15.11. Balcony walk

Today the plan is the Balcony walk, a path high in the wall above Wadi Nakhr, which is below Oman's highest mountain, Jabal Ash Sham (Mountain of the Sun). It's better to be there early because of the sun, but in the end we won't be leaving before 9 a.m. anyway. We drive into the mountains along a dirt road to the canyon, the first viewpoint where we stop takes our breath away, a small path somewhere down in the middle of the canyon wall, which is nicknamed the Omani Grand Canyon, does not look very safe.

We reach the parking lot, where the goats are especially interested in us, we try to pack so that we have everything and don't have a goat in the car, and we set off. The footpath winds in the middle of the steep wall of the canyon, every time I look ahead it seems to me that a difficult passage awaits us, but where we are it is always cool. Next to the footpath, there is almost always a sloping rock, and the cliff starts to go down further, so if you trip, you won't fall all the way to the valley. Even so, I lead David by the hand, mainly so that he won't be afraid of Oto. I talk to the kids about everything and the trip goes by quickly, we stop at viewpoints and I also have to keep taking pictures of the incredible views. About 3/4 of the way through, Ota decides that it's enough. According to the map, the entire route is 4.5 km in one direction. I think it was not more than 4km, but x2 and in difficult terrain.

Of course, Aneta and I have to go to the end, so Ota, Lenka and David take a long rest in the presence of a scalded goat, and we continue to the place where the village of Sap Bani Khamis was until the middle of the 20th century. Truly an incredible place to live, but they had that water from a seasonal waterfall and in the rock wall of the garden fed by an aflaji system. Today you can see the remains of gardens and houses stuck to the rock, built of mud bricks. We are exploring this wonderful lost village, I would explore more, but we have to go back, so that there are no more pitfalls waiting for us.

The sun has already set, so the way back is mostly in the shade. We meet other Czechs, this time from CK Periskop, and we talk for a while with their guide. We return back to the accommodation, the children do school and write diaries, Ota cooks and I wash my hands until the evening in buckets made from 18l water canisters. There is no washing machine and after 10 days it is needed.