Wadi Shuwaymiya

20 kms off the coastal road up a canyon with the walls eroded by wind and water getting higher and higher, and then suddenly a green oasis.
Al Bahadur lagoon our place tonight

Ghadun lagoon

Margot turns into an off-road crack!

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 onOkumaya devam et
Oman Maldives, in the middle of nowhere

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 goOkumaya devam et
Some more of this incredible paradise

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 wasOkumaya devam et
On the eve of D-Day!

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 nomadOkumaya devam et
We did it!

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 diggingOkumaya devam et
And on through Wahiba sands

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 ourOkumaya devam et
An absolute breathtaking off-road day

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!Okumaya devam et
SUR the home of Omani dhow building

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 thusOkumaya devam et
Wadi Tiwi

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 ToyotaOkumaya devam et
Wadi Al Shab

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 aboutOkumaya devam et
An off into the mountains again

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 bendsOkumaya devam et
Some more mountain pictures

Approaching Muscat, Sifha beach

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 MuscatOkumaya devam et
Muscat

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 ofOkumaya devam et
Ras as Sawadi beach

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!Okumaya devam et
Mountains at last!

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 offOkumaya devam et
Climbing up to Salmah

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 slopesOkumaya devam et
This is "Kahlid"

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 howOkumaya devam et
Salmah and on to Bylad Sayt

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 asOkumaya devam et
Up Up Up, to the edge of the world

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 offOkumaya devam et
and down again to Al Hamra and Misfah

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 yearsOkumaya devam et
Bahla Fort, Jabrin palace

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 climbingOkumaya devam et