Days 4 + 5 - Ocean of Sand and Stars

First things first: If anyone wants to send me to the desert again... I would gladly go! Absolutely! Right away! 😜 I don't want to live there, but I wouldn't mind staying for 1-2 nights. But let's start at the beginning...

After breakfast, I spend another morning at the beach, soaking up the sun before packing my suitcase, checking out, and waiting for the departure. We will be picked up at 13:00 local time and I notice that the group is much larger than the previous days. But with 19 people, it's still manageable...

We are divided into 5 Jeeps in total, and with me are two couples (one younger, one older) and our driver Ali, a true Omani from Salalah. Since I am alone, I get the front seat, which is good in a way (I can see the route and take some pictures or videos of the drive), but also "a bit uncomfortable". As long as we are on paved roads, about the first 100km, Ali is so passionately and extensively digging in his nose that I'm almost tempted to ask if he expects to find an oil well up there. 🤢🙈 Ali and I don't really get along, by the way, because I somehow can't close the doors quietly, slowly, or fast enough. 🤷🏻♀️ His driving style is also slightly different from ours, but more on that tomorrow... Since I don't have a tour tomorrow, I wanted to share some general experiences/topics of the past few days. 📝

Basically, our tour will take us to two UNESCO World Heritage sites and along the famous Incense Trail. The drive takes us through the mountains into the rocky desert, and suddenly we see large green plantations on both sides of the road. 😯 Here, camel grass is grown for the animals of the mountain residents, and since the groundwater is only about 15m deep, water supply is not a problem - another thing I've learned. 🤓 Our first stop is Ubar, the lost city and former first stop for camel caravans on the Incense Trail. The city was discovered only recently and not much is known about it, but the visit is still interesting.

Next, we drive on gravel roads to a dromedary farm, where we can get very close to these magnificent animals. They are truly impressive creatures, and over coffee or tea, we learn a lot about them from our guide Mohammed.

There are three categories of camels: 1. Regular camels for milk and meat. 2. Racing camels, similar to racehorses. 3. Camels for beauty contests (the poor animals even get their lips injected for that purpose).

A "regular" camel costs about €7,000. So be careful when you mention values in camels in the future. 😉 The way these animals are treated is reflected in their behavior, and they have a very good memory. There are stories of camels grieving for their owners and stories of people being attacked by their camels because they treated them poorly.

By the way, I declined the offer to try camel milk. I was told that it can cause diarrhea in us Europeans, and I definitely don't need that in the desert camp. 😬

And finally, we head towards the desert. 😍 The landscape changes, at some point the gravel road becomes more like a sandy track, and then we see the first dunes - woohoo! Even though Ali drives a bit differently, I never feel scared or worried, and in the desert, he's our man - casually and with a lot of experience, he safely drives us up and down the dunes and now he seems to be enjoying it. 👍🏻😉👍🏻 We stop on one of the dunes, take off our shoes, and quickly get out of the car and into the huge sandbox - it's wonderful! The sand is incredibly fine and not hot at all! With the wind, we also get a natural exfoliation for our skin and teeth. 😁 We climb the dunes, take photos, and then move a few dunes further for the best view of the sunset. 🌅 It's quite steep to go down the dune and up again somewhere else - now I fully understand why doing this alone is not recommended. 🙃 And now, how can I describe the desert sunset... Simply unbelievably beautiful, with an amazingly magical light and a sense of tranquility. Of course, we take many pictures, but we also take the time to enjoy and just sit there, watching the sun go down. Truly an experience! 😊

After this wonderful natural spectacle, we get back into the cars and head to the camp, which will be our home for tonight. I am assigned tent number 10 and immediately make myself comfortable - sheets on the hard mattress, pillow, and thick blanket on top, done. That's all we have here. 😄

In the dining tent, dinner is already being served - Saffron rice, camel meat, chicken, vegetables, and salad. As always on this trip, it tastes very good, and after being satisfied, we gather around the big fire, where Mohammed tells us more about the country and its people while we smoke shisha. Questions are asked and answered (which hasn't always been the case when it comes to religious topics), and so we end the evening.

I have to say something very special about the starry sky above us because it is simply phenomenal and even better than I had hoped for. 😍😍😍 I don't have a picture because my camera isn't good enough, but if you've ever been to a planetarium, you can imagine it. We see several shooting stars and can't get enough of this ocean of sparkling stars. ✨✨✨

Eventually, it's time to go to bed because we are supposed to be woken up at 05:30 with the call "Sunrise, Sunrise". So I go to my tent, lie down, read two pages, and then sleep like a log until the hectic calls "Sunrise, Sunrise" sound in the morning. But this time it's not the camp chief, it's Vicky and Stefan from Stuttgart. 🗣🗣 At first, I think they're joking, but then they add "in 10 minutes it's time". A quick look at the clock... It's true! Sunrise is supposed to be at 06:18, and it's a little after 6. 😮😮 So I quickly get up, grab my camera, and climb up the nearest dune - still no sign of the camp chief or anyone else - they probably overslept. 😉 But we see it... The sunrise in the desert that bathes the surroundings in a wonderful light - it's definitely worth getting up early. 👍🏻

On the way to breakfast, I see that the outdoor beds that we laughed about yesterday were actually used because our drivers are lying there or are packing up their things. They spent the night outside. It seems that no one except me had a good night's sleep. 🙈😅😇 At 07:30, we get back into the cars and return to the hotel. Unfortunately, we also witness an accident on the way, involving a dromedary and a car. We have passed by these large animals several times before, and it was never a problem, but it seems that this accident happened at night. Sadly, the dromedary did not survive, and the driver of the car is no longer on the scene, but the car doesn't look like it escaped without any scratches...

On the way, we also stop at a frankincense tree plantation, which is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage and was part of the Incense Trail.

Back at the hotel, I check in again and this time I am assigned a different room and I settle in for my last two days. Once again, I realize how absent-minded I am on this vacation. 🤦🏻♀️🙅🏻♀️ (Thankfully, not on previous vacations, otherwise I might have forgotten my backpack. 🙄) Until now, I thought I would be flying back on the 31st, but now I look at my booking details again and realize that the return flight is actually on the 30th. 😯 But it's better to notice it now than on the 31st! 🤪

And let's talk about sunglasses again... I definitely packed my sports sunglasses in the separate compartment of my backpack (but they only last for 1-2 hours, so I had to get new ones) and of course a glasses case from the ones I lost. Now, I open the compartment and it's empty. 😲 I haven't touched that compartment since then, and I haven't taken the glasses out, so it's quite strange... 😔😔 So, it remains clear that Oman and my sunglasses don't go together. 😢 This time it's not about the monetary value, as the glasses were not that expensive, but more about the emotional side, because I really liked those glasses and won't be able to replace them so quickly... Well... it is what it is, and I don't want to let it spoil my last day of vacation!

After a good dinner, I'm now lying in my huge bed with one of my 4 pillows, looking forward to a lazy day tomorrow, and wishing you a good night. 😘