared from tingling experiences!
    This evening we are exhausted. (Margot plomped into bed at 18:00 and hasn't woken up since)

    Here is a video I found on you tube:

    https://youtu.be/zDws2UdplXA
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  • Wadi Tiwi

    January 23, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    An off-road track leads 15 kms into the Wadi Tiwi on roads so narrow that sprinti hardly fitted through and so steep that the wheels were spinning. Absolutely hairy!
    Especially when a local Toyota pick-up comes the other way.
    We were advised not to try, we did try and after 5 km's asked ourselves why we are doing this.
    We parked the car and carried on by foot at first along a track in the walls of the Wadi and then came back walking on the walls of the levadas. (Levada is a channel built along the contour, sometimes hanging precariously on the cliffs to bring water from the spring to other places where it is needed)
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  • SUR the home of Omani dhow building

    January 22, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    SUR used to be the center of Arabian shipbuilding with the Arabs building fast, and flexible ships that could sail into the wind, long before the Portuguese started discovering the seas.
    Oman thus traded with places as far away as Goa in India, Zanzibar, and Mombasa in Kenia bringing back exotic goods to Oman which were then transported on camels through the desert Rub Al Kahli desert to Europe on the Frankinsense route.Read more

  • An absolute breathtaking off-road day

    January 21, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Oh my god what an off-road day!
    On gravel and sand paths through the most rugged mountains at 2000 meters, going up over one ridge, down into the next valley and then up the next ridge, and again!
    All day!
    Driving at 20 kph in second gear with reduction gear engaged up hills so steep that the tires were at their grip limit. The same downhill.
    Pure excitement!
    And at the end of the day total exhaustion from the non stop concentration.

    Late in the afternoon thick fog came up and we parked off for the night at 5 degrees centigrade wrapped up in everything warm we had with us, because as always in life, when you need it most, the heating doesn't work!!!!!
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  • And on through Wahiba sands

    January 20, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Today we traversed the rest of Wahiba sands and are now spending the night on its perimeter, where we head off into the mountains tomorrow.
    All night the sand storm had been blowing and shaking our car, but one sound we couldn't decipher, every now and then our whole car would shudder and seemed to drop a bit. The next morning we discovered why, the turbulence around the wheels had dug a hole resulting in the car successively slipping deeper into the sand. That's how sand eats up whole buildings in the desert!Read more

  • We did it!

    January 19, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Last night, hardly anyone slept, so worried were we with what would await us today.
    80 Km's of soft sand going down one dune and up the next.
    We were all sure that we would spend half the day digging our cars out, if at all possible!
    The most likely outcome seemed a car rusting in the dunes after years of wind and salt with two skeletons leaning against it with shovels in their hands.
    We started shortly after sunrise to use the dew, which wettens the dunes at night and makes them firmer.
    The first leg was 5km's ending on top of a dune. Then down hill and up an even steeper one, and so on.
    The miracle is that no one got stuck except, hold tight, our instructor Tommy!
    Everyone was mega concentrated, drove calmly and never stopped.
    It worked!
    And then in the.middle of the desert, a mosque for the nomads that used to come through here on their camels only a few years back.
    That is where we are spending the night with a nice sand storm by courtesy of the wind, our eternal friend.
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