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Michael Spies
Michael Spies

Michael Spies

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Friday campers on Sifha beach
    Racing jeeps blasting the mornimg peaceOh what a pleasure seing the two cars in this position!I suppose this guy raced until his car went up in flamesMany campers smoking Shisha early in the morningAfter the two cars broke down peace returned to the beachMargot trying to convince donkey that our left over salad leaves are the best!

    Approaching Muscat, Sifha beach

    28 января 2023 г., Оман

    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!    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    4000 year old Bee hive graves on a cliff at 2000 metersThe Majis al djinn cave, a 300m wide dome and 120m deepThe second entranceAncient wind blown tree in a landscape where it hardly rainsZoom in and enjoy the rideAnd then the road suddenly disappears , downhillCurving downNomad woman with her goatsOur place for the nightMargots cliff side fireThis car didn't make it down anymore!

    An off into the mountains again

    26 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ☀️ 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!    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    1

    Wadi Al Shab

    24 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 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    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    And through the banana plantation
    Village perched on the steep slopesThe Levada disapears under a huge rock and comes out on the other side.

    Wadi Tiwi

    23 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 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)    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Sur at sunset
    Beautiful Dhows parked on the beaches along the riverMorning fishing boats heading outAnd Michael at the barber! My whole face was foamed to improve my skin, he told meThe keel of a new DhowThe ribs of the same dhowBeautiful KaftansStrong Zanzibar influence in SUR

    SUR the home of Omani dhow building

    22 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 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.Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    An Egyptian vulture doing his morning flight in the upwinds.

    An absolute breathtaking off-road day

    21 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 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!!!!!    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Wind turbulence dug a ditch around our wheels
    Our track todayAnd a track goes through itWe just came down that hill! Hairy!

    And on through Wahiba sands

    20 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ 🌙 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!Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    That's where we come from
    And up the hill on the other sideDiscussing which track to takeTha man who walked miles for a camel cigarette (only the older generation will remember this quotatiSo green because the plants absorb dew at nightAn in the middle of tje desert a mosque for the nomads

    We did it!

    19 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Then it heads up this hill (which looks far steeper in reality)It then goes down a long downhill and then a steep second climb out of the valley.

    On the eve of D-Day!

    18 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    So this is where it gets really serious!
    Tomorrow we enter the "Wahiba sands" desert and it starts with two really high and quite steep hills, and I am dead scared!
    First we drive through a nomad camp on loose deep sand, then a long stretch uphill with a steeper climb at the end. Then it goes downhill for a long distance and then steep uphill onto a plateau.
    We have never driven such a long distance uphill in the sand. If you loose traction once, you will sink in and then don't ask me what one does then.
    Even with sand tracks, starting on a hill is not the kind of thing you want to do, and in this case driving backwards is also not an option because there is a uphill behind as well!
    This afternoon I walked the 5 km until the second hill to get an idea of the sand quality and which track I will take. Because it will be me driving!
    Everyone, please hold thumbs for us!
    And to be on the safe side, I will pray to Allah, because everyone here tells me he is great!!    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Lampa camp
    Endless beach walksOur last evening. Tonight the sun sets with sorrow in our hearts"Said", one of the founders and builders of this incredible placeSaid blocks our path as we want to leave. A beautiful friendship in so short a period

    Some more of this incredible paradise

    16 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Lampa camp was built by Said and Salem, two wonderful persons.
    All food and water have to be brought by pick-up across the terrible 60km corrugated Piste we crossed.
    A friend of theirs who was visiting, Omar from Jordan, cooked the most delicious and lovingly presented meals.
    The second day, a small group of British expats living in Muscat, joined us, and, hold tight, brought several cool boxes of sparkling wine, wine and beer with them. I was in sheer paradise!
    Long "wet" evenings with beautiful conversations followed and deep friendships developed. We now have some addresses to visit in Muscat.    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Oman Maldives
    Track leading through surreal salt landscapeThat is not the sea nor a lake, it's a "fata Morgana"The small bluff closing in the lagoon, we're parked right on the tipDriving along the beach to get thereWhat a reward!Lampa camp" cooked us a beautiful dinnerView from the second floorAnd yet another incredible sunset, the highlight of each day!

    Oman Maldives, in the middle of nowhere

    15 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Encouraged by our off-road adventure yesterday, we decided to go for the next level and head for a lagoon called OMAN Maldives!
    But if you want to experience the extraordinary, you first have to go through hell!
    And hell in Oman is 60 km of corrugated track through flat "nothing" covered with salt. There were moments where the track had such deep corrugations that I thought it would tear off the front axle and destroy everything inside the car. We screamed and held our heads.
    Driving out onto a long bluff of a lagoon, we arrived in what truly deserves this name "Maldives"
    We decided to stay here for two days to read and "JUST TO BE".    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Whew! Made it across the dunes!
    Racing across the hard sandAnd the most beautiful evening as a reward.

    Margot turns into an off-road crack!

    14 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We had driven 150 km, the last 30 on the most terrible corrugated track that threatened to dismantle my furniture, to a place called "sugar dunes", only to find tiny, boring white dunes bordering on the sea and covered with plastic rubbish. A great disappointment!
    Driving back was definitely not an attractive solution!
    Then Margot had the idea to cut across the dunes and drive 6 km's on the beach to join another track that would take us inland again.
    The sand was loose and deep!!!!!! But we had had excellent training from MANTOCO and so
    we decided to try. We reduced tyre pressure to 1/3, Margot put in the differential lock, revved up the engine and in a suicidal zig-zagging around stones and mounds raced across the dunes to arrive on the beach at low tide.
    I thought SPRINTI would fall apart!
    Then, followed 6 km of cruising along a hard beach into the sunset like a cowboy riding into the sunset after a terrible shoot-out!!!!!    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Carrying sacks of sardines from the net in the water to the pick-ups
    trying to pull the net out of the water, impossible!Men standing up to to their hips in flapping sardinesSardines for everyone. Each person takes a bucket full

    Sardine run

    8 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Today we returned to Salalah for our "every 10 day meeting" with the group to coordinate the next 10 days. This is the beauty of the travel concept of Mantoco. As a principal, everyone travels alone with weekly check-ups, new ideas, and helping each other. (Iran/Irak were exceptions for security reasons)
    We used the opportunity to get washing done, stock up supplies, and have a punctured tire repaired.
    The evening and night were planned on the beach next to a lagoon with flamingos.
    As we approached the beach, I noticed a fishing boat near the shore with hundreds of seagulls excitedly flying above. We went to look. The fishing boat had a net so full of sardines that they couldn't get it to the beach. Numerous pick-ups arrived, and with several ropes, the cars pulled the net to the shore. more was not possible as the net was too heavy. Then fishers and spectators grabbed big bags, filled them with sardines, and carried them to the pick-up's where they were poured into the back.
    The excitement in the air was incredible. Everyone shouting, running around, pick-ups coming and going and above 1000 screeching seagulls diving down into the net, grabbing a sardine, and then taking off again.
    In the back of the pick-ups, the men were standing up to their hips in wiggling, flopping sardines.
    While this event was incredibly exciting, that night I felt very sad, I felt the collective suffering of those thousands of sardines dying slowly.
    I have caught fish myself, but I allways made a point of killing them quickly. Just letting fish die slowly is not OK.    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    1Oh yes! Outside 30deg. Inside 15deg.
    Approaching Wadi DarbatWadi Darbat right from the top

    Wadi "Darbat"

    7 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Along the coast of Oman, there is an escarpment where the terain jumps from sea level to about 1000m in steep cliffs. All along these cliffs, there are waterfalls and springs where ground water exits and flows into the sea.
    Wadi Darbat exits up on the escarpment and then cascades down over turquoise waterfalls and pools. The chalk in the water has created amazing sinter structures.
    We climbed up one of these waterfalls right to the source, a wonderful adventure.    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Fresh water in the.middle of the desert
    Morning calm

    Wadi Ayun

    5 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    A WADI is a perennial river or spring that starts and disapears again.
    Wadi Ayun is in the middle of a stone desert above the escarpment of the coast. When you see the landscape, you can not imagine that there will ever be water here. And then suddenly there is. A spring exits the rocks, and 400 meters later, it is gone again!
    But soooo beautiful and so peaceful!    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    The end of another day
    The beginning of the next, The sun shows its first raysCoffee time!Our ant eater accompanying our morning coffeeView out of our back doorMorning visitorsCamels also like to take an early morning bathWhile babies stay glued to mother

    And another incredible morning

    5 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    One day goes, another dawn breaks. This morning, I woke up in the dark to watch the dawn start slowly at first and then explode as the sun came up. Then suddenly camels walked across the beach with one of them taking a bath. And all of this while we rejoice in a wonderful morning coffee. Can life get better than this?Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    On the way to Fizayah beach
    Fizayah beachTime to Grill those two fish we just bought from the fishermanNow, isn't that a grand place to grill your fishFish galore!Starting point of tje Xamel-head trail 7 km's along the coastlineFrankincense tree. Arabian wealth source for centuriesCamel-head trailA Wadi on the trailExhausted, but happyVarious water colours where underground sweet water enters the seaThe long way back to where I came from1

    Fizayah beach

    3 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Fizayah beach started off with two beautiful fish that we bought from the local fisherman and grilled to the sound of the waved. Now, what a start!
    The next day, at sun rise, I walked off on the camel-head trail 14km in all, along the coast while Margot did yoga for the first time in 3 months. We both discovered that three months of sitting had not done us much good!
    Already after the first two Km's I thought I would never finish this trail. The moist air and temperature had me sweating so profusely that I drank over 3 liters this day.    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    This endless beach, for us Two, alone!
    Sprinti, on the peak of a steep hill, overlooking the seaFor us, an opportunity to come down, after many days of adrenalin tensionSound of the waves, us, and nothing else!Sun rise, from our bed!Sprinti on the hill, right. The beach, all to us aloneThe whole day naked, sheer paradise!1Second sunset.Not only the landscape is beautiful!Good morning another morning

    Two days of total paradise. Alone!

    2 января 2023 г., Оман ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After the beautiful sunrise on the morning of New years day, this unbelievable coastline helped us top it again!
    We headed down the coast, onto off-road tracks and then up a really steep hill overlooking a 3km long beach.
    And not a person around!
    So we spent two days running around naked, swimming in the waves, discovering the rock pools and hiking the coastline to catch the most incredible sun sets.
    The even more beautiful dawn and sunrise we caught straight out of our bed!
    Can it get better than this?
    What a start into 2023!
    This can only become a great year!    Читать далее

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  • Michael SpiesGypsies on the moveMichael Spies
    Just made it to Salalah for sunset
    Beautiful stallions on the beachThis must have been the court photographer of the Sultan!Dawn on the beach at Salalah, totally alone with the waves!Dawn on Salalah beach with sound of the ocean waves

    Salalah

    31 декабря 2022 г., Оман ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Yesterday afternoon Margot and I separated from the group after we had driven out of the critical part of our desert trip and headed towards Salalah on the coast.
    We desperately needed to get back into our own space. All these group processes are exhausting and we were longing to just wake up alone on a beach.
    And that is what we did, This morning, 01. January 2023, we woke up on a beach to the sounds of the Indian Ocean waves in Salalah when the Muezzin started singing, and watched as the dawn got lighter and lighter and finally when the sun rose.
    WOW! HOW BEAUTIFUL IS LIFE!
    To all of you, a happy new year 2023.    Читать далее

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